Multilateral development banks (MDBs) play a pivotal role in financing water and sanitation infrastructure projects and thus have a major impact on the development of basic services. Although information about the MDBs’ investments is publicly available, it is dispersed and not easily comparable. A comprehensive compilation of MDBs’ water and sanitation investments has long been lacking. To address this gap, we assess water and sanitation financing by the three MDBs most relevant to Africa and Asia between 1960 and 2020: the World Bank, the African Development Bank, and the Asian Development Bank. We compile a new dataset by drawing on 3,639 water and sanitation projects and assess territorial trends, technology choices, distribution of financial burdens, and reforms to institutional arrangements. We find that MDBs’ investments align with changing patterns of urbanization and increasingly finance sanitation infrastructures including non-sewered technologies. However, our results also suggest that institutional reforms have addressed utility efficiency through investment in equipment and skills rather than through increased commercialization and private sector participation. The leverage effect of MDB investment on private financing is negligible, whereas co-financing from local governments dominates.
Policies / Public-private partnerships / Institutional reform / Investment / Development banks / Multilateral organizations / Goal 6 Clean water and sanitation / Sustainable Development Goals / Water supply Record No:H051889
Climate variability and insufficient irrigation are primary constraints to stable and higher agricultural productivity and food security in Nepal. Agriculture is the largest global freshwater user, and integration of surface- and ground-water use is frequently presented as an strategy for increasing efficiency as well as climate change adaptation. However, conjunctive management (CM) planning often ignores demand-side requirements and a broader set of sustainable development considerations, including ecosystem health and economics of different development strategies. While there is generic understanding of conjunctive use, detailed technical knowhow to realize the CM is lacking in Nepal. This article presents a holistic framework through literature reviews, stakeholders consultations and expert interviews for assessing CM and implementation prospects from a systems-level perspective. We demonstrate the framework through a case study in Western Nepal, where climatic variability and a lack of irrigation are key impediments to increased agricultural productivity and sustainable development. Results show that knowledge of water resources availability is good and that of water demand low in the Western Terai. Additional and coordinated investments are required to improve knowledge gaps as well as access to irrigation. There is therefore a need to assess water resources availability, water access, use and productivity, to fill the knowledge gaps in order to pave pathways for CM. This paper also discusses some strategies to translate prospects of conjunctive management into implementation.
Case studies / Capacity development / Awareness / Social inclusion / Gender equity / Stakeholders / Water governance / Energy sources / Monitoring / Strategies / Planning / Sustainable Development Goals / Agricultural productivity / Food security / Water policies / Water productivity / Water demand / Water availability / Surface water / Groundwater / Climate change / Irrigation systems / Conjunctive use / Water use / Water management / Water resources Record No:H051837
Non-governmental organizations / Food security / Social inclusion / Stakeholders / Credit / Financing / Investment / Profitability / Marketing channels / Market access / Farm income / Agricultural extension / Women farmers / Agricultural resources / Water storage / Pumps / Irrigation equipment / Solar powered irrigation systems / Innovation adoption / Technology / Farmer-led irrigation / Irrigation practices / Irrigated farming / Crop production / Agricultural value chains / Vegetables / Sustainable development / Innovation scaling / Small-scale irrigation Record No:H051828
Kjellen, M.; Wong, C.; van Koppen, Barbara; Uprety, Labisha; Mukuyu, Patience; Avidar, O.; Willaarts, B.; Tang, T.; Witmer, L.; Nagabhatla, N.; De Lombaerde, P.; Lindelien, M. C.; Dhot, N.; Saleh, A. 2023. Governance: a ‘whole-of-society’ approach. In UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP). The United Nations World Water Development Report 2023: partnerships and cooperation for water. Paris, France: UNESCO. pp.172-182. More... | Fulltext (14.7 MB)
Women / Strategies / Stakeholders / Policies / Climate change / Food security / Water security / Integrated water resources management / Goal 6 Clean water and sanitation / Sustainable Development Goals / Cooperation / Public-private partnerships / Civil society / Water governance Record No:H051827
Mukuyu, Patience; Lautze, Jonathan; Langan, Simon; Uhlenbrook, Stefan; Ferreira, R.; Connor, R. 2023. Data, information and monitoring. In UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP). The United Nations World Water Development Report 2023: partnerships and cooperation for water. Paris, France: UNESCO. pp.148-155. More... | Fulltext (14.7 MB)
Transboundary waters / Cooperation / Partnerships / Goal 6 Clean water and sanitation / Sustainable Development Goals / Monitoring / Information exchange / Data management / Water resources Record No:H051826
Makarigakis, A.; Partey, S.; Nagabhatla, N.; De Lombaerde, P; Libert, B.; Trombitcaia, I.; Zerrath, E.; Guerrier, D.; Faloutsos, D.; Krol, D.; Virden, E.; Arushanyan, A.; Anakhasyan, E.; Matus, S. S.; Gil, M.; Llavona, A.; Botia, L. M.; Naranjo, L.; Sarmanto, N.; Le Doze, S.; Weinberger, K.; Lerios, R.; Bhandari, S.; Gaillard-Picher, D.; Uhlenbrook, Stefan; Kumar, U. D. S.; Khayat, Z.; Zaarour, T. 2023. Regional perspectives. In UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP). The United Nations World Water Development Report 2023: partnerships and cooperation for water. Paris, France: UNESCO. pp.115-140. More... | Fulltext (14.7 MB)
Case studies / Women / Policies / Groundwater / River basins / Multi-stakeholder processes / Goal 6 Clean water and sanitation / Sustainable Development Goals / Water security / Public-private partnerships / Community involvement / Transboundary waters / International cooperation / Integrated water resources management Record No:H051825
Water scarcity has become one of the greatest challenges facing humankind today. Its scarcity is compounded by climate change and increasing demand from a growing population. In South Africa, over 60% of the available freshwater resources are used in agriculture, mainly in irrigated agriculture. There is an urgent need to promote sustainable irrigation technologies that optimize food production without increasing water applied and with positive environmental spinoffs. Sustainable irrigation technologies and practices could enhance water use efficiency (WUE) and productivity in agriculture and reduce environmental burdens, including energy use. This chapter highlights some of the innovative irrigation practices and technologies that enhance food production and, at the same time, reduce water use in agriculture. The chapter broadly discusses WUE and water productivity (WP) in irrigated agriculture from engineering and agronomic perspectives. The chapter further highlights some of the environmental impacts of irrigation expansion and the possible solutions. We further provide the importance of accurate spatial information on irrigated areas to inform policy on irrigation expansion. The Water Research Commission (WRC) of South Africa has been spearheading research on the sustainable use of water for the past 50 years as part of its research agenda.
Remote sensing / Sustainable development / Environmental impact / Resilience / Climate-smart agriculture / Climate change / Water management / Water security / Innovation / Technology / Irrigation water / Water productivity / Irrigated farming / Sustainable use / Water-use efficiency Record No:H051822
The United Nation 2023 Water Conference offers a critical opportunity to catalyse actions and innovations that bring increased water security to vulnerable communities across the globe. Researchers have an important role in supporting the delivery of needed on-the-ground impact, but their work must be informed by the priorities and necessities of Global South implementors.
Youth / Technology / Strategies / Climate change / Sustainable Development Goals / Water demand / Multi-stakeholder processes / Water governance / Policies / Innovation / Research / Water systems / Transformation / Water security Record No:H051811
Societal Impact Statement:
Understanding the perceptions of benefits and threats from trees is important for the livelihoods of communities. The study used focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and a questionnaire survey of 226 households in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The findings showed that household socio-economic factors such as gender and land tenure influenced perceptions of tree growing, and households that were involved in a tree restoration project viewed trees as contributing toward their livelihoods by reducing hunger. Hence there is a need to design strategies that promote socio-economic inclusivity of all households and genders and promote programs that increase awareness of ecosystem services within communities.
Summary:
Understanding the socio-economic factors that shape the way households value and utilize natural resources is critical in developing nature-based solutions. The study was aimed at understanding how the socio-economic circumstances of households determined their perceptions of the role of trees in livelihood delivery.
A case study of Buffelsdraai and Osindisweni communities was used; these sites are adjacent to a municipal landfill where a tree restoration project intended to mitigate the effects of climate change is being implemented, and some of the households are involved in this project. The study used focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and a questionnaire survey of 226 households. It explored gender perspectives on the perceived benefits and threats of tree restoration. It analyzed the influence of householdsapos; economic characteristics and spatial configuration (the subdivisions of the landscape) to assess the impact of land tenure.
The findings showed that gender influenced the perceptions that economic benefits can be derived from participating in the project. Households involved in the tree restoration project viewed trees as contributing to their livelihoods by reducing hunger. Households in peri-urban settlements, permanently resident in the area, showed greater reliance on natural resources than those in informal settlements and rural areas. Such differences can be attributed to differences in land tenure.
Hence, there is a need to design strategies and operations that promote socio-economic inclusivity of all households and genders and reduce inequality. These findings are important for informing scaling to yield better climate change considerations and policies.
Poverty / Landfills / Land tenure / Climate change / Sustainable Development Goals / Nature conservation / Natural resources / Women / Gender / Socioeconomic aspects / Livelihoods / Community development / Restoration / Trees Record No:H051759
Access to sufficient clean water is important for reducing the risks from COVID-19. It is unclear, however, what influence COVID-19 has had on water insecurities. The objective of this study was to assess the associations between COVID-19 control measures and household water insecurities. A survey of 1559 individuals living in vulnerable communities in five countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam) showed that increased needs for clean water to wash hands or facemasks made it more likely a person was water insecure along those dimensions. Water insecurities with respect to handwashing and drinking, in turn, made adoption of the corresponding good practices less likely, whereas in the case of washing facemasks there was no association. Water system infrastructure, environmental conditions such as foods and droughts, as well as gender norms and knowledge, were also important for water insecurities and the adoption of good practices. As domestic water insecurities and COVID-19 control measures are associated with each other, efforts should therefore be directed at identifying and assisting the water insecure at high risk when COVID-19 reaches their communities.
Socioeconomic environment / Risk reduction / Women / Gender / Water systems / Water quality / Drinking water / Good practices / Hand washing / Water, sanitation and hygiene / Goal 6 Clean water and sanitation / Sustainable Development Goals / Communities / Vulnerability / Households / COVID-19 / Water insecurity Record No:H050959
Introduction: Intercropping cereals with legumes can intensify rainfed cereal monocropping for improved household food and nutritional security. However, there is scant literature confirming the associated nutritional benefits.
Methodology: A systematic review and meta-analysis of nutritional water productivity (NWP) and nutrient contribution (NC) of selected cereal-legume intercrop systems was conducted through literature searches in Scopus, Web of Science and ScienceDirect databases. After the assessment, only nine articles written in English that were field experiments comprising grain cereal and legume intercrop systems were retained. Using the R statistical software (version 3.6.0), paired t-tests were used to determine if differences existed between the intercrop system and the corresponding cereal monocrop for yield (Y), water productivity (WP), NC, and NWP.
Results: The intercropped cereal or legume yield was 10 to 35% lower than that for the corresponding monocrop system. In most instances, intercropping cereals with legumes improved NY, NWP, and NC due to their added nutrients. Substantial improvements were observed for calcium (Ca), where NY, NWP, and NC improved by 658, 82, and 256%, respectively.
Discussion: Results showed that cereal-legume intercrop systems could improve nutrient yield in water-limited environments. Promoting cereal legume intercrops that feature nutrient-dense legume component crops could contribute toward addressing the SDGs of Zero Hunger (SDG 3), Good Health and Well-3 (SDG 2) and Responsible consumption and production (SDG 12).
Goal 12 Responsible production and consumption / Goal 3 Good health and well-being / Goal 2 Zero hunger / Sustainable Development Goals / Nutrition / Water productivity / Water use efficiency / Multiple cropping / Legumes / Cereal crops / Intercropping Record No:H051672
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) describe a course of action to address poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all (https://sdgs.un.org/goals). More specifically, SDG 6 clarifies how water quality, quantity and access are crucial to human well-being, and yet human activities are compromising water resources through over-exploitation, pollution, as well as contributing to the spread of disease. Globally aquatic ecosystems are highly threatened and concerted efforts by governments and civil society to ‘turn the situation around’ are simply not working. Human-created problems require human-centred solutions and these require different ways of thinking and acting to those behaviour patterns that are contributing to the challenges. In this paper, we first consider causal approaches to attitude change and behaviour modification that are simply not working as intended. We then explore enabling responses such as citizen science and co-engaged action learning as more tenable alternatives. SDG 6 has a focus on clean water and sanitation for all. The SDGs further clarify how the extent to which this goal can be realized depends, to a large extent, on stakeholder engagements and education. Through stakeholder engagements and educational processes, people can contribute towards SDG 6 and the specific indicator and target in SDG 6.b – Stakeholder participation. Following a three-year research process, that investigated a wide range of participatory tools, this paper explores how the Stream Assessment Scoring System (miniSASS; www.minisass.org) can enable members of the public to engage in water quality monitoring at a local level. The paper continues to demonstrate how miniSASS can contribute to the monitoring of progress towards Sustainable Development Goal Target 6.3, by providing a mechanism for data collection indicator 6.3.2. miniSASS is proving popular in southern Africa as a methodology for engaging stakeholder participation in water quality monitoring and management. The technique costs very little to implement and can be applied by children and scientists alike. As a biomonitoring approach, it is based on families of macroinvertebrates that are present in most perennial rivers of the world. The paper concludes by describing how useful the miniSASS technique can be for addressing data gaps for SDG 6.3.2 reporting, and that it can be applied in most regions of the world.
Monitoring / Water quality / Stakeholders / Goal 6 Clean water and sanitation / Sustainable Development Goals / Citizen science / Innovation / Social change Record No:H050675
Goal 6 Clean water and sanitation / Sustainable Development Goals / Habitats / Water quality / Monitoring / Ecological factors / Freshwater ecosystems / Aquatic ecosystems / Frameworks / Assessment / Environmental health / River basins Record No:H051560
Werner, D.; Acharya, K.; Blackburn, A.; Zan, R.; Plaimart, J.; Allen, B.; Mgana, S. M.; Sabai, S. M.; Halla, F. F.; Massawa, S. M.; Haile, Alemseged Tamiru; Hiruy, A. M.; Mohammed, J.; Vinitnantharat, S.; Thongsamer, T.; Pantha, K.; Filho, C. R. M.; Lopes, B. C. 2022. MinION nanopore sequencing accelerates progress towards ubiquitous genetics in water research.Water, 14(16):2491. (Special issue: Field Methods for Water Quality Surveying) [DOI] More... | Fulltext (1.66 MB)
In 2014, Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) introduced an affordable and portable sequencer called MinION. We reviewed emerging applications in water research and assessed progress made with this platform towards ubiquitous genetics. With gt;99% savings in upfront costs as compared to conventional platforms, the MinION put sequencing capacity into the hands of many researchers and enabled novel applications with diverse remits, including in countries without universal access to safe water and sanitation. However, to realize the MinION’s fabled portability, all the auxiliary equipment items for biomass concentration, genetic material extraction, cleanup, quantification, and sequencing library preparation also need to be lightweight and affordable. Only a few studies demonstrated fully portable workflows by using the MinION onboard a diving vessel, an oceanographic research ship, and at sewage treatment works. Lower nanopore sequencing read accuracy as compared to alternative platforms currently hinders MinION applications beyond research, and inclusion of positive and negative controls should become standard practice. ONT’s EPI2ME platform is a major step towards user-friendly bioinformatics. However, no consensus has yet emerged regarding the most appropriate bioinformatic pipeline, which hinders intercomparison of study results. Processing, storing, and interpreting large data sets remains a major challenge for ubiquitous genetics and democratizing sequencing applications.
Goal 6 Clean water and sanitation / Sustainable Development Goals / Bioinformatics / Biomass / Research / Water Record No:H051555
Cookey, P. E.; Cofie, Olufunke; Koottatep, T.; Polprasert, C. 2022. Sanitation biomass recovery and conversion. In Cookey, P. E.; Koottatep, T.; Gibson, W. T.; Polprasert, C. (Eds.). Integrated functional sanitation value chain: the role of the sanitation economy. London, UK: IWA Publishing. pp.125-180. [DOI] More... | Fulltext (5.63 MB)
Sustainable Development Goals / Business models / Composting / Feedstocks / Water reuse / Wastewater / Technology / Waste management / Faecal sludge / Sewage sludge / Bioeconomy / Circular economy / Value chains / Conversion / Resource recovery / Biomass / Sanitation Record No:H051381
Despite the progress made in conceptualizing and advocating for secure community-based land and forest tenure rights, there is a critical lacuna in advocacy and policymaking processes pertaining to community-based freshwater tenure rights. Moreover, water tenure as a concept has only recently gained significant traction in global policy circles. This report analyzes national and international legal pathways for recognizing customary forms of community-based freshwater tenure rights held by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) in sub-Saharan Africa. It employs a methodological framework and builds on an analysis of community-based water tenure systems that was developed and applied by the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) and the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) in the publication Whose Water? A Comparative Analysis of National Laws and Regulations Recognizing Indigenous Peoples’, Afro-Descendants’, and Local Communities’ Water Tenure. Based on the key findings of this analysis, in particular the frequent dependence of IPLCs’ legally recognized customary water tenure rights on their legally recognized land and/or forest rights, this report further analyzes national constitutions, national legislation governing water, land, forests, environmental protection and other related matters, international and national case law, and international and regional human rights laws, to explore how legal frameworks are recognizing and protecting customary water tenure rights across sub-Saharan Africa. The findings and recommendations provide a basis for analyzing the comparative effectiveness and potential drawbacks of these legal pathways for the recognition and protection of customary water tenure and ultimately for future work refining and improving legislation and assessing progress in its implementation and enforcement.
International law / Transboundary waters / Participation / Water user associations / Policies / Constitution / Regional organizations / Government / Sustainable development / Food security / Livelihoods / Women / Gender / Human rights / Water governance / Legal frameworks / Forests / Land rights / Water rights / Rural areas / Local communities / tenure rights / Indigenous peoplesapos / Freshwater / Nexus approaches / Water resources / Land tenure / Customary law / Water law / Legislation / Customary tenure / Water tenure Record No:H051374
As urbanization increases, meeting the challenges of urban food supply and food security requires coherent and holistic strategies. Attention too often focuses solely on best practices without addressing the required behavior change. This policy brief highlights the importance of minimizing food loss and waste, which accounts for some 30% of current global production, in order to link and achieve SDGs 2, 11 and 12. The strategy comprises four interrelated elements, namely adopting holistic and circular planning perspectives; facilitating urban and peri-urban farming; integrating innovative behavioral interventions; and providing enabling environments. The G20 has the capacity to act rapidly, without the need for major capital investment, thereby also providing leadership to the entire international community.
Living customary water tenure is the most accepted socio-legal system among the large majority of rural people in sub-Saharan Africa. Based on literature, this report seeks to develop a grounded understanding of the ways in which rural people meet their domestic and productive water needs on homesteads, distant fields or other sites of use, largely outside the ambits of the state. Taking the rural farming or pastoralist community as the unit of analysis, three components are distinguished. The first component deals with the fundamental perceptions of the links between humankind and naturally available water resources as a commons to be shared by all, partially linked to communities’ collective land rights. The second component deals with the sharing of these finite and contested naturally available water resources, especially during dry seasons and droughts. Customary arrangements shape both the ‘sharing in’ of water resources within communities and the ‘sharing out’ with other customary communities or powerful third parties. Since colonial times, communities have been vulnerable to those third parties grabbing water resources and overriding customary uses and governance. The third component deals with infrastructure to store and convey water resources. Since time immemorial, communities have invested in infrastructure for self supply, ranging from micro-scale soil moisture retention techniques to large-scale collective deep wells. As increasingly recognized in both the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and irrigation sectors, this component of self supply is rapidly expanding. In all three components, local diversity is high, with gender, class and other social hierarchies intertwining with social safety nets, neighborliness and moral economies.
The study derives two sets of implications for state and non-state policies, laws and interventions. First, state legislation about the sharing of water resources should recognize and protect living customary water tenure, especially through due process in ‘sharing out’ water with powerful third parties. Remarkably, water law, which is dominated by permit systems in sub-Saharan Africa, lags behind other legislation in recognizing customary water tenure (see IWMI Research Report 182). Second, by taking communities’ self supply for multiple uses as a starting point for further water infrastructure development, the WASH, irrigation and other sectors can follow the priorities of communities, including the most vulnerable; identify cost-effective multi-purpose infrastructure; develop local skills; and, hence, contribute more sustainably to achieving more United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDGs 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 13. Further historical and interdisciplinary research to achieve these benefits is recommended.
Nexus approaches / Water security / Land / Livestock / Pastoralists / Farmer-led irrigation / Domestic water / Drinking water / Living standards / Households / Right to food / Right to water / Women / Gender / Costs / Conflicts / Water permits / Water distribution / Water quality / Water governance / Legislation / Policies / Norms / water, sanitation and hygiene / Sustainable Development Goals / Water allocation / Rural communities / Multiple use water services / Water supply / Infrastructure / Water sharing / Water resources / Customary law / Water law / Water management / Water rights / Customary tenure / Water tenure Record No:H051372
Strauch, A.; Bunting, P.; Campbell, J.; Cornish, N.; Eberle, J.; Fatoyinbo, T.; Franke, J.; Hentze, K.; Lagomasino, D.; Lucas, R.; Paganini, M.; Rebelo, Lisa-Maria; Riffler, M.; Rosenqvist, A.; Steinbach, S.; Thonfeld, F.; Tottrup, C. 2022. The fate of wetlands: can the view from space help us to stop and reverse their global decline? In Kavvada, A.; Cripe, D.; Friedl, L. (Eds.). Earth observation applications and global policy frameworks. Washington, DC, USA: American Geophysical Union (AGU); Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley. pp.85-104. (Geophysical Monograph Series 274)[DOI] More...
Wetlands are among the most vulnerable, threatened, valuable, diverse, and heterogeneous ecosystems existing on our planet. While they provide invaluable ecosystem services to our society, they have been declining globally for many centuries. Monitoring of these changes is necessary for implementing efficient conservation policies and sustainable management schemes. Earth observation techniques can support the effort of monitoring, assessing, and inventorying wetlands at different scales with ever growing capabilities and toolsets. While the GEO-Wetlands initiative provides a framework for collaboratively increasing and utilizing these capabilities, global stakeholders like the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and U.N. Environment are starting to adopt EO-based methods in their guidelines and technical reports. Many challenges still remain, although different projects and case studies successfully demonstrate the opportunities provided by the growing data archives, analysis algorithms, and processing capabilities. Many of these demonstrations focus on local wetland sites. The mapping and inventorying, specifically of vegetated wetlands, on national or even global scales remains a challenge for the wetlands and EO communities for years to come. Collaboration and partnership between different stakeholders of both communities are key for success. Initiatives like GEO-Wetlands, in cooperation with global stakeholders, need to provide the framework for this collaborative effort.
