Water, Land and Ecosystems - Middle East and North Africa

Improving sustainability by better incorporating the environment in water trade-off assessments

Amanda — Tue, 30 Jan 2018 08:00:00 +0000

This project will support IWMI researchers who are contributing to international conventions and other prominent fora (e.g. IPBES, Ramsar, JAXA) through application of IWMI research. This involvement contributes to better assessment of trade-offs and how to manage them and highlights the value of WLE related research in an international arena.

Contact Person

McCartney, Matthew <m.mccartney@cgiar.org>

Lead Center

International Water Management Institute (IWMI)

Donors

CGIAR

Partners

IPBES - Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, IWMI - International Water Management Institute, JAXA - Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Ramsar - The Ramsar Convention Secretariat

Completed

Start/End dateJanuary 01, 2017 — December 31, 2021

Research ThemeVariability, Risks and Competing Uses

Cluster

4.2 Managing Competing Uses and Trade-offs

Regions

Central Asia, Eastern Africa, Middle East and North Africa, Southern Asia, Southeast Asia, Southern Africa, Western Africa

Countries

Sri Lanka

Sustainable Groundwater

Amanda — Tue, 30 Jan 2018 06:42:00 +0000

The project takes an inter-disciplinary approach to understanding groundwater resources availability (renewability and storage) and variability/trends, dependence on the resource for agriculture and related uses, livelihoods and pathways to sustainable use in cooperation with local, national and international partners. It investigates the transboundary issues related to internationally shared aquifers and how joint approaches can build trust and further impetus for cooperation around long-term sustainability and use of the aquifer resources for increased resilience in the face of climate change.

This project supports RAMOTSWA, Groundwater Solutions Initiative for Policy and Practice (GRIPP), and liaises with UN-Water and other global international organisations on issue of sustainable groundwater use.

Activities under this project include:

Groundwater Futures in SSA Phase 2

GroFutures will apply new geophysical techniques and compile long-term observations of groundwater levels from the Network of Groundwater Obsevatories (NAGO) to substantially improve knowledge of the renewability and volume of groundwater in Sub-Saharan Africa.

GroFutures will also develop an inclusive, participatory framework for groundwater governance in which the views of poor women and men are considered together with the trade-offs associated with groundwater development pathways.

Resilience in the Limpopo Basin: the Potential Role of the Transboundary Ramotswa Aquifer (RAMOTSWA)

The overall objective of the project is to support a long-term joined vision and cooperation on the shared groundwater resources of the upper Limpopo region where the states potentially share significant and valuable freshwater underground resources as well as space for enhanced water storage. The project will facilitate joint management and better groundwater governance focused on coordination, scientific knowledge, social redress and environmental sustainability, in order to reduce poverty and inequities and to increase prosperity, livelihoods and food security in face of climate chance and variability.

Understanding Recharge in the Limpopo River Basin (GRECHLIM)

The GRECHLIM project will increase the capacity to assess groundwater resources, and in particular groundwater recharge, among students at the University of the Witwatersrand. It will also contribute to improving methodologies and practices for groundwater assessments and management among the national and local partners responsible for water supply and management in the Limpopo River Basin.

Transboundary Ramotswa Aquifer -II

The overall objective of the RAMOTSWA Project is to support a long-term joint vision and cooperation on the shared groundwater resources of the Limpopo River Basin and build a community of practice around transboundary aquifer management in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region. The project will facilitate joint management and better groundwater governance focused on coordination, scientific knowledge, social redress and environmental sustainability, in order to reduce poverty and inequities and to increase prosperity, livelihoods and food security in the face of current climate variability future climate change.

Contact Person

Villholth, Karen <k.villholth@cgiar.org>

Lead Center

International Water Management Institute (IWMI)

Donors

UK Research & Innovation (UKRI)

Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)

CGIAR

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark

Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Department for International Development (DFID), United Kingdom

