IWMIDSP ( http://www.iwmidsp.org ) is an award winning pathfinder pioneered by IWMI for providing state-of-the-art global public good (GPG) spatial data on water and land resources for river basins, nations, regions, and the world (MTP 1: 2004-2006, modeling/Remote Sensing tool milestones). The Environmental System Research Institute (ESRI) recognized IWMIDSP with a Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) Award at the 27th Annual ESRI International User Conference in San Diego, California, June 20, 2007. In the ESRI press release, they state IWMI “…. stood out from more than 300,000 organizations worldwide that use geographic information system (GIS) software to make a difference in the world….” (Annex 1).
Released to the public in June 2004, currently IWMIDSP has 3500+ registered users from 80+ countries. Monthly users average about 1500+. The 2007 IWMIDSP annual survey showed 80% of its data used for research purposes and 70% of the respondents rate it 7 or higher in scale of 1 to 10. The IWMIDSP is profiled by: (a) Water Monitoring Alliance, (b) UN-Water Africa\UN Economic Commission for Africa; and (c) World Health Organization: Health and Environmental Linkages Initiative.
Surveys and regular feedback indicate that the IWMIDSP data is widely used throughout the world. Some examples of applications include (Annexes 2 & 3):
| Application | User/Beneficiary | Geographic Scope |
| Water balance computation at regional level using SEBAL | Irrigation development of Study and Design Department. | Ethiopia |
| Basemaps for hydrogeological study in Northern Ghana to enhance current knowledge of groundwater resources. | INRS-Eau, Terre et Environnement, France | Northern Ghana |
| Workshop and training session on use of remote sensing for water management and agriculture | Purpan Graduate School of Agriculture, France | Pakistan |
| Redelineation of Indo-Gangetic Plain | Rice-Wheat Consortium group of South Asia | South Asia |
| Use of the global map of irrigated area with ArcGIS to define extent of irrigated area in the State of California | California | |
| Assessment of water uses in the Challenge Program basins | CSIRO Land and Water, Australia | |
| Estimate irrigated areas for bioenergy plantations in different EU countries | University of Joensuu , Finland | EU |
| Use of climate data to simulate food security and global climate change scenarios. | University of Florida , USA | Jamaica |
| GIS information for humanitarian aid in East African countries | Kenya , Somalia, Tanzania, Eritrea, Djbouti | |
| Graduate level seminar course | University of California in Davis | USA |
| Relationships between climatological data and arrival date for migratory bird species breeding at DoñanaNational Park | Estación Biológica Doñana-CSIC, Sevilla | Southern Spain |
| School book (Easton et al., 2006) with 40,000 copies | Australia | |
| Tsunami rapid action maps (www.fao.org/tsunami/environment/maps.html) | FAO | Sri Lanka |
It has been hailed as the “best UN or similar GIS sites I have seen” by Keith Forbes of UN Economic Affairs Officer.
FAO. 2005. Atlas of Sri Lanka Tsunami. Volume 2: Thematic maps and Geo-statistics. Prepared by FAO Environment and Natural Resources Service (24 January 2005).
Easton , M., Saldaia, M., Lamont, J., Hoorden, P.V. 2006. Humanities alive 2. John Wiley and Sons Australia, Ltd. Pp. 138-139 .
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 
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 
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 
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