Case studies / Normalized difference vegetation index / Land cover / Land use / Mangroves / Water quality / Surface water / Water resources / Ecosystem services / Stakeholders / Sustainable Development Goals / Mapping / Datasets / Landsat / Earth observation satellites / Frameworks / Collaboration / Monitoring / Wetlands Record No:H051369
Solar energy forecasting is considered an essential scientific aspect in supporting efforts to integrate solar energy into power grids. Moreover, solar energy forecasting plays an essential role in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and conserving energy for future use. This study conducted a bibliometric analysis to assess solar energy forecasting research studies evolution at the continental (Africa) and southern Africa levels. Key aspects of analysis included (i) scientific research trends, (ii) nature of collaboration networks, (iii) co-occurrence of keywords and (iv) emerging themes in solar energy forecasting over the last two decades, between the years 2000–2021. The results indicate that solar energy forecasting research has, on average, expanded by 6.4% and 3.3% in Africa and southern Africa, respectively. Based on the study context, solar energy forecasting research only gained momentum in 2015, peaking in 2019, but it is generally still subtle. The scientific mapping illustrated that only South Africa ranks among the leading countries that have produced high numbers of published documents and also leads in contributions to the research area in both Africa and southern Africa. Three emerging topics were identified from the thematic map analysis— namely, “solar irradiance”, “artificial intelligence” and “clear sky”, which implies that researchers are paying attention to solar irradiance, using modelling techniques that incorporate machine learning techniques. Overall, this study contributes to scientific information on the potential bankability of renewable energy projects that could assist power utilities, governments and policymakers in Africa to enforce the green economy through accelerated decarbonisation of the energy systems and building relationships with developed countries for support and better transitioning to solar energy. From a Water–Energy–Food nexus perspective, the results of this work could assist the scientific community in Africa to take advantage of the inherent interconnectedness of water, energy and food resources, whilst also advancing the use of integrated solutions to shape the focus of solar energy research into a more systems thinking and transdisciplinary approach involving the interconnected primary resources and stakeholders pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Models / Sustainable Development Goals / Collaboration / Nexus approaches / Foods / Renewable energy / Water / Climate change / Trends / Research / Bibliometric analysis / Forecasting / Solar energy Record No:H051306
Sustainable Development Goals / Policies / Collaboration / Resource management / Sectoral development / Sustainability / Planning / Nexus approaches / Food production / Energy / Water management Record No:H051299
Sustainable agricultural intensification requires irrigation methods and strategies to minimize yield penalties while optimizing water, land and energy use efficiencies. We assessed, from a silo-based and integrated water-energy-food (WEF) nexus perspective, the performance of irrigation technologies in different agro-climatic regions. Secondary to this, we assessed the impact of adopting systematic approaches such as the WEF nexus on improving efficiency in irrigated agriculture through irrigation modernization. The evidence-based perspectives of silo-based performances individually considered the metrics of yield (Y), water use efficiency (WUE), and energy productivity (EP). The WEF nexus approach applied sustainability polygons to integrate the three metrics into a nexus index representing the holistic performance of the irrigation technologies. Silo-based performance in temperate regions suggests net gains for WUE (+1.10 kg m-3 ) and Y (+6.29 ton ha-1 ) when transitioning from furrow to sprinkler irrigation, with a net loss in EP (-3.82 ton MJ-1 ). There is potential for a net loss on EP (-3.33 ton MJ-1 ) when transitioning from furrow to drip system in temperate regions. The best performance of irrigation technologies in dry regions in water, energy and food silos was achieved by sprinkler, drip and furrow irrigation systems, respectively. Thus, appraising irrigation technologies from a silos perspective promotes individual silos, which renders an unsustainable picture of the performance of irrigation systems. The integrative WEF nexus approach successfully highlighted the trade-offs and synergies in the nexus of water, energy and food in irrigated agriculture. Drip irrigation led all irrigation technologies in WEF nexus performance in dry (21.44 unit2 ), tropical (23.98 unit2 ), and temperate regions (47.28 unit2 ). Overall, the irrigation modernization pathway to drip technology from either furrow or sprinkler systems improves irrigated agriculture’s WEF nexus performance in all three regions for more crop per drop per joule per hectare under climate change. This can promote inclusive and sustainable irrigation development within the planetary boundaries.
Sustainable Development Goals / Drip irrigation / Sprinkler irrigation / Furrow irrigation / Silos / Resilience / Modernization / Irrigated farming / Yields / Water use efficiency / Water management / Sustainable agriculture / Integrated management / Nexus approaches / Food production / Energy consumption / Water productivity / Technology / Irrigation systems Record No:H051297
Land and water are vital resources for sustaining rural livelihoods and are critical for rural development as they form the basis of agriculture, the main economic activity for rural communities. Nevertheless, in most developing countries, land and water resources are unevenly distributed due to historical and socio-economic imbalances, hence the need for land reform policies to address these disparities. However, redistributing land without considering the interconnectedness of land and socio-ecological systems can compound existing food and water insecurity challenges. This study used a mixed research method, integrating both quantitative and qualitative data, to develop a framework to guide policy and decision-makers to formulate coherent strategies towards sustainable land redistribution programmes and achieve the desired outcomes. The approach was vital for integrating the broad and intricate interlinkages between water, land, and environmental resources. Therefore, the framework is based on transformative and circular models for informing strategic policy decisions towards sustainable land redistribution. The focus was on South Africa’s land redistribution plans and the implications on water and food security and rural development. The developed framework is designed to ensure the sustainability of agrarian reform and rural economic development. It is framed to address land and water accessibility inequalities, promote water and food security, and enhance rural development. A sustainable land redistribution increases the adaptive capacity of rural communities to climate change, enhances their resilience, and provides pathways towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Socioeconomic development / Climate change / Agriculture / Food production / Indicators / Agrarian reform / Constitution / Rural development / Livelihoods / Sustainable Development Goals / Planning / Nexus / Frameworks / Land distribution / Food security / Water security / Land reform / Sustainable land management Record No:H051229
Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs) are critical biodiversity areas for the conservation and sustainable use of biological and cultural resources while promoting regional peace, cooperation, and socio-economic development. Sustainable management of TFCAs is dependent on the availability of an eco-agriculture framework that promotes integrated management of conservation mosaics in terms of food production, environmental protection or the conservation of natural resources, and improved human livelihoods. As a developmental framework, eco-agriculture is significantly influenced by existing legal and governance structures at all levels; this study assessed the impact of existing legal and governance frameworks on eco-agriculture implementation in the Lubombo TFCA that cuts across the borders between Mozambique, Eswatini, and South Africa. The assessment used a mixed research method, including a document review, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions. Although the three countries have no eco-agriculture policies, biodiversity practices are directly or indirectly affected by some policies related to environmental protection, agriculture improvement, and rural development. The assessment found that South Africa has the most comprehensive policies related to eco-agriculture; Mozambican policies mainly focus on equity and involvement of disadvantaged social groups, while Eswatini is conspicuous for explicitly making it the responsibility of each citizen to protect and safeguard the environment. The protection of conservation areas is critical to preserving natural habitats and ensuring the continued provision of ecosystem services. The lack of transboundary governance structures results in the Lubombo TFCA existing as a treaty on paper, as there are no clear processes for transboundary cooperation and collaboration.
Local communities / Landscape approaches / Legislation / Policies / Sustainable livelihoods / Poverty alleviation / Resource conservation / Sustainable Development Goals / Ecosystems / Biodiversity conservation / Governance / Conservation areas / Eco-agriculture Record No:H051227
Case studies / Modelling / Spatial data / SADC countries / Capacity development / Farmers / Smallholders / Financing / Ecosystems / Environmental health / Public health / Catchment areas / Transboundary waters / Goal 7 Affordable and clean energy / Goal 6 Clean water and sanitation / Goal 2 Zero hunger / Sustainable Development Goals / Nexus / Food security / Energy resources / Water resources Record No:H051168
Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe; Senzanje, A.; Modi, A.; Jewitt, G.; Massawe, F. 2022. WEF nexus narratives: toward sustainable resource security. In Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe; Senzanje, A.; Modi, A.; Jewitt, G.; Massawe, F. (Eds.). Water - energy - food nexus narratives and resource securities: a global south perspective. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. pp.321-326. [DOI] More...
The water–food–energy (WEF) nexus narratives is a collection of expert inputs on the concepts, analytical tools and case studies, and key developments on the importance and applicability of the WEF nexus as a transformative and circular approach. This chapter provides a detailed summary of each chapter, providing the reader with what has been achieved through the WEF nexus application. The chapters provide practical applications of integrated resource management and the pathways toward sustainable development. The main subjects of discussion include data availability, modeling tools, indices development, and metrics and their application across multiple spatiotemporal scales.
Sustainable Development Goals / Nexus / Food security / Energy / Water resources Record No:H051173
The United Nations Food Systems Summit aimed to chart a path toward transforming food systems toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Despite the essentiality of water for food systems, however, the Summit has not sufficiently considered the role of water for food systems transformation. This focus is even more important due to rapidly worsening climate change and its pervasive impacts on food systems that are mediated through water. To avoid that water “breaks” food systems, key food systems actors should 1) Strengthen efforts to retain water-dependent ecosystems, their functions and services; 2) Improve agricultural water management; 3) Reduce water and food losses beyond the farmgate; 4) Coordinate water with nutrition and health interventions; 5) Increase the environmental sustainability of food systems; 6) Explicitly address social inequities; and 7) Improve data quality and monitoring for water-food system linkages.
Social aspects / Data quality / Monitoring / Diets / Public health / Goal 6 Clean water and sanitation / Goal 2 Zero hunger / Sustainable Development Goals / Climate change / Environmental sustainability / Ecosystems / Nutrition security / Food security / Water management / Water systems / Water security / Transformation / Food systems Record No:H051147
There are growing calls to adopt more sustainable forms of agriculture that balance the need to increase production with environmental, human health, and wellbeing concerns. Part of this conversation has included a debate on promoting and mainstreaming neglected and underutilized crop species (NUS) because they represent a more ecologically friendly type of agriculture. We conducted a systematic review to determine the ecosystem services derived from NUS and assess their potential to promote functional ecological diversity, food and nutritional security, and transition to more equitable, inclusive, sustainable and resilient agricultural landscapes and food systems in Africa. Our literature search yielded 35 articles for further analysis. The review showed that NUS provide various provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting ecosystem services and several environmental and health co-benefits, dietary diversity, income, sustainable livelihood outcomes, and economic empowerment, especially for women. Importantly, NUS address the three pillars of sustainable development- ecological, social, and economic. Thus, NUS may provide a sustainable, fit-for-purpose transformative ecosystem-based adaptation solution for Africa to transition to more sustainable, healthy, equitable, and resilient agricultural landscapes and food systems.
Systematic reviews / Policies / Cultural services / Habitats / Ecological factors / Climate change / Sustainable Development Goals / Socioeconomic development / Income / Role of women / Gender equality / Resilience / Food systems / Agricultural landscape / Sustainable livelihoods / Poverty alleviation / Nutrition security / Food security / Sustainable agriculture / Diversification / Crops / Underutilized species / Ecosystem services / Biodiversity Record No:H051093
The global goal to end hunger requires the interpretation of problems and change across multiple domains to create the scope for collaboration, learning, and impactful research. We facilitated a workshop aimed at understanding how stakeholders problematize sustainable diet transition (SDT) among a previously marginalized social group. Using the systems thinking approach, three sub-systems, namely access to dietary diversity, sustainable beneficiation of natural capital, and ‘food choice for well-being’, highlighted the main forces governing the current context, and future interventions of the project. Moreover, when viewed as co-evolving processes within the multi-level perspective, our identified microlevel leverage points—multi-faceted literacy, youth empowerment, deliberative policymaking, and promotion of sustainable diet aspirations—can be linked and developed through existing national macro-level strategies. Thus, co-designing to problematize transformational SDT, centered on an interdisciplinary outlook and informational governance, could streamline research implementation outcomes to re-structure socio-technical sectors and reconnect people to nature-based solutions. Such legitimate aspirations could be relevant in countries bearing complex socio-political legacies and bridge the local–global goals coherently. This work provides a collaborative framework required to develop impact-driven activities needed to inform evidence-based policies on sustainable diets.
Strategies / Socioeconomic aspects / Farmers / Smallholders / Stakeholders / Policies / Marginalization / Communities / Sustainable Development Goals / Agrifood systems / Healthy diets Record No:H051024
Irvine, K.; Dickens, Chris; Castello, L.; Bredin, I.; Finlayson, C. M. 2022. Vegetated wetlands: from ecology to conservation management. In Dalu, T.; Wasserman, R. J. (Eds.). Fundamentals of tropical freshwater wetlands: from ecology to conservation management. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. pp.589-639. [DOI] More...
The COVID-19 pandemic has underlined the importance of safe access to sufficient clean water in vulnerable communities, renewing interest in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programs and related targets under Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6). The purpose of this study was to better understand the obstacles to water access in vulnerable communities and identify ways they might be addressed in five countries in the Mekong Region (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam). To this end, qualitative interviews with 50 government officials and development or health experts were complimented with a quantitative survey of the experiences and views of individuals in 15 vulnerable communities. There were several key findings. First, difficulties in accessing sufficient clean water for drinking and hygiene persist in certain vulnerable communities, including informal urban settlements, remote minority villages, and migrant worker camps. Second, limited rights, high prices, and remote locations were common obstacles to household access to improved water sources. Third, seasonal differences in the availability of clean water, alongside other disruptions to supply such as restrictions on movement in COVID-19 responses, drove households towards lower quality sources. Fourth, there are multiple threats to water quality from source to consumption that should be addressed by monitoring, treatment, and watershed protection. Fifth, stakeholder groups differ from each other and residents of vulnerable communities regarding the significance of water access, supply and quality difficulties, and how they should be addressed. The paper ends with a set of program suggestions addressing these water-related difficulties.
Villages / Monitoring / Prices / Water rights / Water treatment / Water quality / Water shortage / Water supply / Drinking water / Goal 6 Clean water and sanitation / Sustainable Development Goals / Water, sanitation and hygiene / Vulnerability / Communities / Stakeholders / COVID-19 / Households / Domestic water / Water availability Record No:H050976
International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 2022. IWMI Annual report 2021. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI) 58p. [DOI] More... | Fulltext (5.44 MB)
Partnerships / Women / Social inclusion / Gender equality / Water law / Climate resilience / Climate change / Ecosystems / Innovation / Agrifood systems / Irrigation systems / Environmental flows / Sustainable Development Goals / Weather index insurance / Solar powered irrigation systems / Farmer-led irrigation / Research programmes / Water security / Water management Record No:H051770
This is a report on the survey of WEF Nexus teaching in selected higher education and tertiary institutions in South Africa, outcomes of the WEF Nexus short training programmes, and the development of WEF Nexus teaching material.
The report presents the survey results on WEF Nexus teaching in South African higher and tertiary education institutions. The main findings of the survey are that; there is general knowledge of the WEF Nexus in the country, some of the institutions have been involved in WEF Nexus apos;trainingapos; for a while now, WEF Nexus activities are found mainly in water-related departments at most institutions, WEF Nexus related work is mainly embedded in MSc and PhD research programmes, the WEF Nexus covered are wide but focused mainly on concepts, frameworks and application of models and tools. Most believed WEF Nexus should be focused on postgraduate students, and their institutions would welcome WEF Nexus-related teaching and learning.
The deliverable also reports two WEF Nexus short course training undertaken in 2021 and 2022, initially virtually (due to Covid-19 restrictions) and then in person in 2022. The short courses were very well received, attracting more than 80 participants worldwide for the virtual versions and some 50 students for the in-person training. Details of the course contents of the training are presented in the report.
Sustainable Development Goals / Training / Learning / Teaching / Curriculum / Educational institutions / Nexus approaches / Food security / Energy / Water resources Record No:H051651
Burkina Faso has a huge opportunity and natural resources to develop circular bioeconomy (CBE) sector. The agricultural sector employs 63% of the employed workforce and contributes to 16% of the Gross Domestic Product. Large production of cereals results in large quantities of agricultural residues. In a country where the industrial sector is still in its infancy, CBE solutions offer significant opportunities for reconfiguring economies, labor and resource use. However, implementing CBE solutions remains at small scale and scaling up faces numerous challenges. This report reviews the enabling environment - drivers, barriers, and opportunities for promoting CBE initiatives in the country and presents conclusions and recommendations.
Residues / Cereals / Agricultural sector / Sustainable development / Financial policies / Bioeconomy Record No:H051639
Background: Climate change has perverse efects on the natural resource base and agricultural productivity, negatively afecting the well-being of households and communities. There are various attempts by the government and NGOs to promote climate-smart agricultural (CSA) practices to help farmers adapt to and mitigate these negative impacts. This study aimed to identify CSA practices widely adopted in the study area and examined their impacts on rural farm households’ food security and multidimensional poverty. A three-stage proportional to size sampling procedure was followed to select four districts out of nine districts, and 278 households were randomly selected from two kebeles from each district. A cross-sectional data of the 2020–2021 cropping season were collected using a structured and pretested survey questionnaire. The food consumption score, dietary diversity score, food insecurity experience scale, and multidimensional poverty index, constructed out of 9 indicators, were used to assess households’ food security and poverty status, respectively. A multinomial endogenous switching regression model was used to assess average treatment efects on these outcome indicators.
Results: Widely adopted CSA practices are conservation agriculture, soil fertility management, crop diversifcation, and small-scale irrigation. The results illustrated that adopter households on average showed more food consumption score, dietary diversity score, and less food insecurity experience scale than non-adopters. The results also showed that CSA adopter households, on average, have a low deprivation score in multidimensional poverty than non-adopter households. Accelerating wider adoption of CSA through up-scaling incentives is quite important.
Conclusion: This study showed that CSA adoption improves households’ food security and reduces multidimensional poverty. We conclude that up-scaling of CSA practices is important for contributing to the achievement of SDG1, SDG2 and SDG13 targets.
Sustainable and resilient food systems depend on sustainable and resilient water management. Resilience is characterised by overlapping decision spaces and scales and interdependencies among water users and competing sectors. Increasing water scarcity, due to climate change and other environmental and societal changes, makes putting caps on the consumption of water resources indispensable. Implementation requires an understanding of different domains, actors, and their objectives, and drivers and barriers to transformational change. We suggest a scale-specific approach, in which agricultural water use is embedded in a larger systems approach (including natural and human systems). This approach is the basis for policy coherence and the design of effective incentive schemes to change agricultural water use behaviour and, therefore, optimise the water we eat.
Sustainable Development Goals / Resilience / Climate change / Water users / Groundwater / Water management / Water productivity / Water scarcity / Water resources / Food security / Food production / Agricultural production / Policies / Agrifood systems / Water use efficiency / Sustainable use / Agricultural water use Record No:H050852
The history of Karamoja, a subregion in the far northeast of Uganda, is complex and scarred by conflict. For centuries, this subregion has been a remote area of agropastoralism situated on the sociological and ecological border between the Nile and Turkana basins. At the far eastern tip of the Nile Basin, a sweeping escarpment from Karamoja runs down into the Lake Turkana Basin with major temperature and rainfall gradients that result in significant patterns of transhumance, as the Turkana people to the east seek access to the more plentiful water and grazing resources in Karamoja to the west. In this paper, we call this complex of relations and resources the ‘Karamoja-Turkana Complex’ (KTC) and examine the political-economy relationships therein.
We look at policy on water resources management and development, including choices made on siting and developing water sources, the kinds of narratives employed by the government, and the underlying tensions and conflicts between major social groups sharing these scarce resources. We base our analysis of the situation on a wider assessment of the water management challenges combined with a detailed examination of two large dams – Arachek and Longoromit – recently constructed in the Karamoja subregion.
Findings from the study highlighted that (i) interlinked systems within the KTC can generate new disputes and pressures on resources; (ii) water management within Karamoja and Turkana requires a broader view that extends beyond the watershed, because competition for water is part of the wider context of KTC; and (iii) power structures and processes associated with the development of water structures are important but poorly understood despite continued resource allocation.
The paper makes four recommendations: (i) catchment management institutions need to take ownership of new developments; (ii) a checklist is provided to achieve more effective outcomes from the siting and design of surface water storage structures; (iii) improve management oversight after completion of projects; and (iv) undertake water-pasture management consultations across the KTC.
Case studies / Sustainable Development Goals / Women / Gender / Communities / Water user associations / Water institutions / Water authorities / Water governance / Policies / Resilience / Rain / Climate change / Water scarcity / Dams / Water availability / Resource allocation / Livelihoods / Agropastoral systems / State intervention / Social aspects / Conflicts / Planning / Water resources development / Integrated management / Catchment areas / Political ecology / Water management Record No:H050663
Ringler, C.; Agbonlahor, M.; Baye, K.; Barron, J.; Hafeez, Mohsin; Lundqvist, J.; Meenakshi, J. V.; Mehta, L.; Mekonnen, D.; Rojas-Ortuste, F.; Tankibayeva, A.; Uhlenbrook, Stefan. 2021. Water for food systems and nutrition. Food Systems Summit Brief. In von Braun, J.; Afsana, K.; Fresco, L. O.; Hassan, M. (Eds.). Science and innovations for food systems transformation and summit actions: papers by the Scientific Group and its partners in support of the UN Food Systems Summit 2021. Bonn, Germany: University of Bonn. Center for Development Research (ZEF). pp.251-259. More... | Fulltext (29.4 MB)
Access to sufficient and clean freshwater is essential for all life. Water is also essential for food system functioning: as a key input into food production, but also in processing and preparation, and as a food itself. Water scarcity and pollution are growing, affecting poorer populations, particularly food producers. Malnutrition levels are also on the rise, and this is closely linked to water scarcity. The achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 and SDG 6 are co-dependent. Solutions to jointly improve food systems and water security outcomes that the United Nations Food Security Summit (UNFSS) should consider include: 1) strengthening efforts to retain water-based ecosystems and their functions; 2) improving agricultural water management for better diets for all; 3) reducing water and food losses beyond the farmgate; 4) coordinating water with nutrition and health interventions; 5) increasing the environmental sustainability of food systems; 6) explicitly addressing social inequities in water-nutrition linkages; and 7) improving data quality and monitoring for water-food system linkages, drawing on innovations in information and communications technology (ICT).
Ecosystems / Environmental sustainability / Climate change / Health / Malnutrition / Water pollution / Water scarcity / Irrigation / Water management / Agriculture / Goal 2 Zero hunger / Goal 6 Clean water and sanitation / Sustainable Development Goals / Food security / Nutrition / Food systems / Water security Record No:H050672
Sustainable development demands reliable water resources, yet traditional water management has broadly failed to avoid environmental degradation and contain infrastructure costs. We explore the global-scale feasibility of combining natural capital with engineering-based (green-gray) approaches to meet water security threats over the 21st century. Threats to water resource systems are projected to rise throughout this period, together with a significant expansion in engineering deployments and progressive loss of natural capital. In many parts of the world, strong path dependencies are projected to arise from the legacy of prior environmental degradation that constrains future water management to a heavy reliance on engineering-based approaches. Elsewhere, retaining existing stocks of natural capital creates opportunities to employ blended green-gray water infrastructure. By 2050, annual engineering expenditures are projected to triple to $2.3 trillion, invested mainly in developing economies. In contrast, preserving natural capital for threat suppression represents a potential $3.0 trillion in avoided replacement costs by mid-century. Society pays a premium whenever these nature-based assets are lost, as the engineering costs necessary to achieve an equivalent level of threat management are, on average, twice as expensive. Countries projected to rapidly expand their engineering investments while losing natural capital will be most constrained in realizing green-gray water management. The situation is expected to be most restrictive across the developing world, where the economic, technical, and governance capacities to overcome such challenges remain limited. Our results demonstrate that policies that support blended green-gray approaches offer a pathway to future global water security but will require a strategic commitment to preserving natural capital. Absent such stewardship, the costs of water resource infrastructure and services will likely rise substantially and frustrate efforts to attain universal and sustainable water security.
Economic aspects / Frameworks / Investment / Forecasting / Environmental degradation / Sustainable Development Goals / Ecosystem services / Natural capital / Infrastructure / Water management / Water resources / Water security Record No:H050666
The role of hydropower in the renewable energy mix for Africaapos;s green development is widely recognised and underpinned by respective government and development partner funded initiatives. However, the growing demand for energy must be balanced with considerations for resource protection and benefit sharing of water resource developments with vulnerable human communities. An international conference on water stewardship for sustainable hydropower brought together key stakeholders in Nairobi, Kenya. This paper aims to synthesise the key messages of experts who attended the conference, presents the emerging body of good practice policies, plans and action in developing sustainable hydropower in Sub-Saharan Africa, and provides recommendations for the way forward. Outcomes of the conference include considerations, planning for sustainable resource development, resource protection considerations, sharing of resource development benefits, and putting the promise into practice. This discussion describes the nature of our planning and management mistakes in the past, presents good practice options and how to implement sustainable hydropower in the future.