Partners

AGWT - American Ground Water Trust, Aquamatters, AWARD - African Women in Agricultural Research and Development, AWDROP - Association of Water Well Drilling Rig Owners and Practitioners, AWRA - American Water Resources Association, BGR - Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe / Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources, BGS - British Geological Survey, CAWR - Center for Advanced Water Research, DHI, GEF - Global Environment Facility, Government of Botswana, Government of Denmark, Government of South Africa, Government of Uttar Pradesh (India), Government of Zimbabwe, HRNS - Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung, IAH - International Association of Hydrogeologists, ICAR - Indian Council of Agricultural Research, IDS - Institute of Development Studies, IGES - Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, IRHA - International Rainwater Harvesting Alliance, IUCN - International Union for Conservation of Nature, IWMI - International Water Management Institute, KickStart International, MetaMeta, NCGRT - National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training, NERC - Natural Environment Research Council, NGWA - National Ground Water Association, NUOL - National University of Laos, OKACOM - The Permanent Okavango River Basin Water Commissio, OSS - Sahara and Sahel Observatory (Observatoire du Sahara et du Sahel), Peace Parks Foundation, SADC-GMI - South African Development Community - Groundwater Management Institute, Sanitech, SANParks - South African National Parks, SKAT - Swiss Resource Centre and Consultancies for Development (Skat Consulting Ltd.), SuSanA - Sustainable Sanitation Alliance, SWM - Smart Water Metering, SYSU - Sun Yat-Sen University , TU Dresden - University of Dresden, UB - University of Botswana, UCL - University College London, UCPH - University of Copenhagen, UNDP - United Nations Development Programme, UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, University of Strathclyde, University of the Western Cape, UNL - University of Nebraska, UNU-INWEH - United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health , USAID - U.S. Agency for International Development, WUC - Water Utilities Corporation (Botswana), ZAMCOM - Zambezi Watercourse Commission

Completed

Start/End dateJanuary 01, 2015 — December 31, 2021

Research ThemeVariability, Risks and Competing Uses

Cluster

4.1 Risks associated with water variability mitigated

Regions

Eastern Africa, Middle East and North Africa, Southern Asia, Southeast Asia, Southern Africa, Western Africa

Countries

Botswana, Ethiopia, India, Laos, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Vietnam

Groundwater governance in the Arab World: tacking stock and addressing the challenges

Amanda — Tue, 30 Jan 2018 06:36:00 +0000

This project is aimed at addressing the challenges posed by the unsustainable use of groundwater in the MENA region. By collating knowledge on groundwater management experiences and translating them into science-policy dialogues, this project has produced a series of in-depth case studies and action plans on selected problem aquifers aiming to build the capacities of managers and decision makers, strengthen awareness on groundwater governance and contribute to finding solutions and mitigation measures to the groundwater crisis in the region.

Contact Person

Alvar Closas (a.closas@cgiar.org)

Lead Center

International Water Management Institute (IWMI)

Partners

ICBA (International Center for Biosaline Agriculture), INRGREF (Institut National de Recherches en Genie Rural, Eaux et Forets), BAU (Beirut Arab University), LISODE (Lien social et decision), UoJ (University of Jordan)

Completed

Start/End dateOctober 01, 2015 — April 30, 2017

Regions

Middle East and North Africa

Countries

Jordan, Tunisia

From documenting impacts to enabling actions: Strengthening capacity for incorporating malaria control into planning and management of water infrastructure

Amanda — Tue, 30 Jan 2018 06:17:00 +0000

Building on a much-publicized WLE project establishing relationships between dams and malaria in Africa, this work will generate and promote adoption of guidance that improves the way in which water infrastructure is planned and managed, to enhance the contributions of such infrastructure to health, food security and the environment. Specifically, the work will determine and compare the malaria impacts of large and small dams in Africa, as well as assign importance major variables presumed to influence variation in such impacts, to generate predictive guidelines for infrastructure planning and management. These guidelines will in turn be disseminated to basin authorities in Africa.

Contact Person

Lautze, Jonathan <j.lautze@cgiar.org>

Lead Center

International Water Management Institute (IWMI)

Donors

CGIAR

Partners

IWMI - International Water Management Institute

Completed

Start/End dateJanuary 01, 2017 — January 31, 2020

Research ThemeVariability, Risks and Competing Uses

Cluster

4.1 Risks associated with water variability mitigated

Regions

Eastern Africa, Middle East and North Africa, Southern Asia, Western Africa

Science-policy exchange processes and learning alliance around strengthening the role of ecosystem services for increased resilience of investments in sustainable intensification (and Agent Based Modeling (ABM) framework)

Amanda — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 06:24:00 +0000

This activity involves use of online decision support tools developed in previous WLE project for the Niger River Basin and the Mekong River basin. The design of these online tools is based on the notion of agent-based modeling and allows for stakeholders in the river basin to express their options for water resources development of river basin and explore how their decisions could interact with the options of other stakeholders and influence the ecosystem services provided by the water resources in the basin. To this end, a seminar will be held to generate real-time responses and gather unfiltered feedback on the utility & design of the online tools. We will also monitor the status of the use of the online tools, improve the system design/performance given the feedback, and analyze the stakeholder input data collected by the online system to generate insight into in a real world situation how stakeholders in a river basin could compete and collaborate in future water resources development activities.

This project is also contains a generic ABM framework for complex ecosystem service analyses in WLE focal regions.

