We advance a gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) framework for incorporating climate information services (CIS), which is now becoming central due to the ongoing climate change and climate variability. We understand gender as a social construct of who women and men are supposed to be. Gender inequalities seem to be enduring such that, despite innovations in agricultural and climate information technologies, unequal gender power dynamics will still emerge. As far back as the 1960s, the gendered inequalities in accessing technologies could be identified. Such a historical analysis clearly shows that the different technological solutions are clearly embedded within the society in which they evolve in. The paper uses a literature review methodological approach whilst informing the implementation of an ongoing Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) Project. The findings reveal that unless women are intentionally included in designing and developing agricultural technologies, specifically climate information systems, there is a danger that women will be excluded from the benefits. Conway’s law clearly stipulates that technological innovations are not neutral as they are a projection of the values of their creators. It is, therefore, central to grasp the values of creators of different technological solutions and innovations. The key findings are built around the espoused conceptual framework, which has five indicators, namely: (1) gender targeting by intentional design, (2) collection of sex-disaggregated data, (3) conduct an analysis of the sex-disaggregated data, (4) dissemination of the technological options and (5) conduct continuous monitoring of gender and ongoing empowerment evaluation. The five indicator domains are further complemented by their respective assumptions. Our GESI recommendations are on the five selected indicator domains. These domains must be used within the three focal development areas: agricultural data hub, climate information services training, and flood and drought indicators, which are all being implemented in Zambia. Other AICCRA Project countries are Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, and Senegal. This paper engages why CIS has not gained significant traction in Africa, as it has not genuinely incorporated the differential gender technological nuances.
Empowerment / Women / Climate variability / Climate change / Technology / Access to information / Climate services / Frameworks / Social inclusion / Gender equality Record No:H051578
Large-scale male outmigration has placed new pressures on both men and women, especially regarding labour division in farm households and involvement in Water Users Associations (WUAs). This paper illustrates how the interplay between existing gender norms, male migration, remittances, and alternative sources of male labour influence women’s agency and WUA decision-making processes in Nepal. Despite official quotas aimed at promoting women’s participation in WUAs, some women prefer to monetise membership contributions rather than actively engage with the organisation. Others pursue strategic interests through changing WUA rules and, in the process, bringing about an adjustment of cultural norms. Women’s agency is derived not only from their knowledge of irrigation systems features and their ability to manage them; it is also related to their ability to learn new organisational skills and to apply them in the WUA context to negotiate and mobilise rules and resources. Women (re)shape their WUA involvement in conjunction with their farming strategies, their view of the WUA’s functionality, and whether they perceive the involvement as either an opportunity for productive engagement or as merely an increase in their already heavy workload.
Maintenance / Canals / Institutions / Water user associations / Migration / Strategies / s participation / Womenapos / Gender / Irrigation management / Irrigation systems Record No:H051576
Scenario-guided foresight processes are increasingly used to engage a broad range of stakeholders in sharing knowledge, reflecting, and setting priorities to respond to present and future climate change related dynamics. They are particularly useful to inform agricultural policies and planning in the face of a changing climate. Such participatory approaches are key to integrating multidisciplinary expertise, perspectives, and viewpoints, and ensuring that the multi-faceted vulnerabilities and the development needs of diverse groups are addressed in the design, planning, and implementation of climate adaptation policy. However, in practice, ensuring meaningful participation in the policy process is far from straightforward. In this paper, we examine the integration of gender and social inclusion considerations in 15 scenario-guided foresight use cases across Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia to determine the ways in which gender and social inclusion dynamics were considered and integrated at different stages of scenario-guided planning processes. To inform the analysis, we use qualitative data from key informant interviews, interviewing scenario coordinators and a gender and social inclusion expert who was engaged in one of the cases; we also review associated reports and outputs. The results suggest that few scenario-guided planning processes centred gender and social inclusion considerations from an early stage and consistently throughout the interventions, translating often into low diversity of stakeholders and insufficient depth reached in the content produced. A number of common challenges are reported including time, budget, and human resource constraints, as well as existing power and institutional dynamics. The latter includes, for instance, low women’s representation in technical organizations or important hierarchical social norms structuring discussions. While the focus on the future can disrupt established modes of doing, the complexity of foresight methods can also undermine effective participation leading to important trade-offs. Innovations in the modes of engagement and parallel processes with diverse groups can be important leverage points for inclusion within policymaking processes.
Adaptation / Decision making / Participatory approaches / Stakeholder engagement / Social inclusion / Gender equality / Planning / Agricultural policies / Climate change Record No:H052408
Water management in Egypt presents unique challenges. Being waterscarce, the country needs to use its limited freshwater reserves efficiently and effectively, particularly for irrigation, which accounts for over 70% of the total freshwater availability. Egypt has a network of irrigation canals and water-reuse drains that were built since the introduction of cotton cultivation in the colonial era to enable agricultural drainage and the reuse of water for irrigation. This facilitated expansion of the cultivated area with a view to improving food security and income. However, the design of efficient water reuse for irrigation does not come without attendant challenges. With more and more farmers coming to rely on polluted drainage water for irrigation, an alarming inconsistency in the quality of treated drainage water is now evident (Ashour et al. 2021). The focus of our study, which was funded by the CGIAR GENDER Impact Platform, was to understand the gendered implications of these changes and challenges. Adopting a feminist political ecology approach, we analyze the gendered power dynamics within productive, irrigated agriculture, focusing on the everyday lived experiences of diverse groups of women, farmers and irrigators.
Tenant farmers / Water user associations / Water pollution / Water governance / Freshwater / Irrigated farming / Irrigation water / Water reuse / Wastewater / Water management / Women / Gender / Value chains / Agrifood sector / Water use / Drainage canals / Drainage water Record No:H052304
Matchaya, Greenwell; Guthiga, P. 2023. Food system diagnostics and policy implications: the Malawi case. In Ulimwengu, J. M.; Kwofie, E. M.; Collins, J. (Eds.). African food systems transformation and the post-Malabo agenda. Kigali, Rwanda: AKADEMIYA2063; Washington, DC, USA: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). pp.36-53. (ReSAKSS Annual Trends and Outlook Report 2023) More... | Fulltext (304 KB)
A Digital Twin (DT) is a digital representation of reality. This report explores the implementation of DT in the context of basin scale water management, with a particular focus on developing countries. The review begins with an examination of the background of DT and then delves into successful applications of DT particularly in developing nations. It also explores the potential of integrating Virtual Reality (VR) technologies as a part of DT, emphasizing the importance of stakeholder needs assessment for effective deployment. The review highlights the significance of data infrastructure architecture and data governance in the context of Digital Twins. The review concentrates on the published literature and the application of Digital Twins to river basins, emphasizing their role in decision-making at this level and outlining various use cases for water management. Furthermore, it assesses the expected impact of DT through the lens of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The review concludes by exploring the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the context of DT for river basins. Overall, this review summarizes the potential benefits and challenges of implementing DT for water management in developing countries.
Stakeholders / Environmental flows / Water quality / Sustainable Development Goals / Water management / Water resources / Models / Decision making / Frameworks / Governance / Datasets / Machine learning / Artificial intelligence / Developing countries / River basin management / Digital technology Record No:H052347
This policy brief — produced under the CGIAR Initiative on Asian Mega-Deltas (AMD) — emphasizes the urgent need for promoting inclusive governance in Bangladeshapos;s agri-food systems to enhance resilience in the face of escalating climate risks. Although Bangladesh is transitioning toward climate-resilient agri-food systems, this shift faces challenges. There is notable variation among policies and interventions pertaining to food, water and environmental systems in their acknowledgment of socio-ecological interdependencies and representation of marginalized communities. This highlights the need for policies that address interlinked social, economic and political inequalities within the agri-food sector and translating the policies into practice. A gap also exists between local experiences of food insecurity and climate resilience and expert-led innovations. Key recommendations in this brief call for the promotion of nature-based solutions, leveraging the progressive National Adaptation Plan, and establishing a robust gender-focused fiscal system. These recommendations, which are aligned with the eight principles of locally led adaptation, underscore the vital role of empowering local communities to lead effective climate change adaptation efforts, ultimately fostering a more sustainable and resilient agri-food sector in Bangladesh.
Vulnerability / Financing / Institutions / Participation / Innovation / Communities / Marginalization / Women / Social inclusion / Gender equality / Intervention / Policies / Climate resilience / Governance / Agrifood systems Record No:H052398
While water-energy-food (WEF) Nexus is one of the most important, and widely investigated, environmental topics of our time, previous stock taking efforts possess notable limitations, namely (i) their focus is restricted to research articles, and (ii) there is less focus on nexus permutations that begin with energy and food. This paper assembled more than 900 documents and systematically categorized them according to more than 10 key parameters (e.g. scale, methods, limitations), to characterize approaches, achieved outcomes and presence of variables likely to support on-the-ground change. Our results reveal that WEF Nexus activities are often driven by the water sector, undertaken at global and national scale and authored by experts from diverse backgrounds. Among the utilized methods, modelling and review (i.e. systematic) are the most common. While climate change and governance are routinely considered in WEF Nexus documents, gender, stakeholders and capacity are not. These findings highlight areas for improvement in the design of WEF Nexus initiatives.
Gender / Stakeholders / Governance / Frameworks / Nexus approaches / Food Security / Energy / Water Security Record No:H052337
Recent estimations indicate that Pakistan is currently host to approximately 3.28 million migrants, comprising roughly 1.5 percent of the nation’s total population. While Pakistan possesses an extensive national registration database, the National Database and Registration Authority, encompassing both citizens and individuals of Pakistani origin, it is noteworthy that the country lacks a comprehensive migration-sensitive infrastructure. Consequently, there exists a pressing need for in-depth analytical approaches to elucidate the complexities of migration governance and data management within the Pakistani context. Despite the undeniable significance of migration in driving macroeconomic and socioeconomic development within Pakistan, this sector remains notably marginalized in terms of policy prioritization. At present, Pakistan lacks a dedicated migration policy, a centralized coordinating body responsible for managing migration-related data, and a cohesive framework for analytical or advisory efforts regarding the collection and validation of migration data across diverse stakeholders. Consequently, Pakistan’s approach to migration governance is characterized by fragmentation, with numerous government entities engaged in the handling and reporting of migration data and service provision. In light of these circumstances, this country report serves as a diagnostic tool, shedding light on salient governance, and data-related challenges. Its overarching objective is to advocate for the elevation of migration governance to a prominent position on Pakistan’s policy agenda, thereby addressing the pressing issues outlined herein.
Policies / Emigration / Governance / Migration Record No:H052336
Individuals and communities use and value water in multiple and complex ways. In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the pluralistic nature of water values is poorly documented, and the existing and potential value trade-offs are unidentified. This study was undertaken in the Central Rift Valley (CRV) of Ethiopia to understand and map water values, priorities, risks, and trade-offs in a multi-stakeholder engagement process to provide the basis for more transparent and accountable decision-making. Integrated assessment methods, combining bio-physical and social methods, were applied. The results show 24 community-perceived and articulated water values that are diverse but interconnected, including values of water, landscapes, the river system, and downstream water bodies. Connections between people and landscape structures are articulated. In terms of priority water values, the overall results reflect the primary but basic need for water for food security and domestic uses. The results further illustrate the pluralistic nature of water values and the dichotomy of preferences among people of different backgrounds. The scenario-based Environmental Flow (EF) assessment exercise integrated into community value preferences and the event calendar that was used show that the river systems in CRV (Ketar, Kulumsa, and Gusha-Temela) have different ecological and socio-cultural flow requirements and that there are marked water value trade-offs. The conclusions of the study suggest that overlapping governance structures are affecting people’s perceptions of water and the way they articulate water values. Policy directions and decision-making need to recognize and acknowledge the multiple water values and competing uses of water in the CRV as a starting point to reconcile trade-offs that will then improve water security. Findings suggest that EF estimation and decision support tools can be customized to local ecological requirements through engaging local stakeholders in the assessment process.
Sociocultural environment / Environmental flows / Assessment / Communities / Rivers / Water demand / Water governance Record No:H052332
Devenish, A. J. M.; Schmitter, Petra; Jellason, N. P.; Esmail, N.; Abdi, N. M.; Adanu, S. K.; Adolph, B.; Al-Zu’bi, Maha; Amali, A. A.; Barron, J.; Chapman, A. S. A.; Chausson, A. M.; Chibesa, M.; Davies, J.; Dugan, E.; Edwards, G. I.; Egeru, A.; Gebrehiwot, T.; Griffiths, G. H.; Haile, A.; Hunga, H. G.; Igbine, L.; Jarju, O. M.; Keya, F.; Khalifa, M.; Ledoux, W. A.; Lejissa, L. T.; Loupa, P.; Lwanga, J.; Mapedza, Everisto D.; Marchant, R.; McLoud, T.; Mukuyu, Patience; Musah, L. M.; Mwanza, M.; Mwitwa, J.; Neina, D.; Newbold, T.; Njogo, S.; Robinson, E. J. Z.; Singini, W.; Umar, B. B.; Wesonga, F.; Willcock, S.; Yang, J.; Tobias, J. A. 2023. One hundred priority questions for the development of sustainable food systems in Sub-Saharan Africa.Land, 12(10):1879. (Special issue: Social and Environmental Trade-Offs in African Agriculture: Achieving Sustainable Development Goals) [DOI] More... | Fulltext (1.62 MB)
Sub-Saharan Africa is facing an expected doubling of human population and tripling of food demand over the next quarter century, posing a range of severe environmental, political, and socio-economic challenges. In some cases, key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are in direct conflict, raising difficult policy and funding decisions, particularly in relation to trade-offs between food production, social inequality, and ecosystem health. In this study, we used a horizon-scanning approach to identify 100 practical or research-focused questions that, if answered, would have the greatest positive impact on addressing these trade-offs and ensuring future productivity and resilience of food-production systems across sub-Saharan Africa. Through direct canvassing of opinions, we obtained 1339 questions from 331 experts based in 55 countries. We then used online voting and participatory workshops to produce a final list of 100 questions divided into 12 thematic sections spanning topics from gender inequality to technological adoption and climate change. Using data on the background of respondents, we show that perspectives and priorities can vary, but they are largely consistent across different professional and geographical contexts. We hope these questions provide a template for establishing new research directions and prioritising funding decisions in sub-Saharan Africa.
knowledge / Indigenous Peoplesapos / Natural resources management / Climate change / Urbanization / Investment / Policies / Land-use planning / Postharvest technology / Technology adoption / Food production / Women / Gender equality / Social inclusion / Food security / Environmental impact / Agroecosystems / Agricultural development / Sustainable Development Goals / Food systems Record No:H052331
Traditional farming systems across much of Sub-Saharan Africa have greater organic inputs near to the homestead than in fields further away. This is likely to produce a fertility gradient that impacts production capacity, and so provides an opportunity to explore impacts of organic amendments on soils. Across 198 farm plots in 69 households in Halaba, Southern Ethiopia, we investigated the influence of different organic input systems on soil properties. The study also examined the influence of household and farm characteristics on the adoption of land management practices and its impact on soil properties. Samples were taken from farm plots located close (300 m) from the homestead, representing different levels of organic amendments. Soils located close to homesteads had significantly greater soil organic carbon, cation exchange capacity and soil nutrient content compared to soil located near and far from the homestead areas. Soil organic carbon concentrations close to the home were 15%, 27% and 45% greater than farm plots located at far from the home in Andegna Choroko, Asore and Lay Arisho kebeles, respectively. Across all sites, the mean soil organic carbon stock ranged from 20.6 t ha- 1 to 84.6 t ha- 1 , depending on the location of the plots with respect to the homestead. Household and farm characteristics also influenced land management practices and soil properties. In some catchments, farm plots managed by female headed households and relatively rich farmers displayed significantly greater soil organic carbon than farm plots managed by male headed and relatively poor households. This was likely due to greater organic inputs in female headed households in areas where men were otherwise engaged in off-farm activities and in wealthier households with greater access to organic manures. Tree cover in farmlands influenced accumulation of soil organic carbon. The results suggest that out-scaling farm management practices that are common around homesteads, such as adding animal manure or household wastes and maintaining tree cover, would help to improve key soil properties and agricultural productivity.