Dams / Environmental flows / Society / Sustainable development / Decision making / Multi-stakeholder processes / Resource management / Renewable energy / Hydropower / Planning / Water management / Water resources Record No:H050665
Case studies / Sustainable Development Goals / Markets / Risk management / Water use / Water availability / Water resources / Farmer-led irrigation / Smallholders / Pumping / Solar energy / Groundwater irrigation Record No:H050613
DeClerck, F. A. J.; Koziell, I.; Sidhu, A.; Wirths, J.; Benton, T.; Garibaldi, L. A.; Kremen, C.; Maron, M.; Rumbaitis del Rio, C.; Clark, M.; Dickens, Chris; Estrada-Carmona, N.; Fremier, A. K.; Jones, S. K.; Khoury, C. K.; Lal, R.; Obersteiner, M.; Remans, R.; Rusch, A.; Schulte, L. A.; Simmonds, J.; Stringer, L. C.; Weber, C.; Winowiecki, L. 2021. Biodiversity and agriculture: rapid evidence review. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE) 70p. [DOI] More... | Fulltext (7.29 MB)
Developing countries / Genetic diversity (as resource) / Pest control / Pollination / Soil fertility / Agricultural landscape / Investment / Policies / Sustainable Development Goals / Resilience / Climate change mitigation / Water security / Water quality / Environmental security / Habitats / Ecosystem services / Agroecology / Diversification / Food production / Food security / Livelihoods / Nutrition / Healthy diets / Agricultural productivity / Food systems / Agrobiodiversity Record No:H050605
Farmers / Stakeholders / Policy making / Water policies / Food security / Climate change / Groundwater / Water management / Water resources / Sustainable Development Goals / Water accounting / Water allocation / Agricultural water use / Water scarcity / Water productivity Record No:H050553
Case studies / Farmers / Policy making / Water policies / Climate change / Irrigation efficiency / Groundwater / Water management / Water resources / Sustainable Development Goals / Water accounting / Water allocation / Agricultural water use / Water scarcity / Water productivity Record No:H050554
Dickens, Chris; McCartney, Matthew. 2021. Water-Related Ecosystems. In Filho, W. L.; Azul, A. M.; Brandli, L.; Salvia, A. L.; Wall, T. (Eds.). Clean water and sanitation. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. 10p. (Online first) (Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals)[DOI] More...
Development indicators / Water quality / Rivers / Wetlands / Environmental flows / Biodiversity / Aquatic ecosystems / Goal 15 Life on land / Goal 13 Climate action / Goal 6 Clean water and sanitation / Sustainable Development Goals / Ecosystem services / Freshwater ecosystems Record No:H050496
Value chain for development (VCD) has increasingly been promoted for poverty reduction; yet, there is inadequate evidence on its effectiveness. Based on a comprehensive literature review, this article offers reasons why evidence on VCD impacts on poverty reduction is uncertain. It also suggests a conceptual framework for the poor-centred value chain for sustainable development to guide a better analysis of VCD participation and poverty impacts. The framework is particularly useful for researchers involved in research for development related projects in the VCD space. As it provides an analytical lens to understand the broader contextual situation of the poor, co-design solutions with multi-stakeholders and implement appropriate “fit-toneeds” strategies that ensure the poor benefits from their VCD participation. The article contributes to the existing VCD discourse by reflecting on the multidimensional nature and dynamism of poverty reduction, the poorapos;s heterogeneity and their value chain readiness and VCD impacts on poverty.
Markets / Participation / Governance / Social aspects / Assets / Households / Communities / Strategies / Frameworks / Multi-stakeholder processes / Livelihood diversification / Poverty / Sustainable development / Value chain analysis Record No:H050494
A necessary extension of the concept of Resource Recovery and Reuse with an even higher priority is the prevention and reduction of waste. One concern, in particular, is food waste, which constitutes the largest share of human waste. Target 12.3 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is to ‘halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses, by 2030’. For this report, over 400 businesses were analyzed to identify common approaches and business models to address the food waste challenge. The business models are presented under seven categories – measurement, redistribution, resell, value addition, responsible waste collection, resource recovery, and recycling – with a special focus on their application potential to the Global South.
Irrigation represents a long-standing water sector investment in South East Asia. However, despite the undeniable benefits of food production, an irrigation/rice-centric strategy is insufficient in a multi-dimensional conceptualisation of development. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) challenge us to re-think traditional ways of achieving food security. Central to this challenge is how we can retain multi-functionality within landscapes. We explore the often negatively correlated relationship between irrigation and inland fisheries through a literature review and interviews with key informants, focusing on examples from Myanmar and Cambodia. We found that whilst technical options exist for minimizing irrigation impacts on fisheries, there is a fundamental disconnect between the technical application of such ‘solutions’, and distribution of benefits to the marginal groups that SDGs 1, 2, 3 and more target. We found that insufficient recognition of the social contexts in which solutions are applied underpins this disconnect. This means that technical infrastructure design needs to be organised around the question, ‘Who do we want to benefit?’, if investments are to go beyond rice/fish production and deliver more on socially inclusive food security and livelihood opportunities. This paper is a call to extend the framing and financing of irrigation investments beyond technical parameters to include investing in the social processes that enable both multi-functionality and inclusive growth, to enhance the role of irrigation in adapting to a changing climate, while maintaining landscape integrity and multi-functionality so necessary for a sustainable future.
Policies / Inclusion / Social aspects / Poverty / Livelihoods / Community fishing / Access and benefit-sharing / Food security / Nutrition security / Sustainable Development Goals / Investment / Irrigation / Ricefield aquaculture / Inland fisheries / Fishery management Record No:H050440
Implementing a circular economy approach to sanitation requires knowledge of the costs to construct, operate and maintain resource-oriented systems. Yet the dearth of data on costs of urban sanitation in general, and resource-oriented systems in particular, limit opportunities to progress sustainable sanitation in low- and middle-income countries. This paper contributes empirical data on the life-cycle costs of a resource-oriented sanitation system in urban Sri Lanka, addressing a gap in evidence about how much it costs, and who pays, for a system that integrates fecal sludge management with nutrient capture and reuse. Costs across the system life-cycle were analyzed according to: (i) cost type; (ii) phases of the sanitation chain; and (iii) distribution between actors. Over a 25-year lifespan, the system had an annualized cost of USD 2.8/person or USD 11/m3 of septage treated. Revenue from co-compost sales covered reuse-related costs plus 8% of present value costs for other phases of the sanitation chain. Findings affirm both the potential for resource-oriented sanitation to generate revenue, and the need for substantial complementary investment in the overall system. The system was found to be reliant on household investment, yet financially viable from the service provider perspective with revenue from desludging services (89%) and co-compost sales (11%) that exceeded costs over the system lifespan and in most years. The analysis of total costs, financial perspectives, and reuse specifics contributes critical evidence to inform policy and planning that supports a purposeful and equitable transition towards circular economy approaches to sanitation.
Sustainable Development Goals / Investment / Local government / Households / Urban areas / Composting / Desludging / Reuse / Resource recovery / Waste treatment / Faecal sludge / Financial viability / Economic aspects / Cost analysis / Sanitation / Waste management Record No:H050437
Access to sufficient and clean freshwater is essential for all life. Water is also essential for food system functioning: as a key input into food production, but also in processing and preparation, and as a food itself. Water scarcity and pollution are growing, affecting poorer populations, particularly food producers. Malnutrition levels are also on the rise, and this is closely linked to water scarcity. Achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG 2) and Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) are co-dependent. Solutions to jointly improve food systems and water security outcomes that the United Nations Food Security Summit (UNFSS) should consider include: 1) Strengthening efforts to retain water-based ecosystems and their functions; 2) Improving agricultural water management for better diets for all; 3) Reducing water and food losses beyond the farmgate; 4) Coordinating water with nutrition and health interventions; 5) Increasing the environmental sustainability of food systems; 6) Explicitly addressing social inequities in water-nutrition linkages; and 7) Improving data quality and monitoring for water-food system linkages, drawing on innovations in information and communications technology (ICT).
Ecosystems / Environmental sustainability / Climate change / Health / Malnutrition / Water pollution / Water scarcity / Water management / Agriculture / Goal 2 Zero hunger / Goal 6 Clean water and sanitation / Sustainable Development Goals / Nutrition / Food systems / Water security Record No:H050435
Worldwide, off-grid solar photovoltaic irrigation is currently being developed with the expectation that it will help secure water access to increase food production, reduce fuel-based carbon emissions and energy costs, and increase human resilience to climate change. In developing countries across the Middle East and North Africa, South East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, the adoption of solar technology in agriculture to lift groundwater is rapidly expanding, following decreases in pump costs, economic incentives, and development partner initiatives. Solar irrigation potentially provides a cost-effective and sustainable energy source to secure food production and sustain livelihoods in line with multiple Sustainable Development Goals, but achieving such potential requires improved policies and institutions to coordinate across numerous stakeholders, objectives, and approaches. This paper uses cases and observations from across regions to propose a framework to support policy, regulation, and monitoring for environmentally sustainable and socio-economically inclusive solar irrigation investments. While not exhaustive, the components seek to address the intersection of energy, water and food security, as well as social equity. The paper emphasizes the need for an understanding of how solar irrigation can be scaled to be both accessible for smallholder farmers and environmentally sustainable.
Women / Livelihoods / Sustainable Development Goals / Financing / Investment / Policies / Institutions / Markets / Supply chains / Monitoring / Regulations / Stakeholders / Pumps / Water lifting / Groundwater / Environmental sustainability / Smallholders / Small scale farming / Technology / Photovoltaic systems / Farmer-led irrigation / Solar energy Record No:H050433
Bantider, A.; Haileslassie, Amare; Alamirew, T.; Zeleke, G. 2021. Soil and water conservation and sustainable development. In Filho, W. L.; Azul, A. M.; Brandli, L.; Salvia, A. L.; Wall, T. (Eds.). Clean water and sanitation. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. 13p. (Online first). (Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals)[DOI] More...
Policies / Technology / Participatory research / knowledge / Indigenous peoplesapos / Watersheds / Land degradation / Soil erosion / Sustainable land management / Water management / Soil management / Sustainable Development Goals / Water conservation / Soil conservation Record No:H050434
Otte, A.; Coates, D.; Connor, R.; Roder, G.; Hebart-Coleman, D.; Klimes, M.; Yaari, E.; Gutierrez, M. T.; Crawhall, N.; Kinna, R.; de Souza, M.; Mach, E.; van Koppen, Barbara; Webley, N. 2021. Culture and the values of water. In UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP); UN-Water. The United Nations World Water Development Report 2021: valuing water. Paris, France: UNESCO. pp.97-106. More... | Fulltext (15.9 MB)
Decision making / International cooperation / International waters / Cultural heritage / Indigenous peoples / Customary law / Ecosystem services / Sustainable Development Goals / Valuation / Water resources / Cultural values Record No:H050381
We have one Earth and one water resource defining our living space. We are the key custodians for safeguarding these resources, which underpin the healthy and peaceful environment in which we all want to live. We cannot expand the physical boundaries, but we can stretch our perspectives to achieve water sustainability through global solidarity and considering water inside Earth’s crust: groundwater.
Sustainable Development Goals / Environmental factors / Globalization / Climate change / Aquifers / Groundwater / Food security / Water security / Water management / Water resources Record No:H050371
Chapman, D. V.; Warner, S.; Dickens, Chris. 2021. Approaches to water monitoring. In Filho, W. L.; Azul, A. M.; Brandli, L.; Salvia, A. L.; Wall, T. (Eds.). Clean water and sanitation. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. 11p. (Online first). (Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals)[DOI] More...
Citizen science / Indicators / Goal 6 Clean water and sanitation / Sustainable Development Goals / Observation / Groundwater / Lakes / Rivers / Water resources / Assessment / Approaches / Monitoring / Water quality Record No:H050315
The source-to-sea continuum links the interconnected ecosystems of the water cycle with the associated socioeconomic processes, demands and pressures. Maximizing benefits and protecting existing resources through integrated water management and governance at scale capitalizes on existing institutional and governmental asymmetries by developing an outcome-driven management that builds on existing local, national and transboundary legal frameworks to enhance connectivity. This paper presents how to action this through focusing on three areas of governance: benefit-sharing dialogues for shared visioning; a multi-stakeholder platform to increase coordination in decision-making both up- and downstream; and improved agency coordination between basins and coasts.
Sustainable Development Goals / Ecosystem services / International waters / Coastal areas / River basins / Coordination / Benefits / Cooperation / Agencies / Institutions / Learning / Decision making / Multi-stakeholder processes / Resilience / Marine environment / Freshwater / Water management / Water resources / Integrated management / Water governance Record No:H050310
Financing / Enterprises / Water user associations / Refugees / Displacement / Political aspects / Conflicts / Water rights / Water law / International law / Agricultural insurance / Vulnerability / Drought / Flooding / Disaster risk reduction / Climate change / Water scarcity / Wastewater treatment / Water management / Water resources / Integrated management / Rural areas / Water supply / s empowerment / Womenapos / Gender / Hygiene / Goal 6 Clean water and sanitation / Sustainable Development Goals / Water governance / Water policy Record No:H050271
Modelling / Machine learning / Technology / River basins / Deltas / Hydrogeology / Cold zones / Arid zones / Urbanization / Sustainable Development Goals / Livelihoods / Drought / Climate change / Monitoring / Environmental control / Desalination / Freshwater / Brackish water / Surface water / Domestic water / Water use efficiency / International waters / Water storage / Agricultural production / Aquifers / Groundwater recharge / Arsenic / Pollutants / Chemical substances / Contamination / Water quality / Groundwater pollution / Groundwater irrigation / Water governance / Water supply / Water availability / Water security / Sustainability / Water scarcity / Water resources / Groundwater management Record No:H050267
Yu, W.; Rex, William; McCartney, Matthew; Uhlenbrook, Stefan; von Gnechten, Rachel; Priscoli, J. D. 2021. Storing water: a new integrated approach for resilient development. : Stockholm, Sweden: Global Water Partnership (GWP); Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI) 28p. (GWP Perspectives Paper 13) More... | Fulltext (0.99 MB)
This paper outlines a new and integrated water storage agenda for resilient development in a world increasingly characterised by water stress and climate uncertainty and variability.; Storing water has long been a cornerstone of socio-economic development, particularly for societies exposed to large climatic variability. Nature has always supplied the bulk of water storage on earth, but built storage has increased significantly, particularly over the twentieth century. Today, numerous countries suffer from water storage gaps and increasingly variable precipitation, threatening sustainable development and even societal stability. There is a growing need to develop more storage types and manage existing storage better. At the same time, the policy, engineering, and scientific communities may not fully recognise the extent of these storage gaps and how best to manage them. There are large and uncertain costs and benefits of different types of storage, and developing storage can be risky and controversial. Although there is consensus that built and natural storage are fundamentally complementary, there is still no pragmatic agenda to guide future integrated water storage development.; This paper argues that water storage should be recognised as a service rather than only a facility. More than volumes of water stored behind a dam or in a watershed, what ultimately matters is the ability to provide different services at a particular time and place with a given level of assurance. Integrated storage systems should be developed and managed to deliver a targeted service standard. This will reduce the costs of new storage development and make the benefits more sustainable.; As this paper demonstrates, there are numerous data gaps pertaining to water storage, as well as a need for greater clarity on some key concepts. This paper does not introduce new data or research but rather provides a review of some of the current knowledge and issues around water storage, and outlines a new, integrated and constructive water storage agenda for the decades to come.
Wetlands / Reservoirs / Glaciers / River basins / Lakes / Dams / Aquifers / Groundwater / Soil moisture / Rainfall patterns / Risk / Water demand / Infrastructure / Water supply / Socioeconomic development / Resilience / Climate change / Sustainable development / Water management / Water resources / Integrated management / Water storage Record No:H050263
Sustainable Development Goals / Gender / Models / Innovation / Digital divide / Social change / Water systems / Inclusion / Equity / Information and Communication Technologies Record No:H050850
Infrastructure investment is one of the main preconditions for enabling developing countries to accelerate or sustain the pace of their development and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. This paper examines the determinants of agricultural water infrastructure investments in the Kingdom of Eswatini. Using annual data (time series); Pearson Pair-wise Correlation, Unit-root tests and OLS regression techniques are applied to determine the relationship between public infrastructure investment and factors that influence public investments. Agricultural water infrastructure investment is found to be positively correlated to GDP, Sugar export income and FDI into agriculture. Past economic growth and sugar export values are the two critical determinants of agricultural water infrastructure investments in Eswatini. It can be safely construed that higher incomes as well as terms of trade for sugar, can improve spending on agriculture water investments. This is important because an increase in investments in water infrastructure may then help spur economic growth.
Public sector / Savings / Government / Financing / Income / Exports / Sugar industry / Sustainable development / Economic theories / Macroeconomic analysis / Gross national product / Economic growth / Public investment / Infrastructure / Water supply / Agriculture Record No:H050166
The Nexus Approach to environmental resources management is increasingly recognized as an important vehicle to achieve sustainability as spelled out in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In particular, it was argued that the Nexus Approach is key for the sustainable use of environmental resources under conditions of global change and provides a tool to deal with challenges of global change including climate change, urbanization and population growth. Building on conceptual considerations with regard to monitoring and implementation outlined earlier, here, we explore how the Nexus Approach may provide solutions for managing resources in multifunctional land-use systems and resilient cities. In fact, the resources perspective is essential for holistic management of water, soil and waste along the urban–rural axis. Peri-urban areas provide perfect examples of multifunctional systems with manyfold opportunities to closing cycles, improve resource efficiency and mitigate trade-offs. Cases described in this book provide both positive as well as negative examples of what can be achieved by applying nexus thinking and what goes wrong if you don’t. Key messages emerging include: (i) participatory approaches are a central element for successful implementation of a nexus approach, (ii) effective mechanisms of knowledge transfer are a prerequisite of adoption and upscaling of nexus approaches and (iii) the lack of economic incentives and lack of data represent major challenges for the implementation of a nexus approach. Overall, the importance of a nexus mindset of all stakeholders involved in nexus cases and of providing an enabling environment by nexus-oriented governance, including appropriate economic instruments, was confirmed.
Monitoring / Environmental factors / Water resources / Incentives / Economic aspects / Participatory approaches / Land use / Rural urban relations / Towns / Nexus / Sustainable Development Goals / Resource management Record No:H050117
This report examines social equality aspects related to resource recovery through solid waste composting and wastewater irrigation. The report shows that women are represented in greatest numbers at the base of the recycling chain, most often as informal waste pickers and as sorters of recyclables with limited access to resources and upward mobility. Despite a wide gender gap in the solid waste and sanitation sectors, women play a key role in both municipal waste reduction and food safety where irrigation water is unsafe. Analyzing the gender dimension is important for understanding household responses to recycling programs, differences between the formal and informal sectors as well as along the waste-to-resource value chain from collection to treatment and reuse. The report stresses the important role of women in household waste management, including waste segregation, and the power of women-dominated waste picker associations, where the informal sector plays an essential role alongside the formal sector.
Farmers / Entrepreneurs / Social marketing / Community involvement / Sanitation / Health hazards / Sustainable Development Goals / Wastewater irrigation / Composting / Organic wastes / Wastewater treatment / Recycling / Waste collection / Faecal sludge / Household wastes / Urban wastes / s participation / Womenapos / Business models / Circular economy / Agricultural value chains / Liquid wastes / Solid wastes / Waste management / Social equality / Gender equity / Water reuse / Resource management / Resource recovery Record No:H050720
McCartney, Matthew; Dickens, Chris. 2021. Landscape regeneration and the role of water. In Filho, W. L.; Azul, A. M.; Brandli, L.; Salvia, A. L.; Wall, T. (Eds.). Clean water and sanitation. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. 10p. (Online first). (Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals)[DOI] More...
Land degradation / Water quality / Flooding / Runoff / Rivers / Wetlands / Grasslands / Forests / Sustainable Development Goals / Freshwater ecosystems / Water resources / Environmental restoration / Landscape conservation Record No:H050016
International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 2021. IWMI Annual report 2020. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI) 62p. [DOI] More... | Fulltext (5.08 MB)
Wetlands / Biodiversity / Environmental health / Water user associations / Inclusion / Youth / s participation / Womenapos / Gender equality / Livelihoods / Poverty reduction / Crop insurance / Resilience / Climate change mitigation / Climate change adaptation / Groundwater / Farmer-led irrigation / Solar energy / Wastewater / Waste management / Water policies / Public health / Nutrition / Food security / Partnerships / Research programmes / Innovation / Sustainable Development Goals / Water security / Water management Record No:H050677
Climate change / Sustainable Development Goals / Sanitation / Right to water / Youth / Women / Society / Water policy / Water governance / Water security Record No:H050215
In 2019, Sri Lanka introduced two policies that referred to food waste and the need to reduce it. To understand key stakeholders’ readiness in this context, this study analyzed the food waste perceptions of private and public sectors in Colombo (open markets, supermarkets, hotels, restaurants, canteens, food caterers and key authorities). Interviews were carried out with operational managers and public officials, as well as other stakeholders who have roles in food waste redistribution and reuse, such as NGOs and the livestock sector. So far, the food-waste-related policy recommendations lack an operational inter-institutional home which can build on measures, like standards, regulations and incentives. Thus, most food waste reduction initiatives are initiated by NGOs or by the private sector, e.g., by larger hotels and supermarket chains. These entities were ready to lead by example, based on the understanding that urban food waste is an internal (financial) management challenge. Among smaller local entities, food waste was perceived more as an external issue to be handled by the city’s waste collection services. Although perceptions varied between entities generating smaller or larger quantities of food waste, there was general agreement that suboptimal capacities and mechanisms to quantify, monitor and cost food waste generation appeared to be obstacles for in-depth awareness creation and action. There was significant interest in communication platforms for cross-sectoral learning, win/win collaborations with reliable collection (reuse) services that are currently operational, such as those provided by piggeries, as well as surplus redistribution initiatives if food safety and related liabilities can be addressed effectively.
Sustainable Development Goals / Livestock feed / Policies / Training / Awareness raising / Local authorities / Stakeholders / Landfills / Urban areas / Resource recovery / Recycling / Waste treatment / Food surplus / Waste management / Strategies / Waste reduction / Food wastes Record No:H050177
Dickens, Chris; O’Brien, G. 2021. Water quality: standards and indicators. In Filho, W. L.; Azul, A. M.; Brandli, L.; Salvia, A. L.; Wall, T. (Eds.). Clean water and sanitation. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. 11p. (Online first) (Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals)[DOI] More...