Contact Person

Ringler, Claudia <C.RINGLER@CGIAR.ORG>

Lead Center

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

Donors

CGIAR

Partners

IFPRI - International Food Policy Research Institute, IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Lehigh University, RIVERFUTURES LTD, University of Illinois, Wetlands International

Completed

Start/End dateJanuary 01, 2017 — December 31, 2017

Research ThemeEnhancing Sustainable Agriculture

Cluster

4.1 Risks associated with water variability mitigated

Regions

Eastern Africa, Middle East and North Africa, Southern Africa, Western Africa

Enhancing Human Resources Development in Iraq

Amanda — Wed, 08 Nov 2017 12:49:00 +0000

The Project consists of two types of training courses; Short-term training course which duration is one to two (1-2) week(s) and the maximum number of trainee is thirteen (13), Long-term training course which duration is three (3) weeks and the maximum number of trainee is thirteen (13).

Trainees will be invited exclusively from Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Iraq, and other dry land countries either from Algeria, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Yemen.

Contact Person

Kleinermann, Charles <c.kleinermann@cgiar.org>

Lead Center

International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)

Donors

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)

Partners

ICARDA - International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas

Completed

Start/End dateJanuary 01, 2017 — December 31, 2017

Research ThemeLand and Water Solutions

Cluster

2.2 Unlocking Value in Irrigation Systems

Regions

Middle East and North Africa, Western Asia

Countries

Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, South Sudan, Sudan

Middle East North Africa Water and Livelihoods Initiative (WLI)- Regional

Amanda — Wed, 08 Nov 2017 12:14:00 +0000

The ultimate goal of the WLI is to improve rural livelihoods in selected countries in the MENA region. This will be achieved through the implementation of a variety of bio-physical and socio-economic related activities geared towards the development of improved technologies and innovation packages to address critical development challenges; as well as to build local, national, and regional capacity to ensure sustainable adoption and utilization of proposed solutions. Effective implementation of activities will result in one or more of the following outputs which are aligned with USAID?s Feed the Future (FtF) Indicators: 1. Number of hectares under improved technologies or management practices 2. Number of farmers and others who have applied new technologies or management practices 3. Number of individuals who have received USG supported short-term agricultural sector productivity or food security training 4. Number of food security private enterprises (for profit), producers organizations, water users associations, women's groups, trade and business associations, and community-based organizations (CBOs) receiving USG assistance 5. Number of stakeholders implementing risk-reducing practices/actions to improve resilience to climate change as a result of USG assistance 6. Number of new technologies or management practices in one of 3 phases of development. The outputs identified above will in-turn contribute to: 1. Increased water, land, and crop (for human and animal consumption) 2. Enhanced awareness of sustainable water and land management practices 3. Increased rural income 4. Increased resilience and environmental sustainability. Achievements of the proposed outcomes will then result in attaining the WLI goal - Improved Rural Livelihoods.

Contact Person

Dessalegn, Bezaiet <b.dessalegn@cgiar.org>

Lead Center

International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)

Partners

ARC - Agricultural Research Corporation, AUB - American University of Beirut, AUC - American University in Cairo, ICARDA - International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, UF - University of Florida, UoJ - University of Jordan, USDA - U.S. Department of Agriculture

Completed

Start/End dateJanuary 01, 2017 — December 31, 2017

Cluster

2.2 Unlocking Value in Irrigation Systems

Regions

Middle East and North Africa, Western Asia

Countries

Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, Tunisia, Yemen

Supporting Coordination and Cooperation in Water Management in the Euphrates and Tigris Area (CPET)- Agricultural Water Productivity

Amanda — Wed, 08 Nov 2017 12:00:00 +0000

The Collaborative Programme Euphrates and Tigris (CPET) aims to increase the trust and knowledge base between Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey (Country Partners (CP) and to build a sufficient evidence base to enable investment prioritisation. A primary activity of the programme is joint fact finding, which is to be carried out by six specialist Task Forces. (1) Task Force H: Hydrology and Climate Change; (2) Task Force E: Hydropower; (3) Task Force W: Water Quality; (4) Task Force A: Agricultural Water Productivity; (5) Task Force M: Marshlands; and (6) Task Force S: Socioeconomics. As agriculture consumes the vast majority of the Euphrates and Tigris (E-T) basin water resources and it is well established that water is being used inefficiently this task force will develop feasible options for the basin countries to improve water use in agriculture and to enhance food security though regional and bilateral cooperation. ICARDA leads task force A on Agricucltural water productivity with key objective is to develop reasonable and equitable use for the basin countries to improve water use in agriculture and to enhance food security through regional and bilateral cooperation. This task force (A) aims to map water producvity of the basin to understand the variability of the crop water use and identify potetnail areas for improvement in agricultural water producctivity and cooperation in the basin.