Investment / Policies / Water governance / Disaster risk reduction / Climate change / Socioeconomic development / Women / Social inclusion / Gender equality / Water supply / Sustainable Development Goals / Natural resources management / Water availability / Water management / Water resources / Water security Record No:H052326
Agricultural technologies are often promoted as a medium for women’s economic empowerment, which can transform unequal gender relations in rural agrarian societies. This paper investigates three solar irrigation pump (SIP) schemes implemented by state and non-state actors and examines their impacts on women and marginal farmers. We utilize a theory of change framework intended to evaluate the effectiveness of livelihood interventions and guide the design of gender transformative interventions. Our analysis relies on 63 qualitative interviews, 9 key informant interviews and 4 telephonic interviews with social mobilisers from the Saptari District in Nepal. The findings shed light on the unequal social and gender relations that have skewed the adoption and benefits of SIP technology. Gender and social inequalities persist, with limited adoption and benefit of SIP among women and smallholders. Women’s involvement in strategic decisions related to SIP adoptions, installations and usages is limited. This study underscores the importance of strategic interventions that foster meaningful women’s empowerment and ensure equitable distribution and benefits from SIP technology. Assessing the effectiveness of SIPs in empowering women, it is crucial to consider whether the resulting access, ownership, or decision-making opportunities challenge, reinforce, or reproduce unequal gender and social relations.
Income / Households / Decision making / Social inclusion / Livelihoods / Subsidies / Irrigation schemes / Irrigation technology / Women farmers / Smallholders / s empowerment / Womenapos / Pumps / Solar powered irrigation systems / Gender relations Record No:H052316
This study assessed the effects of COVID-19 on Ghana’s WASH system. It focused on low-income households and WASH sector stakeholders using Ayawaso East Municipality as a case study to document lessons from the pandemic’s impact on the WASH sector. We used the water and sanitation system approach to understand the effects of COVID-19 mitigation measures on the WASH system. Data were collected through surveys, stakeholder engagements, and document analysis. We found that the government’s WASH response increased hygiene practices, solid and liquid waste generation, and water consumption. Sanitation service providers experienced reduced demands for their services, lost clients, and increased operational expenditure. The pandemic’s impact is gendered, with women and girls experiencing a greater burden. We argue that responses to the pandemic highlight the need and opportunities for sustainable management of sanitation waste through integrated, circular economy business models, turning waste into valuable resources. Responses to COVID-19 in the WASH system are multisectoral because of its interconnected nature, highlighting the need to integrate sectors beyond water and sanitation. This requires improved institutional structures, policies, investment, and professionalising service providers.
Case studies / Sustainability / Risk / Households / Stakeholders / Institutions / Policies / Business models / Circular economy / Investment / Private sector / Women / Social inclusion / Gender / State intervention / Municipal governments / Pandemics / Resilience / Water management / Waste management / Wastewater / Water, sanitation and hygiene / COVID-19 Record No:H052250
The enactment of a new Constitution in 2015 in Nepal marked a shift to a representative system of federal governance. Earlier in 2002, the country’s Tenth Five Year Plan had committed to a core focus on gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) in national policies and governance. How do these two strategic shifts in policy align in the case of WASH projects in rural Nepal? Applying a feminist political lens, we review the implementation of WASH initiatives in two rural districts to show that deep-rooted intersectional complexities of caste, class, and gender prevent inclusive WASH outcomes. Our findings show that the policy framing for gender equitable and socially inclusive outcomes have not impacted the WASH sector, where interventions continue as essentially technical interventions. While there has been significant increase in the number of women representatives in local governance structures since 2017, systemic, informal power relationship by caste, ethnicity and gender entrenched across institutional structures and cultures persist and continue to shape unequal gender-power dynamics. This is yet another example that shows that transformative change requires more than just affirmative policies.
Rural areas / Decision making / Governance / Policies / Local government / Institutions / Federalism / Political aspects / Ethnicity / Caste systems / Women / Social inclusion / Gender equality / Water, sanitation and hygiene Record No:H052237
The AGRUMIG project was a comparative analysis of experiences from Europe, Asia and Africa, and explored the impact of migration on the trajectory of agricultural change in rural areas. This brief reviews the findings of our seven-country study. The research focused on 19 remittance-dependent communities in seven countries: China, Ethiopia, Moldova, Nepal, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco and Thailand.
Women / Gender / Agriculture / Policies / Remittances / Investment / Farmers / Communities / Households / Livelihoods / Rural development / Labour / Governance / Migration Record No:H052213
Nepal’s labor migration history dates back to the colonial period in India when Nepali youths were recruited in the army of the East India Company in the early 19th century, and even prior to this period, Nepali men served in the army of Shikh ruler Ranjit Singh in Punjab (included territories of present-day India and Pakistan). This was followed by seasonal and longer-term labor migration to India. In the last 30 years, migration has reached exceptionally high levels, with the new generation of labor migrants heading to the Gulf States and Malaysia, as well as other destinations such as South Korea, Japan, Poland and Romania. The 1981 Nepali census classified over 400,000 household members as ‘absentees’ (those who were away or intend to be away from home for six or more months) and this increased to about 2.2 million by 2021. The destination of migrants over these years changed considerably. While in 1980, an overwhelming majority (93%) went to India, from the 1990s onwards, this shifted to the Arabian Gulf States and Malaysia, which accounted for over 90% of migrants by the 2010s, with fewer than 10% continuing to travel to India.
Women / Remittances / Livelihoods / Household / Policies / Governance / Labour mobility / Migrant labour / Migration Record No:H052211
Ethiopia’s economy is dominated by agriculture, contributing 45% to 50% of gross domestic product (GDP) and employing 70% of the active workforce. Most farming remains characterized by smallholder plots, with rainfed systems predominating, yet increasingly vulnerable because of uncertain rainfall and temperature patterns. In addition, due to a complex of factors, farmland frequently suffers from the depletion of soil nutrients. As a result of too few new jobs and the rapidly expanding economically active population, about two million more people are added annually to the labor market. As a result, there is considerable international migration to the Gulf States, South Africa, Europe and North America. Internal rural-to-urban migration is also common, mainly to major cities and towns, especially to Addis Ababa and other major centers in south and southwest Ethiopia.
Livestock / Decision making / Remittances / Employment / Households / Rural areas / Policies / Labour mobility / Agriculture / Governance / Migration Record No:H052222
Despite evidence of women’s roles and expertise in the management of water, energy, food, and the environment (WEFE), the WEFE literature is almost silent on gender issues. In the context of climate change, achieving more inclusive management of natural resources is vital; yet women continue to be underrepresented as professionals in WEFE sectors, and largely absent in leadership positions. Using Nepal as a case study, this paper explores the enduring barriers to their exclusion, and entry points for greater equity among professionals in these sectors. To do so, we draw on key informant interviews with 34 male and 31 women professionals from government, civil society, non-governmental organizations and consultants, as well as a roundtable discussion with 20 women professionals specifically focused on gender barriers in these sectors in Nepal. Drawing on Gaventa (2006)’s power cube, this paper examines how power dynamics within and between the public and the private spheres create a web of barriers that conflate to sideline women professionals. While women have reached the “closed space” as defined by Gaventa (i.e., are recruited to professional positions in WEFE sectors), different sources of “hidden” and “invisible” power at play in the public and private spheres continue to limit their participation, influence and decision-making. We argue that the continued marginalization of women professionals calls for a focus on understanding the power and intersectionality dynamics that sustain exclusion. This focus is critical for the development of strategies to increase the voice and leadership of women professionals in WEFE decision-making.
Policies / Non-governmental organizations / Private sector / Public sector / Sexual harassment / Ethnicity / Caste systems / Discrimination / Marginalization / Decision making / Social norms / Climate change / Nexus approaches / Environment / Food production / Energy / Water management / Leadership / Barriers / Role of women / Social inclusion / Gender equality Record No:H052233
Social norms are often put forward to explain resistance to gender equality and social inclusion (GESI), and women continue to be largely absent from decision-making positions in the energy sector worldwide. However, there is limited research on the institutional mechanisms of policy-making and implementation at different scales within a federal system.; Using Nepal as a case study, this paper explores why, despite commitments, progress toward GESI objectives in the energy sector has been slow. Based on a review of energy policies, and interviews at federal, provincial and local government spheres, this paper focuses on the institutional and policy processes at play within the energy sector and between the three spheres of the federal system (the national, provincial and local). It examines the extent to which these processes undermine the implementation of inclusion policy. Understanding the broader institutional processes helps to identify different types of bottlenecks compromising progress in GESI: those which are linked to deficient policy regimes which cannot be addressed solely through additional GESI-focused interventions, and those which can be characterized as resistant to GESI-related issues. The aim of this research is also to understand why Nepal’s public energy institutions, despite a constitutional commitment to gender equality and non-discrimination based on caste, class, ethnicity and religion, seem so reluctant to mainstream GESI within its policies and practice. The paper concludes that GESI implementation in the energy sector suffers from limited human resources, a narrow conceptual framing and delays in policy development and implementation within different spheres of the federal system. Moreover, shortcomings related to GESI policy-making and implementation should be considered within the broader context of federalism. Therefore, to support GESI policy implementation, bureaucratic as well as local-level ownership of the concept and its relevance for sustainable development must be developed and strengthened.
Government / Bureaucracy / Federalism / Political aspects / Institutions / Women / Decision making / Social inclusion / Gender equality / Energy policies Record No:H052226
A stakeholder consultation workshop was conducted by the CGIAR Initiatives on Diversification in East and Southern Africa (Ukama Ustawi) and Gender Equality on 31 January 2023 at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The workshop aimed to identify and address barriers that limit participation of women and youth and how these are addressed in an ongoing quot;Veggies for People and Planetquot; program at the World Vegetable Center. The workshop also sought to investigate existing opportunities and recommend possible integrated solutions for more equitable and inclusive value chain development.
Policies / Non-governmental organizations / Resilience / Innovation / Technology / Farm inputs / Diversification / Agribusiness / Vegetables / Stakeholders / Capacity development / Empowerment / Farmers / Youth / s participation / Womenapos / Social inclusion / Gender equality / Agricultural value chains Record No:H052223
There is currently no water cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Of the nine rivers that flow across the border, none possess a formal agreement or mechanism to manage shared water resources. Further, there is very little information available about the status of environment, hydrology and water resources management for these river basins that could be used as a starting point for dialogues on transboundary water coordination. This State of the Basins book co-develops an overview of the three most important river basins, in collaboration with international experts and water professionals from Afghanistan and Pakistan. It covers water resources, land resources, ecological health, environment, climate change, and the social and economic conditions for sustainable management of these precious resources. It will inform decision making within the two countries, and begin to establish benefits that can accrue from more active collaboration on these shared waters.; This book: Focuses on portions of the Indus shared by Afghanistan and Pakistan.; Features extensive engagement and co-development with Afghan and Pakistani professionals.; Is the first book on the shared waters in the Indus, developed in the context of regional realities associated with post-August 2021 Taliban takeover.; The book is aimed at students and researchers in water rights and resources, and government decision makers, private sector investors, donors, intermediary organizations that work directly with farmers, researchers and students. It is a reference book for graduate students and researchers working on these basins, and on transboundary river basin management in Asia and beyond.
Hydropower / Reservoirs / Institutions / Legislation / Water law / Water policies / Water governance / Hydrology / Trends / Climate prediction / Temperature / Precipitation / Climate change / Sustainable Development Goals / Energy security / Economic growth / Employment / Livelihoods / Food security / Human health / Poverty / Demography / Socioeconomic development / Land use / Irrigation / Water quality / Water management / Agricultural water use / Groundwater / Surface water / Sustainability / Water security / International cooperation / Water resources / River basin management / Water sharing / Transboundary waters Record No:H052166
Shah, Muhammad Azeem Ali; Nabeel, F. 2023. Institutions and governance. In Shah, Muhammad Azeem Ali; Lautze, Jonathan; Meelad, A. (Eds.). Afghanistan–Pakistan shared waters: state of the basins. Wallingford, UK: CABI. pp.120-142. [DOI] More... | Fulltext (2.61 MB)
Fostering co-ordinated management of a transboundary basin can benefit from an understanding of the internal, often multilevel governance mechanisms in each country sharing it. This chapter delves into the legal and institutional architecture of water governance in basins shared between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Drawing on a careful document analysis as well as expert interviews, the chapter analyses the national laws and institutions in Afghanistan, as well as the legal and institutional provisions for water governance at the federal, provincial and local levels in Pakistan. A review of the existing design of internal water governance in both Afghanistan and Pakistan reveals that despite the existence of well-meaning and well-structured legal provisions, implementation is a key challenge for effective water governance to be addressed on both sides of the Durand Line. The chapter concludes that strengthening internal institutions for better implementation and engaging multilevel stakeholders for improved co-ordination of water policies between riparian countries can pave the path towards successful transboundary basin management in the Kabul, Kurram and Gomal river basins.
International cooperation / Legislation / Water law / River basins / Transboundary waters / Water governance / Institutions Record No:H052173
Hashmi, M. Z. U. R.; Bhatti, Muhammad Tousif; Azizi, M. A. 2023. Climate. In Shah, Muhammad Azeem Ali; Lautze, Jonathan; Meelad, A. (Eds.). Afghanistan–Pakistan shared waters: state of the basins. Wallingford, UK: CABI. pp.43-61. [DOI] More... | Fulltext (7.61 MB)
Climate change is a major threat in all the shared river basins in South Asia owing to the huge populations they sustain and the complex regional dynamics. This chapter summarizes the available knowledge related to changing climate trends in three Afghan–Pakistani transboundary river basins: the Kabul, Kurram and Gomal. A key finding indicates a consistent rise in temperature over the last 30 years. By the end of the 21st century, temperatures may rise by an additional 3–4C under RCP1 4.5 and 5–6C under RCP 8.5, relative to 2020 levels. The potential impact of temperature rise is compounded by considerable uncertainty associated with the current and future behaviour of precipitation in the three basins. The findings in this chapter will help practitioners and policymakers visualize the nature and scope of likely climate challenges in the three basins.
Precipitation / Temperature / Governance / Trends / Climate variability / Climate prediction / River basins / Transboundary waters / Climate change Record No:H052170
In the year 2021/22 alone, over 100,000 labor permits were issued to migrant workers from Madhesh Province for employment primarily in countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Malaysia. Saudi Arabia and Qatar received the largest number of Nepali migrants from Madhesh Province with 37,822 and 36,358, respectively, in 2021/22. This brief presents key points raised and discussed at a workshop organized in Janakpur, the capital of Madhesh Province of Nepal, on July 12, 2022, on agricultural and rural changes in the context of this high rate of international labor migration from the province. The workshop provided a unique opportunity to bring together farmers, returnee migrants, academics and relevant representatives from the provincial government to generate a dialogue around the divergent outcomes of migrant labor for rural communities, and the barriers and opportunities to harness remittances to support rural development.
Women / Policies / Local government / Fertilizers / Fisheries / Farmers / Employment / Migrant labour / Rural areas / Agriculture / Governance / Migration Record No:H052148
Smallholder farmers in Northern Ghana regularly face shocks, challenging the sustainability of their farms and livelihoods. Different farm households and household members may be differently affected and respond with different coping strategies. We combined whole-farm modelling and farmer consultations to investigate the vulnerability, buffer and adaptive capacity of three farm types in Northern Ghana towards severe climate, economic and social shocks. We further assessed intrahousehold differences in respective risk mitigation and coping strategies. Our model results indicate that the drought shock would most severely affect all farm types, drastically reducing their operating profits and soil organic matter balance. The medium resource endowed farm was most affected by shocks, but all farm types could enhance their capacity to recover by adopting technology packages for sustainable intensification. Gendered coping strategies included livestock sales, post-harvest storage, activating social networks, rice processing and the collection, processing and sales of wild nuts and fruits. Farmers reported to aim at becoming more resilient by increasing their herd size and expanding their farmland, thereby risking to increase rather than reduce the pressure on natural resources. New questions arise concerning the carrying capacity of local ecosystems and resilience at community and landscape level.
Using water-energy-food-environment (WEFE) nexus as the prism, this review explores evolution of groundwater governance in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, China, Bangladesh and India – which together account for two-thirds of the global groundwater-irrigated area. Global discourse has blamed widespread water scarcity squarely on supply-side policymaking and advocated a broader template of water governance instruments. Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) presented just such a template – with pricing, participation, rights and entitlements, laws, regulations, and river basin organizations – as additional water governance tools. However, the IWRM template faced disillusionment and pushback in many emerging economies. WEFE nexus, the new paradigm, prioritizes system-level optima over sectoral maxima by harnessing synergies and optimizing trade-offs between food, water, energy, soil, and eco-system sustainability within planetary boundaries. Realizing this vision presents a complex challenge in groundwater governance. Global groundwater economy comprises three sub-economies: (a) diesel-powered unregulated, as in Nepal terai, eastern India, Bangladesh, Pakistan Punjab and Sind, and much of Sub-Saharan Africa, where use-specific energy subsidies are impractical; (b) electricity-powered regulated, as in North America and Europe, where tubewells are authorized, metered and subject to consumption-linked energy charges; and (c) electricity-powered unregulated, as in geographies covered by our review – barring China, Bengal and Bangladesh – where unmeasured electricity subsidies have created a bloated groundwater economy. This last sub-economy represents the heartland of global groundwater malgovernance, least equipped to meet the sustainability challenge. It has an estimated 300 million horsepower of grid-connected electric pumps that are either unauthorized and/or unmetered and/or use free or heavily subsidized or pilfered power for irrigating 50–52 million hectares, nearly half of global groundwater-irrigated area. In (a) and (b), groundwater scarcity inspires water-energy saving behavior via increased energy cost of pumping. In sub-economy (c), users are immune to energy costs and impervious to groundwater depletion. Here, the WEFE nexus has remained blind to the irrigation realpolitik that catalyzes or constrains policy action. We explore why the political costs of rationalizing subsidies are prohibitive and exemplify how a smart transition from fossil to solar energy for pumping may offer an opportunity to turn the perverse WEFE nexus into a virtuous one.
Farmers / Water use / Groundwater depletion / Climate change / Policies / Electricity / Subsidies / Pumps / Tube wells / Solar powered irrigation systems / Integrated water resources management / Water scarcity / Water governance / Nexus approaches / Environmental factors / Food security / Energy consumption / Groundwater irrigation Record No:H052151
This study evaluates the socioecological consequences of the potential trade-offs between maintaining environmental flows (e-flows) and providing water for sustainable subsistence agriculture and livelihoods to the vulnerable human communities living along the lower Great Letaba River in South Africa. Implementation of e-flows is now generally recognized as an essential part of water resources management as they are designed to ensure that sufficient water is retained in a river to protect river ecosystems and all the beneficiaries of services that arise from those ecosystems. Understanding the relationship between e-flows and the use of water for small-scale agriculture is important for the management of trade-offs.
The Letaba River Basin and itapos;s tributary, the Great/Groot Letaba, are located in the eastern part of the Limpopo province in South Africa. This is one of the most important river basins in the region supporting both large-scale commercial and small-scale farmers. The river sustains many vulnerable human communities who depend on the ecosystem services provided by the river. Yet, the water resources of the Letaba River are heavily overutilized due to expanding developments, including upstream dams with associated offtakes mostly for irrigation.
The findings of the study indicate that irrigation water demand from subsistence agriculture in the Great Letaba Basin amounted to around 2 million cubic meters annually with median demand not exceeding 300,000 cubic meters per month. This means that irrigation water demand from smallholder agriculture only amounts to about one-tenth of the estimated e-flow requirement. However, small-scale farmers contend with an increasing crop water gap which limits irrigated agriculture, especially during the dry season. Given the need to sustainably maintain e-flows for ecological purposes, crop water gaps are only likely to increase and compromise the sustainability of irrigated agriculture. With active upstream supplementation of river flows from dams to maintain both environmental and livelihoods-oriented river flows, the crop water gap can be fully eliminated. This supplementation is not assured due to competing uses.
Modelling / Land rights / Water rights / Sustainable Development Goals / Food security / Policies / Rural communities / Risk / Women / Gender / Farmers / Smallholders / Livestock / Fishing / Catchment areas / River flow / Ecosystem services / Crop yield / Water requirements / Crop water use / Subsistence farming / Irrigated farming / Irrigation water / Water demand / Water availability / Water management / Water resources / River basins / Livelihoods / Small-scale farming / Sustainable intensification / Sustainable agriculture / Environmental flows Record No:H052105
Morocco is included in the African and Euro-Mediterranean mobility space. There has been internal and international migration for generations. Migration trajectories are complex and have varied during different phases of the country’s history. Traditional migrations have been movements of mainly internal pastoral populations and commercial exchanges and pilgrimages. More recent migrations are driven by the search for work and better living conditions. Emigration for work from the countryside to the cities and abroad is a result of integrating the country’s economy into global market chains initiated at the end of the 19th century by colonial companies exploiting agricultural land, forests, and mineral resources. Independence in 1956 was followed by an extension of the labor market, an increase in the intensity of migration from the countryside to and between the cities, and a widening of access by rural and urban households to modern consumer goods. International emigration from Morocco was stimulated in the 1960s by the European demand for labor and was a factor in policies for economic growth.
Households / Communities / Remittances / Farmers / Women / Policies / Rural development / Agriculture / Governance / Migration Record No:H052047
This brief focuses on international labor migration through a bilateral agreement and pre-departure training program in four major destination countries.
Migration has been a common strategy for rural households to cope with fluctuations in agricultural production and prices, land pressure, and income diversification. Internal labor migration between rural and urban areas is most often for work in construction, manufacturing and services in industrial estate areas in cities including Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phitsanulok, Khon Kaen, Nakhon Ratchasima, Ayutthaya, Chonburi, and Rayong. Many people leave Thailand to find work abroad, where there are better income and job prospects.
Government / Remittances / Agreements / Employment / Foreign workers / Training programmes / Migrant labour / Migration Record No:H052041
Universal access to affordable clean energy continues to be a challenge across the globe. Women’s and marginalised groups’ access to clean energy services and green technologies remains constrained by intersectional social factors and gender-blind policies. The recurrent failure of policies to consider differentiated gender and social inclusion needs is a significant obstacle to sustainable development. Underlining the concepts of energy poverty and energy justice, this Policy Brief identifies the key institutional and social constraints to addressing issues of gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) in energy policy in the South Asian region. Studying the case of Nepal, the brief makes recommendations on how to facilitate a gender- and socially inclusive energy transition. These include developing evidence-based gender policies and socially inclusive energy policies; fostering a government culture of intersectoral collaboration; and investing in a workforce able to address the technological challenges to achieving energy justice.
Households / Case studies / Caste systems / Governance / Technology / s participation / Womenapos / Electricity / Energy poverty / Goal 7 Affordable and clean energy / Sustainable Development Goals / Energy policies / Social inclusion / Gender equality Record No:H052043
Mayoyo, A.; Chapoto, A.; Matchaya, Greenwell; Aheeyar, Mohamed; Chiwunze, G.; Ebrahim, Girma; Ajayi, O. C.; Afun-Ogidan, K.; Fakudze, Bhekiwe; Kasoma-Pele, Winnie. 2023. Digital climate adaptation in agriculture profile for Zimbabwe. : Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI); Rotterdam, Netherlands: Global Center on Adaptation; Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire: African Development Bank 74p. More... | Fulltext (2.67 MB)
River basins / State intervention / Public sector / Private sector / Stakeholders / Investment / Gender / Information and Communication Technologies / Flooding / Drought / Resilience / Vulnerability / Risk / Farmers / Smallholders / Technology adoption / Digital technology / Agricultural sector / Climate change adaptation Record No:H052085
Malambo, M.; Tembo, M. C.; Chapoto, A.; Matchaya, Greenwell; Kasoma-Pele, Winnie; Aheeyar, Mohamed; Ebrahim, Girma; Ajayi, O. C.; Afun-Ogidan, K.; Fakudze, Bhekiwe. 2023. Digital adaptation in agriculture profile for Zambia. : Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI); Rotterdam, Netherlands: Global Center on Adaptation; Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire: African Development Bank 74p. More... | Fulltext (5.74 MB)
River basins / Private sector / State intervention / Stakeholders / Women / Gender / Infrastructure / Electricity supplies / Investment / Innovation / Resilience / Vulnerability / Water management / Weather index insurance / Weather forecasting / Climate prediction / Information and Communication Technologies / Disaster risk management / Digital technology / Agricultural sector / Climate change adaptation Record No:H052084
The purpose of this policy brief is to draw together key comparative lessons on different types of migration governance interventions in the AGRUMIG project research regions and examine how they support positive feedback loops between migration and agrarian and rural development. This exploration offers stories of success and omission. Moving beyond the elusive triple-win situation on the benefits of migration for destination and origin countries, migrants themselves and the highly politicized domain of the migration-development nexus, our point of departure is that there are vital prospects for augmenting the positive impacts of migration for societies globally. This brief focuses on how migration governance interventions are potentially useful in maximizing the gains between migration and agrarian development in the sending communities in China, Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Morocco, Nepal and Thailand.
Communities / Political aspects / Financing / Monitoring and evaluation / Impact assessment / Training / Employment / Policies / Rural development / Agrarian structure / Migrant labour / Governance / Migration Record No:H052005
This report explores and analyses the governance framework (i.e. policies, laws, and regulations) relevant to urban food waste (FW) prevention and reduction in the wholesale, retail, hospitality (restaurants, hotels), food services (schools, hospitals), and households in Sri Lanka. The project quot;Innovative approaches to reduce, recycle and reuse food waste in urban Sri Lankaquot; was implemented from June 2019 to August 2021 under the oversight of the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing and in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI).
Climate vulnerability could be influenced by transforming demographic, technological, cultural, political and economic factors, which cuts across global, regional, national and local scales. Such social transformations result in positive and negative outcomes, with implications for the adaptive capacities of resource-poor households, especially those headed by women. However, these transformations are usually not integrated in climate vulnerability assessments. Based on insights from a stakeholders’ brainstorming workshop and the synthesis of information from traditional literature review, this paper contributes to better understanding of the intersections of social transformation with climate vulnerabilities in the Upper West Region of Ghana. The review indicates that the region is experiencing social transformation triggered by technological, demographic and cultural factors, with implications for climate resilience building. For example, compared to the last decade, there is now an increased use of mobile phones, resulting in improved access to e-extension and climate-smart agriculture services. At the same time, an emerging trend of land commodification is driving poor households to sell or lease farming lands. Within the context of these transformations, climate vulnerability is still assessed through approaches that mainly focus on a ‘static’ view of the extent of exposure to climate hazards and their impacts on rural livelihoods. A social transformation analysis that promotes a systematic investigation of the transforming factors is proposed as an effective approach for vulnerability assessment in climate adaptation planning. This approach provides critical reflections on, and sustainable resilience interventions for addressing both changing biophysical and social vulnerabilities of rural communities.
Groundwater is the single largest source of water for irrigation and domestic use in India. Climate change further exacerbates the threat of depletion, reducing food security and increasing the vulnerabilities of resource users. Governance is complicated by externalities associated with its attributes as an invisible and fluid resource which create problems of rivalry and exclusion. Based on theory-based case studies for evaluation of selected World Bank projects, we analyse challenges for groundwater governance and identify factors that contribute to depletion. It highlights the need for integrating and balancing demand and supply-side approaches, including water-efficient irrigation and climate-smart practices.
Case studies / Farmers / Villages / World Bank / Institutions / State intervention / Land productivity / Cropping systems / Agricultural productivity / Wells / Microirrigation / Water use / Regulations / Water policies / Food security / Vulnerability / Climate change / Groundwater depletion / Water governance / Groundwater management Record No:H052036
Despite decades of concerted efforts to address the problem, Nepal’s rural water supply sector continues to be laced with gender and social exclusion. This study provides insights from community water-user groups in two geographically and socially diverse contexts to better understand, from a gender and social inclusion perspective, and through institutional bricolage, how some water-user groups adapt to local contexts, shaping varied group dynamics that are not always equitable. Findings reveal that policies promoting social inclusion are difficult to implement amid the complex web of social and economic factors associated with community-managed water supply systems.
Sociocultural environment / Policies / Institutional development / Water user groups / Water supply / Rural areas / Community management / Water management / Water resources / Social inclusion / Gender Record No:H052033
van Koppen, Barbara; Hope, L.; Colenbrander, W. 2023. Gender aspects of smallholder private groundwater irrigation in Ghana and Zambia. In Pavelic, Paul; Villholth, K. G.; Verma, Shilp. (Eds.). Sustainable groundwater development for improved livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa. Abingdon, Oxon, UK: Routledge. pp.123-134. (Routledge Special Issues on Water Policy and Governance) More...
This paper explores gender aspects of smallholders’ private technology adoption for groundwater irrigation in Ghana and Zambia. It focuses on two variables of quantitative farm-household surveys: household headship and gendered plot management. The paper compares adoption rates and types of technologies for female- and male-headed households; examines adoption rates when women have their own plots; and compares women’s decision making on irrigated plots and rainfed plots. The findings suggest that there are largely untapped synergies between gender-equality and irrigation-policy goals. Systematic gender differentiation in surveys is recommended.
Households / Policies / Investment / Technology adoption / Decision making / Women / Gender / Groundwater irrigation / Smallholders Record No:H052026
Smallholder irrigation is emerging as a development priority in Sub-Saharan Africa. Based on a survey of 1554 smallholders from nine countries, this paper compares rainfed farming with gravity-flow, manual-lift and motor-pump irrigation. Motor-pump-irrigation farmers reported the highest net value added per acre and per family worker, with gravity-flow and manual-irrigation farmers earning marginally more than rainfed-only farmers. In addition to making affordable pumps more readily available, improving the availability of working capital, enhancing security of tenure and ensuring the availability of affordable fuel are all likely to accelerate smallholder irrigation development in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Households / Women / Farmers / Investment / Land tenure / Pumps / Agricultural productivity / Rainfed farming / Groundwater irrigation / Small-scale irrigation / Smallholders Record No:H052023
A Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) approach is fundamental to agribusiness transformation in the Eastern and Southern Africa region. Work package 5 aims to bring about inclusive and scalable agribusiness innovations through targeted GESI support to UU ESA work packages 1-6. To achieve this, we produced this GESI framework on social, economic, political, and institutional barriers and opportunities to more inclusive agribusiness in the ESA region. This framework will ensure that planned interventions under UU are designed and implemented to empower more women and youth as farmers, agribusiness owners, and actors with voice and visibility across agribusiness value chains. The GESI framework was produced by reviewing relevant literature and talking to agribusiness stakeholders, especially women and youth, in four initial countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Political aspects / Institutions / Stakeholders / Socioeconomic aspects / Innovation / Climate resilience / Empowerment / Youth / Women / Frameworks / Agricultural transformation / Agribusiness / Social inclusion / Gender equality Record No:H052018
Our food production system is unsustainable and threatening planetary boundaries. Yet, a quarter of the global population still lacks access to safe and nutritious food, while suboptimal diets account for 11 million adult deaths per year. This Voices asks: what critical barriers must be overcome to enable sustainable, healthy, accessible, and equitable diets for all?
Stakeholders / Economic aspects / Feeding preferences / Nutrition / Food production / Underutilized species / Food systems / Gender / Inclusion / Healthy diets Record No:H051961
Infrastructure / Water supply / Local government / Communities / Capacity development / Risk / Policies / Social inclusion / Women / Gender equality / Extreme weather events / Vulnerability / Climate change / Water, sanitation and hygiene Record No:H051909
Digital innovations and interventions can potentially revolutionize agri-food systems, especially in coping with climate challenges. On a similar note, digital research tools and methods are increasingly popular for the efficient collection and analysis of real-time, large-scale data. It is claimed that these methods can also minimize subjective biases that are prevalent in traditional qualitative research. However, given the digital divide, especially affecting women and marginalized communities, these innovations could potentially introduce further disparities. To assess these contradictions, we piloted SenseMaker, a digital ethnography tool designed to capture individual, embodied experiences, biases, and perceptions to map vulnerabilities and resilience to climate impacts in the Gaya District in Bihar. Our research shows that this digital tool allows for a systematic co-design of the research framework, allows for the collection of large volumes of data in a relatively short time, and a co-analysis of the research data by the researchers and the researched. This process allowed us to map and capture the complexities of intersectional inequalities in relation to climate change vulnerability. However, we also noted that the application of the tool is influenced by the prior exposure to technology (digital devices) of both the enumerators and researched groups and requires significant resources when implemented in contexts where there is a need to translate the data from local dialects and languages to more dominant languages (English). Most importantly, perceptions, positionalities, and biases of researchers can significantly impact the design of the tool’s signification framework, reiterating the fact that researcher bias persists regardless of technological innovations in research methodology.
Social aspects / Technology / Transdisciplinary research / Agriculture / Women / Gender / Marginalization / Communities / Vulnerability / Climate change / Ethnography Record No:H051885
Social aspects / Women / Gender-transformative approaches / Stakeholders / Business models / Cost recovery / Financing / Sustainability / Health hazards / Water quality standards / Agricultural water use / Irrigation water / Guidelines / Planning / Water governance / Water policies / Resource recovery / Municipal wastewater / Wastewater treatment / Water scarcity / Water availability / Water resources / Water reuse Record No:H051838
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
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
Rangelands in arid and semi-arid regions serve as grazing land for domesticated animals and therefore offer livelihood opportunities for most pastoral communities. Thus, the exposure of most rangelands in arid and semi-arid regions to threats that are associated with natural, social, economic, and political processes affects their capacity to provide socioeconomic and environmental support to the immediate and global communities. In spite of the effects of rangeland transformations on both the natural and human environment, the assessment of threats affecting rangeland productivity has often been approached from a conventional scientific perspective. Most existing literature is focused on the assessment of threats to the biophysical environment. As such the social dimension of rangeland threats is not well understood. This research employed participatory rural appraisal (PRA) and PGIS techniques to assess rangeland threats and management actions from a local perspective. The result revealed that local actors prioritize threats to their social and economic needs over threats to the biophysical environment and their preference is informed by the frequency and magnitude of the threats. The outcome of the research demonstrates the need to promote rangeland governance through interdisciplinary and inclusive participation in research and development.
Assessment / Inclusion / Livelihoods / Communities / Pastoralists / Socioeconomic aspects / Ecological factors / Land productivity / Grazing lands / Techniques / Mapping / Land governance / Geographical information systems / Participatory rural appraisal / Local knowledge / Common lands / Rangelands / Sustainable land management Record No:H051819
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
Small water infrastructure in Nigeria needs to be utilized more efficiently. There are over 900 small reservoirs across the country. Many of these have yet to be put to productive use within the Ogun watershed in the Ogun Osun River Basin. This study investigates the challenges and opportunities for improving the use of small reservoirs for farmer-led irrigation in a sustainable way. The 20 small reservoirs investigated showed varying degrees of degradation of the hydraulic structures, poor embankment maintenance evidenced by the observed erosion, overgrown shrubs, spillway cracks and failures, and siltation of the reservoir. Poor water management and irrigation practices due to weak technical capacity are also observed. There needs to be a precise governance arrangement or policy supporting water use in such a situation. The economic interests and considerations of the farmers determine the irrigation activities around the reservoirs. Regulations and management of the reservoirs were based on what was considered appropriate by the farmers. With the increasing interest in the use of small reservoirs as water sources for farmer-led irrigation in Nigeria, increased capacity building and training, access to agricultural inputs, finance, and the transformation of commodity associations to water users’ associations would contribute to improving the productivity of small reservoirs.
Case studies / Social inclusion / Women / Gender / Sustainable livelihoods / Farm inputs / Domestic water / Rural areas / Finance / Public-private partnerships / Stakeholders / Water users / Capacity development / Smallholders / Pumping / Water conveyance / Spillways / Embankments / Irrigation management / Irrigation schemes / Crop production / Water supply / Socioeconomic aspects / Marketing / Farming systems / Agronomy / Irrigation practices / Agricultural practices / Governance / Institutions / Water management / Maintenance / Hydraulic structures / Water productivity / Storage capacity / Dams / River basins / Watersheds / Small-scale irrigation / Infrastructure / Reservoirs / Farmer-led irrigation Record No:H051769
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
Migration impacts left-behind populations, disrupting established norms of social interaction, participation, and inclusion. In western Nepal, labour migration is common among young men, with implications for household and community participation among those left behind, who are predominately women. In this study, we use mixed methods to examine how labour migration impacts the social inclusion of migrant households, especially, of left-behind women in community groups and activities. For our analysis, we use quantitative survey data from over 3600 households in the Karnali and Mahakali River Basins of western Nepal and qualitative data from 16 focus group discussions and 37 in-depth interviews held in the same region. Our analysis reveals substantial heterogeneity in the experiences of women and households left behind by migrants. Women’s opportunities to participate in economic systems such as natural resource user committees and non-governmental organisation trainings are moderated by intersecting identities including gender, caste/ethnicity, kinship, age, and economic status. Young women from nuclear, low caste, and poor households with limited social ties suffer from disadvantaged positions and face restricted access to spaces of participation. Accordingly, left-behind women’s opportunities to benefit from community resources remain dependent on their caste and kinship networks. These findings contribute to ongoing debates on the impacts of migration, and can help inform improved targeting of interventions to advance gender equity in rural Nepal.
Households / Labour / Collective action / s participation / Womenapos / Intersectionality / Social aspects / Natural resources management / Gender / Migration Record No:H051757
Customary water tenure in low-and middle-income rural areas has received limited academic, policy, and legal attention as yet. This paper seeks to conceptualize and analyse gender-differentiated living customary water tenure, focusing on sub-Saharan Africa. Extensive literature review suggests four gendered domains: first, water needs and uses; second, strategies to meet those needs by directly accessing water sources, and, with increasing wealth by investing individually or collectively in water infrastructure for self-supply, creating infrastructure-related ‘commons’ in the case of collective systems; third, at community scale, the ‘sharing in’ of communities’ naturally available water resources that flow into infrastructure; and, fourth, ‘sharing out’ of those resources with neighbouring communities but also powerful third parties of foreign and national high impact users. Rendering the gendered community more visible as the main agent to manage its water resources as the commons provides evidence for a range of policies, laws and interventions, including gender equitable and community-led water infrastructure development integrating domestic and productive spheres; strengthening customary arrangements to share water resources as a commons within a community or with neighbouring communities, and the long overdue formal protection of customary water tenure against ‘water grabs’ by powerful third parties.
Commons / Water sharing / Infrastructure / Water resources / Legal pluralism / Men / Women / Gender analysis / Customary tenure / Water tenure Record No:H051756
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
Labor migration is a complex phenomenon, yet while much attention has been paid to understanding the drivers of migration, there is a huge knowledge and policy gap regarding the effects of migration on people and communities left behind. We sought to explore the impacts of rural outmigration on migrant-sending communities in Ethiopia. This remains an understudied topic when it comes to research on migration in Ethiopia. Our investigation is based on a critical review of the migration literature pertaining to Ethiopia and, more broadly. We pursued a holistic analysis of the multidimensional aspects of migration. There are indications that rural outmigration impacts involve issues related to remittances, household food security, agricultural labor use, farmland management, and rural infrastructure development. Our analysis revealed that there had been few systematic studies and limited analyses regarding the impacts of outmigration on agriculture and the livelihoods of rural people and households left behind. Instead, Ethiopia’s migration literature largely deals with migration’s causes, including environmental factors, climate variability, agricultural pressures, livelihood stresses, and changing aspirations.
Investment / Remittances / Women / Social networks / Climate variability / Environmental factors / Livelihoods / Land management / Farmland / Household food security / Communities / Agriculture / Labour / Rural areas / Migration Record No:H051664
Kumar, Manish; Rathod, R.; Mukherji, Aditi. 2023. Water security and spring conservation in the Himalaya. In Ojha, H.; Schofield, N.; Camkin, J. (Eds.). Climate risks to water security: framing effective response in Asia and the Pacific. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. pp.15-36. (Palgrave Studies in Climate Resilient Societies)[DOI] More...
Springs are the most important source of water for the people in the mid-hills of the Himalaya. Emerging evidence shows that they are increasingly drying up, causing numerous hardships for people, with those impacts being felt more acutely by women and members of vulnerable communities like lower castes (Dalits). Climate change, land-use and land cover changes, including haphazard infrastructure (hydropower, road construction), and other socio-economic changes such as urbanization and tourism are the leading causes of the drying up of springs. In the region in general, and India in particular, the last decade and a half have seen increased initiatives for spring revival. In this chapter, we document the genesis of some of these spring revival initiatives in India and note how all stakeholders—communities, civil societies and governments have come to support spring revival initiatives. We also note that the scientific community has not yet caught up with the action on the ground, and we still lack rigorous documentation of the short and long-term effectiveness of spring revival initiatives. We recommend integrating scientific knowledge with social analysis on the governance aspects for improving spring recharge, better management and postulating potential responses of natural and human systems against future climate change impacts in the Himalaya.
Caste systems / Gender / Socioeconomic aspects / Communities / Policies / Water quality / Land use / Climate change / Water conservation / Water springs / Water security Record No:H051665
This paper highlights how farmers in a northern Lao village transformed their customary land rights – in the face of incoherent overlapping state territorialization attempts – into a territorial strategy to secure their land tenure. By planting rubber, some villagers have engaged in a crop boom to lay claim to land which has recently been zoned for upland rice cultivation (and conservation) as part of a state-led land use planning initiative. We show how internal resettlement, ethnic division and the influx of commercial agriculture in the Lao uplands intersect in a novel land use planning process and predetermine the plan’s actual significance.
Households / Cash crops / Strategies / Farmers / Social structure / Villages / Ethnic groups / Communities / Institutions / State intervention / Land governance / Concession (land) / Customary land rights / Highlands / Resettlement / Rubber industry / Land use planning Record No:H049808
This paper analyses the relationship between cyclical labour migration and agrarian transition in the uplands of Nepal, Ethiopia and Kenya. It shows that while migration decision-making is linked to expanding capitalist markets, it is mediated by local cultural, political and ecological changes. In turn, cyclical migration goes on to shape the trajectory of change within agriculture. The dual dependence on both migrant income and agriculture within these upland communities often translates into an intensifying work burden on the land, and rising profits for capitalism. However, on some occasions this income can support increased productivity and accumulation within agriculture – although this depends on both the agro-ecological context and the local agrarian structure.
Communities / Highlands / Decision making / Women / Livelihoods / Tenants / Landlessness / Farmers / Investment / Agriculture / Peasantry / Capitalism / Remuneration / Income / Remittances / Labour mobility / Agrarian structure / Migration Record No:H050498
Over the last two decades, several data sets have been developed to assess flood risk at the global scale. In recent years, some of these data sets have become detailed enough to be informative at national scales. The use of these data sets nationally could have enormous benefits in areas lacking existing flood risk information and allow better flood management decisions and disaster response. In this study, we evaluate the usefulness of global data for assessing flood risk in five countries: Colombia, England, Ethiopia, India, and Malaysia. National flood risk assessments are carried out for each of the five countries using six data sets of global flood hazard, seven data sets of global population, and three different methods for calculating vulnerability. We also conduct interviews with key water experts in each country to explore what capacity there is to use these global data sets nationally. We find that the data sets differ substantially at the national level, and this is reflected in the national flood risk estimates. While some global data sets could be of significant value for national flood risk management, others are either not detailed enough, or too outdated to be relevant at this scale. For the relevant global data sets to be used most effectively for national flood risk management, a country needs a functioning, institutional framework with capability to support their use and implementation.
Hydropower development in the lower Mekong Basin is being rapidly developed. Taking the Pak Beng hydropower project in Laos as a case study, this paper looks at participation and politics in transboundary hydropower development, how the latter is revealed by multiple, parallel institutional architectures in hydropower decision-making across scales, and its implications for transboundary environmental governance. We look at the institutional disjuncture in hydropower decision-making, how it is (re)produced by powerful, albeit conflicting narratives at respectively national and transboundary levels, power relations shaping these narratives, and how these translate into local communityapos;s limited ability to convey their voices and represent their development needs. Conceptually, the paper sheds light on the underlying politics in transboundary environmental governance by bringing to light the structural factors that prevent participation, including how these factors are justified, sustained and to a certain extent reproduced as an integral part of legal, policy, and institutional landscapes that govern hydropower decision-making across scales (e.g., local to transboundary).
Governance / Participation / International waters / Hydropower Record No:H050849
Kitchen gardening is considered a way to reconnect with agriculture and complement the cereal-based relief food offered to refugees in East Africa. This work aimed at profiling mineral content of okra in four refugee camps and settlements located in Ethiopia and Uganda and its contribution to adequate intake (AIs) or recommended dietary allowances (RDAs) for young children and pregnant and lactating women (PLW). The study also evaluated the applicability of portable X-ray fluorescence (PXRF) as compared with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for mineral profiling of okra powder samples. The contents of minerals (mg kg-1) from the ICP-MS readings were in the following ranges: K (14,385–33,294), Ca (2610–14,090), P (3178–13,248), Mg (3896–7986), Cu (3.81–19.3), Fe (75.7–1243), Zn (33–141) and Mn (23.1–261). Regardless of geographic origin, at low-end consumption probability (17 g day-1 for young children and 68 g day-1 for PLW), okra could contribute 15% (2.7–12.9%) AI for macro-minerals (K and Ca). In addition, the contributions to RDA values for Fe and Zn, elements of known public health interest, ranged from 4.5 to 34.7% for young children. Interestingly, regression lines revealed strong agreement between ICP-MS and PXRF readings for Mn and Zn, with R2 valuesgt;0.91. This information is useful in support of nutrition-sensitive kitchen gardening programs through scaling culturally important crops in refugee settings.
Public health / Children / Women / Nutrition / Recommended dietary allowances / Mineral content / Domestic gardens / Settlement / Refugees / Abelmoschus esculentus / Food consumption Record No:H050848
In Dhaka city and its fringe peri-urban sprawls water for domestic use is an increasingly contested commodity. The location of our research, Gazipur district, bordering the growing city of Dhaka, is the heartland of Bangladesh’s Ready Made Garments (RMG) industry, which has spread unplanned in former wetlands and agrarian belts. However, unlike Dhaka, the almost fully industrialized peri-urban areas bordering the city, like many other such areas globally, function in an institutional vacuum. There are no formal institutional arrangements for water supply or sanitation. In the absence of regulations for mining groundwater for industrial use and weakly enforced norms for effluent discharge, the expansion of the RMG industry and other industries has had a disproportionate environmental impact. In this complex and challenging context, we apply a political economy lens to draw attention to the paradoxical situation of the increasingly “public” lives of poor Bangladeshi women working in large numbers in the RMG industry in situations of increasingly “private” and appropriated water sources in this institutionally liminal peri-urban space. Our findings show that poorly paid work for women in Bangladesh’s RMG industry does not translate to women’s empowerment because, among others, a persisting masculinity and the lack of reliable, appropriate and affordable WASH services make women’s domestic water work responsibilities obligatory and onerous.
Periurban areas / Poverty / Domestic water / Households / Social aspects / Water, sanitation and hygiene / Empowerment / Factory workers / Women / Gender equality / Water supply Record No:H050845
Reliance on groundwater in Sub-Saharan Africa is growing and expected to rise as surface water resource variability increases under climate change. Major questions remain about how groundwater will be used, and who informs these decisions. We represent different visions of groundwater use by ‘pathways’: politically and environmentally embedded socio-technological regimes for governing and managing groundwater systems. We presented policy actors (9 sets), development and research stakeholders (4 sets), and water users (6 sets) in three river basins in Ethiopia, Niger and Tanzania with information on the social and environmental impacts of six ‘Groundwater Development Pathways’, before gathering their opinions on each, through Multicriteria Mapping (MCM). Participants preferred pathways of low-intensity use, incorporating multiple agricultural, pastoral and domestic purposes, to high-intensity single-use pathways. Water availability and environmental sustainability, including water quality, were central concerns. Participants recognised that all groundwater uses potentially impinge upon one another affecting both the quantity and quality of abstracted water. Across participant groups there was ambiguity about what the most important water use was; each expressed demands for more detailed, certain modelling data. Water users preferred community or municipal-scale management regimes, perceiving that water quality was more likely to be safeguarded by institutions at these levels, whereas policy and development actors preferred individual-scale management, viewed as more efficient in terms of operation and maintenance. We conclude that MCM, combined with more detailed modelling, can provide an effective framework for policy actors to understand other stakeholders’ perspectives on groundwater development futures, enabling equitable, inclusive decision-making and governance.
Uncertainty / Modelling / Communities / Stakeholders / Groundwater extraction / Environmental sustainability / Water quality / Multiple use / Water users / Water use / Small-scale farming / Large-scale farming / Water availability / Water governance / Water policies / River basins / Groundwater management Record No:H051559
Urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) is widely distributed throughout the Global South. Despite urban population growth and diversifying food habits, UPA delivers an important part of urban food supply, as well as other types of services to cities, such as employment and waste reuse. Nevertheless, the extent and importance of UPA varies between different urban areas, while challenges like limited recognition, land conversion, and water pollution and competition threaten the potential of UPA to contribute to urban resilience. Key investment priorities for research and innovation for overcoming current challenges include incentivized peri-urban zoning, urban allocation of productive lands, and increasing capacities for controlled environment agriculture (CEA). Innovative repositioning of food marketing can help to strengthen supply of healthy food from UPA production, increase decent employment, and turn food markets into nutrition hubs. Priority innovations for contributing to the circular bioeconomy of cities include scaling the safe use of wastewater for irrigation through investments in the adoption of multiple risk-barrier approaches and scaling UPA-based ecosystem services for valorising solid waste and environmental management. Innovations in urban governance are required to support these processes by bringing food systems into urban planning through food mapping and the multisectoral platforms for dialogue and policy formulation across city regions and with vertical levels of government.
Equity in rural water supply systems has been a major concern of users, policymakers, and practitioners in Nepal. Communities continue to face persistent inequities in access to safe water amid the changing livelihood environment due to migration, the transition to federalism, and entrenched social hierarchies. In this situation, increasing competition for water, a resource that continues to diminish due to natural and anthropogenic causes, has aggravated disparities in access. It is usually the poor and marginalised groups who are disproportionately affected. The long-standing factors hindering equitable access to an adequate water supply amidst the COVID-19 pandemic when water is necessary for handwashing needs a sustainable resolution. Based on the learnings of a three-year research project that aimed to understand the role of gender and power dynamics in the functionality of community water systems, this paper provides insights into collective water management practices and equity amidst the pandemic. Evidence from the study shows deficiencies in community institutions created for inclusive and sustainable management of local water sources. The paper argues that achieving gender and social inclusion in community water management requires going beyond the implementation of prescribed quotas for women and under represented minority groups. Our learnings from the COVID-19 pandemic highlight the importance of equitable access to safe water and emphasise how low-income households are at higher risk of contracting the virus through shared water infrastructures. A household survey, together with a mix of qualitative methods, were the primary sources of data. Based on data from the case study sites—Ward No. 8, Gurans Rural Municipality, Dailekh district and Ward No. 6, Chandranagar Rural Municipality, Sarlahi district—we conclude that changing socio-economic contexts, prevailing social norms and practices, and premature and frequent infrastructure breakdown are barriers to fair and equitable access to water, and that local governments’ enhanced authority is a new opportunity.
Case studies / Households / Governance / Civil society organizations / Institutions / Water user groups / COVID-19 / Water, sanitation and hygiene / Women / Social inclusion / Gender equality / Water management / Equity / Water availability / Rural communities / Water supply Record No:H052327
Polycentric irrigation water governance allows community institutions to deliver better irrigation services. This study examined the Irrigation Water User Associations (IWUAs) service delivery performance in the Ketar subbasin, Ethiopia, focusing on four irrigation schemes. The irrigation water user associations in the subbasin were measured on their legal registration and financial status, while the four schemes were examined on their bylaw implementation, decision transparency, water allocation, and infrastructure management. Three hundred eleven (311) randomly selected irrigators were surveyed. The study showed that 73 and 21% of the modern and traditional IWUAs in the subbasin are legally registered and collect an average ETB 1200/year/ha which is insignificant for Oamp;M. The four schemesapos; water distribution disparity ranges from 3.5 to 8.4 L/s at farmersapos; plots. 47 and 62% of the respondents depicted their dissatisfaction with the water allocation and satisfaction with IWUAsapos; decision-making transparency, respectively. The study also revealed that the IWUAs are compounded with weak infrastructure management that resulted in substantial water loss ranging from 12 to 49%. Besides, 70% of respondents witnessed a lack of gender-based irrigation incentives for female irrigators. Improving these services makes the polycentric irrigation water governance play an exponential beneficial role in alleviating the consequence of unregulated water use.
Decision making / Water allocation / Water user associations / Irrigation water / Water governance Record No:H051495
Matthews, N.; Dalton, J.; Matthews, J.; Barclay, H.; Barron, J.; Garrick, D.; Gordon, L.; Huq, S.; Isman, T.; McCornick, P.; Meghji, A.; Mirumachi, N.; Moosa, S.; Mulligan, M.; Noble, A.; Petryniak, O.; Pittock, J.; Queiroz, C.; Ringler, C.; Smith, Mark; Turner, C.; Vora, S.; Whiting, L. 2022. Elevating the role of water resilience in food system dialogues.Water Security, 17:100126. [DOI] More... | Fulltext (551 KB)
Ensuring resilient food systems and sustainable healthy diets for all requires much higher water use, however, water resources are finite, geographically dispersed, volatile under climate change, and required for other vital functions including ecosystems and the services they provide. Good governance for resilient water resources is a necessary precursor to deciding on solutions, sourcing finance, and delivering infrastructure. Six attributes that together provide a foundation for good governance to reduce future water risks to food systems are proposed. These attributes dovetail in their dual focus on incorporating adaptive learning and new knowledge, and adopting the types of governance systems required for water resilient food systems. The attributes are also founded in the need to greater recognise the role natural, healthy ecosystems play in food systems. The attributes are listed below and are grounded in scientific evidence and the diverse collective experience and expertise of stakeholders working across the science-policy interface: Adopting interconnected systems thinking that embraces the complexity of how we produce, distribute, and add value to food including harnessing the experience and expertise of stakeholders s; adopting multi-level inclusive governance and supporting inclusive participation; enabling continual innovation, new knowledge and learning, and information dissemination; incorporating diversity and redundancy for resilience to shocks; ensuring system preparedness to shocks; and planning for the long term. This will require food and water systems to pro-actively work together toward a socially and environmentally just space that considers the water and food needs of people, the ecosystems that underpin our food systems, and broader energy and equity concerns.
Information dissemination / Learning / Ecosystems / Climate change / Water resources / Policies / Participation / Decision making / Innovation / Water systems / Water governance / Resilience / Water management / Food systems Record No:H051489
Orr, A.; Ahmad, B.; Alam, U.; Appadurai, A. N.; Bharucha, Z. P.; Biemans, H.; Bolch, T.; Chaulagain, N. P.; Dhaubanjar, S.; Dimri, A. P.; Dixon, H.; Fowler, H. J.; Gioli, G.; Halvorson, S. J.; Hussain, A.; Jeelani, G.; Kamal, S.; Khalid, I. S.; Liu, S.; Lutz, A.; Mehra, M. K.; Miles, E.; Momblanch, A.; Muccione, V.; Mukherji, Aditi; Mustafa, D.; Najmuddin, O.; Nasimi, M. N.; Nusser, M.; Pandey, V. P.; Parveen, S.; Pellicciotti, F.; Pollino, C.; Potter, E.; Qazizada, M. R.; Ray, S.; Romshoo, S.; Sarkar, S. K.; Sawas, A.; Sen, S.; Shah, A.; Ali Shah, M. Azeem; Shea, J. M.; Sheikh, A. T.; Shrestha, A. B.; Tayal, S.; Tigala, S.; Virk, Z. T.; Wester, P.; Wescoat, J. L. Jr. 2022. Knowledge priorities on climate change and water in the Upper Indus Basin: a horizon scanning exercise to identify the top 100 research questions in social and natural sciences.Earthapos;s Future, 10(4):e2021EF002619. [DOI] More... | Fulltext (2.20 MB)
River systems originating from the Upper Indus Basin (UIB) are dominated by runoff from snow and glacier melt and summer monsoonal rainfall. These water resources are highly stressed as huge populations of people living in this region depend on them, including for agriculture, domestic use, and energy production. Projections suggest that the UIB region will be affected by considerable (yet poorly quantified) changes to the seasonality and composition of runoff in the future, which are likely to have considerable impacts on these supplies. Given how directly and indirectly communities and ecosystems are dependent on these resources and the growing pressure on them due to ever-increasing demands, the impacts of climate change pose considerable adaptation challenges. The strong linkages between hydroclimate, cryosphere, water resources, and human activities within the UIB suggest that a multi- and inter-disciplinary research approach integrating the social and natural/environmental sciences is critical for successful adaptation to ongoing and future hydrological and climate change. Here we use a horizon scanning technique to identify the Top 100 questions related to the most pressing knowledge gaps and research priorities in social and natural sciences on climate change and water in the UIB. These questions are on the margins of current thinking and investigation and are clustered into 14 themes, covering three overarching topics of “governance, policy, and sustainable solutions”, “socioeconomic processes and livelihoods”, and “integrated Earth System processes”. Raising awareness of these cutting-edge knowledge gaps and opportunities will hopefully encourage researchers, funding bodies, practitioners, and policy makers to address them.
Mountains / Glaciers / Ecosystems / Hydroclimatology / Natural disasters / Agriculture / Gender / Socioeconomic aspects / Poverty / Vulnerability / Livelihoods / Sustainability / Policies / Governance / River basins / Water availability / Water management / Water resources / Climate change adaptation Record No:H051443
Development trends in Kyrgyzstan include declining agricultural production, a steady increase in remittances to rural areas from labor migration and an increasing role for the non-agricultural sector in the rural economy. These trends suggest that labor migration is having a transformative effect, with significant opportunities for rural development, but also challenges ahead. Even though migration has a huge impact on the country’s economy (remittances account for some 30% of the country’s GDP), to date migration governance focuses mainly on the rights protection of migrants and does nothing about sending communities and rural development policy. The attractiveness of rural villages for return migration and the well-being of those left-behind should be a major focus for migration policy along with the inclusion of migration as cross-cutting issue in rural development policy at all levels.
Agriculture / Households / Rural development / Policies / Labour / Governance / Migration Record No:H052218
Many studies indicate that labor migration is the main economic survival strategy for all population groups in Kyrgyzstan, but especially young people. Migration affects rural schools in several ways. Young people are not interested in fully completing their secondary education, and after the 9th grade, many drop out of school and start looking for jobs. This problem is compounded by the shortage of school teachers in the country. According to the Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic, teaching vacancies in subjects such as computer science, English, biology, chemistry, mathematics and physical education have not been filled for years in many schools. Recent university graduates are not interested in filling these vacancies as labor migration offers a more favorable way of entering the labor market.
This migration of the working age population can, however, have a negative impact on left-behind children, worsening their academic performance. National Assessment of the Educational Achievements for grad school students (NOODU) data show that students’ performance at schools differs markedly between children whose parents are labour migrants outside of the country and their peers whose parents remain with them. The former often have the worst performances in schools. This is mostly because left behind children, mostly teens, have to fill the labour shortage in the household.
The multidimensional impacts of labor mobility are therefore closely intertwined and reflected in problems felt within the school system (lack of teachers and poor academic performance of migrant children). This can cause long-term negative impacts on education. However, despite the scale of labor migration, very little has been done to understand how rural schools cope with these challenges. This policy brief aims to raise stakeholder awareness of the impact of labor migration on the institution of secondary education in rural communities with active migration outflows, and offers key recommendations for further actions and interventions.
Governance / Policies / Infrastructure / Stakeholders / Communities / Rural areas / Schools / Labour / Mainstreaming / Children / Migrants / Migration Record No:H052219
Ensuring the long-term functionality of community-managed rural water supply systems has been a persistent development challenge. It is well established that the technicalities of keeping the systems going are impacted by complex political, social, financial, and institutional challenges. While the shift to federal, three-tiered governance allocates concurrent responsibility for drinking water management to the local government with federal and provincial governments, water and sanitation user groups continue to shoulder the management of local supply systems voluntarily. All three levels have jurisdiction over water-related services resulting in confusion of roles. This study focuses on the local level, where community management of water and sanitation decentralisation is the key approach in this complex tangle of diverse institutions with different actors managing and governing water. User Groups and their Committees in the Guras Rural Municipality of Dailekh district, Karnali province, in West Nepal, provided the case study, which was analysed using Ostromapos;s well-recognised Eight Principles for Sustainable Governance of Common-Pool Resources. The community-based model, established formally through the Water Resource Act 1992 (2049 BS), is critically analysed in light of the changing socioeconomic context through the intervening years. The results highlight the need for stronger collaboration between the rural municipality and users to achieve good water supplies and the risks of losing access and voice in water management for women and marginalised people when inactive user groups are replaced by private or group interests taking control of the water access.
Policies / Socioeconomic aspects / Drinking water / Water, sanitation and hygiene / Women / Social inclusion / Gender / Water user groups / Water management / Water resources / Rural communities / Collective action / Water supply Record No:H051437
The severity of the climate challenge requires a change in the climate response, from an incremental to a more far-reaching and radical transformative one. There is also a need to avoid maladaptation whereby responses to climate risk inadvertently reinforce vulnerability, exposure and risk for some sections of society. Innovative technological interventions are critical but enabling social, institutional and governance factors are the actual drivers of the transformative process. Bringing about this transformation requires inter- and transdisciplinary approaches, and the embracing of social equity. In this Perspective, we unpack what this means for agricultural research and, based on our collective experience, we map out a research agenda that weaves different research components into a holistic and transformative one. We do not offer best practice, but rather reflections on how agricultural research can more readily contribute to transformative adaptation, along with the personal and practical challenges of designing and implementing such an agenda.
Finance / Policies / Collaboration / Governance / Institutions / Innovation / Technology / Vulnerability / Food systems / Equity / Social aspects / Risk reduction / Climate resilience / Agricultural research / Transdisciplinary research / Transformation / Climate change adaptation Record No:H051430
Water scarcity and pollution are major threats for human development in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and Lebanon is no exception. Wastewater treatment and reuse in agriculture can contribute to addressing the increasing water crisis in the MENA region. However, what is the actual potential of water reuse as a solution for agriculture in Lebanon? This report addresses this question and provides the most comprehensive assessment of water reuse potential up to now. Using geographic information system (GIS) modelling and the best and most recent data available in the country, the report develops a detailed technical assessment of the quantities of treated water available for safe reuse in irrigation, and identifies the wastewater treatment plants that have the highest potential for that purpose.
The report also examines the governance barriers that need to be overcome for the water reuse potential to materialize in practice. These barriers include structural shortcomings in the wastewater sector combined with challenges of governance and the lack of a regulatory framework for reuse management. Once the current economic, financial and political crisis in Lebanon eases, addressing these barriers will be key to achieving more and safer water reuse in the country.
Case studies / Financial situation / Economic crises / Non-governmental organizations / Stakeholders / Water authorities / Irrigation systems / Agricultural land / Domestic water / Parameters / Regulations / Water quality / Wells / Water supply / Groundwater / Infrastructure / Irrigation requirements / Water shortage / Water use / Water availability / Water rights / Water governance / Water demand / Supply and demand / Water balance / Water budget / Water management / Water resources / Geographical information systems / Modelling / Databases / Municipal wastewater / Wastewater treatment plants / Analysis / Irrigation water / Water potential / Water reuse Record No:H051388
Solar-powered irrigation pumps are a vital tool for both climate change adaptation and mitigation. Since most developing countries cannot fully utilize large-scale global funds for climate finance due to limited institutional capacities, small-scale solar irrigation pumps (SIPs) can provide a climate-resilient technological solution. We study the case of a subsidized SIP program in Nepal to understand who likely benefits from a small-scale climate finance program in a developing country setting. We analyze government data on profiles of farmers applying for SIPs and in-depth interviews with different actors along the SIP service chain. We find that vulnerable farmers (women, ethnic minorities, and poor farmers) were less likely than wealthier and non-minority farmers to have access to climate finance subsidies. Even though the government agency gave preference to women and ethnic minority farmers during beneficiary selection, an unrepresentative pool of applicants resulting from social and institutional barriers that prevented them from applying to the program led to an inequitable distribution of subsidized SIPs. The lack of a clear policy framework for allocating climate finance subsidies was a significant constraint. Lack of periodic updating of SIP prices and poor provision of after-sale services were also responsible for the inequitable distribution of subsidized SIPs. We recommend the involvement of local governments in soliciting applications from a wider pool of farmers, periodic revision of SIP prices to reflect market price, replacement of the current fixed subsidy scheme with a variable subsidy scheme, and mandatory provisions of after-sales services.
Monitoring / Policies / Renewable energy / Pumps / Solar powered irrigation systems / Ethnic groups / Social inclusion / Gender / Women farmers / Smallholders / Equity / Subsidies / Finance / Climate change Record No:H051378
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
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
The changes in climatic conditions and their associated impacts are contributing to a worsening of existing gender inequalities and a heightening of women’s socioeconomic vulnerabilities in South Africa. Using data collected by research methods inspired by the tradition of participatory appraisals, we systematically discuss the impacts of climate change on marginalized women and the ways in which they are actively responding to climate challenges and building their adaptive capacity and resilience in the urban areas of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. We argue that changes in climate have both direct and indirect negative impacts on women’s livelihoods and well-being. Less than one-half (37%) of the women reported implementing locally developed coping mechanisms to minimize the impacts of climate-related events, whereas 63% reported lacking any form of formal safety nets to deploy and reduce the impacts of climate-induced shocks and stresses. The lack of proactive and gender-sensitive local climate change policies and strategies creates socioeconomic and political barriers that limit the meaningful participation of women in issues that affect them and marginalize them in the climate change discourses and decision-making processes, thereby hampering their efforts to adapt and reduce existing vulnerabilities. Thus, we advocate for the creation of an enabling environment to develop and adopt progendered, cost-effective, transformative, and sustainable climate change policies and adaptation strategies that are responsive to the needs of vulnerable groups (women) of people in society. This will serve to build their adaptive capacity and resilience to climate variability and climate change–related risks and hazards.
Credit constraint is often considered as one of the key barriers to the adoption of modern agricultural technologies and low agricultural productivity in low- and middle-income countries. Past research and much of the policy discourse associate agricultural credit constraints with supply-side factors, such as limited access to credit sources or high costs of borrowing. However, demand-side factors, such as risk-aversion and financial illiteracy among borrowers could also affect credit-rationing of smallholder agricultural households. This study investigates the nature of credit constraints, factors affecting credit constraint status, and the effects of credit constraints on adoption and intensity of use of three modern agricultural technologies – small-scale irrigation, chemical fertilizer, and improved seeds. The paper also assesses whether credit constraints are gender-differentiated. Primary survey data were collected from sample farmers in Ethiopia and Tanzania, and Tobit and two-step hurdle econometric models were used to analyze these data. Results show that demand-side credit constraints are as important as supply-side factors in conditioning smallholders’ access to credit in both countries. We also find that credit is a binding constraint for the decision to adopt technologies and input use intensity in Tanzania but not statistically significant in Ethiopia. Results suggest that women are more likely to be credit constrained (from both the supply and demand sides) than men in both study countries. Based on these findings, we suggest that policies should focus on addressing both supply- and demand-side credit constraints to credit access, including through targeted interventions to reduce risk, such as crop insurance, and to strengthen the gender sensitivity of credit policies.
Econometric models / Policies / Households / Women / Gender / Access to information / Loans / Social capital / Seeds / Fertilizers / Farm inputs / Technology / Small-scale irrigation / Farmers / Smallholders / Constraints / Agricultural credit / Small-scale farming Record No:H051370
Agriculture / Irrigation systems / Water governance / Water resources / Water productivity / Irrigated farming / Water management / Irrigation water / Resilience / Climate change Record No:H051309
Addressing the disproportionate burden of food insecurity in South Africa requires targeted efforts to help smallholder farmers to access markets. The purpose of this study was to assess determinants of market participation and its contribution to household food security. The secondary data used in this study were collected from 1520 respondents; however, 389 smallholder farmers participated in the market. The Household Food Insecurity Access Scale revealed that out of the total sample size, 85% of the households were food insecure while 15% were food secure. Gender of household head, receiving social grants and higher wealth index positively impacted market participation. Having a family member with HIV had a negative impact on market participation among smallholder farmers. The results from the extended ordered probit regression model showed that household size, having a family member with HIV and agricultural assistance had a positive and significant contribution to the household food insecurity situation of the smallholder farmers. On the other hand, the educational level of household head, ownership of livestock, age of household head, gender of household head, and having access to social grants had a negative and significant effect on the food insecurity status. Access to education and the market can improve household food security. Linking smallholder farmers, particularly women and aged farmers, to markets should form an intrinsic part of the government’s efforts to improve farming and food security and increase access to diversified food.
Probit analysis / Socioeconomic environment / Gender / Agriculture / Food insecurity / Access to information / Rural areas / Farmers / Smallholders / Household food security / Participation / Markets Record No:H051304
Concerns over hydropower development in the Mekong River Basin and elsewhere include not only the overall impacts of dams on basin ecology and economy but also more site-specific impacts on affected communities. While hydropower development is impacting the livelihoods of local communities living along the river, the latter’s views and concerns are often sidelined by top-down hydropower planning. Nonetheless, local communities create and shape their political spaces of engagements in relation to hydropower decision making across scales, albeit through various means and with different results. Taking the planned Pak Beng hydropower dam as a case study and building on the concept of institutional bricolage, we look at: 1) local communities’ responses in Thailand and Laos, including how these are influenced by social movements; 2) how these responses are translated into collective action (or the lack thereof), including in relation to local communities’ (in)ability to negotiate better compensation for their to be impacted livelihoods; and 3) how local communities strategies are embedded in the wider political context and different manifestations of state-citizens relations. We argue that while affected farm households can pursue their interests to secure proper compensation through individual means, this leads to sub-optimal outcomes for affected communities collectively.
Case studies / Dams / Development projects / Social aspects / Negotiation / Compensation / Livelihoods / Households / Villages / Political power / Water governance / Transboundary waters / Strategies / Collective action / Civil society organizations / Local communities / Institutional development / Decision making / Planning / Hydropower Record No:H051301
Women and water share a great deal of nexus in several ways. However, women have still minimal control over the management of water resources, making them more vulnerable to climate change. This paper assesses how climate change impacts differently across different women groups using an intersectionality lens, thereby exploring the situation of gender mainstreaming in water sector in three communities, namely, Karaiya, Basauli, and Dadagaun in Khairahani Municipality located in the East Rapti watershed, Nepal. In this perception-based study, we conducted three key informant interviews and household interviews with 45 women of different castes, ages, communities, education levels, and occupations. The results showed that different groups of women perceive climate change and its impact differently. For instance, women engaged in agriculture are more aware of the impact of climate change and are affected more by it because of changing trends in rainfall and temperature resulting in water shortage and flooding. On the other hand, they experience more physical and mental stress because of a higher responsibility of both agriculture and household . Despite 80% of female involvement in water user committees, there is a gap in participation by all groups of women. Irrespective of literacy and work engagement, women of Karaiya and Basauli, were less aware and active than Dadagau in various water development and management activities because of time constraints, family background, lesser interest, and awareness. Therefore, more efforts are required to achieve significant progress in gender mainstreaming considering intersectionality in the water sector and climate change.
Case studies / Awareness / Watersheds / Irrigation water / Drinking water / Water availability / Communities / Climate change / Women / Gender mainstreaming Record No:H051242
Multistakeholder platforms (MSPs) are the subject of increasing attention and investment in the domain of collaborative natural resource governance, yet evidence-based guidance is slim on policy and investment priorities to leverage the MSP approach. We provide a comparative analysis of eight landscape-level MSPs spanning seven countries (Peru, Brazil, India, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and a cross-border case from Kenya and Somalia), representing a diversity of resource systems covering forests, rangelands, and multiuse agricultural landscapes. Applying an adapted social-ecological systems framework, our synthesis identifies the influence of these MSPs on patterns of stakeholder interaction and draws implications for the design and organization of MSPs that are both appropriate and effective. From the cases, we distill lessons addressing: (1) how to design an MSP in relation to the governance context, including the fit between institutional and ecological dimensions of the system and with attention to cross-scale linkages; (2) how to implement inclusive processes that address power inequities, including through capacity building and procedural rules; and (3) how to support adaptive learning to expand the MSP’s influence over time, including monitoring outcomes, adapting the scope of stakeholder engagement, and investing in MSP durability.
We witness a promotion of hybrid partnerships, where actors with different competences and resources collaborate for smallholder inclusive value chain development. To better understand the functioning of these partnerships, we used institutional theory and studied the context of a global and emerging regional food value chains in Ghana, the blending of logics by key actors in Innovation Platforms and Public Private Partnerships, and their effect on value chain relations of smallholder farmers. In the global value chain of cocoa, partnerships adhered to ‘green revolution’ and ‘free-market’ logics, and provided all farmers material support. In the more informally organised regional food sector, local executing partners selectively coupled their logics with those of poor smallholders, who rely on low-input agriculture and solidarity logics to make ends meet. This improved the position and transaction costs of smallholders to participate in the value chain. Hence, it is more likely for partnerships to create smallholder inclusive governance in informally organised regional food value chains, than highly structured global value chains controlled by international buyers. To gain insight in the variety of political effects this triggers in different social–historical shaped farmer communities, households and actors, we recommend complementary local research from a critical institutional perspective.
Cocoa / Governance / Public-private partnerships / Innovation platforms / Partnerships / Smallholders / Value chains Record No:H051239
A static and apolitical framing of women’s empowerment has dominated the development sector. In contrast, we assess the pertinence of considering a new variable, the will to change, to reintroduce dynamic and political processes into the way empowerment is framed and measured. This article uses a household survey based on the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) and qualitative data collected in Nepal to analyze how critical consciousness influences women’s will to change the status quo and the role of visible agency, social structures, and individual determinants in those processes. A circular process emerges: women with higher visible agency and higher critical consciousness are more willing to gain agency in some, but not all, of the WEAI empowerment domains. This analysis advances current conceptualizations of empowerment processes: the will to change offers valuable insights into the dynamic, relational and political nature of women’s empowerment. These findings support the design of development programs aiming at increasing visible agency and raising gender critical consciousness and argue for improving the internal validity of women’s empowerment measurement tools.
Villages / Decision making / Households / Agriculture / Indicators / Political aspects / Leadership / Social consciousness / Gender / s empowerment / Womenapos Record No:H051236
Rapid climate change is causing weather extremes in every region of the world. The global water cycle is now experiencing a structural change not seen since the last Ice Age, leaving human systems struggling to adapt and respond. Some events will have noticeable consequences in the short term, such as increased flooding from changing precipitation patterns. Others will be more long term, such as the desertification of cropland. All will have major implications for future human security.
We can view climate security as climatic stressors that amplify existing risks in society and influence the security of humans, ecosystems, economies, infrastructure and societies. In that sense, climate security is directly connected to water security defined as the ability of a population to safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities of acceptable quality water.