Databases / Ecosystems / Water users / Goal 6 Clean water and sanitation / Sustainable Development Goals / Drinking water / Monitoring / Indicators / Water quality standards Record No:H051028
Changes in land use and land cover (LULC) are the leading contributors to the decline and loss of ecosystem services in the world. The present study covered the Central Rift Valley lakes basin in Ethiopia, focusing on the valley floor and the East and West escarpments, to analyze changes in LULC and to estimate associated losses in ecosystem service values (ESVs). Covering both upstream and downstream areas in the basin, the study addressed major gaps in existing studies by connecting the sources and sinks of material (e.g., sediment and water) in source-to-lake systems. Additionally, the study facilitated the identification of critical areas for conserving natural resources and reversing the decline of associated ESVs in the Central Rift Valley. A post-classification comparison approach was used to detect LULC changes between 1973 and 2020 using four Landsat images from 1973, 1990, 2005 and 2020. The value transfer valuation method was used to estimate the changes in ESVs due to LULC changes. Among the seven major identified LULC classes, farmlands, settlements, and bare lands showed positive changes, while forestlands, grasslands, shrublands and waterbodies showed negative changes over the last 47 years. The expansion of farmlands, for example, has occurred at the expense of grasslands, forestlands and shrublands. The changes in LULC over a period of 47 years resulted in a total loss of US $62,110.4 × 106 in ESVs. The contributors to the overall loss of ESVs in decreasing order are provisioning services (US $33,795.1 × 106 ), cultural services (US $28,981.5 × 106 ) and regulating services (US $652.9 × 106 ). The results imply that addressing the degradation of land and water resources is crucial to reversing the loss of ecosystem services and achieving the national Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to food and water security (SDGs 2 and 6) and life on land (SDG 15).
Grasslands / Forest land / Farmland / Satellite imagery / Landsat / Water resources / Sustainable Development Goals / Ecosystem services / Land cover change / Land use Record No:H050902
Accurate information on irrigated areas’ spatial distribution and extent are crucial in enhancing agricultural water productivity, water resources management, and formulating strategic policies that enhance water and food security and ecologically sustainable development. However, data are typically limited for smallholder irrigated areas, which is key to achieving social equity and equal distribution of financial resources. This study addressed this gap by delineating disaggregated smallholder and commercial irrigated areas through the random forest algorithm, a non-parametric machine learning classifier. Location within or outside former apartheid “homelands” was taken as a proxy for smallholder, and commercial irrigation. Being in a medium rainfall area, the huge irrigation potential of the Inkomati-Usuthu Water Management Area (UWMA) is already well developed for commercial crop production outside former homelands. However, information about the spatial distribution and extent of irrigated areas within former homelands, which is largely informal, was missing. Therefore, we first classified cultivated lands in 2019 and 2020 as a baseline, from where the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was used to distinguish irrigated from rainfed, focusing on the dry winter period when crops are predominately irrigated. The mapping accuracy of 84.9% improved the efficacy in defining the actual spatial extent of current irrigated areas at both smallholder and commercial spatial scales. The proportion of irrigated areas was high for both commercial (92.5%) and smallholder (96.2%) irrigation. Moreover, smallholder irrigation increased by over 19% between 2019 and 2020, compared to slightly over 7% in the commercial sector. Such information is critical for policy formulation regarding equitable and inclusive water allocation, irrigation expansion, land reform, and food and water security in smallholder farming systems.
Normalized difference vegetation index / Datasets / Sustainable development / Farmers / Crop production / Catchment areas / Cultivated land / Irrigated land / Rainfed farming / Spatial distribution / Water security / Food security / Food policies / Water policies / Irrigated farming / Farming systems / Smallholders Record No:H050853
International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 2020. IWMI Annual report 2019. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI) 60p. [DOI] More... | Fulltext (3.65 MB)
Partnerships / Collaboration / Research programmes / CGIAR / Economic aspects / Agriculture / Crop insurance / Disaster risk management / Farm income / Farmers / Smallholders / Water use / Resource recovery / Irrigation programs / Wastewater / Groundwater management / Water resources / Digital innovation / Women / Inclusion / Gender / Resilience / Climate change adaptation / Ecosystems / Food security / Sustainable Development Goals / Water management Record No:H049940
Rao, Krishna C.; Velidandla, S.; Scott, C. L.; Drechsel, Pay. 2020. Business models for fecal sludge management in India. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE) 199p. (Resource Recovery and Reuse Series 18: Special Issue)[DOI] More... | Fulltext (9.13 MB)
Globally, 50% of the population relies on on-site sanitation systems (OSS) such as septic tanks and pit latrines and is, hence, in need of Fecal Sludge Management (FSM) solutions. India is a classic example, given that its government built more than 100 million toilets with the majority relying on OSS. With 400 fecal sludge treatment plants (FSTPs) in various stages of planning, procurement and construction, this report comes at an opportune time to present findings on FSM business models already implemented across India.
Interviews were conducted with a total of 105 Emptying and Transport (Eamp;T) operators in 72 towns and cities across 16 states in India, 22 representatives from municipalities that own emptying vehicles, 18 FSTP operators and more than 30 institutions. In addition, procurement tenders for Eamp;T and FSTPs in 13 states were analyzed.
In total, 18 business models were identified, several with energy or nutrient recovery components. The analysis of Eamp;T operators revealed clear differences that steer a business towards success or failure. The majority of operators still dispose fecal sludge in an unsafe manner, due to the lack of official disposal or treatment sites. In comparison to sewer networks, the capital and operating costs (per capita) of FSTPs were significantly lower. The report provides evidence-based discussions on policies and recommendations for scaling and sustaining FSM.
While water security is widely regarded as an issue of global significance and concern, there is not yet a consensus on a methodology for evaluating it. The difficulty in operationalizing the concept comes from its various interpretations and characteristics at different spatial and temporal scales. In this paper, we generate a dashboard comprised of 52 indicators to facilitate a rapid assessment of a country’s water security and to focus the first step of a more comprehensive water security diagnostic assessment. We design the dashboard around a conceptualization of water security that builds upon existing framings and metrics. To illustrate its usefulness, we apply the dashboard to a case study of Pakistan and a regional cross-country comparative analysis. The dashboard provides a rapid view of the water security status, trends, strengths, and challenges for Pakistan. The cross-country comparative analysis tentatively identifies relationships between indicators such as water stress and the transboundary dependency ratio, with countries exhibiting high values in both variables being especially vulnerable to transboundary water risk. Overall, this dashboard (1) provides quantitative information on key water-related variables at the country level in a consistent manner and (2) helps to design and focus more in-depth water security diagnostic studies.
Groundwater / Trends / Gross national product / Environmental effects / Socioeconomic environment / International waters / Sustainable Development Goals / Water stress / Water resources / Case studies / Databases / Indicators / Evaluation / Water security Record No:H049944
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) purport to report holistically on progress towards sustainability and do so using more than 231 discrete indicators, with a primary objective to achieve a balance between the environment, social and economic aspects of development. The research question underpinning the analyses presented in this paper is: are the indicators in the SDGs sufficient and fit for purpose to assess the trajectory of natural resources towards sustainability? We extracted the SDG indicators that monitor the state of natural resources, or alternately support policy or governance for their protection, and determined whether these are adequate to provide the essential data on natural resources to achieve the aims of the SDGs. The indicators are clustered into four natural resource categories—land, water (both marine and freshwater), air and biodiversity. Indicators for monitoring land resources show that the most comprehensive land resource indicator for degraded land is not fully implemented and that missing from land monitoring is an evaluation of vegetation health outside of forests and mountains, the condition of soils, and most importantly the overall health of terrestrial ecosystems. Indicators for monitoring water resources have substantial gaps, unable to properly monitor water quality, water stress, many aspects of marine resources and, most significantly, the health of fresh and salt water ecosystems. Indicators for monitoring of air have recently become more comprehensive, but linkage to IPCC results would benefit both programs. Monitoring of biodiversity is perhaps the greatest weakness of the SDG Agenda, having no comprehensive assessment even though narrow aspects are monitored. Again, deliberate linkages to other global biodiversity programs (e.g., CBD and the Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework, IPBES, and Living Planet) are recommended on condition that data can be defined at a country level. While the SDG list of indicators in support of natural resource is moderately comprehensive, it lacks holistic monitoring in relation to evaluation of ecosystems and biodiversity to the extent that these missing but vital measures of sustainability threaten the entire SDG Agenda. In addition, an emerging issue is that even where there are appropriate indicators, the amount of country-level data remains inadequate to fully evaluate sustainability. This signals the delicate balance between the extent and complexity of the SDG Agenda and uptake at a country level.
Economic development / Social development / Development indicators / Freshwater / Marine environment / Monitoring / Air quality / Biodiversity / Land resources / Water quality / Water resources / Evaluation / Natural resources management / Ecosystems / Sustainable Development Goals Record No:H049942
Capacity building / Knowledge management / Policies / Stakeholders / Intervention / Research institutions / CGIAR / Research programmes / Agricultural research for development / Multiple use / Water use / Ecosystems / Food systems / Risk reduction / Resilience / Climate change / Structural change / Empowerment / Social development / Women / Equity / Social inequalities / Sustainable Development Goals / Data management / Digital innovation / Water systems / Water security / Organizational change / Strategies / Inclusion / Gender equality Record No:H049876
Alam, Mohammad Faiz; Sikka, Alok; Verma, Shilp; Adhikari, Dipika; Sudharshan, M.; Santhosh, Harikrishnan. 2020. Convergence and co-financing opportunities for climate-resilient water management. : Bonn, Germany: Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH; New Delhi, India: Water Security and Climate Adaptation in Rural India (WASCA) 109p. More... | Fulltext (17.4 MB)
Rural areas / Capacity building / Guidelines / Development programmes / Government agencies / International organizations / Development agencies / Funding / Nongovernmental organizations / Public-private partnerships / River basin management / Irrigation systems / Solar energy / Groundwater recharge / Water harvesting / Water conservation / Water policy / Sustainable Development Goals / Drought / Flooding / Risk management / Climate-smart agriculture / Water quality / Water demand / Water supply / Water security / Water resources / Models / Financing / Resilience / Climate change mitigation / Climate change adaptation / Water management Record No:H049930
A key question in sustainable development is how much alteration in natural systems, such as river basins, is acceptable? One of the ways by which humans alter a river basin is by building water storage infrastructure. While storage reservoirs deliver numerous benefits, they can also induce social and environmental costs by displacing people, fragmenting river networks and altering downstream flow regimes. In such a context, merely capping total water withdrawal from rivers for human consumption is not sufficient. River basin plans should also identify optimal (acceptable) limits to surface storage capacities, and optimal numbers, degrees of distribution and locations of storage infrastructure. It remains largely unclear, however, whether it is possible to define a hydrologically, ecologically and socially justified ‘surface water storage boundary’ for a river basin. An associated question is what would be the ‘best’ arrangement of this bounding storage capacity in the basins river network (in terms of numbers, sizes and locations of reservoirs) to maximize water storage benefits and minimize environmental and social costs. The main objective of this review is to examine contemporary knowledge on surface water storage development with a focus on tools and approaches that may help to answer the above questions of a ‘surface water storage boundary’ and its ‘optimum arrangement’ for a river basin. In order to achieve this objective, our review introduces two novel concepts: the ‘storage scale’ and the ‘sustainable storage development framework.’ The ‘storage scale’ has four elements – capacity, number, distribution and location – individual scales that help visualize a ‘surface water storage boundary’ and its ‘optimum arrangement’ for a typical river basin. The ‘sustainable storage development framework’ consists of three dimensions – economic benefits, ecosystems and society- and a set of indicators quantifying each dimension. This review shows that optimal levels of the elements of the ‘storage scale’ may be identified using the ‘sustainable storage development framework’.
Indicators / Economic aspects / Social aspects / Sediment / Flooding / Environmental flows / Hydropower / Ecosystem services / Ecological factors / Water supply / Infrastructure / Dams / Reservoirs / Water resources / Sustainable development / River basins / Water storage / Surface water Record No:H049809
Sadoff, Claudia; Grey, D.; Borgomeo, Edoardo. 2020. Water security. In Oxford University Press. Oxford research encyclopedia of environmental science. New York, NY, USA: Oxford University Press. 19p. [DOI] More...
Water security has emerged in the 21st century as a powerful construct to frame the water objectives and goals of human society and to support and guide local to global water policy and management. Water security can be described as the fundamental societal goal of water policy and management. This article reviews the concept of water security, explaining the differences between water security and other approaches used to conceptualize the water-related challenges facing society and ecosystems and describing some of the actions needed to achieve water security. Achieving water security requires addressing two fundamental challenges at all scales: enhancing water’s productive contributions to human and ecosystems’ well-being, livelihoods and development, and minimizing water’s destructive impacts on societies, economies, and ecosystems resulting, for example, from too much (flood), too little (drought) or poor quality (polluted) water.
Indicators / Risks / Investment / Environmental effects / Ecosystems / Water governance / Water policy / Conflicts / Water pollution / Drought / Flooding / Water management / Water resources / Sustainable development / Water scarcity / Water stress / Water security Record No:H049747
Urbanisation will be one of the 21st centuryapos;s most transformative trends. By 2050, it will increase from 55% to 68%, more than doubling the urban population in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Urbanisation has multifarious (positive as well as negative) impacts on the wellbeing of humans and the environment. The 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) form the blueprint to achieve a sustainable future for all. Clean Water and Sanitation is a specific goal (SDG 6) within the suite of 17 interconnected goals. Here we provide an overview of some of the challenges that urbanisation poses in relation to SDG 6, especially in developing economies. Worldwide, several cities are on the verge of water crisis. Water distribution to informal settlements or slums in megacities (e.g. N50% population in the megacities of India) is essentially non-existent and limits access to adequate safe water supply. Besides due to poor sewer connectivity in the emerging economies, there is a heavy reliance on septic tanks, and other on-site sanitation (OSS) system and by 2030, 4.9 billion people are expected to rely on OSS. About 62–93% of the urban population in Vietnam, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Indonesia rely on septic tanks, where septage treatment is rare. Globally, over 80% of wastewater is released to the environment without adequate treatment. About 11% of all irrigated croplands is irrigated with such untreated or poorly treated wastewater. In addition to acute and chronic health effects, this also results in significant pollution of often-limited surface and groundwater resources in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Direct and indirect water reuse plays a key role in global water and food security. Here we offer several suggestions to mitigate water and food insecurity in emerging economies.
Behavioural changes / Sustainable Development Goals / Rural urban relations / Groundwater recharge / Aquifers / Ecosystems / Environmental health / Suburban agriculture / Wastewater irrigation / Water scarcity / Water supply / Indicators / Monitoring / Water quality / Health hazards / Public health / Water reuse / Sanitation / Septic tanks / Costs / Wastewater treatment / Waste treatment / Waste management / Food security / Water security / Economic development / Urbanization Record No:H049719
The world is not on track to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6 on clean water and sanitation by 2030. We urge a rapid change of the economics, engineering and management frameworks that guided water policy and investments in the past in order to address the water challenges of our time.
Millennium Development Goals / Drinking water / Water resources / Investment / Water governance / Water policy / Water access / Water management / Engineering / Economic aspects / Goal 6 Clean water and sanitation / Sustainable Development Goals Record No:H049713
The missing link between cross-sectoral resource management and full-scale adoption of the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus has been the lack of analytical tools that provide evidence for policy and decision-making. This study defined WEF nexus sustainability indicators, from where an analytical model was developed to manage WEF resources in an integrated manner using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The model established quantitative relationships among WEF sectors, simplifying the intricate interlinkages among resources, using South Africa as a case study. A spider graph was used to illustrate sector performance as related to others, whose management is viewed either as sustainable or unsustainable. The model was then applied to assess progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals in South Africa. The estimated integrated indices of 0.155 and 0.203 for 2015 and 2018, respectively, classify South Africa’s management of resources as marginally sustainable. The model is a decision support tool that highlights priority areas for intervention.
Case studies / Performance evaluation / Models / Cereals / Agricultural productivity / Living standards / Development indicators / Sustainable Development Goals / Resilience / Climate change adaptation / Water productivity / Nexus / Food security / Energy / Water availability / Decision support systems Record No:H049710
Lee-Smith, D.; Prain, G.; Cofie, Olufunke; van Veenhuizen, R.; Karanja, N. 2020. Urban and peri-urban farming systems: feeding cities and enhancing resilience. In Dixon, J.; Garrity, D. P.; Boffa, J.-M.; Williams, Timothy Olalekan; Amede, T.; Auricht, C.; Lott, R.; Mburathi, G. (Eds.). Farming systems and food security in Africa: priorities for science and policy under global change. Oxon, UK: Routledge - Earthscan. pp.504-531. (Earthscan Food and Agriculture Series) More...
Strategies / Institutions / Markets / Trade / Policies / Energy / Technology / s participation / Womenapos / Social capital / Human capital / Climate change / Natural resources / Sustainable development / Resilience / Poverty / Hunger / Population / Farmers / Households / Nutrition security / Food security / Agricultural productivity / Nutrients / Waste utilization / Wastewater irrigation / Livestock / Crop production / Open spaces / Backyard farming / Irrigated farming / Rainfed farming / Towns / Peri-urban agriculture / Urban agriculture / Farming systems Record No:H049663
Monitoring the qualitative status of freshwaters is an important goal of the international community, as stated in the Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) indicator 6.3.2 on good ambient water quality. Monitoring data are, however, lacking in many countries, allegedly because of capacity challenges of less-developed countries. So far, however, the relationship between human development and capacity challenges for water quality monitoring have not been analysed systematically. This hinders the implementation of fine-tuned capacity development programmes for water quality monitoring. Against this background, this study takes a global perspective in analysing the link between human development and the capacity challenges countries face in their national water quality monitoring programmes. The analysis is based on the latest data on the human development index and an international online survey amongst experts from science and practice. Results provide evidence of a negative relationship between human development and the capacity challenges to meet SDG 6.3.2 monitoring requirements. This negative relationship increases along the course of the monitoring process, from defining the enabling environment, choosing parameters for the collection of field data, to the analytics and analysis of five commonly used parameters (DO, EC, pH, TP and TN). Our assessment can be used to help practitioners improve technical capacity development activities and to identify and target investment in capacity development for monitoring.
Surveys / Environmental effects / Financing / Technology / Strategies / Decision making / Indicators / Goal 6 Clean water and sanitation / Sustainable Development Goals / Human resources / Capacity building / Monitoring / Water quality Record No:H049662
Edberg, S.; Rodriguez, D. J.; Bernardini, F.; Koeppel, S.; Plotnykova, H.; Colombo, C. C.; Gaillard-Picher, D.; Gartner, T.; Amarnath, Giriraj; Hedger, M.; Kjellen, M.; Matthews, J.; Mauroner, A.; Pories, L. 2020. Climate finance: financial and economic considerations. In UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP); UN-Water. The United Nations World Water Development Report 2020: water and climate change. Paris, France: UNESCO. pp.160-171. More... | Fulltext (37.7 MB)
This chapter addresses the current state of water and climate finance, the costs of inaction versus the benefits of action, and several ways to access climate finance flows to improve water management as well as water supply and sanitation services, while synergistically mitigating and/or adapting to climate change.
Investment / Public-private partnerships / Funding / Development banks / Multilateral organizations / Projects / Wastewater / Sanitation / Water supply / Sustainable Development Goals / Economic value / Water management / Financing / Climate change mitigation / Climate change adaptation Record No:H049606
Data exchange in transboundary waters is fundamental to advance cooperative water management. Nonetheless, the degree to which data are shared is not well understood. To gauge this degree, an assessment framework was developed and applied in 25 international river basins. The framework captures the degree to which a set of data parameters is exchanged among countries. A reasonable proportion of surveyed basins exchange some data, but the breadth of such exchange is often limited, and not regular. This paper highlights where data exchange can be improved and provides guidance on how indicators used in global assessment frameworks can motivate this improvement.
Dams / Water management / Water extraction / Groundwater table / Water quality / River flow / River basin institutions / International cooperation / River basin management / Development indicators / Sustainable Development Goals / Information exchange / Data management / International waters Record No:H050122
Cassara, M.; Beekma, J.; de Strasser, L.; Anarbekov, Oyture; Murzaeva, Makhliyo; Giska, S.; Dorre, A. 2020. Local and national institutions and policies governing water resources management. In Xenarios, S.; Schmidt-Vogt, D.; Qadir, M.; Janusz-Pawletta, B.; Abdullaev, I. (Eds.). The Aral Sea Basin: water for sustainable development in Central Asia. Oxon, UK: Routledge - Earthscan. pp.136-154. (Earthscan Series on Major River Basins of the World) More...
River basins / Indigenous knowledge / Information systems / Water user associations / Nexus / Energy / Food security / Sustainable Development Goals / Institutional reform / Water governance / Water policy / Water institutions / Water management / Water resources / Integrated management Record No:H049421
The Ganga is an international transboundary river that flows across three major riparian countries: India, Nepal, and Bangladesh, where India shares a significant proportion of the total basin area. The river system is highly dynamic and regularly floods in all three countries due to abundant rainfall in a short period of only four months each year that causes tremendous loss of both property and human life. In this study, we have done a synoptic review to synthesize the hydrology, hydrogeology, and modeling studies that have analyzed hydrological changes and their impacts in the Ganga basin. This review also identifies some of the knowledge gaps and discusses possible options for enhancing the understanding of sustainable water development and management. This review indicated that transparent data sharing, use of satellite-based observations along with in-situ data, integrated hydro-economic modeling linked to reliable coupled surface–groundwater models, a central shared decision support center for early warning systems to deal with hydrological extremes, joint river commissions and monitoring teams, and multilateral water sharing treaties (agreements) are required to promote sustainable and equitable distribution of water resources and to avoid water sharing conflicts in the Ganga basin.
Modelling / Aquifers / Deltas / Geomorphology / Satellite observation / Strategies / Conflicts / International cooperation / International agreements / Environmental flows / Flow discharge / Groundwater recharge / Surface water / Water management / Water resources / Sustainable development / Climate change / Rain / Flooding / Extreme weather events / Hydrogeology / Riparian zones / International waters / River basins Record No:H050114
The challenge of sustainable development is enshrined in the ambitious 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations. The 17 goals and its various targets are unique with water being one of the cross cutting themes. Taking examples of past water dependent societies in a comparative setting, this paper challenges the new field of Archaeo-hydrology in how it could contribute to the 2030 Agenda based on what can be learned from past and contemporary water dependent societies. We find that societies have coped with climate variability by diversifying both in occupation, livelihoods and use of space. Sharing the costs of coordinating such diversification requires inclusive institutions and technological innovations. Similar to technology, new social institutions emerge in response to a changing environment. However, in tandem, slow out-migration of people seems to go on, driven by better livelihood opportunities outside. If technological innovation and institutional evolution are not rapid enough, then migration seems to take over as the adaptive mechanism in response to environmental changes resulting in rapid dispersal. This means that migration from smaller, less endowed societies can be expected to be rapid, with repetitive cycles of abandonment and rehabilitation after each critical climate or adverse environment events. Consequently, more place based local innovations should be encouraged and local economies should be diversified to increase the resilience so that vulnerable societies may inherit favourable know-how for a sustainable future under changing climatic conditions.
Case studies / Innovation / Technology / Water policy / Resilience / Climate change / Diversification / Population / Livelihoods / Migration / Society / Human settlements / River basins / Sustainable Development Goals / Archaeology / Hydrology Record No:H050112
There is increasing recognition of the need to bring about changes across the full spectrum of agricultural practices to ensure that, in future, food production systems are more diverse, sustainable and resilient. In this context, the objectives of irrigation need to be much more ambitious, shifting away from simply maximizing crop yields to maximizing net benefits across a range of uses of irrigation water, including ecosystems and nature-based solutions. One important way to achieve this is by better integrating fisheries into the planning, design, construction, operation and management of irrigation systems. Irrigation – a major contributor to the Green Revolution – has significantly improved agricultural production worldwide, with consequent benefits for food security, livelihoods and poverty alleviation. Today, irrigated agriculture represents about 21 percent of cultivated land, but contributes approximately 40% of the total global crop production. Many governments continue to invest in irrigation as a cornerstone of food security and rural development. Investments in irrigation often represent a pragmatic form of adaptation to changing climatic conditions. This guide focuses on how to sustainably optimize and broaden the range of benefits from irrigation development - not only economic but also social and environmental benefits. It emphasizes the opportunities that fisheries could provide to increase food production and economic returns, enhance livelihoods and public health outcomes, and maintain key ecosystem services. The guide considers possible trade-offs between irrigation and fisheries, and provides recommendations on how these could be minimized.
Floodplains / Rivers / Water reservoirs / Rural areas / Conflicts / Stakeholders / Institutions / Water governance / Participatory approaches / Community management / Sustainable Development Goals / Trends / Environmental Impact Assessment / Monitoring and evaluation / Socioeconomic environment / Nutrition security / Food security / Livelihoods / Infrastructure / Irrigated farming / Aquaculture / Habitats / Aquatic ecosystems / Irrigation management / Guidelines / Water management / Water resources / Integrated management / Irrigation systems / Sustainability / Fishery production Record No:H050111
An effective placement of irrigation efficiency in water management will contribute towards meeting the pre-eminent global water challenges of our time such as addressing water scarcity, boosting crop water productivity and reconciling competing water needs between sectors. However, although irrigation efficiency may appear to be a simple measure of performance and imply dramatic positive benefits, it is not straightforward to understand, measure or apply. For example, hydrological understanding that irrigation losses recycle back to surface and groundwater in river basins attempts to account for scale, but this generalisation cannot be readily translated from one location to another or be considered neutral for farmers sharing local irrigation networks. Because irrigation efficiency (IE) motives, measures, effects and technologies play out at different scales for different people, organisations and purposes, and losses differ from place to place and over time, IE is a contested term, highly changeable and subjective. This makes generalisations for science, management and policy difficult. Accordingly, we propose new definitions for IE and irrigation hydrology and introduce a framework, termed an ‘irrigation efficiency matrix’, comprising five spatial scales and ten dimensions to understand and critique the promises, pitfalls and paradoxes of IE and to unlock its utility for addressing contemporary water challenges.
Farmers / Stakeholders / Water loss / Water use / Canals / River basins / Technology / Hydrology / Sustainable Development Goals / Water scarcity / Irrigation systems / Water allocation / Policies / Frameworks / Water management / Irrigation efficiency Record No:H050057
Rice and fish are preferred foods, critical for healthy and nutritious diets, and provide the foundations of local and national economies across Asia. Although transformations, or “revolutions,” in agriculture and aquaculture over the past half-century have primarily relied upon intensified monoculture to increase rice and fish production, agroecological approaches that support biodiversity and utilize natural processes are particularly relevant for achieving a transformation toward food systems with more inclusive, nutrition-sensitive, and ecologically sound outcomes. Rice and fish production are frequently integrated within the same physical, temporal, and social spaces, with substantial variation amongst the types of production practice and their extent. In Cambodia, rice field fisheries that strongly rely upon natural processes persist in up to 80% of rice farmland, whereas more input and infrastructure dependent rice-shrimp culture is expanding within the rice farmland of Vietnam. We demonstrate how a diverse suite of integrated production practices contribute to sustainable and nutrition-sensitive food systems policy, research, and practice. We first develop a typology of integrated production practices illustrating the nature and degree of: (a) fish stocking, (b) water management, (c) use of synthetic inputs, and (d) institutions that control access to fish. Second, we summarize recent research and innovations that have improved the performance of each type of practice. Third, we synthesize data on the prevalence, outcomes, and trajectories of these practices in four South and Southeast Asian countries that rely heavily on fish and rice for food and nutrition security. Focusing on changes since the food systems transformation brought about by the Green Revolution, we illustrate how integrated production practices continue to serve a variety of objectives to varying degrees: food and nutrition security, rural livelihood diversification and income improvement, and biodiversity conservation. Five shifts to support contemporary food system transformations [i.e., disaggregating (1) production practices and (2) objectives, (3) utilizing diverse metrics, (4) valuing emergent, place-based innovation, (5) building adaptive capacity] would accelerate progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 2, specifically through ensuring ecosystem maintenance, sustainable food production, and resilient agricultural practices with the capacity to adapt to global change.
Case studies / Livelihoods / Agroecology / Green revolution / Sustainable Development Goals / Biodiversity conservation / Shrimp culture / Food policies / Nutrition security / Food security / Community involvement / Diversification / Agricultural practices / Agropisciculture / Fishery production / Food production / Ricefield aquaculture / Inland fisheries / Food systems Record No:H050055
Warner, S.; Chapman, D.; Dickens, Chris. 2020. Good ambient water quality. In Filho, W. L.; Azul, A. M.; Brandli, L.; Salvia, A. L.; Wall, T. (Eds.). Clean water and sanitation. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. 11p. (Online first). (Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals)[DOI] More...
Wastewater / Assessment / Monitoring / Topography / Biological processes / Anthropogenic factors / Ecosystems / Geology / Freshwater / Lakes / Rivers / Groundwater / Water resources / Development indicators / Sustainable Development Goals / Water quality Record No:H050048
Haileslassie, Amare; Ludi, Eva; Roe, M.; Button, C. 2020. Water values: discourses and perspective. In Filho, W. L.; Azul, A. M.; Brandli, L.; Salvia, A. L.; Wall, T. (Eds.). Clean water and sanitation. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. 10p. (Online first). (Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals)[DOI] More...
Policies / Frameworks / Decision making / Stakeholders / Ecosystem services / Ecological factors / Sustainable Development Goals / Economic value / Cultural values / Social values / Valuation / Water systems / Water management / Water resources Record No:H050045
The term “environmental flows” refers to a combination of features, including quantity, quality, and timing of water flows required to sustainably maintain a river’s health, balancing both ecological and societal needs. Incorporating basic human livelihood and sociocultural aspects in environmental flow assessments alongside ecological concerns provides a more holistic perspective on water flow management. Here, we provide an assessment that complements an ecosystem functioning lens by focusing solely on quantifying the flows associated with livelihood activities and spiritual water requirements of local riparian communities in the Karnali basin in Western Nepal. This assessment is based on the first social survey related to environmental flows conducted in the Karnali basin. We collected data using mixed methods, including social surveys, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions, across six locations in the Karnali basin that provide us with a rich and dynamic perspective on the relationship between rivers and their surrounding communities, and the challenges faced by those communities. Among the subsistence and spiritual requirements of local communities are uses for activities that include drinking, small-scale irrigation, domestic needs, fishing, and ceremonial usage. All communities we visited most strongly associated the following activities with water flow variation: small-scale irrigation, fishing, ceremonial usage, domestic needs, and tourism. The water flows required for these key activities were quantified, and results from the six sites are presented in the form of a qualitative scale of minimum water levels (ranging across poor, acceptable, and ideal) required to meet vital local needs. The minimum acceptable water flow requirement to satisfy social criteria is just gt; 20% of the mean annual runoff at the visited locations. These requirements are particularly vital to consider, given ongoing efforts to tap the vast hydropower potential in Nepal through construction of major storage projects. Such projects would change the flow regime of affected rivers and potentially raise concerns that existing demands might be compromised.
Socioeconomic aspects / Sustainable development / Women / Local communities / Riparian zones / Tourism / Household consumption / Irrigation / Fisheries / Water use / Water pollution / Biodiversity / Ecosystems / Water levels / Flow discharge / Water management / Assessment / Sociocultural environment / Livelihoods / River basins / Environmental flows Record No:H050015
There is a proactive interest in recovering water, nutrients and energy from waste streams with the increase in municipal wastewater volumes and innovations in resource recovery. Based on the synthesis of wastewater data, this study provides insights into the global and regional “potential” of wastewater as water, nutrient and energy sources while acknowledging the limitations of current resource recovery opportunities and promoting efforts to fast-track highefficiency returns. The study estimates suggest that, currently, 380 billion m3 (m3 = 1,000 L) of wastewater are produced annually across the world which is a volume fivefold the volume of water passing through Niagara Falls annually. Wastewater production globally is expected to increase by 24% by 2030 and 51% by 2050 over the current level. Among major nutrients, 16.6 Tg (Tg = million metric ton) of nitrogen are embedded in wastewater produced worldwide annually; phosphorus stands at 3.0 Tg and potassium at 6.3 Tg. The full nutrient recovery from wastewater would offset 13.4% of the global demand for these nutrients in agriculture. Beyond nutrient recovery and economic gains, there are critical environmental benefits, such as minimizing eutrophication. At the energy front, the energy embedded in wastewater would be enough to provide electricity to 158 million households. These estimates and projections are based on the maximum theoretical amounts of water, nutrients and energy that exist in the reported municipal wastewater produced worldwide annually. Supporting resource recovery from wastewater will need a step-wise approach to address a range of constraints to deliver a high rate of return in direct support of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 6, 7 and 12, but also other Goals, including adaptation to climate change and efforts in advancing “netzero” energy processes towards a green economy.
Water stress / Urban population / Sustainable Development Goals / Municipal wastewater / Forecasting / Energy recovery / Energy generation / Wastewater irrigation / Fertilizers / Potassium / Phosphorus / Nitrogen / Energy sources / Nutrients / Reuse / Resource recovery / Recycling / Wastewater treatment Record No:H049500
About 60% of southern Africa’s population lives in rural areas with limited access to basic services and amenities such as clean and safe water, affordable and clean energy, and balanced and nutritious diets. Resource scarcity has direct and indirect impacts on nutrition, human health, and well-being of mostly poor rural communities. Climate change impacts in the region are manifesting through low crop yields, upsurge of vector borne diseases (malaria and dengue fever), and water and food-borne diseases (cholera and diarrhoea). This study applied a water–energy–food (WEF) nexus analytical livelihoods model with complex systems understanding to assess rural livelihoods, health, and well-being in southern Africa, recommending tailor-made adaptation strategies for the region aimed at building resilient rural communities. The WEF nexus is a decision support tool that improves rural livelihoods through integrated resource distribution, planning, and management, and ensures inclusive socio-economic transformation and development, and addresses related sustainable development goals, particularly goals 2, 3, 6 and 7. The integrated WEF nexus index for the region was calculated at 0.145, which is marginally sustainable, and indicating the region’s exposure to vulnerabilities, and reveals a major reason why the region fails to meet its developmental targets. The integrated relationship among WEF resources in southern Africa shows an imbalance and uneven resource allocation, utilisation and distribution, which normally results from a ‘siloed’ approach in resource management. The WEF nexus provides better adaptation options, as it guides decision making processes by identifying priority areas needing intervention, enhancing synergies, and minimising trade-offs necessary for resilient rural communities. Our results identified (i) the trade-offs and unintended negative consequences for poor rural households’ livelihoods of current silo approaches, (ii) mechanisms for sustainably enhancing household water, energy and food security, whilst (iii) providing direction for achieving SDGs 2, 3, 6 and 7.
Rural areas / SADC countries / Frameworks / Innovation / Indicators / Sustainable Development Goals / Climate change adaptation / Public health / Living standards / Rural communities / Food security / Energy generation / Water resources Record No:H049315
Irrigation has been, and will remain, instrumental in addressing water security (Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6), food insecurity (SDG 2) and poverty (SDG 1) goals. However, the global context in which irrigation takes place is changing rapidly. A call for healthier and more sustainable food systems is placing new demands on how irrigation is developed and managed. Growing pressures from competing water uses in the domestic and industrial sectors, as well increasing environmental awareness, mean irrigation is increasingly called on to perform better, delivering acceptable returns on investment and simultaneously improving food security, rural livelihoods and nutrition, as well as supporting environmental conservation. Better integration of fisheries (including aquaculture) in irrigation planning, investment and management can contribute to the modernisation of irrigation and the achievement of the multiple objectives that it is called on to deliver. A framework illustrating how fisheries can be better integrated with irrigation, and how the two can complement each other across a range of scales, from scheme to catchment and, ultimately, national level, is presented.
Irrigated agriculture and inland fisheries both make important contributions to food security, nutrition, livelihoods and wellbeing. Typically, in modern irrigation systems, these components operate independently. Some practices, commonly associated with water use and intensification of crop production can be in direct conflict with and have adverse effects on fisheries. Food security objectives may be compromised if fish are not considered in the design phases of irrigation systems. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development provides a framework that can serve as a backdrop to help integrate both sectors in policy discussions and optimise their contributions to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Inland fisheries systems do play an important role in supporting many SDG objectives, but these contributions can sometimes be at odds with irrigated agriculture. Using case studies of two globally important river catchments, namely the Lower Mekong and Murray–Darling basins, we highlight the conflicts and opportunities for improved outcomes between irrigated agriculture and inland fisheries. We explore SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) as a path to advance our irrigation systems as a means to benefit both agriculture and inland fisheries, preserving biodiversity and enhancing the economic, environmental and social benefits they both provide to people.
Case studies / River basins / Decision making / Integrated management / Living standards / Social aspects / Ecological factors / Ecosystem services / Aquatic ecosystems / Irrigation systems / Food security / Sustainable Development Goals / Irrigated farming / Inland fisheries Record No:H049308
Data management / Sustainable Development Goals / Reuse / Resource recovery / Urbanization / Poverty / Agricultural productivity / Economic growth / Resilience / Natural resources / Communication / Models / Research and development / Partnerships / Empowerment / Women / Gender equity / Environmental impact assessment / Digital technology / Nexus / Food security / Food systems / Climate change / Ecosystems / Water availability / Water policy / Water use / Water supply / Water security / Water governance / Water scarcity / Water management / Water resources / Research institutes / Strategy planning Record No:H049297
In low- and middle-income countries, the management of fecal sludge from on-site sanitation systems has received little attention over many decades, resulting in insufficient or missing regulations to guide investments and management options. To address this gap, this report examines existing and emerging guidelines and regulations for fecal sludge management (FSM) along the sanitation service chain (user interface, containment, emptying, transport, treatment, valorization, reuse or disposal). It also draws empirical examples from guidelines across the globe to support policy-makers, planners, and sanitation and health officers, as well as consultants in low- and middle-income countries in the development and design of local and national FSM guidelines and regulations.
European Union / Governmental organizations / Institutions / Stakeholders / Households / Urban areas / Land use / Occupational hazards / Environmental protection / Fuels / Energy generation / Composting / Organic fertilizers / Sewage sludge / Soil conditioners / Microplastics / Heavy metals / Pollutants / Aquaculture / Pathogens / Excreta / Public health / Operating costs / Transport / Septic tanks / Pit latrines / Waste treatment / Waste disposal / Technology / Frameworks / Sustainable Development Goals / Policies / Standards / Regulations / Guidelines / Sanitation / Faecal sludge / Reuse / Resource management / Resource recovery Record No:H049291
The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development promises to achieve change in almost every aspect of life on Earth. Encompassing 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets, the Agenda marks the first time in history when all nations have agreed on how to chart their future. The SDGs are not just a global reporting exercise, however, but rather involve a global program that embraces country-led efforts. Guided by the ideas contained in the 2030 Agenda, each nation must seek to become more prosperous and sustainable, while contributing to the global effort at the same time. If all the countries achieve this, we will have a sustainable planet and a secure future for all.
This document offers guidance on how developing countries can adapt the SDGs to their own contexts and priorities. It indicates important areas for developing countries to consider when creating their own program to achieve the SDGs, and provides examples of success to demonstrate concrete possibilities for progress.
Strategies / Risk assessment / Adaptability / Accountability / Impact assessment / Monitoring / Budgeting / Financing / Governance / Institutions / Government agencies / National planning / Development policies / Economic development / Awareness raising / Partnerships / Public-private cooperation / Multi-stakeholder processes / Development indicators / UN / Developing countries / Mainstreaming / Sustainable Development Goals Record No:H049245
The Arab region needs a new generation of policies and investments in agricultural water. Agricultural water management has always posed challenges and opportunities in the Arab world. However, unprecedented and accelerating drivers such as climate change, population growth, and land degradation make agricultural water management a more urgent priority than ever before. In addition, as part of the 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development, Arab countries have committed to work towards an ambitious set of development targets, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Unless the right policies and investments are put in place, it will be difficult to achieve the SDGs, including ending hunger and providing clean water and sanitation for all.
This paper is part of an ongoing collaboration between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Water Management Institute to foster dialogue on agricultural water policies and investments in the context of the FAO led Regional Water Scarcity initiative. The purpose of the paper is to frame the key challenges and opportunities in the sector – including emerging innovations in digital agriculture, water accounting, water supply and wastewater reuse – and to lay out broad strategic directions for action.
Case studies / Farmers / Gender / Social protection / Economic value / Public-private partnerships / Solar energy / Technology / Innovation / Water reuse / Wastewater / Climate change / Groundwater / Water resources / Water user associations / Water productivity / Water governance / Water scarcity / Water supply / Water security / Food security / Food policies / Agricultural development / Sustainable Development Goals / Funding / Irrigation investment / Agricultural policies / Water policy / Water management / Agricultural sector Record No:H049659
The paper discussed motivations of sustainable entrepreneurship in Gauteng Province, South Africa, and estimated relationships between these motivations and enterprise performance. Despite the growing field of sustainable entrepreneurship, most of the available literature has been mainly theoretical and qualitative or has focused on developed countries. This paper contributes to addressing this gap through empirical analysis based on primary survey data from 91 sustainable entrepreneurs. Reliability of the performance and motivation scales were subjected to the Cronbachapos;s alpha coefficient test, and the results were acceptable. The exploratory factor analysis indicated that the motivations of sustainable entrepreneurship factored into 4 dimensions: extrinsic, intrinsic, income security and financial independence, and necessity motivations. Regression analysis revealed that extrinsic and intrinsic motivations are important determinants of enterprise performance. These motivations can be targeted to promote sustainable entrepreneurship in addition to complementary support such as improving business management skills and competencies of sustainable entrepreneurs.
Income / Business management / Financing / Performance evaluation / Sustainable development / Entrepreneurship Record No:H048612
Water–Sanitation–Hygiene (WASH) remains vital for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, yet many countries have not localised the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 6, which focuses on ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. Even in leading African economies such as South Africa, many communities still use the bucket system for sanitation. Using a Composite Index drawn from three indicators whose data were available for 53 of the 54 African countries, it emerged that these states are at various stages of fulfilling the targets set out in SDG 6. The fact that some countries showed declining trends in WASH between 2000 and 2015, is an indication that it will be difficult for Africa to reach the 2030 targets. We recommend that Africa aggressively mobilise resources if it is to attain universal WASH services by 2030, along with other SDG 6-related targets.
Rural communities / Infrastructure / Drinking water / Water resources / Water supply / Water availability / Water quality / Stakeholders / Sanitation / Sustainable Development Goals Record No:H049146
Agricultural land suitability analysis (ALSA) for crop production is one of the key tools for ensuring sustainable agriculture and for attaining the current global food security goal in line with the Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) of United Nations. Although some review studies addressed land suitability, few of them specifically focused on land suitability analysis for agriculture. Furthermore, previous reviews have not reflected on the impact of climate change on future land suitability and how this can be addressed or integrated into ALSA methods. In the context of global environmental changes and sustainable agriculture debate, we showed from the current review that ALSA is a worldwide land use planning approach. We reported from the reviewed articles 69 frequently used factors in ALSA. These factors were further categorized in climatic conditions (16), nutrients and favorable soils (34 of soil and landscape), water availability in the root zone (8 for hydrology and irrigation) and socio-economic and technical requirements (11). Also, in getting a complete view of crop’s ecosystems and factors that can explain and improve yield, inherent local socio-economic factors should be considered. We showed that this aspect has been often omitted in most of the ALSA modeling with only 38% of the total reviewed article using socio-economic factors. Also, only 30% of the studies included uncertainty and sensitivity analysis in their modeling process. We found limited inclusions of climate change in the application of the ALSA. We emphasize that incorporating current and future climate change projections in ALSA is the way forward for sustainable or optimum agriculture and food security. To this end, qualitative and quantitative approaches must be integrated into a unique ALSA system (Hybrid Land Evaluation System - HLES) to improve the land evaluation approach.
Ecosystems / Socioeconomic environment / Water availability / Planning / Environmental impact / Food security / Crop modelling / Crop yield / Crop production / Machine learning / Climate change / Integration / Land use / Land suitability / Sustainable Development Goals / Sustainable agriculture / Agricultural land Record No:H049142
International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 2019. IWMI Annual report 2018. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI) 42p. [DOI] More... | Fulltext (4.35 MB)
Infrastructure / Financing / Investment / Resilience / Disaster prevention / Flood control / Wetlands / Farmers / Smallholders / Water user associations / Water conservation / Soil conservation / Pollution by agriculture / Water pollution / Resource management / Water accounting / Water governance / Water law / Groundwater irrigation / Irrigation management / Solar energy / Food security / Research programmes / CGIAR / Sustainable Development Goals / Sustainable agriculture / Water management Record No:H049534
Smith, D. Mark; Matthews, J. H.; Bharati, Luna; Borgomeo, Edoardo; McCartney, Matthew; Mauroner, A.; Nicol, Alan; Rodriguez, D.; Sadoff, Claudia; Suhardiman, Diana; Timboe, I.; Amarnath, Giriraj; Anisha, N. 2019. Adaptation’s thirst: accelerating the convergence of water and climate action. Background paper prepared for the 2019 report of the Global Commission on Adaptation. Rotterdam, Netherlands: Global Commission on Adaptation (GCA). 42p. More... | Fulltext (1.39 MB)
Technological changes / Uncertainty / Resilience / Insurance / Drought / Flooding / Risk assessment / Hydrological cycle / Participation / Institutions / UNFCCC / Sustainable Development Goals / International agreements / Investment / Funding / Financing / Economic impact / Infrastructure / Water resources / Policies / Strategies / Frameworks / Decision making / Water governance / Water management / Climate change adaptation Record No:H049446
With rapidly increasing investment in water control infrastructure (WCI) and a recently ratified agriculture development strategy that promotes integrated farming of high-value products such as fish, agricultural production, already fundamental to Myanmar’s economy, will be central to driving the countries’ socioeconomic transformation. Water planners and managers have a unique opportunity to design and manage WCI to incorporate fish and, in so doing, reduce conflicts and optimise the benefits to both people and the ecosystem services upon which they depend. Results from rice–fish culture experimental trials in Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady Delta are providing an evidence base for the importance of integrating fish into WCI, highlighting a range of both environmental and social benefits. By using less than 13% of paddy land area and through best management practices, existing rice productivity is sustained, alongside a 25% increase in economic returns for the same land area from fish. In addition, there are considerably more protein and micronutrients available from the fish produced in the system. Should these farming system innovations be adopted at scale, Myanmar stands to benefit from increased employment, incomes and nutritional value of farm plots (alongside associated reductions in pesticide pollution) and water use benefits.
Nutrition / Fisheries / Institutions / Environmental effects / Policies / Legislation / Strategies / Water management / Sustainable Development Goals / Infrastructure / Irrigation programs / Ricefield aquaculture / Integrated systems / Farming systems Record No:H049430
Diarrhoea caused by waterborne pathogens still has a large burden of disease. We introduce a modelling and scenario analysis framework that enables better understanding of sources of and possible future changes in the disease burden due to environmental change and management implementation. The state-of-the-art research that can contribute to the development of the framework at the large scale is analysed, together with research gaps and opportunities for future research. Priorities have been identified and these include implementation of Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment and application of the models in scenario analyses. The credibility of the model outputs should be central in the analysis, for example by developing stochastic models. Implementation of the framework contributes towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Risk reduction / Sustainable Development Goals / Rivers / Environmental impact assessment / Environmental health / Public health / Health hazards / Diarrhoea / Concentrates / Pathogens / Water quality / Waterborne diseases Record No:H048983
Prioritising aviral dhara (uninterrupted flow) over nirmal dhara (unpolluted flow) can deliver quick outcomes in the Namami Gange Programme. Treating human, municipal and industrial waste released into the Ganga is a long-term project requiring vast resources and political energy, besides behavioural change on a mass scale. But, Ganga’s dry season flows can be quickly improved by basin-scale conjunctive management of the surface water and groundwater. Irrigation in the Ganga basin today depends on tubewells far more than canals. A multipronged protocol is outlined to manage the old canal network and new hydropower storages in order to maximise irrigation benefits and improve dry season river flows.
Villages / Government / Agriculture / Sustainable development / Tributaries / Tube well irrigation / Irrigation programs / Groundwater irrigation / Water management / Irrigation canals / River basin management Record No:H049384
Billions of people currently lack clean water and sanitation. By 2050 the global population will have grown to nearly 10 billion, over two-thirds of whom will live in urban areas. This Voices asks: what are the research and water-management priorities to ensure clean water and sanitation in the world’s cities?
Informal settlements / Population growth / Sustainable Development Goals / Water reuse / Wastewater / Technology / Water management / Drinking water / Urban areas / Sanitation / Water quality Record No:H049378
Data management / Agriculture / Economic growth / Partnerships / Research programmes / Gender equality / Innovation / Digital technology / Resilience / Nexus / Food security / Climate change adaptation / Ecosystems / Sustainable Development Goals / Water policy / Water use / Water security / Water governance / Water management / Water resources / Research institutes / Strategy planning Record No:H049499
Data management / Agriculture / Economic growth / Partnerships / Research programmes / Gender equality / Innovation / Digital technology / Resilience / Nexus / Food security / Climate change adaptation / Ecosystems / Sustainable Development Goals / Water policy / Water use / Water security / Water governance / Water management / Water resources / Research institutes / Strategy planning Record No:H049498
Groundwater extraction / Information systems / Indicators / Ecological factors / Sustainable Development Goals / Guidelines / Water management / Water resources development / Water stress / Environmental management / Environmental flows Record No:H049067
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), are high on the agenda for most countries of the world. In its publication of the SDGs, the UN has provided the goals and target descriptions that, if implemented at a country level, would lead towards a sustainable future. The IAEG (InterAgency Expert Group of the SDGs) was tasked with disseminating indicators and methods to countries that can be used to gather data describing the global progress towards sustainability. However, 2030 Agenda leaves it to countries to adopt the targets with each government setting its own national targets guided by the global level of ambition but taking into account national circumstances. At present, guidance on how to go about this is scant but it is clear that the responsibility is with countries to implement and that it is actions at a country level that will determine the success of the SDGs. Reporting on SDGs by country takes on two forms: i) global reporting using prescribed indicator methods and data; ii) National Voluntary Reviews where a country reports on its own progress in more detail but is also able to present data that are more appropriate for the country. For the latter, countries need to be able to adapt the global indicators to fit national priorities and context, thus the global description of an indicator could be reduced to describe only what is relevant to the country. Countries may also, for the National Voluntary Review, use indicators that are unique to the country but nevertheless contribute to measurement of progress towards the global SDG target. Importantly, for those indicators that relate to the security of natural resources security (e.g., water) indicators, there are no prescribed numerical targets/standards or benchmarks. Rather countries will need to set their own benchmarks or standards against which performance can be evaluated. This paper presents a procedure that would enable a country to describe national targets with associated benchmarks that are appropriate for the country. The procedure builds on precedent set in other countries but in particular on a procedure developed for the setting of Resource Quality Objectives in South Africa. The procedure focusses on those SDG targets that are natural resource-security focused, for example, extent of water-related ecosystems (6.6), desertification (15.3) and so forth, because the selection of indicator methods and benchmarks is based on the location of natural resources, their use and present state and how they fit into national strategies.
Strategies / Indicators / Environmental monitoring / Stakeholders / Water quality / Water resources / Sustainable Development Goals / Resource conservation / Natural resources management Record No:H049054
Least developed countries / Farmers / Agricultural development / Policies / Research projects / Capacity building / Groundwater irrigation / Groundwater management / Water governance / Sustainable development / Groundwater development Record No:H049494
Target 6.4 of the recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) deals with the reduction of water scarcity. To monitor progress towards this target, two indicators are used: Indicator 6.4.1 measuring water use efficiency and 6.4.2 measuring the level of water stress (WS). This paper aims to identify whether the currently proposed indicator 6.4.2 considers the different elements that need to be accounted for in a WS indicator. WS indicators compare water use with water availability. We identify seven essential elements: 1) both gross and net water abstraction (or withdrawal) provide important information to understand WS; 2) WS indicators need to incorporate environmental flow requirements (EFR); 3) temporal and 4) spatial disaggregation is required in a WS assessment; 5) both renewable surface water and groundwater resources, including their interaction, need to be accounted for as renewable water availability; 6) alternative available water resources need to be accounted for as well, like fossil groundwater and desalinated water; 7) WS indicators need to account for water storage in reservoirs, water recycling and managed aquifer recharge. Indicator 6.4.2 considers many of these elements, but there is need for improvement. It is recommended that WS is measured based on net abstraction as well, in addition to currently only measuring WS based on gross abstraction. It does incorporate EFR. Temporal and spatial disaggregation is indeed defined as a goal in more advanced monitoring levels, in which it is also called for a differentiation between surface and groundwater resources. However, regarding element 6 and 7 there are some shortcomings for which we provide recommendations. In addition, indicator 6.4.2 is only one indicator, which monitors blue WS, but does not give information on green or green-blue water scarcity or on water quality. Within the SDG indicator framework, some of these topics are covered with other indicators.
Groundwater extraction / Reservoirs / Surface water / Environmental flows / Indicators / Monitoring / Evaluation / Economic activities / Sustainable development / Water quality / Water availability / Water use efficiency / Water stress / Water scarcity Record No:H048267
Mateo-Sagasta, Javier; Zadeh, S. M.; Unver, O.; De Souza, M.; Turral, H.; Burke, J. 2018. Setting the scene. In Mateo-Sagasta, Javier; Zadeh, S. M.; Turral, H. (Eds.). More people, more food, worse water?: a global review of water pollution from agriculture. Rome, Italy: FAO; Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE). pp.3-13. More... | Fulltext (544 KB)
Aquatic environment / Sustainable development / Costs / Water scarcity / Water quality / Livestock / Aquaculture / Crops / Agricultural wastes / Water pollution Record No:H048856
Karki, M.; Senaratna Sellamuttu, Sonali; Okayasu, S.; Suzuki, W.; Acosta, L. A.; Alhafedh, Y.; Anticamara, J. A.; Ausseil, A.-G.; Davies, K.; Gasparatos, A.; Gundimeda, H.; Ibrahim, F.-H.; Kohsaka, R.; Kumar, R.; Managi, S.; Ning, W.; Rajvanshi, A.; Rawat, G. S.; Riordan, P.; Sharma, S.; Virk, A.; Wang, C.; Yahara, T.; Yeo-Chang, Y. 2018. The regional assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services for Asia and the Pacific.Summary for policymakers. Bonn, Germany: Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) 44p. More... | Fulltext (2.91 MB)
Forest management / Food security / Waste management / Economic growth / Poverty / Sustainable development / Natural resources / Policy making / Biodiversity / Ecosystem services Record No:H048875
Smakhtin, V.; Nagabhatla, N.; Qadir, M.; Guppy, L.; Burek, P.; Villholth, Karen; McCartney, Matthew; Pavelic, Paul; Tsegai, D.; Fedotova, T.; Teruggi, G. 2018. NBS [Nature-based solutions] for managing water-related risk, variability and change. In WWAP (United Nations World Water Assessment Programme); UN-Water. The United Nations World Water Development Report 2018: nature-based solutions for water. Paris, France: UNESCO. pp.64-78. More... | Fulltext (31.02 MB)
Catchment areas / Risk management / Ecosystem services / Flood control / Flooding / Drought / Climate change / Water storage / Water resources / Water management / Sustainable development / Natural resources Record No:H048854
Bernhardt, E. M.; Zandaryaa, S.; Arduino, G.; Jimenez-Cisneros, B.; Payne, J.; Zadeh, S. M.; McClain, M.; Irvine, K.; Acreman, M.; Cudennec, C.; Amerasinghe, Priyanie; Dickens, Chris; Cohen-Shacham, E.; Fedotova, T.; Cox, C.; Bertule, M.; Coates, D.; Connor, R.; Simmons, E.; Gastelumendi, J.; Gutierrez, T. 2018. NBS [Nature-based solutions] for managing water quality. In WWAP (United Nations World Water Assessment Programme); UN-Water. The United Nations World Water Development Report 2018: nature-based solutions for water. Paris, France: UNESCO. pp.52-62. More... | Fulltext (31.02 MB)
Infrastructure / Riparian zones / Land management / Wetlands / Socioeconomic environment / Agriculture / Environmental health / Ecosystem services / Sustainable development / Water conservation / Water pollution / Water quality / Water management / Natural resources Record No:H048853
Study region : Transboundary aquifers (TBAs) of Africa.; Study focus: Review of work on TBAs in Africa, including an overview of assessments and management efforts that have taken place over the last half century.; New hydrological insights : Seventy-two TBAs have been mapped in Africa. They underlie 40% of the continent, where 33% of the population lives, often in arid or semi-arid regions. TBA inventories have progressed since 2000 and remain work in progress. Despite their importance only eleven TBAs have been subjected to more detailed studies. Cooperation has been formalised for seven TBAs. Most of these TBAs are in North Africa and the Sahel. The recent global Transboundary Waters Assessment Programme compiled information at the national level to describe TBAs in terms of key indicators related to the water resource, socio-economic, and legal and institutional conditions. Availability of data at national level is low, hampering regional assessment. Comparing indicators, from questionnaire surveys, with those from a global water-use model showed variable levels of agreement, calling for further research. Reports on agreements scoping TBA management, indicate that this may be dealt with within international river/lake agreements, but reported inconsistencies between TBA sharing countries also indicate that implementation is limited. Increasing awareness and support to joint TBA management is noticeable amongst international organisations. However, such cooperation requires long-term commitment to produce impacts at the local level.
Case studies / Sediment / Groundwater management / Socioeconomic environment / Water quality / Water use / Water management / Water resources / Indicators / Governance / Assessment / Sustainable development / Aquifers / International waters Record No:H048768
International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 2018. IWMI Annual report 2017. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI) 36p. [DOI] More... | Fulltext (5 MB)
Collective action / Equity / Economic aspects / Aquifers / Farmers / Smallholders / Ecosystems / Investment / Groundwater / Water governance / Water accounting / Water reuse / Resource recovery / Wastewater irrigation / Urban environment / Rural communities / Cooperation / Empowerment / Women / Gender / Sustainable development / Water management / Water resources / Water productivity / Solar energy / Natural disasters / Climate change Record No:H048780
Slope / River basins / Disease control / Disease transmission / Irrigation / Sustainable Development Goals / Health hazards / Dam construction / Reservoir operation / Water management / Water security / Water level / Water storage / Malaria / Mosquito-borne diseases Record No:H048781
Marshall, F.; Dolley, J.; Bisht, R.; Priya, R.; Waldman, L.; Amerasinghe, Priyanie; Randhawa, P. 2018. Ecosystem services and poverty alleviation in urbanising contexts. In Schreckenberg, K.; Mace, G.; Poudyal, M. (Eds.). Ecosystem services and poverty alleviation: trade-offs and governance. London, UK: Routledge. pp.111-125. More... | Fulltext (155 KB)
Living standards / Food security / Sustainable development / Economic aspects / Rural communities / Agriculture / Environmental legislation / Environmental management / Urbanization / Urban areas / Poverty / Ecosystem services Record No:H048775
The discourse on the need for water, energy, and food security has dominated the development agenda of southern African countries, centred on improving livelihoods, building resilience, and regional integration. About 60% of the population in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) live in rural areas relying mainly on rainfed agriculture, lacking access to clean water and energy, yet the region is endowed with vast natural resources. The water-energy-food (WEF) nexus is a conceptual framework that presents opportunities for greater resource coordination, management, and policy convergence across sectors. This is particularly relevant in the SADC region as resources are transboundary and supports efforts linked to regional integration and inclusive socio-economic development and security. We conducted an appraisal of WEF-related policies and institutions in SADC and identified linkages among them. The present ‘silo’ approach in resource management and allocation, often conducted at the national level, contributes to the region’s failure to meet its development targets, exacerbating its vulnerabilities. The lack of coordination of WEF nexus synergies and trade-offs in planning often threatens the sustainability of development initiatives. We highlighted the importance of the WEF nexus to sustainably address the sectoral coordination of resources through harmonised institutions and policies, as well as setting targets and indicators to direct and monitor nexus developments. We illustrate the significance of the nexus in promoting inclusive development and transforming vulnerable communities into resilient societies. The study recommends a set of integrated assessment models to monitor and evaluate the implementation of WEF nexus targets. Going forward, we propose the adoption of a regional WEF nexus framework.
Assessment / Models / Policies / Institutions / Regional development / SADC countries / Agricultural production / Poverty / Living standards / Sustainable Development Goals / River basins / International waters / Resilience / Climate change / Nexus / Food security / Energy resources / Water availability / Water resources Record No:H048729
Case studies / Sustainable development / Business models / Resource recovery / Energy generation / Energy recovery Record No:H048726
Drechsel, Pay; Otoo, Miriam; Rao, Krishna C.; Hanjra, Munir A. 2018. Business models for a circular economy: introduction - Section I. In Otoo, Miriam; Drechsel, Pay (Eds.). Resource recovery from waste: business models for energy, nutrient and water reuse in low- and middle-income countries. Oxon, UK: Routledge - Earthscan. pp.4-31. More... | Fulltext (3.63 MB)
Equity / Social aspects / Food chains / Risk management / Sustainable Development Goals / Environmental health / Environmental management / Organic matter / Nutrients / Resource recovery / Sanitation / Waste management / Economic aspects / Models / Business management Record No:H048697
What gets measured gets done! This saying implies that without quantifying what needs to be done, doing it may not be possible. This term is relevant to how African countries will implement the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, particularly in tracking progress on SDG 5 on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. During the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), governments failed to establish baselines for measuring progress in meeting the goals. To ensure that no country is left behind, the UN came up with a list of indicators (Tiers 1-3) for tracking progress in achieving SDGs targets. Tier 1 indicators fall in conventional data sets and almost all countries have these data. The process for implementation, through domestication and localisation by countries, includes the responsibilities of reporting, tracking and monitoring. The article highlights the importance of attempts to establish a broad baseline of data on women in Africa. An Afro-barometer, drawing from UN Tier 1 indicators and using a composite index and data drawn from the World Development Indicators (WDI), is a tentative step towards a baseline for tracking progress towards achieving SDG 5 in Africa. The research established data for 52 of the 54 African countries on women for three indicators, namely: women’s political representation, maternal mortality rates and women’s labour force participation. The gaps in the available data, places a question mark over the capacity and will to measure key indicators of gender inequality by countries. Implementation and reporting is integral to the achievement of the SDGs as well as the African Agenda 2063 and call for political will and resources on the continent to move from the merely aspirational, towards the transformation that the agendas propose.
Barometers / Monitoring / UN / Equity / Labor force / Empowerment / s participation / Womenapos / Women in development / Gender / Sustainable Development Goals Record No:H048618
Sustainable development has become the main focus of the global development agenda as presented in the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, for countries to assess progress, they need to have reliable baseline indicators. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to develop a composite baseline index of the agriculture-related SDGs in Southern Africa to guide progress reporting. The paper identified eight of the SDG indicators related to the agriculture sector. The paper relies on data for indicators from five SDGs (SDGs 1, 2, 6, 7 and 15). Applying the arithmetic mean method of aggregation, an agriculture-related SDG composite index for Southern Africa between zero (0 = poor performance) and 100 (best possible performance) was computed for thirteen countries that had data on all identified indicators. The results show that the best performing countries (Botswana, Angola, Namibia, Zambia and South Africa) in the assessment recorded high scores in SDGs 1, 2 and 7. The three countries (Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe and Madagascar) that performed poorly on both SDG 1 and 2 also had the least scores on the overall agriculture-related SDG composite index. The water stress indicator for SDG 6 recorded the worst performance among most countries in the region. Possible approaches to improve the contribution of agriculture to SDGs may include investing more resources in priority areas for each agriculture-related SDG depending on baseline country conditions. The implementation, monitoring and evaluation of regional and continental commitments in the agriculture sector and the SDGs are critical for achievement of the targets at the national and local levels. While the methods employed are well-grounded in literature, data unavailability for some of the SDGs in some countries presented a limitation to the study, and future efforts should focus on collecting data for the other SDGs in order to permit a wider application.
Food security / Poverty / Agricultural policy / Agricultural sector / Agriculture / Sustainable Development Goals Record No:H048613
Poverty / Subsidies / Sanitation / Regulations / Urban population / Rural communities / Financing / Investment / Drinking water / Water levels / Water quality / Water pricing / Water rates / Water delivery / Water supply / Water management / Water use / Sustainable Development Goals / Sustainability Record No:H048609
Ecosystem services / Partnerships / Public-private cooperation / Subsidies / Financing / Investment / Irrigation water / Income / Households / Wastewater / Poverty / Sanitation / Policy making / Investment / Water quality / Water supply / Water policy / Water rates / Water management / Water use / Sustainable Development Goals / Sustainability Record No:H048608
Case studies / Mapping / Mangroves / Coastal area / Mediterranean region / Lakes / Ecology / Surface water / Water quality / Sustainable Development Goals / Land use / Land cover / Surveys / Environmental monitoring / Environmental impact assessment / Wetlands / Earth observation satellites Record No:H049128
Karki, M.; Gasparatos, A.; Senaratna Sellamuttu, Sonali; Kohsaka, R.; Thaman, R.; Leimona, B.; Opgenoorth, L.; Han, K. H.; Magni, P.; Saito, O.; Talukdar, G.; Zadegan, S. S.; Pandit, R.; Hyakumura, K.; Isa, S. S.; Lasmana, F. 2018. Setting the scene. In Karki, M.; Senaratna Sellamuttu, Sonali [IWMI]; Okayasu, S.; Suzuki, W. (Eds.); 2018. The regional assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services for Asia and the Pacific. Bonn, Germany: Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). 616p. pp.1-64. More... | Fulltext (12.4 MB)
Coral reefs / Mangroves / Grasslands / Forest management / Wetlands / Land allocation / Landscape / Sustainable Development Goals / Local communities / Urbanization / Governance / Environmental policy / Assessment / Socioeconomic environment / Geographical distribution / Ecosystem services / Biodiversity conservation Record No:H049097
Climate change / Human rights / Sustainable Development Goals / Aquifers / International waters / Environmental effects / Natural resources / Water rights / Water supply / Water resources / Water management / Water governance / Groundwater management Record No:H048539
Institutions / European Union / River basins / International waters / Surface water / Land management / Land use / Energy resources / Public health / Equity / Social aspects / Poverty / Capacity building / Education / Aquifers / Groundwater extraction / Groundwater management / Conflict / Cooperation / Incentives / Economic aspects / Collective action / Participatory management / Stakeholders / Legislation / Legal aspects / Sustainable Development Goals / Ecology / Water policy / Water resources / Water management / Water governance Record No:H048538
Sanitation / Drinking water / Ecosystems / Climate change / Food production / Irrigation water / Irrigation efficiency / Agriculture / Poverty / Water resources / Water quality / Water use / Groundwater management / Sustainable Development Goals Record No:H049043
Financing / Legal aspects / Regulations / State intervention / Sustainable Development Goals / Food security / Catchment areas / Irrigation management / Customary law / Monitoring / Smallholders / Economic aspects / Rural communities / Guidelines / Water management / Water resources / Water rights / Water use Record No:H048975
Water and nutrition are linked in multiple ways, but few of these interlinkages are well understood. What is, for example, the exact relationship between water pollution and health or between water resource management and nutrition? Even less is known about the interactions across these various linkages. The importance of better understanding these connections has been highlighted as we pursue the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which challenge mankind to meet both water security as well as food and nutrition security goals, while also improving water-based ecosystems. It has become increasingly clear that progress toward these goals can only be achieved if measures in the food and nutrition space (SDG 2) do not constrain progress on water (SDG 6) and if measures undertaken to support targets under one of these SGDs also support the outcomes of the other. This paper provides an overview of water–nutrition linkages as reflected in the SDGs, and it identifies key gaps in these linkages and suggests a way forward to support the achievement of both water and nutrition goals and targets.
Irrigation water / Risk management / Communities / Ecosystem services / Wastewater treatment / Public health / Landscape / Equity / Economic aspects / Policy making / Climate change / Drinking water / Agricultural systems / Sustainable agriculture / Diet / Food production / Food security / Sanitation / Waterborne diseases / Water availability / Water use / Water pollution / Water security / Water quality / Water supply / Water management / Water resources / Integrated management / Nutrition / Sustainable Development Goals / Learning / Research and development Record No:H048974
Climate change is a complex and cross-cutting problem that needs an integrated and transformative systems approach to respond to the challenge. Current sectoral approaches to climate change adaptation initiatives often create imbalances and retard sustainable development. Regional and international literature on climate change adaptation opportunities and challenges applicable to southern Africa from a water-energy-food (WEF) nexus perspective was reviewed. Specifically, this review highlights climate change impacts on water, energy, and food resources in southern Africa, while exploring mitigation and adaptation opportunities. The review further recommends strategies to develop cross-sectoral sustainable measures aimed at building resilient communities. Regional WEF nexus related institutions and legal frameworks were also reviewed to relate the WEF nexus to policy. Southern Africa is witnessing an increased frequency and intensity in climate change-associated extreme weather events, causing water, food, and energy insecurity. A projected reduction of 20% in annual rainfall by 2080 in southern Africa will only increase the regional socio-economic challenges. This is exacerbating regional resource scarcities and vulnerabilities. It will also have direct and indirect impacts on nutrition, human well-being, and health. Reduced agricultural production, lack of access to clean water, sanitation, and clean, sustainable energy are the major areas of concern. The region is already experiencing an upsurge of vector borne diseases (malaria and dengue fever), and water and food-borne diseases (cholera and diarrhoea). What is clear is that climate change impacts are cross-sectoral and multidimensional, and therefore require cross-sectoral mitigation and adaptation approaches. In this regard, a wellcoordinated and integrated WEF nexus approach offers opportunities to build resilient systems, harmonise interventions, and mitigate trade-offs and hence improve sustainability. This would be achieved through greater resource mobilisation and coordination, policy convergence across sectors, and targeting nexus points in the landscape. The WEF nexus approach has potential to increase the resilience of marginalised communities in southern Africa by contributing towards attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, and 13).
Hydropower / Nutrition / Economic aspects / Public health / Sanitation / Agricultural production / Communities / Sustainable development / Nexus / Food security / Food resources / Energy resources / Water management / Water resources / Climate change adaptation Record No:H048960
Globally, more than 60% of the human population live without safely managed sanitation services or even lack access to basic sanitation facilities. In addition, most of the wastewater produced in the world is discharged without proper treatment. Integrated approaches are needed to address these issues and curb the resulting adverse impacts on public health and the environment, and associated societal economic losses. The UN 2030 SDG Agenda provides an important framework towards more sustainable sanitation development, in terms of both safe sanitation access and wastewater management. Innovative solutions that treat and enable productive safe use of water, and recovery of nutrients and organic matter from wastes resources are booming. Some examples of trends are decentralized solutions, separation of waste flows, low/or no-flushing toilets, and converting faecal sludge to energy. These alternative technologies show huge potential to address many development challenges, contributing to multiple SDGs, but achieving upscaling has proved to be a major challenge. A paradigm shift to ‘treatment for reuse’ instead of ‘treatment for disposal’ is already taking place in the wastewater sector. Nevertheless, a better understanding of driving forces and enabling environment, new organizational models based on more service-oriented sanitation provision, and highlighting potential multiple societal benefits to attract investments from new sectors, are identified areas that need further attention.
Economic loss / Water use / Public health / Innovation / Sanitation / Waste management / Sustainable Development Goals / Resource recovery Record No:H048478
Gender / Energy generation / Food production / Wetlands / Fisheries / Mining / Industrial development / Irrigation systems / Irrigated farming / Urbanization / Agriculture / Ecosystem services / Sustainable agriculture / Rainfall-runoff relationships / Evapotranspiration / Temperature / Drought / Flooding / Climate change / Economic aspects / Groundwater management / Wastewater treatment / International waters / Surface water / Water requirements / Water demand / Water security / Water reuse / Water quality / Water power / Water availability / Water use / Water resources / River basin management Record No:H048269
Thomas, R. J.; Reed, M.; Clifton, K.; Appadurai, A. N.; Mills, A. J.; Zucca, C.; Kodsi, E.; Sircely, J.; Haddad, F.; von Hagen, C.; Mapedza, Everisto; Wolderegay, K.; Shalander, K.; Bellon, M.; Le, Q. B.; Mabikke, S.; Alexander, S.; Leu, S.; Schlingloff, S.; Lala-Pritchard, T.; Mares, V.; Quiroz, R. 2017. Scaling up sustainable land management and restoration of degraded land. Bonn, Germany: United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification 25p. (Global Land Outlook Working Paper) More... | Fulltext (570 MB)
With current rates of land degradation reaching ten to twelve million ha per year, there is an urgent need to scale up and out successful, profitable and resource-efficient sustainable land management practices to maintain the health and resilience of the land that humans depend on. As much as 500 million out of two billion ha of degraded land, mainly in developing countries, have restoration potential, offering an immediate target for restoration and rehabilitation initiatives.1 In the past, piecemeal approaches to achieving sustainable land management have had limited impact. To achieve the ambitious goals of alleviating poverty, securing food and water supplies, and protecting the natural resource base, we need to recognize the inter-connectedness of the factors driving land degradation, so that solutions can be taken to scale, transforming management practices for millions of land users. An analysis of the critical barriers and incentives to achieve scaling up suggests that the most appropriate options should be selected through the involvement of stakeholders at all levels, from local to national and international. New incentives for land managers as well as the public and private sectors are required to achieve a land degradation-neutral world.
Case studies / Biodiversity / Highlands / Cost effectiveness analysis / Value chain / Economic aspects / Landscape / Farmland / Communities / Farmers / Incentives / Private sector / Policy making / Capacity building / Agroforestry / Stakeholders / Land degradation / Land management / Sustainable development Record No:H048257
The rapidly growing population in Uzbekistan has put massive pressure on limited water resources, resulting in frequent water shortages. Irrigation is by far the major water use. Improving irrigation water use through the institutional change of establishing water consumer associations (WCAs) has been identified as a way to increase agricultural production and meet the food demand in the area. However, most WCAs are not fully able to organize collective action or generate sufficient funds to carry out their responsibilities. This study investigated the water-resource-related challenges faced by WCAs and local farmers in Kashkadarya Province in Uzbekistan, using semi-structured expert interviews and focus group discussions. The resulting data were analyzed using qualitative analysis software (Atlas.ti). The results indicated that outdated infrastructure, poor governance, and farmers’ non-payment of irrigation service fees hamper sustainable water management. Greater trust and communication within the WCAs would make an important contribution to effective collective action and to the long-term sustainability of local associations.
Case studies / Communities / Households / Farmers / Agricultural production / Water use / Water management / Water resources / Water user associations / Sustainable development / Governance / Collective action / Institutional development / Infrastructure / Irrigation water / Irrigation systems / Irrigation management Record No:H048175
Case studies / Filtration / Riverbanks / Research institutions / Cultivation / Rice / Crop production / Carbon footprint / Climate change / Rural areas / River basins / International waters / International cooperation / Developing countries / Sustainable Development Goals / Policy making / Development policy / Nexus / Food security / Food resources / Energy resources / Water management / Water resources Record No:H048731
This report summarizes the findings of a collaborative effort to map and assess irrigated areas in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. The study was conducted by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) and the Limpopo Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (LDARD), as part of the DAFF-supported ‘Revitalization of irrigation in South Africa’ project. Based on a combination of Landsat and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite data, previous irrigated area mapping exercises carried out by DAFF and three-field ground truthing (GT) surveys, a total of 1.6 million hectares (Mha) of cropland were identified, with 262,000 ha actually irrigated in the 2015 winter season. The study also found that only 29% of all land equipped with center pivots was actually irrigated.
Capacity building / Surveys / Smallholders / Irrigation operation / Developing countries / Food production / Winter crops / Seasonal cropping / Groundwater irrigation / Surface water / Water security / Water resources / Sustainable development / Mapping / Satellite imagery / Remote sensing / Land cover / Rainfed farming / Agricultural development / Cultivated land / Agricultural land / Irrigated land Record No:H048084
This Research Report chronicles the evolution of thinking on water productivity in the research agenda of IWMI and in the broader irrigation literature over the past 20 years. It describes the origins of the concept and the methodological developments, its operationalization through applied research, and some lessons learned over the two decades of research. This report further highlights how a focus on agricultural water productivity has brought greater attention to critical water scarcity issues, and the role of agricultural water management in supporting broader development objectives such as increasing agricultural production, reducing agricultural water use, raising farm-level incomes, and alleviating poverty and inequity. Yet, reliance on a single-factor productivity metric, such as agricultural water productivity defined as “crop per drop,” in multi-factor and multi-output production processes can mask the complexity of agricultural systems as well as the trade-offs required to achieve desired outcomes. The findings from this retrospective underscore the limitations of single-factor productivity metrics while also highlighting opportunities to support more comprehensive approaches to address water scarcity concerns and, ultimately, achieve the broader development objectives.
Food security / Environmental flows / Models / Applied research / Costs / Sustainable development / Equity / Groundwater depletion / Poverty / Farm income / Crop yield / Crop production / Performance indexes / Irrigation systems / Irrigated land / Irrigation efficiency / Water supply / Water scarcity / Water allocation / Water conservation / Water use efficiency / Water accounting / Water management / Water resources / Water productivity / Agricultural system / Agricultural production Record No:H048036
Environmental flows (EF) are an important component of Goal 6 (the ‘water goal’) of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Yet, many countries still do not have well-defined criteria on how to define EF. In this study, we bring together the International Water Management Institute’s (IWMI’s) expertise and previous research in this area to develop a new methodology to quantify EF at a global scale. EF are developed for grids (0.1 degree spatial resolution) for different levels of health (defined as environmental management classes [EMCs]) of river sections. Additionally, EF have been separated into surface water and groundwater components, which also helps in developing sustainable groundwater abstraction (SGWA) limits. An online tool has been developed to calculate EF and SGWA in any area of interest.
Models / Hydrology / Runoff / Indicators / Stakeholders / Ecosystems / Aquifers / Water availability / Water management / Water resources / Groundwater recharge / Groundwater extraction / Surface water / Stream flow / River basins / Rivers / Development policy / Sustainable development / Environmental management / Environmental flows Record No:H048035
Pandey, Vishnu Prasad; Dhaubanjar, Sanita; Bharati, Luna. 2017. Sustainable irrigation development: knowledge generation for Karnali-Mohana River Basin. In Nepal. Department of Irrigation. Proceedings of the 10th National Irrigation Seminar on Climate Smart Innovation for the Sustainable Irrigation Development, Nagarkot, Kathmandu, 1-2 June 2017. Lalitpur, Nepal: Department of Irrigation. pp.39-50. More...
Water resources planning and management requires technical knowledge as well as social and environmental considerations and enabling environment for sustainable and equitable development. In this context, this paper highlights the Digo Jal Bikas project which is using a multi-disciplinary framework to generate science-based understanding required for sustainable irrigation development. The project is creating a knowledgebase including an inventory of irrigation and hydropower projects; water availability under current and future climatic conditions; environmental flows requirements for various types of river systems; tradeoff analysis of various water resources development scenarios; and water governance analysis. We present here how the project is generating such a multi-disciplinary knowledgebase that is key for promoting sustainable irrigation development in the Karnali-Mohana basin in the western Nepal.
Environmental flows / Water management / Water governance / Irrigation systems / Knowledge based systems / River basins / Water availability / Water resources / Irrigation programs / Sustainable development / Irrigation management Record No:H049464
Wetlands can only be well managed if their spatial location and extent are accurately documented, which presents a problem as wetland type and morphology are highly variable. Current efforts to delineate wetland extent are varied, resulting in a host of inconsistent and incomparable inventories. This study, done in the Witbank Dam Catchment in Mpumalanga Province of South Africa, explores a remote-sensing technique to delineate wetland extent and assesses the seasonal variations of the inundated area. The objective was to monitor the spatio-temporal changes of wetlands over time through remote sensing and GIS for effective wetland management. Multispectral satellite images, together with a digital elevation model (DEM), were used to delineate wetland extent. The seasonal variations of the inundated area were assessed through an analysis of monthly water indices derived from the normalised difference water index (NDWI). Landsat images and DEM were used to delineate wetland extent and MODIS images were used to assess seasonal variation of the inundated area. A time-series trend analysis on the delineated wetlands shows a declining tendency from 2000 to 2015, which could worsen in the coming few years if no remedial action is taken. Wetland area declined by 19% in the study area over the period under review. An analysis of NDWI indices on the wetland area showed that wetland inundated area is highly variable, exhibiting an increasing variability over time. An overlay of wetland area on cultivated land showed that 21% of the wetland area is subjected to cultivation which is a major contributing factor to wetland degradation.
Catchment areas / Dam construction / Ecosystems / Sustainable development / Satellite imagery / Multispectral imagery / Spatial planning / GIS / Remote sensing / Flooding / Wetlands Record No:H048390
Groundwater is integral to water security. It is the largest store of unfrozen freshwater on earth, and it serves almost half of the global population for basic water needs. In addition, it contributes more than 40% of the irrigation water globally. Groundwater also secures critical ecosystems and ecosystem services, on which people and the environment depend. This paper gives an overview of the significance of groundwater and the critical interlinkages in the Water–Food–Energy–Climate–Environment nexus. It also discusses how opportunities for bringing in groundwater as part of the solutions to water security at various levels are often missed out. Examples are given of how research can contribute to moving forward to ensure that groundwater plays a stronger role in achieving the SDGs. Realizing that sustainable groundwater development, use and management hinges on conscious and pro-active governance, the presentation gives an highlight of the upcoming book on Advances in Groundwater Governance. Finally, some recent developments in terms of developing global platforms and initiative to work across disciplines, sectors and levels and geographic boundaries to address groundwater management challenges are presented, including GRIPP, the Groundwater Solutions Initiative for Policy and Practice and the Working Group on Groundwater Management under the Sustainable Water Future Program. These initiatives are emerging with strong buy-in from stakeholders at various levels, from local to global.
Environmental effects / Climate change / Energy / Food security / Ecosystem services / Irrigation water / Freshwater / Sustainable development / Water governance / Water security / Groundwater Record No:H048333
Guppy, L.; Qadir, M.; Lautze, Jonathan. 2017. Achieving sustainable development goal 6 in the Zambezi River Basin. In Lautze, Jonathan; Phiri, Z.; Smakhtin, Vladimir; Saruchera, D. (Eds.). 2017. The Zambezi River Basin: water and sustainable development. Oxon, UK: Routledge - Earthscan. pp.234-248. (Earthscan Series on Major River Basins of the World) More...
Local communities / Freshwater / Water scarcity / Water reuse / Water pollution / Water quality / Sanitation / Drinking water / River basin management / Sustainable development Record No:H048281
Hanjra, Munir A.; Drechsel, Pay; Masundire, H. M. 2017. Urbanization, water quality and water reuse. In Lautze, Jonathan; Phiri, Z.; Smakhtin, Vladimir; Saruchera, D. (Eds.). 2017. The Zambezi River Basin: water and sustainable development. Oxon, UK: Routledge - Earthscan. pp.158-174. (Earthscan Series on Major River Basins of the World) More...
Environmental health / Mining / Public health / Sanitation / Solid wastes / Waste disposal / Sustainable development / Environmental protection / Wastewater treatment / Human behaviour / Water reuse / Water quality / Water resources / Urbanization Record No:H048277
Salam, P. A.; Pandey, Vishnu Prasad; Shrestha, S.; Anal, A. K. 2017. The need for the nexus approach. In Salam, P. A.; Shrestha, S.; Pandey, V. P.; Anal, A. K. (Eds.). Water-energy-food nexus: principles and practices. Indianapolis, IN, USA: Wiley. pp.3-10 More...
The water, energy, and food resources share a lot in common; they have strong interdependencies and are inadvertently affected by action in any one of them. Therefore, the nexus approach (integrated policies related to water, energy, and food) is required in the face of growing concerns over the future availability and sustainability of these resources. The nexus approach can help achieve at least some of the “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” (e.g., SDG 2, 6, 7, 12, 13, 15). This chapter discusses trends in availability and consumption of the three key resources (i.e., water, energy, and food) and interactions between them, and finally provides some reasons why the nexus approach can help achieve social and economic development goals.
Fossil fuels / Household consumption / Renewable energy / Economic development / Food consumption / Energy resources / Energy consumption / Water use / Water availability / Water resources / Sustainable Development Goals Record No:H048456
International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 2016. IWMI Annual report 2015. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI) 28p. [DOI] More... | Fulltext (1.37 MB)
Health hazards / Hydropower / Living standards / Poverty / Rural development / Wastewater / Investment / Financing / Agriculture / Climate change / Water management / Water resources / Malaria / Dams / Wetlands / s participation / Womenapos / Gender / Harvesting / Farmers / Flood control / Sustainable development Record No:H047672
Wastewater / Groundwater / Drinking water / Water quality / Water management / Water resources / Living standards / Sustainable development / Economic development Record No:H047627
The Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) water and energy sectors are under increasing pressure due to population growth and agricultural and industrial development. Climate change is also negatively impacting on the region’s water and energy resources. As the majority of SADC’s population lives in poverty, regional development and integration are underpinned by water and energy security as the watercourses in the region are transboundary in nature. This paper reviews the region’s water and energy resources and recommends policies based on the water–energy nexus approach. This is achieved by reviewing literature on water and energy resources as well as policy issues. Water resources governance provides a strong case to create a water–energy nexus platform to support regional planning and integration as SADC countries share similar climatic and hydrological conditions. However, there has been a gap between water and energy sector planning in terms of policy alignment and technical convergence. These challenges hinder national policies on delivering economic and social development goals, as well as constraining the regional goal of greater integration. Regional objectives on sustainable energy and access to clean water for all can only be achieved through the recognition of the water–energy nexus, championed in an integrated and sustainable manner. A coordinated regional water–energy nexus approach stimulates economic growth, alleviates poverty and reduces high unemployment rates. The shared nature of water and energy resources requires far more transboundary water–energy nexus studies to be done in the context of regional integration and policy formulation.
Population growth / Riparian zones / Economic development / Poverty / River basins / International waters / Water requirements / Water supply / Water scarcity / Watercourses / Agriculture / Energy generation / Energy resources / Water resources / Regional development / Sustainable development / Policy making Record No:H047590
Grafton, R. Q.; McLindin, M.; Hussey, K.; Wyrwoll, P.; Wichelns, D.; Ringler, C.; Garrick, D.; Pittock, J.; Wheeler, S.; Orr, S.; Matthews, N.; Ansink, E.; Aureli, A.; Connell, D.; De Stefano, L.; Dowsley, K.; Farolfi, S.; Hall, J.; Katic, Pamela; Lankford, B.; Leckie, H.; McCartney, Matthew; Pohlner, H.; Ratna, N.; Rubarenzya, M. H.; Raman, S. N. S.; Wheeler, K.; Williams, J. 2016. Responding to global challenges in food, energy, environment and water: risks and options assessment for decision-making.Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, 3(2):275-299. [DOI] More... | Fulltext (1.14 MB)
We analyse the threats of global environmental change, as they relate to food security. First, we review three discourses: (i) ‘sustainable intensification’, or the increase of food supplies without compromising food producing inputs, such as soils and water; (ii) the ‘nexus’ that seeks to understand links across food, energy, environment and water systems; and (iii) ‘resilience thinking’ that focuses on how to ensure the critical capacities of food, energy and water systems are maintained in the presence of uncertainties and threats. Second, we build on these discourses to present the causal, risks and options assessment for decision-making process to improve decisionmaking in the presence of risks. The process provides a structured, but flexible, approach that moves from problem diagnosis to better risk-based decision-making and outcomes by responding to causal risks within and across food, energy, environment and water systems.
Poverty / Farmers / Stakeholders / Households / Decision making / Water resources / Environmental effects / Resilience / Intensification / Sustainable development / Energy / Food production / Food security / Risk assessment Record No:H047589
Stakeholders / Socioeconomic development / Cost recovery / Economic development / Environmental effects / Groundwater / Water demand / Water supply / Water governance / Water management / Water resources / Integrated management / Sustainable development / Water security Record No:H047582
Wijekoon, W. M. S. M.; Gunawardena, E. R. N.; Aheeyar, Mohamed M. M. 2016. Institutional reforms in minor (village tank) irrigation sector of Sri Lanka towards sustainable development. In Sri Lanka. University of Peradeniya. 7th International Conference on Sustainable Built Environment. Proceedings of the Sessions on Recycling Waste Management and Sustainable Water Management, Kandy, Sri Lanka, 16-18 December 2016. Peradeniya, Sri Lanka: University of Peradeniya. pp.75-83. More...
This paper reviews the institutional reforms taken place in minor irrigation systems in Sri Lanka by contrasting those observed during pre-colonial and colonial periods with those after the independence. Formal or informal institutions have governed the operation and performance of the minor irrigation systems with continuous change of authority. While the earlier reforms focused on the irrigation sector with quicker benefits and lower political risks, recent reforms have covered macro institutions, where the benefits are gradual with high political risks. In ancient irrigation system management, decision making and implementation were taken by communities themselves under the feudal system of “Rajakariya” ensuring sustainability and maintaining village ecosystem. With the abolishing of “Rajakariya” system after the arrival of British rulers, the authority was shifted from the community to the government along with the trend of irrigation system management towards centralization and bureaucracy. After independence, though the minor irrigation system management was the responsibility of beneficiary farmers, the authority of the systems was continuously changed between different government agencies. Now, minor irrigation systems are governed by the Department of Agrarian Development and/ or Provincial councils towards sustainability goals while emphasizing the different stakeholder involvement through enforcement of formal and informal rules and procedures. The government continues the commitment to reform because it provides evidence for the political and economic stability, tactical benefits, timely consideration of stakeholders’ perception and information towards the required change.
Cultivation / Community management / State intervention / Authority / Stakeholders / Irrigation water / Irrigation management / Irrigation systems / Ancestral technology / Small scale systems / Sustainable development / Tank irrigation / Villages / Institutional reform Record No:H048030
DeClerck, F. A. J.; Jones. S. K.; Attwood, S.; Bossio, D.; Girvetz, E.; Chaplin-Kramer, B.; Enfors, E.; Fremier, A. K.; Gordon, L. J.; Kizito, F.; Noriega, I. L.; Matthews, N.; McCartney, Matthew; Meacham, M.; Noble, Andrew; Quintero, M.; Remans, S.; Soppe, R.; Willemen, L.; Wood, S. L. R.; Zhang, W. 2016. Agricultural ecosystems and their services: the vanguard of sustainability?Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 23:92-99. [DOI] More...
Sustainable Development Goals offer an opportunity to improve human well-being while conserving natural resources. Ecosystem services highlight human well-being benefits ecosystems, including agricultural ecosystems, provides. Whereas agricultural systems produce the majority of our food, they drive significant environmental degradation. This tension between development and environmental conservation objectives is not an immutable outcome as agricultural systems are simultaneously dependents, and providers of ecosystem services. Recognizing this duality allows integration of environmental and development objectives and leverages agricultural ecosystem services for achieving sustainability targets. We propose a framework to operationalize ecosystem services and resilience-based interventions in agricultural landscapes and call for renewed efforts to apply resilience-based approaches to landscape management challenges and for refocusing ecosystem service research on human well-being outcomes.
Social aspects / Diversification / Farmland / Nutrition / Food production / Food security / Biodiversity conservation / Landscape / Environmental sustainability / Social welfare / Ecosystem services / Natural resources / Farming systems / Agriculture / Sustainable development Record No:H048008
Renewable resources / Climate change / Impact assessment / Sustainable development / Water scarcity / Water use / Water availability / Water resources Record No:H047863
The paper investigates the current practices of the green economy, and challenges and opportunities in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. The paper is based on a baseline study designed to gather data from key informants in Limpopo provincial, district and local municipalities. Twenty-three key informants in the province were interviewed. Primary data collected from key informants was supplemented by secondary data from document reviews. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse data on the current practices of green economy, and challenges and opportunities in the province. Findings from the study suggest that there is generally significant awareness of the green economy concept across the provincial district and local municipalities in Limpopo Province. However, there are gaps in terms of information gathering, storage and sharing on green economy activities in the district municipalities, provincial and national departments. The main barriers constraining the implementation of green economy initiatives in the municipalities include lack of information; shortage of workers with full knowledge on green economy; shortage of training programmes on green economy; and costs of implementation. The main recommendations from this research include the need to improve awareness of green economy activities across all levels in the province, especially with communities’ need for evidence-based research to demonstrate the potential of green economy activities that can contribute to job creation and poverty reduction; and training of officials on how the green economy can contribute to addressing developmental challenges such as service delivery, job creation, local economic development and poverty reduction.
Agriculture / Transport / Land management / Energy management / Recycling / Waste management / Municipal governments / Environmental management / Sustainable development / Public education / Unemployment / Poverty / Economic policy / Economic aspects Record No:H047187
Williams, Timothy O.; Mul, Marloes; Cofie, Olufunke; Kinyangi, J.; Zougmore, R.; Wamukoya, G.; Nyasimi, M.; Mapfumo, P.; Speranza, C. I.; Amwata, D.; Frid-Nielsen, S.; Partey, S.; Girvetz, E.; Rosenstock, T.; Campbell, B. 2015. Climate smart agriculture in the African context. Background Paper. Paper presented at the Feeding Africa - An Action Plan for African Agricultural Transformation. Session 1: Unlocking Africa’s Agricultural Potentials for Transformation to Scale, Dakar, Senegal, 21-23 October 2015. 26p. More... | Fulltext
International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 2015. IWMI Annual report 2014. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI) 4p. [DOI] More... | Fulltext (2 MB)
Households / Multiple use / Wetlands / Ecosystems / Farmers / Climate change / Living standards / Agriculture / Farming systems / Food production / Sustainable development / Water accounting / Water management / Water resources Record No:H047074
Hydrological factors / Urban areas / Aquifers / River basins / Sanitation / Energy conservation / Investment / Economic growth / Sustainable development / Water supply / Water scarcity / Water security Record No:H047036
Sustainable development / Farmers / Smallholders / Small scale farming / Poverty / Indicators / Food production / Food security / Agricultural development Record No:H046999
Nicol, Alan; Langan, Simon; Victor, M.; Gonsalves, J. 2015. Water-smart agriculture in East Africa. : Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE); Kampala, Uganda: Global Water Initiative East Africa (GWI EA) 352p. [DOI] More... | Fulltext (8 MB)
Case studies / Collective action / Learning / Natural resources management / Gender / Dams / Smallholders / Incentives / Income / Wetlands / Catchment areas / Arid lands / Sustainable development / Erosion / Highlands / Participatory approaches / Soil conservation / Rehabilitation / Groundwater / Water storage / Water use / Water conservation / Water harvesting / Rain / Watershed management / Land management / Livestock production / Maize / Rice / Sorghum / Crops / Drought tolerance / Food security / Adaptation / Climate change / Vegetable growing / Drip irrigation / Irrigation schemes / Small scale farming / Water productivity / Agriculture Record No:H046950
GIS / Land cover / Policy making / Water resources / Energy / Food security / Climate change / Sustainable development / Living standards / Environmental protection Record No:H046987
Water cooperation has received prominent focus in the post-2015 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While proposals for measuring water cooperation appear to be converging toward a small set of indicators, the degree to which these proposed indicators draw on past work is unclear. This paper mines relevant past work to generate guidance for monitoring the proposed SDG target related to transboundary water cooperation. Potential measures of water cooperation were identified, filtered and applied in three countries (Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe). Six indicators were ultimately determined as being suitable for measuring water cooperation. As the SDG process turns its focus to the selection of indicators, the indicators proposed in this paper may merit consideration.
Planning / Policy making / Stakeholders / Capacity building / Monitoring / Water allocation / Water law / Legislation / Financing / Information management / Indicators / Water governance / Water management / Water resources / Integrated management / River basin management / Sustainable development / International agreements / Cooperation / International waters Record No:H047338
We explore processes that enable effective policies and practices for managing the links between water, energy, and food. Three case studies are assessed at different scales in the Mekong River basin, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. We find that there are considerable opportunities for improving outcomes for sustainable development by finding solutions that accommodate multiple objectives in the nexus. These include making data more publicly available, commissioning independent experts to advise on contested issues, engaging under-represented stakeholders in decision-making, sharing benefits, exploring different perspectives in forums where alternative development options can be tested and engaging decision-makers at different scales.
Case studies / Farmers / River basins / Decision making / Community development / Energy / Food security / Stakeholders / Living standards / Institutions / Water power / Irrigation schemes / Sustainable development Record No:H047269
Developing countries / Sewage sludge / Public health / Sanitation / Sustainable development / Wastewater treatment / Water pollution / Water quality Record No:H047237
McCartney, Matthew; Finlayson, M.; de Silva, Sanjiv. 2015. Sustainable development and ecosystem services. New York, NY, USA: UN. Department of Economic and Social Affairs 4p. (Global Sustainable Development Report Brief (GSDR)) More... | Fulltext (95.12 KB)
Wetlands / Natural resources / Sustainable development / Environmental sustainability / Ecosystem services Record No:H047234
Krittasudthacheewa, C.; Lebel, L.; Hoanh, Chu Thai. 2014. Introduction: pursuing sustainability in the Mekong region. In Lebel, L.; Hoanh, Chu Thai [IWMI]; Krittasudthacheewa, C.; Daniel, R. (Eds.). Climate risks, regional integration and sustainability in the Mekong region. Petaling Jaya, Malaysia: Strategic Information and Research Development Centre (SIRDC); Stockholm, Sweden: Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI). pp.1-6. More... | Fulltext (1.87 MB)
Economic development / Living standards / Governance / Resource management / Sustainable development Record No:H046900
Case studies / Biodiversity / Land use / Emission reduction / Greenhouse gases / Knowledge management / Climate change / Labour mobility / Horticulture / Nutrients / Waste treatment / Excreta / Wastewater treatment / Wastewater management / Decentralization / Milk production / Malnutrition / Health hazards / Sanitation / Carbon cycle / Solar energy / Catchment areas / Water availability / Water demand / Water use / Water supply / Water footprint / Social aspects / Sustainable development / Models / Hydrological cycle / Rural areas / Urbanization / Urban areas / Periurban areas / Agriculture / Energy conservation / Food supply / Food production / Food security / Water security Record No:H046685
River basins / Women / Social aspects / Economic growth / Farmers / Drought / Flooding / Climate change / Ecosystem services / Sustainable development / Energy / Food security / Wastewater / Water accounting / Water policy / Domestic water / Water management / Water resources / Groundwater / Water quality / Water governance Record No:H046660
McCartney, Matthew; Finlayson, M.; de Silva, Sanjiv; Amerasinghe, Priyanie; Smakhtin, Vladimir. 2014. Sustainable development and ecosystem services. In van der Bliek, Julie; McCornick, Peter; Clarke, James (Eds.). On target for people and planet: setting and achieving water-related sustainable development goals. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). pp.29-32. More... | Fulltext (326 KB)
Reservoirs / Agriculture / Wetlands / Living standards / Ecosystem services / Socioeconomic development / Sustainable development Record No:H046798
van der Bliek, Julie; McCornick, Peter. 2014. Introduction. In van der Bliek, Julie; McCornick, Peter; Clarke, James (Eds.). On target for people and planet: setting and achieving water-related sustainable development goals. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). pp.5-8. More... | Fulltext (350 KB)
Economic analysis / Food production / Water resources / Water security / Sustainable development Record No:H046793
Poverty / Sustainable development / Economic aspects / Rice / Agriculture / Living standards / Ecosystems / Public participation / Wetlands Record No:H045884
Amerasinghe, Priyanie; Drechsel, Pay. 2013. Wastewater management and sustainable development: looking at the potential for up-scaling and investment [Abstract only]. In India. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. National Environmental Engineering Research Institute. Indo-Mexican Workshop on Sustainable Water and Wastewater Management, Nagpur, India, 25-26 July 2013. Book of abstracts. Nagpur, Maharashtra, India: Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. National Environmental Engineering Research Institute. pp.15-16. More...
Developing countries / Urbanization / Population growth / Investment / Sustainable development / Waste treatment / Waste management / Wastewater management Record No:H046213
Irrigation / Evapotranspiration / Climate change / Fisheries / Livestock / Socioeconomic development / Sustainable development / Assessment / Food security / Crop production / River basins / Water use / Water consumption / Water productivity / Water management Record No:H044848
Crop production / River basins / Case studies / History / Public-private cooperation / Developing countries / Agricultural production / Public policy / Water supply / Water harvesting / Water resources development / Water management / Income / Economic growth / Economic aspects / Socioeconomic development / Small scale systems / Groundwater / Rural poverty / Government policy / Case studies / Investment / Land use / Land management / Supplemental irrigation / Irrigation systems / Irrigated farming / Irrigation water / Irrigation management / Sustainable development Record No:H044259
Rural poverty / Government policy / Cooperation / Private sector / Public sector / Case studies / Investment / Land management / Supplemental irrigation / Irrigation management / Sustainable development Record No:H044258
Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele. 2011. Water-centered growth challenges, innovations and interventions in Ethiopia. In Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Erkossa, Teklu; Balcha, Y. (Comps.). Irrigation and water for sustainable development: proceedings of the Second Forum, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 15-16 December 2008. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). pp.18-42. More... | Fulltext (0.28 MB)
Ethiopia’s economy and majority of the people’s livelihoods are dependent on agriculture. To develop the socioeconomy of Ethiopia and eradicate poverty, the policy and interventions should focus on agriculture as an entry point. In line with this, the government, bilateral and multilateral donors, NGOs and various institutions share the concepts and priorities identified in the “Plan for Accelerated and Sustained Development to End Poverty (PASDEP).” There are key challenges that need to be strongly addressed on transforming agriculture by overcoming a multitude of problems including biophysical and water management issues to help achieve the targets of PASDEP and sustainable socioeconomic growth in Ethiopia. This particular paper aimed at addressing the water management challenges that Ethiopia has faced in the past and is facing today, and to stimulate ideas on how to manage water resources to meet the growing needs for agricultural products, to help reduce poverty and food insecurity, and to show how water can be used as an important entry point to transform its socio-economy and contribute to sustainable development and the environment. The issues discussed will focus on innovations, policies and technologies that enable better investment and management decisions in water use, particularly focusing on agriculture and irrigation but also briefly looking into other water-related subsectors such as hydropower, water supply, watershed, drought and flood management as well as other biophysical aspects. It has also been attempted to make the paper suitable for decision-makers rather than scientists, in order to raise useful ideas for dialogue and further discussions, studies and researches. The paper, therefore, does not claim exhaustiveness. The target audiences of this paper are the people who make the investment and management decisions in water and water management for agriculture, and other subsectors - agricultural producers, water managers, investors, policymakers and civil society. The paper has benefited from the review of key policy and strategy documents of Ethiopia, outputs of various outcomes of research, civil society meetings and workshops, data and information available in government institutions, and global knowledge. The key major issues that are discussed in the paper include the following: Socioeconomic development challenges of Ethiopia, viewed from a water resources perspective., The water resources endowment, development extent, potentials and economic/socioeconomic development linkages., Water-related innovations and agriculture., Water-related interventions in various agro-ecologies., Policy and strategy actions needed. This paper should also be viewed with other components such as river basin growth pole/corridor concept, institutional reform and research capacity building. It focuses on analyzing key problems and associated interventions, and can be applicable in the contexts of the current situation and the future possib
Institutions / Degradation / Investment / Economic aspects / Food insecurity / Yields / Agricultural production / Rain / Rural poverty / Policy / Sustainable development / Socioeconomic development / Water resources / Water management Record No:H044260
The aim of the research project is to lift Afghanistan out of the identified knowledge gap on its water resources and therefore enable Afghanistan to remove her barrier to sustainable water resource development and management in the Amu Darya basin. At the same time it is anticipated to provide transparency of the potential impact of water resource development plans as well as of on-going projects to downstream riparian states as well as the donor community – which so far seems to take an administrative rather than a resource boundary approach.The duration of the project is anticipated to be 3 years. Because of its international position IWMI Central Asia will take the lead in data generation and analysis and will collaborate with research and implementing agencies in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Irrigated sites / Water management / Water resources / Research projects / River basins Record No:H046036
A framework is built, wherein hydrological/water quality model is used to measure watershed sustainability. For this framework, watershed sustainability has been defined and quantified by defining social, environmental and biodiversity indicators. By providing weightage to these indicators, a “River Basin Sustainability Index” is built. The watershed sustainability is then calculated based on the concepts of reliability, resilience and vulnerability. The framework is then applied to a case study, where, based on watershed management principles, four land use scenarios are created in GIS. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is used as a hydrology/water quality model. Based on the results the land uses are ranked for sustainability and policy implications have been discussed. This results show that landuse (both type and location) impact watershed sustainability. The existing land use is weak in environmental sustainability. Also, riparian zones play a critical role in watershed sustainability, although beyond certain width their contribution is not significant.
Riparian zones / Land use / Sustainable development / Case studies / Environmental effects / Social aspects / GIS / Models / Biodiversity / River basins / Hydrology / Water quality / Assessment / Indicators / Watershed management Record No:H044558
Water managers in large cities in developing countries experience great difficulties in providing proper water supply and sanitation services in a context of rapidly growing population with changing water use patterns, structural lack of capacity and resources. There is a need for in-depth city-wise water assessments of fast growing large cities in developing countries to help gain insight into the implications of urban water and sanitation development scenarios on urban water demand, wastewater disposal and downstream water use. The generation of reliable data sets and modeling results for a selection of cities will help understand the present and future impact that water use has on water resources and flows that cross the urban-rural divide. Also, an easy-to use model can support decision making at the local urban water planning and policy level. This paper describes ongoing research on the urban water system in three fast growing cities in the South. The application of integrated urban water management in developing countries is needed for the sustainable management of water resources within the city and basin.
Developing countries / Sustainable development / Models / Sanitation / Water supply / Water demand / Urbanization Record No:H042679
When ecosystems services fail, human health suffers - and for no ecosystem is this link more direct than for wetlands. One third of the world’s population lacks sufficient clean water for drinking, personal hygiene and cooking, and about two million people die annually from waterborne diarrhoeal disease. Even when water is available in abundance, ecosystem disruptions can carry a heavy disease burden: over-irrigation results in standing water in which disease-carrying mosquitoes breed, and water used by industry often allows toxins to enter the human food chain. Altered hydrologies and vegetation structures can lead to hardship, global environmental change, and, most recently, a host of new, ‘emerging’ infectious disease epidemics. Poor wetland management leads to a deterioration of both wetland ecosystem health and human health. It is only in the last couple of decades that we have come to appreciate the strength of the fundamental relationship between wetland ecosystem health and human health, and therefore the importance of developing environmental management strategies that support the maintenance of both wetland ecosystem health and human health concurrently. However, the concept of what constitutes a healthy wetland is not straightforward. Whilst the slogan ‘Healthy Wetlands, Healthy People’ may resonate with many people, wetland health is still largely a subjective concept. It is also one that is heavily influenced by our political ecologies; there are many complexities and uncertainties when considering healthy people and healthy wetlands. These complexities and the inter-related scientific issues are explored in this paper - what is a healthy wetland and how does a healthy wetland affect human health?
Ecosystems / Public health / Social values / Wetlands Record No:H041665
Legislation / Water law / Equity / Water allocation / Water resources management / Sustainable development / River basin development / Surface irrigation / Water rights Record No:H041818
Challenge Program for Water and Food (CPWF); FAO-Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (FAO-RAP); International Water Management Institute (IWMI); International Rice Research Institute (IRRI); WorldFish Center; Burapha University. 2007. Managing the coastal land-water interface in tropical delta systems. Conference Program, Bang Sean, Thailand, 7-9 November 2007. : Colombo, Sri Lanka: Challenge Program for Water and Food (CPWF); Rome, Italy: FAO-Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (FAO-RAP); Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI); Los Banos, Philippines: International Rice Research Institute (IRRI); Penang, Malaysia: WorldFish Center; Bangsaen, Thailand: Burapha University 55p. More...
Case studies / Risk assessment / Sustainable development / Vermicomposting / Aquatic weeds / Acidity / Spatial distribution / Aquatic environment / Salt water intrusion / Shrimps / Rice fields / Profitability / Ecosystems / Resource management / Oils industry / Natural resources management / Local government / Local communities / Wetlands / Incentives / Mangroves / Environmental impact assessment / Environmental sustainability / Environmental policy / Living standards / Salinity / River basins / Delta / Water use / Water quality / Water governance / Water management / Land degradation / Land use / Land management / Coastal waters / Coastal area Record No:H049068
The WaterDome was organized by the African Water Task Force, AWTF, with IWMI as its implementing agency.
Environmental sustainability / International cooperation / Water demand / Recycling / Deforestation / Water transfer / River basins / Irrigation water / Water pollution / Water conservation / Water allocation / Poverty / Health / Climate / Energy / Food security / Technology / Water policy / Conferences / Water resource management Record No:H034031
Baril, J.; Bartle A.; Clarke, T.; Gagnon, L.; Guerard, Y.; Klimpt, J. E.; McCartney, Matthew P.; Raschid-Sally, L.; Rotheram, T.; Seelos, K.; Steenbergen, R.; Taylor, R.; Townsend-Hall, B. 2003. The role of hydropower in sustainable development. Sutton, UK: IHA 162p. (IHA white paper) More... | Fulltext (5.45 MB)
Case studies / Poverty / Social aspects / Ecosystems / Costs / Economic aspects / Water resource management / Energy / Electricity supplies / Hydroelectric schemes Record No:H033421
Wijayaratna, C. M. 1999. Rural appraisal and sustainable development. In Sri Lanka. Forest Department; Participatory Watershed Management Training in Asia (PWMTA). Proceedings of the Workshop on Watershed Management, Sri Lanka Forestry Institute, Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka, 24-25 April 1997. Battaramulla, Sri Lanka: Forest Department. pp.57-72 More... | Fulltext (0.91)
Farming / Watersheds / Participatory rural appraisal / Sustainability / Rural development Record No:H018590
Social aspects / attitudes / Farmersapos / Sustainability / Groundwater management Record No:H007876
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Economics and equity
At IWMI, researching underlying economic and social trends helps us understand why people migrate. They also explain the impact of remittances and loss of agricultural labor, as well as consequences of migration on gender roles and food and water security. For instance, communities with higher levels of income inequality, or relative deprivation, may experience greater levels of out-migration compared to consistently low-income communities. In addition, migration changes intra-household gender-labor composition, which can change the access of smallholders to water resources, affecting the functioning of community-based institutions and consequently household and local food security. IWMI also focuses on circular economy, a strategy to recover and reuse waste, to boost food security and understand how interventions can encourage refugee and host communities to retain scarce resources.
This focus area contributes to the following One CGIAR impact areas:
Urban & rural transformation
As agricultural opportunities fluctuate in rural areas, migration, particularly to urban areas, is an adaptation technique to secure incomes and alternative livelihoods. Income generated by migrants is often sent back to family as remittances to support communities at home. At IWMI, we assess linkages between rural and urban areas, as well as the role of agricultural knowledge systems and food and water security. We recognize there are complex push and pull factors such as individual aspirations, economic opportunity, social norms, climate variability and government policies which drive migration and affect rural communities, particularly youth. Our work follows a ‘positive migration’ philosophy, framing migration as an adaptation technique and socio-economic choice (in many cases) rather than a problem to be solved, and focuses on establishing safer, more regular migration by supporting changes to migration governance in sending regions.
This focus area contributes to the following One CGIAR impact areas:
Covid-19 disruption & adaptation
Covid-19 has caused a rupture in migration logistics and exposed inequities in the migration system, yet drivers of movement remain. Government lockdowns and closed borders due to the pandemic curtailed movement for migrants, posing complex problems for migrant hosting and origin countries. There have been significant economic shocks, with a sharp decline in unemployment for migrants and an inability to send money home through remittances to support family. Some migrants face social stigma for returning home without an income, particularly if families relied on loans to support their journeys. Consequences have been severe for informal migrants who lack government protection in their host countries. Migrants, particularly those living in crowded, lower-income neighborhoods, have been experiencing stigmatization related to the spread of Covid-19. We look at the impacts of Covid-19 on migration governance and rural areas across seven countries,development planning in Ghana, migration challenges in Southeast Asia, and community-based disaster management and resilience building in South Africa.
This focus area contributes to the following One CGIAR impact areas:
Water, climate change and agrarian stress
Migration, water and climate stress are inextricably linked to rural development. Water stress and climate variability can act as a driver of fragility, intensifying pre-existing political, social, economic and environmental challenges. Initiatives designed to address migration-related challenges must tackle inequalities and the exclusion of women, youth and marginalized groups; governance opportunities to better manage water and natural resources and technology and innovations to help communities escape socio-ecological precarity and thrive despite climate challenges. IWMI intends to build climate resilience by implementing projects which tackle gender-power inequalities in the face of dynamic, economic-social-ecological challenges. Our work brings together affected communities, institutional stakeholders and social actors to manage water in response to climate variability and agrarian stress, striving to address complex physical and social variables.
This focus area contributes to the following One CGIAR impact areas:
Gender, intersectionality and social inclusion
It is critical to center gender and intersectional identities when unpacking migration phenomena. Gender as a social construct guides social norms and relations, including the decision-making processes and mechanisms leading to migration. We recognize that the intersections between race, age, class, sex, caste and region shape the migrant experience.
IWMI strives to offer transformative approaches and solutions for women, youth and marginalized groups, regarding them as equal partners in our work rather than passive end-users. For example, within communities that experience male out migration, socio-political systems are restructured to make women, youth and other groups active agents in their own agri-food transformation. Migration patterns contribute to the feminization of agriculture, and women may experience a greater burden of responsibility coupled with an increased ability to access and control resources and policies to build sustainable livelihoods. Acknowledging social complexities helps researchers and communities understand migration trends and address structural power imbalances to build a more equitable world.
This focus area contributes to the following One CGIAR impact areas:
Innovation bundles
Farmer-led irrigation development is about much more than installing a pump in a field. It requires access to financing, labor, energy, and input and output markets, so that investments in irrigation translate into sustainable returns. IWMI uses a systemic approach to understand the farming system as well as the factors in the enabling environment that prevent women, men and youth from engaging in and benefitting equitably from farmer-led irrigation. We partner with farmers and the public and private sectors to test contextually relevant innovation bundles that combine irrigation technology such as solar pumps with financing mechanisms like pay-as-you-own or pay-as-you-go, agricultural inputs and agronomic techniques. We also look at ways to improve on-farm water management and nutrient use efficiency and reduce evapotranspiration through digital advances and agricultural extension. We integrate the scaling of innovation bundles into agricultural value chains to enhance the impacts on farmers’ irrigation investments, incomes and livelihoods.
This focus area contributes to the following One CGIAR impact areas:
Gender and social inclusion
The barriers facing women and men in accessing irrigation technologies are not the same. Neither are the benefits. Social, cultural and religious norms influence inter- and intra-household power relations. These, in turn, affect access to resources such as land, credit, information and training. IWMI carries out cross-dimensional analysis of gender and social inclusion in policy, financing, livelihood assets and access, institutional approaches and interventions as well as gender-based technology preferences. For example, we work with farmers, financial institutions and the private sector to address gender-based constraints in credit scoring and enhance women’s purchasing power. But benefitting from farmer-led irrigation does not stop at accessing and adopting technologies; enabling women and resource-poor farmers to participate in input and output markets is equally important to ensure that investments in irrigation result in improved nutrition and economic empowerment. Other ways we enhance gender and social inclusion include tackling agency issues around financial management and literacy, livelihood diversity and social capital as well as access to infrastructure, extension services and market linkages.
This focus area contributes to the following One CGIAR impact areas:
Environmental sustainability
Population pressure and increasing water competition in a changing climate require us to take stock of the availability and use of water across scales. Water availability not only influences farmers’ commercial prospects but also irrigation-related enterprises and agri-businesses. Greater water scarcity could jeopardize irrigation and agricultural markets while excessive water use can lead to declining ecosystems, water quality and soil health. IWMI advises development partners and the public and private sectors on all aspects of water resource availability and use through a variety of advanced modeling and remote-sensing products and tools, including Water Accounting+, solar irrigation mapping and internet of things. These are complemented by multi-criteria analysis to evaluate the potential of irrigation expansion, taking into consideration environmental flows. With our private sector partners, we are leveraging converging technologies, such as sensors on solar pumps that capture usage data, to encourage better resource management and governance.
This focus area contributes to the following One CGIAR impact areas:
Adaptive scaling and partnerships
The ability of farmers to engage in or expand irrigation depends on the prevailing socioeconomic, ecological and political contexts, which are often complex, non-linear and changeable. Overcoming systemic barriers to farmer-led irrigation development while taking advantage of existing opportunities requires scaling processes to be adaptive. This means diverse actors feed off, adapt to, support, cooperate, compete and interact with each other, forming different multi-actor networks and engaging in collective action to undertake various functions in the scaling ecosystem. IWMI works with farmers and public and private sector partners to co-design and pilot contextually relevant innovation bundles and their scaling pathways or strategies, influence policies and accelerate the transition to scale of innovations with demonstrated early impact.
This focus area contributes to the following One CGIAR impact areas:
Financing ecosystem
A lack of affordable credit, particularly for women and resource-poor farmers, is one of the main barriers to expanding farmer-led irrigation in low- and middle-income countries. But credit alone is not enough. Financing for irrigation equipment must be embedded in a wider financing ecosystem that bundles credit with inputs and services, market information and access, and technology such as digital payment. In several countries, irrigation equipment suppliers are stepping in to provide financing directly to farmers. In doing so, they increase their own risk. To address this issue, IWMI works with farmers, private companies, finance institutions and development partners such as the World Bank Group to analyze whether credit-scoring tools are inclusive. We also help to identify gaps in the financing ecosystem and de-risk the private sector from testing innovative end-user financing mechanisms that take into account farming system typologies, financial and social capital and crop seasonality.
This focus area contributes to the following One CGIAR impact areas:
Human capacity development and knowledge exchange
Scaling farmer-led irrigation requires strengthening human capacity and knowledge exchange among all actors and stakeholders involved. IWMI takes an action research approach, working with national and international research institutions, governments, extension agents and public and private organizations to co-develop the scaling ecosystem and strengthen capacity to drive scaling networks and collective action. We support the development of or reinforce national multi-stakeholder dialogues with the aim of sharing scaling experiences and realizing win-win collaboration, interactive learning and capacity development. Other modalities for capacity development include hackathons, innovation research grants for bachelor’s and master’s students, private sector scaling grants and innovation internships with private companies. These all serve to stimulate local and contextually relevant innovation, close the research-private sector divide and enhance job readiness among young professionals.
This focus area contributes to the following One CGIAR impact areas:
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