Contact Person

Oweis, Theib <t.oweis@cgiar.org>

Lead Center

International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)

Donors

Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)

Partners

ICARDA - International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas

Completed

Start/End dateJanuary 01, 2017 — August 31, 2018

Research ThemeLand and Water Solutions

Cluster

2.1 ALWM Solutions for Resilient Smallholder Livelihood and Landscape Systems

Regions

Middle East and North Africa

Countries

Iran, Iraq, Turkey

Ecological footprint of food security: irrigated and rainfed areas in Asia and Africa

wle_admin — Tue, 07 Jul 2015 21:26:55 +0000

Investments in sustainable irrigation and agricultural water management help to insulate communities against food insecurity and hunger, generate income and push for economic development through better integration with markets. Yet, less than 5% of the land area in Sub-Saharan Africa is irrigated. Lack of information on the location and the extent of irrigated areas remains a key challenge to instrument policy framework and direct investment for targeted development both in terms of food security, water resources management, and managing the irrigation externalities to maintain healthy ecosystem functions based on which agriculture and human wellbeing are sustained. In 2012 IWMI embarked an initiative to map agro-ecosystems across Asia and Africa, including irrigated areas and the way that agricultural water management practices are expanding in traditionally rainfed areas as part of its strategy moving towards impact oriented research. This initiative builds on IWMI’s previous attempt on Global Irrigated Area Mapping (GIAM) but aims to monitor agricultural water management and irrigation development to better support water resources and agriculture development in developing countries where reliable reporting and monitoring system is yet to be established. Our niche in such efforts in an already crowded mapping world lies in IWMI and WLE's core business in relation to agricultural water management: how could such maps inform better water resources and agricultural planning and investment, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where accurate and up-to-date information is not often readily available. The comparative advantage of IWMI will be to link ecosystems to food production to add value to conventional land use/land cover mapping, and support policy making and investment decisions. An operational system of such map updates will further enable adjustments in decision making processes at this era of changes. We will establish a system which will generate maps of irrigated and rainfed areas for Africa and Asia and disseminate the products through IWMI and WLE web portal. Such maps can contribute to development of IWMI’s flagship products and metrics, and be a base information layer for many of IWMI’s projects. It is also a product system which truly integrate water, land and ecosystem, the three pillars of WLE CRP. It will be beneficial for broad research communities and stakeholders including investors, governments, and donor agencies for informed decision making to improve land and water productivity in a sustainable manner and contribute to poverty alleviation and economic growth.

Contact Person

Cai, Xueliang (x.cai@cgiar.org)

Lead Center

International Water Management Institute (IWMI)

Partners

International Food Policy Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), Tsinghua University, Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, Group on Earth Observations

Completed

Start/End dateJanuary 01, 2014 — December 31, 2015

Research ThemeLand and Water Solutions

Cluster

2.1 Agricultural water and land management

Regions

Eastern Africa, Western Africa, Southern Africa, Southern Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Middle East and North Africa

The water-energy-food nexus: global, basin and local case studies of resource use efficiency under growing natural resource scarcity

wle_admin — Tue, 07 Jul 2015 21:26:00 +0000

The goal of "The Water-Energy-Food Nexus: Global, Basin and Local Case Studies of Resource Use Efficiency under Growing Natural Resource Scarcity" project is to more sustainably manage natural resources, increase food security and reduce poverty for poor rural men and women in the face of rapid agricultural, water and energy development in the Eastern Nile basin. Specifically, the project analyzes key nexus challenges in Ethiopia and the Eastern Nile region, work with national governments in Ethiopia and to a lesser extent Egypt and Sudan, to assess nexus challenges in the countries and develop policy options for reducing the costs of tradeoffs and promoting positive synergies across the water, energy and food security nexus at local and regional levels in Ethiopia, the Eastern Nile Basin; with insights from global assessments.

Contact Person

Ringler, Claudia <C.RINGLER@CGIAR.ORG>

Lead Center

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

Donors

Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)

Partners

Humboldt University - Berlin, IFPRI - International Food Policy Research Institute, IMF - International Monetary Fund, The Kiel Institute for the World Economy, University of Bonn

Completed

Start/End dateFebruary 01, 2015 — June 30, 2018

Research ThemeVariability, Risks and Competing Uses

Cluster

4.2 Managing Competing Uses and Trade-offs

Regions

Eastern Africa, Middle East and North Africa, Southern Africa, Western Africa

Countries

Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan