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Water, Land and Ecosystems

Abby Waldorf

Thrive Blog Manager, WLE

Member of the WLE Operations Team

a.waldorf (at) cgiar.org

Abby Waldorf is the Thrive blog coordinator for WLE. She holds a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and was formerly the managing director of wH2O: The Journal on Gender and Water.

Content authored by Abby Waldorf

  • Blog Post
    Blog Post

    Challenges to improving equity in the Gash Die

    Not everything is what it seems – especially women’s access to resources in eastern Sudan. In conservative societies, it is easy to make vastly wrong assumptions about women’s positions based on observations of their daily routines or living situations.
  • Blog Post
    Blog Post

    Reflections from Thrive's outgoing editor

    Researchers, communicators and our blog readers commonly report that Thrive is the only space that dares to bring up controversial issues and that focuses on stimulating topics. But becoming a space for online scientific discussion wasn't smooth sailing. 
    Royal Geographical Society conference
  • Blog Post
    Youth pitch their innovations to the dragon's den.
    Blog Post

    A room full of dragons

    Fifty young innovators had four days to come up with solutions to some of today’s biggest landscape challenges. As if that wasn’t enough, they then had to pitch their ideas to a panel of experts. In front of an audience of over 200 conference participants.
    Global Landscapes Forum 2015
  • Blog Post
    Blog Post

    The Art of Saving: as told by the giraffe, ant and zebra

    When a savings and credit trainer had explained to a farmer that if he saved $1 per month for the last 30 years he would have more than $360, the farmer was impressed about the amount of savings he lost and raised a surprising question: where were you.
    2 comments
  • Blog Post
    Blog Post

    Putting a price on wetlands

    If tomorrow, all of East Africa’s wetlands disappeared, what costs would governments incur? While it is nearly impossible to place a quantitative value on wetlands, a new project is exploring methods of valuation of wetlands in the Nile Basin.
    1 comment
  • Blog Post
    Blog Post

    Breaking the gender mold: voices from the field

    There are many gender mainstreaming workshops that take place each year. Few are successful at motivating behavior change. But a workshop in Gondar, Ethiopia was different. Some researchers came to argue that gender mainstreaming isn’t necessary. They left as supporters of the approach.
  • Blog Post
    Blog Post

    Landscapes: finding common ground between Wall Street and environmentalists

    It looks like the triple bottom line might be gaining headway in the development sector. Despite the long-standing schism between Wall Street investors and environmental or social activists, the two sides are starting to find common ground at the increasingly popular landscape intersection.
    Global Landscapes Forum 2014
  • Blog Post
    Blog Post

    Can foreign direct investment benefit smallholders and investors?

    As global demands for food and biofuel escalate, foreign investors have shown a keen interest in African land. The furious pace at which large-scale land acquisition investments are occurring have raised questions about the underlying motives, benefits and long-term impacts of these investments on host countries.
    8 comments
  • Blog Post
    Blog Post

    Policy Pitching to the Dragon's Den

    During a “Dragon’s Den” session in Nairobi, researchers and communicators pitched policy recommendations to a panel who provided candid, straightforward and constructive feedback. “If you can’t explain your science to a policymaker, you aren’t going to do any science that’s going to make any difference to anyone,” said panelist Alex Awiti.
    9 comments
  • Blog Post
    Blog Post

    Landscape investments: businesses act now or suffer later

    In 2009, businesses and farmers operating in Naivasha received a rude wake up call. Lake Naivasha almost dried up. In a basin that supports over 60% of Kenya’s flower industry, accounting for over 1% of the country’s GDP, policy makers and businesses were quick to respond.
  • Podcast
    Terraces and water erosion Ethiopia
    Blog Post

    Re-thinking resilience in the Fogera region of Ethiopia

    During his time in north western Ethiopia, Dr. Steven Prager observed the complex relationship between upstream and downstream farmers in the Fogera region of Ethiopia. His results, he said, were unexpected. Dr. Prager discusses the relationship between farm plot location and resilience in this podcast.
    7 comments
  • Blog Post
    Blog Post

    Adapting the financial climate for landscapes

    Participants at the Global Landscapes Forum discussed ways to make “climate-smart” agricultural development more attractive to investors and policy makers - highlighting an example of IWMI research influencing investors in Nepal.
    1 comment
  • Blog Post
    Blog Post

    Youth engaging youth in agriculture

    For Africa to be able to feed itself, agriculture needs to become a more attractive option for youth. But just how can this be accomplished? Some clues might be drawn from examining the AASW6 social media team of over 165 young reporters.
    9 comments
  • Blog Post
    Blog Post

    When land gets grabbed, do women get sidelined?

    As gender gains attention in the agricultural world, data and information show women as major players in food production. But, development practitioners and policy makers have been slow to recognize women’s vital and diverse role in food security.
    5 comments
  • Blog Post
    Blog Post

    Taking the "waste" out of wastewater

    Many government officials see wastewater treatment plants as expensive and low cost recovery investments. This is why governments are struggling to meet the wastewater treatment needs of their countries.
    1 comment
  • Big Question: Responses

    Can 'smart' subsidies save African agriculture?

    Carr credits the large increase in food production in Malawi to the country’s fertilizer and seed subsidy program. It should not be surprising that subsidies have such an effect, he says.

    2 comments
  • Blog Post
    Blog Post

    Rethinking the value of wastewater

    The world’s rapid transition to urbanization contributes greatly to the pressure on water, food security, and energy, as the World Water Week Workshop on Securing Water and Food in an Urbanising World explored.  We cannot simply look at urbanization as an urban problem.  As Pay Drechsel from the
    3 comments
  • Blog Post
    Blog Post

    Let's Talk Gender at World Water Week

    How can we translate gender strategies and indicators into on the ground action? This question rang throughout Stockholm World Water Week’s session on “Concrete Actions: Advancing the Integration of Gender, Water and Food Security.”
    2 comments