Sea level / Transboundary waters / Investment policies / Infrastructure / Social systems / Women / Poverty / Communities / Vulnerability / Migration / Livelihoods / Food security / Energy / Water availability / Nature-based solutions / Early warning systems / Resilience / Risk / Drought / Flooding / Extreme weather events / Natural disasters / Technology / Water management / Disruptions / Anthropogenic factors / Climate change adaptation / Water security Record No:H051228
Households / Agriculture / Policies / Social capital / Remittances / Employment / State intervention / Governance / Community development / Databases / Migrant labour / Migration Record No:H051232
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
Stakeholders / Learning / Outreach / Communication / Training / Capacity development / Social change / Communities / Human settlements / Refugees / Research and development / Strategies / Integration / Gender-transformative approaches Record No:H051177
Groundwater for Sustainable Livelihoods and Equitable Growth explores how groundwater, often invisibly, improves peoples’ lives and livelihoods. This unique collection of 19 studies captures experiences of groundwater making a difference in 16 countries in Africa, South America and Asia. Such studies are rarely documented and this book provides a rich new collection of interdisciplinary analysis. The book is published in colour and includes many original diagrams and photographs.
Spring water, wells or boreholes have provided safe drinking water and reliable water for irrigation or industry for millennia. However, the hidden nature of groundwater often means that it’s important role both historically and in the present is overlooked. This collection helps fill this knowledge gap, providing a diverse set of new studies encompassing different perspectives and geographies. Different interdisciplinary methodologies are described that can help understand linkages between groundwater, livelihoods and growth, and how these links can be threatened by over-use, contamination, and ignorance.
Written for a worldwide audience of practitioners, academics and students with backgrounds in geology, engineering or environmental sciences; Groundwater for Sustainable Livelihoods and Equitable Growth is essential reading for those involved in groundwater and international development.
Case studies / Socioeconomic development / Households / Farmers / Smallholders / Rice / Stubble burning / Coastal areas / Villages / Rural areas / Periurban areas / Landscape conservation / Urban development / Strategies / Adaptation / Resilience / Climate change / Hydrogeology / Alluvial aquifers / Wells / Water springs / Watersheds / River basins / Water harvesting / Water supply / Legal frameworks / Water policies / Water governance / Water scarcity / Surface water / Conjunctive use / Water use / Small scale systems / Groundwater irrigation / Groundwater extraction / Groundwater recharge / Water security / Water resources / Equity / Sustainable livelihoods / Groundwater management Record No:H051156
Most development planners and practitioners have often wrongly assumed that solutions for community challenges lie within the “western scientific knowledge” only. However, the recent studies have highlighted the relevance of Indigenous Knowledge to inform western scientific solutions. This study is on the Barotse Flood Plain of the Western Province of Zambia. Flood inundation understanding by the local communities has direct implications for their livelihood options and for the well-being of their households. The research found that there are a number of important local knowledge systems that are early warning systems based on observations of weather, water level and landscape, and animal behavior, which are widely disseminated through a specific communication network. The chapter concludes with a discussion on how the integration of Western scientific and Indigenous Knowledge Systems will better inform interventions to improve livelihood options for the communities within the Barotse Flood Plain and policy and practice within the developing world at large.
Koo, J.; Kramer, B.; Langan, Simon; Ghosh, A.; Monsalue, A. G.; Lunt, T. 2022. Digital innovations: using data and technology for sustainable food systems. In International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). 2022 Global food policy report: climate change and food systems. Washington, DC, USA: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). pp.106-113. (Global Food Policy Report)[DOI] More... | Fulltext (332 KB)
Climate change and associated extreme weather events directly impact the functioning and sustainability of food systems. The increasingly erratic onset of seasonal rainfall and prolonged heat stress during growing seasons are already causing crop losses. As of late 2021, for example, Madagascar’s three successive seasonal droughts had put 1.35 million people at risk of the world’s first climate-change-induced famine. In the United States, the number of days between billion-dollar weather-related disasters has fallen from more than 80 in the 1980s to just 18 in recent years. Without adequate preparation, these weather hazards disrupt food supply chains by interrupting production and cause problems farther along these chains by raising costs and prices of processing, storage, transport, retail, and consumption and reducing business revenues.
Women / Policies / Access to information / Digital divide / Weather forecasting / Risk / Climate change / Sustainability / Agrifood systems / Data / Innovation / Digital technology Record No:H051155
Ringler, C.; Belete, A. A.; Mathetsa, S. M.; Uhlenbrook, Stefan. 2022. Rural clean energy access: accelerating climate resilience. In International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). 2022 Global food policy report: climate change and food systems. Washington, DC, USA: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). pp.82-89. (Global Food Policy Report)[DOI] More... | Fulltext (442 KB)
Globally, the energy sector accounts for almost three-quarters of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and is thus responsible for the majority of adverse climate change impacts on rural livelihoods, including growing water, energy, and food insecurity and environmental degradation. According to a recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, annual investments of US$2.4 trillion (2010 dollars) in energy systems are needed to limit global warming to 1.5C. Such investments would support decarbonizing the largest polluters and improving energy efficiency. More and cheaper clean energy technologies and greater energy efficiency are equally critical for accelerating access to energy in underserved rural areas in ways that promote ecosystem health and inclusivity.
Incentives / Women / Livelihoods / Ecosystems / Environmental impact / Water resources / Investment / Innovation / Solar energy / Food security / Resilience / Climate change / Rural areas / Energy technology Record No:H051148
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
Case studies / Debt / Finance / Governmental organizations / Stakeholders / Employment / Migration / Refugees / Livelihoods / Poverty / Households / Labour / Women / Food security / Smallholders / Farmers / Communities / Policies / Climate change / Water scarcity / Water extraction / Resilience / Water stress / Water management / Groundwater / Surface water / Water supply / Water resources / Coping strategies / Weather hazards / Irrigated farming / Livestock / Agricultural sector / Action plans / Impact assessment / Risk management / Vulnerability / Drought Record No:H051017
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
Political aspects / Wastewater / Water rights / Cost recovery / Institutions / Regulations / Multi-stakeholder processes / Guidelines / Water governance / Planning / Agricultural water use / Water reuse Record No:H051744
Mateo-Sagasta, Javier. 2022. Thematic guidelines - Section 2: introduction. In Mateo-Sagasta, Javier; Al-Hamdi, M.; AbuZeid, K. (Eds.). Water reuse in the Middle East and North Africa: a sourcebook. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). pp.106-108. More... | Fulltext (128 KB)
Models / Gender mainstreaming / Governance / Projects / Guidelines / Water reuse Record No:H051741
A large proportion of the rural population in Ethiopia depends on community-managed forests for food security and livelihoods. However, the government and development partners have paid little attention to the governance challenges which limit the contributions of community-managed forests to food security and livelihoods. Also lacking is a synthesis of evidence relating to the requirements for improved governance to support the efforts of decision makers and practitioners. This paper attempts to review and synthesize the available evidence with the aim of identifying the requirements to achieve improved governance in community-managed forests. The results revealed that failure to devise benefit-sharing mechanisms which consider the heterogeneity of rural communities was prevalent. Interference of local authorities and elite capture in decision-making processes of forest and landscape restoration also compromised the willingness of rural communities to engage in collective action. Requirements such as the identification of the needs of specific categories of communities and enabling of the negotiation of diverse interests in the design and implementation of interventions could improve the governance of community-managed forests. Developing management plans and business model scenarios which balance the ecological and socio-economic goals at a local level in collaboration with rural communities is important to improve the governance of community-managed forests. There is also a need to revisit the practice of evaluating the performance of community-managed forests almost exclusively based on the goals of climate change adaptation and mitigation and biodiversity conservation.
Rural communities / Equity / Accountability / Participation / Decision making / Community forestry / Sustainability / Forest landscape restoration / Livelihoods / Incentives / Deforestation / Governance / Community management / Forest management Record No:H050966
Leder, S.; Shrestha, Gitta; Upadhyaya, R.; Adhikari, Y. 2022. COVID-19, gender, and small-scale farming in Nepal. In Castellanos, P.; Sachs, C. E.; Tickamyer, A. R. (Eds.). Gender, food and COVID-19: global stories of harm and hope. Abingdon, Oxon, UK: Routledge. pp.3-12. (Routledge Focus on Environment and Sustainability)[DOI] More... | Fulltext (10.9 MB)
Relief / State intervention / Food security / Awareness-raising / Social inclusion / s organizations / Womenapos / Smallholders / Women farmers / Small-scale farming / Gender / COVID-19 Record No:H050956
The Constitution of Nepal 2015 enshrines everyone’s right of access to clean water for drinking and the right to food. The common operationalization of the right to water for drinking is providing access to infrastructure that brings water for drinking and other basic domestic uses near and at homesteads. Challenges to achieving this goal in rural areas include: low functionality of water systems; expansion of informal self supply for multiple uses; widespread de facto productive uses of water systems designed for domestic uses; growing competition for finite water resources; and male elite capture in polycentric decision-making. This paper traces how the Nepali government and nongovernmental organizations in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), irrigation and other sectors have joined forces since the early 2000s to address these challenges by innovating community-led multiple use water services (MUS). The present literature review of these processes complemented by field research supported by the Water for Women Fund focuses on women in vulnerable households.
Overcoming sectoral silos, these organizations support what is often seen as the sole responsibility of the WASH sector: targeting infrastructure development to bring sufficient water near and at homesteads of those left behind. Women’s priorities for using this water are respected and supported, which often includes productive uses, also at basic volumes. In line with decentralized federalism, inclusive community-led MUS planning processes build on vulnerable households’ self supply, commonly for multiple uses, and follow their priorities for local incremental infrastructure improvements. Further, community-led MUS builds on community-based arrangements for ‘sharing in’ and ‘sharing out’ the finite water resources in and under communities’ social territories. This realizes the constitutional right to food in line with the Nepal Water Resources Act, 1992, which prioritizes core minimum volumes of water for everyone’s domestic uses and many households’ irrigation. Evidence shows how the alleviation of domestic chores, women’s stronger control over food production for nutrition and income, and more sustainable infrastructure mutually reinforce each other in virtuous circles out of gendered poverty. However, the main challenge remains the inclusion of women and vulnerable households in participatory processes.
Competition / Income / Financing / Benefit-cost ratio / Sustainability / Small scale systems / Irrigation / Infrastructure / Water systems / Rural areas / Nexus / Food security / Solar energy / Water sharing / Vulnerability / Livelihoods / Women / Households / Non-governmental organizations / Governmental organizations / Decision making / Participatory approaches / Water, sanitation and hygiene / Domestic water / Drinking water / Water availability / Right to water / Supply chains / Water supply / Water resources / Community involvement / Social inclusion / Gender equality / Multiple use water services Record No:H050908
Laderach, P.; Merrey, D. J.; Schapendonk, F.; Dhehibi, B.; Ruckstuhl, Sandra; Mapedza, Everisto; Najjar, D.; Dessalegn, B.; Amarnath, Giriraj; Nangia, V.; Al-Zuapos;bi, Maha; Biradar, C.; Pacillo, G.; Govind, A.; Hakhu, A.; Yigezu, Y. A.; Gupta, T. D.; Madurga-Lopez, I.; Lahham, Nisreen; Cosgrove, B.; Joshi, Deepa; Grosjean, G.; Hugh, B.; Elmahdi, Amgad; Frija, A.; Udalagama, Upandha; Nicol, Alan. 2022. Strengthening climate security in the Middle East and North Africa Region. : CGIAR FOCUS Climate Security 80p. (Position Paper No. 2022/3) More... | Fulltext (5.27 MB)
Capacity development / s empowerment / Womenapos / Gender equality / Governance / Monitoring / Financing / Water scarcity / Water security / Water management / Transboundary waters / Food prices / Migration / Livelihoods / Agriculture / Risk / Climate change Record No:H051658
The report creates contexts for a systemic understanding of the CGIAR Transforming agric-food system (TAFS-WCA) initiative starting with work package (WP) 3 and expanding the causality effects across the other WPs of the Initiative. The main focus of WP3 is inclusive landscape management, whereby access to and proper use of land and water resources is a prerequisite to building a healthy, productive environment for resilient agri-food systems and livelihoods. Mapping synergies with other Work Packages ensure that respective contributions are integrated and impactful. The process intends to provide policymakers, researchers, and practitioners with a strategic framework to activate solutions temporarily with a stakeholder-defined suite of scenarios.
Decision support systems / Women / Youth / Governance / Natural resources / Participatory approaches / Nexus approaches / Food systems / Energy / Water resources / Livelihoods / Planning / Resilience / Inclusion / Sustainability / Landscape conservation Record No:H051652
This study assessed the investment climate for circular bioeconomy in Kenya by reviewing the national policies, strategies and regulations, financing mechanisms, infrastructure and business environment. The study identified key gaps in these areas affecting waste management and entrepreneurship development in the circular bioeconomy sector. There are key developments at the policy level and some developments in entrepreneur promotion in resource recovery from different waste streams. The specific focus of the policies, strategies and regulations in the waste sector, lack of coordination of the relevant sectors in waste management, weak horizontal communication between sectors and implementation and compliance problems are main gaps in promoting circular bioeconomy. Absence of drastic changes in actual behaviour such as waste separation at source and lack of incentives in entrepreneurial development are also critical challenges. While addressing these gaps, the progresses identified need to be further scaled out to make waste management and circular bioeconomy in Kenya sustainable. Establishment of multiple stakeholder platforms involving key actors in the sector and enhancing awareness is important in promoting resource recovery and reuse. Promotion of incubator centres to enhance local capacity and foster uptake of resource recovery and reuse businesses is critical.
Successful community institutions in the global South, which are contributing to livelihoods’ improvement while conserving water and other natural resources, can sustainably build the resilience that policy makers at different tiers are seeking. This article assesses different models of community institutions in Nepal in governing water resources from various lenses, based on Ostrom’s and others’ design principles, including bricolage. Illustrated by three empirical cases, it analyses key features of community institutions in integrated water governance, their contributions to health, nutrition, food security, and environmental conservation, and ways for empowering these institutions as viable and sustainable solutions to address various livelihood challenges. However, inequalities along gender, caste, and ethnicity lines persist. We argue that the recently established local governments under the federal system in Nepal provide new opportunities for gender and social inclusion.
Gender / Community organizations / Water management / Sustainable livelihoods / Water governance Record No:H051671
Mapedza, Everisto; Dessalegn, B.; Abdelali-Martini, M.; Al Hariry, H. 2022. Gender mainstreaming guidelines. In Mateo-Sagasta, Javier; Al-Hamdi, M.; AbuZeid, K. (Eds.). Water reuse in the Middle East and North Africa: a sourcebook. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). pp.122-141. More... | Fulltext (418 KB)
Gender-transformative approaches / Gender equality / Projects / Sanitation / Water reuse / Women / Guidelines / Gender mainstreaming Record No:H051659
Research-engaged decision making and policy reform processes are critical to advancing resilience, adaptation, and transformation in social-ecological systems under stress. Here we propose a new conceptual framework to assess opportunities for research engagement in the policy process, building upon existing understandings of power dynamics and the political economy of policy reform. We retrospectively examine three cases of research engagement in small-scale fisheries policy and decision making, at national level (Myanmar) and at regional level (Pacific Islands region and sub-Saharan Africa), to illustrate application of the framework and highlight different modes of research engagement. We conclude with four principles for designing research to constructively and iteratively engage in policy and institutional reform: (a) nurture multi-stakeholder coalitions for change at different points in the policy cycle, (b) engage a range of forms and spaces of power, (c) embed research communications to support and respond to dialogue, and (d) employ evaluation in a cycle of action, learning, and adaptation. The framework and principles can be used to identify entry points for research engagement and to reflect critically upon the choices that researchers make as actors within complex processes of change.
Fish trade / Political aspects / Ecological factors / Social aspects / Stakeholders / Decision making / Frameworks / Partnerships / Governance / Policies / Research / Small-scale fisheries Record No:H051642
Martin, M. A.; Boakye, E. A.; Boyd, E.; Broadgate, W.; Bustamante, M.; Canadell, J. G.; Carr, E. R.; Chu, E. K.; Cleugh, H.; Csevar, S.; Daoudy, M.; de Bremond, A.; Dhimal, M.; Ebi, K. L.; Edwards, C.; Fuss, S.; Girardin, M. P.; Glavovic, B.; Hebden, S.; Hirota, M.; Hsu, H.-H.; Huq, S.; Ingold, K.; Johannessen, O. M.; Kameyama, Y.; Kumarasinghe, N.; Langendijk, G. S.; Lissner, T.; Lwasa, S.; Machalaba, C.; Maltais, A.; Mathai, M. V.; Mbow, C.; McNamara, K. E.; Mukherji, Aditi; Murray, V.; Mysiak, J.; Okereke, C.; Ospina, D.; Otto, F.; Prakash, A.; Pulhin, J. M.; Raju, E.; Redman, A.; Rigaud, K. K.; Rockstrom, J.; Roy, J.; Schipper, E. L. F.; Schlosser, P.; Schulz, K. A.; Schumacher, K.; Schwarz, L.; Scown, M.; Sedova, B.; Siddiqui, T. A.; Singh, C.; Sioen, G. B.; Stammer, D.; Steinert, N. J.; Suk, S.; Sutton, R.; Thalheimer, L.; van Aalst, M.; van der Geest, K.; Zhao, Z. J. 2022. Ten new insights in climate science 2022.Global Sustainability, 5(e20):1-20. [DOI] More... | Fulltext (596 KB)
Non-technical summary:
We summarize what we assess as the past yearapos;s most important findings within climate change research: limits to adaptation, vulnerability hotspots, new threats coming from the climate–health nexus, climate (im)mobility and security, sustainable practices for land use and finance, losses and damages, inclusive societal climate decisions and ways to overcome structural barriers to accelerate mitigation and limit global warming to below 2C.
Technical summary:
We synthesize 10 topics within climate research where there have been significant advances or emerging scientific consensus since January 2021. The selection of these insights was based on input from an international open call with broad disciplinary scope. Findings concern: (1) new aspects of soft and hard limits to adaptation; (2) the emergence of regional vulnerability hotspots from climate impacts and human vulnerability; (3) new threats on the climate–health horizon – some involving plants and animals; (4) climate (im)mobility and the need for anticipatory action; (5) security and climate; (6) sustainable land management as a prerequisite to land-based solutions; (7) sustainable finance practices in the private sector and the need for political guidance; (8) the urgent planetary imperative for addressing losses and damages; (9) inclusive societal choices for climate-resilient development and (10) how to overcome barriers to accelerate mitigation and limit global warming to below 2C.
Social media summary:
Science has evidence on barriers to mitigation and how to overcome them to avoid limits to adaptation across multiple fields.
Political aspects / Social aspects / Inclusion / Gender / Finance / Health / Governance / Policies / Economics / Biodiversity / Ecology / Foods / Energy / Water / Private sector / Sustainable land use / Emission / Global warming / Climate resilience / Vulnerability / Climate change mitigation / Climate change adaptation Record No:H051580
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
Water markets are a potential approach for reallocating and improving the efficiency of water use in river basins in which water resources are under stress as a consequence of demographic and economic pressures. However, establishing water markets is not easy and to be successful a wide range of context specific criteria, relating to the legal and institutional framework as well as political and economic conditions, must be met. We applied the Water Market Readiness Assessment framework proposed by Wheeler et al. (2017) to investigate whether adequate policy and governance arrangements were in place to enable water markets to effectively operate in the countries of the Lower Mekong River Basin. We identify a number of key gaps and conclude that more conventional regulatory approaches, along with integrated basin planning and management, will likely better serve the communities and environments of the region.
Case studies / Socioeconomic aspects / Infrastructure / Agricultural development / Water quality / Water policies / Water governance / International waters / Water access / Water use efficiency / Water allocation / Frameworks / Integrated management / Water management / Water resources development / River basins / Water market Record No:H050669
Bogardi, J. J.; Bharati, Luna; Foster, S.; Dhaubanjar, S. 2021. Water and its management: dependence, linkages and challenges. In Bogardi, J. J.; Gupta, J.; Nandalal, K. D. W.; Salame, L.; van Nooijen, R. R. P.; Kumar, N.; Tingsanchali, T.; Bhaduri, A.; Kolechkina, A. G. (Eds.). Handbook of water resources management: discourses, concepts and examples. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. pp.41-85. [DOI] More...
This chapter highlights the key dependences, linkages and challenges of water resources management. (Many of these issues discussed are revisited and illustrated in the following chapters.) The first part introduces surface and groundwater management in the terrestrial part of the water cycle. Comprehensive presentations of key hydrological phenomena and processes, monitoring, assessment and control are followed by overviews of dependences, linkages and challenges. The manifold facets of intensive human/resource interaction and inherent threats to the resources base are exposed. Both sections present examples illustrating differing contexts and options for solution. The second part summarizes the main drivers and challenges of contemporary water resources management and governance. It provides a critical overview of different water discourses in recent decades. The role of benchmark and recurring water events, their declarations and intergovernmental resolutions are analyzed, and the key concepts and methods of implementation are discussed.
Modelling / Climate change / Water use / Water governance / Water quality / Aquifers / Water demand / Water availability / Water balance / Hydrological cycle / Groundwater / Surface water / Water resource management Record No:H050612
Humanity is in a planetary emergency. Agriculture and food systems are contributing to an interconnected global environmental crisis, with increasing risks, social instability, and conflict. This chapter examines the challenges, drivers, and consequences of unsustainable agriculture and food systems, recognizing these are diverse and multi-scale. It presents a vision for sustainable, nutritious, and equitable food systems. Currently, food systems are a significant driver of climate change, nature loss, and pollution, as well as poor health and poverty, with inequitable access to resources and benefits from food systems. Fundamentally, the systems change needed is to transform terrestrial and aquatic food systems so that they become part of the solution for sustainability, not part of the problem. A safe future for humanity requires radical transformations ranging from agricultural production systems through dietary patterns and waste disposal. The focus is on the broad categories of innovation and sustainable technologies considered to have critical potential in pathways that enable transition to a more resilient and equitable system. Governance is a key enabling condition and needs to be based on food as a human right, not simply as a commodity. Multilevel governance underpins the development and implementation of territorial food systems strategies, which can provide effective integration of multiple solutions. Humanity is at an existential turning point and has a narrow window to act now to reduce risk and avoid catastrophe. The rules governing our food systems are human made – and it is within the gift of humanity to change them.
Understanding the different perceptions of the local community regarding the use and management of common pool resources, such as exclosures, could better support targeted interventions by government and development partners. Here, we report on a study conducted in the Gomit watershed, northwestern Ethiopia, using a survey and key informant interviews, to examine community perceptions on (a) the biophysical condition (i.e., challenge of land degradation and restoration), (b) the action situations (userapos;s access to and control over resources and decision-making processes involved in taking actions in managing the exclosure), (c) actorsapos; interactions (formal and informal institutions involved in the management of exclosures), and (d) perceived outcomes (benefits and tradeoffs of managing exclosures). Many people in the Gomit watershed recognize land degradation as a serious problem and believe that exclosures support restoration of degraded landscapes and improve ecosystem services. Informal institutions play a key role in managing exclosures by improving benefit sharing and mobilizing the local community for collective action. However, some community members have concerns about recent expansion of exclosures because of (a) limited short-term derived benefits, (b) reductions in fuelwood availability, (c) increased degradation of remaining communal grazing lands, and (d) poor participation of marginalized groups in decision making. Addressing such concerns through the promotion of short-term benefits of exclosures and increasing community participation in decision-making and benefit sharing is crucial. The study provides evidence to support government and development partners on the establishment and management of exclosures through identifying the benefits and drawbacks as perceived by different sectors of the community.
Households / Living standards / Decision making / Women / Gender / Nongovernmental organizations / Government agencies / Sustainability / Vegetation / Grazing lands / Common lands / Ecosystem services / Watersheds / Public opinion / Local communities / Erosion / Land degradation / Natural resources management / Exclosures Record No:H049938
This paper looks at scalar politics, power struggles, and institutional emergence in Daw Lar Lake in Karen state, Myanmar. It brings to light tensions between centralized and decentralized approaches in the country’s natural resource governance, and how these are manifested in the current legal stalemate with regard to the formal management status of the lake. Building on earlier research on legal pluralism and critical institutionalism, we look at: 1) how the current legal stalemate with regard to the formal management status of the lake is rooted in ongoing bureaucratic struggles between different government agencies; 2) local communities’ strategies to develop and implement their own vision of lake governance through the formation of the Daw Lar Lake Interim Committee; and 3) the extent to which the Interim Committee is able to mediate diverse and often competing local uses and claims to natural resources at (inter) village level, which are based on a mix of customary and ‘official’ legal entitlements and normative orderings. From a policy perspective, we highlight the need to identify pathways for collective action among and across different groups of resource users, as the latter will be crucial in addressing ongoing resource competition, managing cross-sectoral livelihood impacts and ensuring sustainable lake management.
Social aspects / Strategies / Households / Farmers / Livelihoods / Villages / Local communities / Land use / Water scarcity / Fisheries law / Community involvement / Government agencies / Bureaucracy / Legal pluralism / Institutions / Politics / Governance / Natural resources management / Lakes / Water management Record No:H050609
Enhancing accountability has become an important objective of the governance reforms over the past two decades. Yet, only a few studies have explored the use of social accountability tools in the water sector in particular. This report aims to fill this gap, based on a case study of a donor-funded water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) program in Nepal. We document and analyze the effects of two types of social accountability tools implemented by the program: public hearings and social audits. We examined how these tools have contributed to increased transparency, participation, voice and accountability, and in turn discuss their potential to reduce corruption. We relied on qualitative methods to collect data in two case study water supply schemes in two districts of Nepal. The study found that the social accountability tools provided a platform for water users to participate and deliberate on issues related to the execution of WASH schemes. However, the scope of accountability narrowly focused on the integrity of the water user committees but did not provide the political resources and means for communities to hold funding and implementing agencies accountable. Furthermore, attention to budget management has not provided space to address environmental and social justice issues related to payment of wages, access to water and decision-making processes in the design of the water scheme and water allocation. Findings from the study also indicate that the concept of deliberation and downward accountability, as envisioned in international development discourses, does not necessarily match with local power relationships and local cultural norms.
Case studies / Rural communities / Awareness / Households / Inclusion / Women / Legislation / Public services / Institutional reform / Political institutions / Water user associations / Nongovernmental organizations / Stakeholders / Development aid / Water, sanitation and hygiene / Water allocation / Drinking water / Water resources / Citizen participation / Participatory approaches / Governance / Transparency / Corruption / Auditing / Budgeting / Water supply / Accountability / Social participation Record No:H050606
Motivation: Power relations, and the politics shaping and reshaping them, are key to determining influence and outcomes in water governance. But current discourse on water governance tends to present decision-making as neutral and technical unaffected by political influences.
Purpose: Taking Nepal as a case, this article examines the close interlinkages between bureaucratic and political competition that indirectly influence decisions and outcomes on water governance, while placing this within the context of state transformation.
Approach and Methods: An in-depth case study examines the interactions of politicians and bureaucrats shaping decisions on water governance. It draws on semi-structured interviews and power-mapping to reveal insights from key stakeholders with decision-making power in national management of water resources.
Findings: Political competition drives the country’s development agenda and planning, resulting in fragmented development planning. It works in tandem with the prevailing bureaucratic competition in water resources management. It highlights the need to link the discourse and analysis water governance with processes of state transformation. The current fragmented development planning processes could serve as entry points for civil society groups and the wider society to convey their voice and exert their influence.
Policy implications: Following federalism, the political transfer of power and decision-making, to achieve political representation and social justice, rests with locally elected governing bodies. This coincides with the government’s push to manage water resources through river basin planning. There is a need for greater participation from the local governing bodies and understanding of politics and power shape water governance.
Development projects / Hydropower / River basins / Civil society organizations / Government agencies / Stakeholders / Central government / Decision making / Political parties / Federalism / Bureaucracy / Development planning / Water management / Water resources / Political systems / Water governance Record No:H049871
The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030) frames restoration as a momentous nature-based solution for achieving many of the ecological, economic, and social objectives outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals. Yet, a critical void lies at the heart of this agenda: the lack of attention to social and political dimensions of nature and restoration initiatives. At this critical juncture, urgent attention is needed to the power and politics that shape the values, meanings, and science driving restoration; and to the uneven experiences of these processes as national restoration pledges touch down in diverse and unequal contexts. In this introduction to the special issue on “Restoration for Whom, by Whom?”, we critically examine the social inclusivity of restoration agendas, policies, and practices as these unfold across ecological and geographic scales. We argue that feminist political ecology (FPE), with its focus on gendered power relations, scale integration, and historical awareness, and its critique of the commodification of nature, offers a valuable lens through which to examine the socio-political and economic dynamics of restoration. Taking an FPE perspective, we elucidate how the ten papers comprising the special issue challenge mainstream narratives of environmental sustainability and suggest more grounded and nuanced ways forward for inclusive restoration initiatives. In conclusion, we highlight the urgency of addressing the systemic fault lines that create exclusions in restoration policies and practice; and the need to legitimize the plural voices, values, situated knowledges, and paths to sustainably transform degraded landscapes.
Economic aspects / Policies / Livelihoods / Sustainability / Degraded land / Ecosystems / Inclusion / Social aspects / Political ecology / Women / Gender / Ecological restoration Record No:H050549
This article examines the factors shaping communal land tenure and livelihood practices in two villages in Houaphan province, Northeastern Laos. It employs the concept of institutional bricolage to show how local actors combine communal tenure, state intervention, donor programs and local power relations to (re)shape formal rules and day-to-day land tenure and livelihood practices. In particular, it highlights how state territorial strategies in lowland and upland rural spaces have differently shaped state interventions in communal land use and access, producing hybrid forms of communal land management rules and practices. The two cases highlight different processes by which communal tenure is eroded or adapted in the process of state incorporation, raising questions about competing authorities over land and the interests and objectives of different actors in land administration. The village cases illustrate how local communities’ (in)ability to shape, adapt, and reproduce institutional rules and arrangements pertaining to access and use of communal land is closely interlinked with: 1) how farm households perceive communal land tenure in relation to their livelihood options and farming strategies; 2) how power relations among local communities and between local communities and state actors shape decision-making processes and distributional outcomes; and 3) the role of the state in sustaining and advancing its control over land and how this changes over time.
Case studies / Local communities / Villages / Rural areas / Strategies / Livelihoods / Households / Farmers / Political aspects / State intervention / Collective action / Land governance / Land access / Land use planning / Lowland / Highlands / Institutional development / Customary tenure / Land tenure systems / Common lands Record No:H050547
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands emphasizes the “wise use” of wetlands by conserving the ecological character of wetlands while managing the socio-economic value these landscapes hold for different stakeholders. Reviewing the Convention obligations, resolutions, and guidelines through a feminist political ecology lens, we find them to be overtly simplistic and technocratic. A deliberately generic framing of socio-ecological interrelations and of economic trade-offs between wetland uses and users obscures broader political and social contexts which shape complex nature-society interrelations in the use, management, and governance of wetlands. Poverty, the cultural significance of wetlands—particularly for indigenous communities—and gender equality have only recently been considered in wetlands management and governance guidelines and interventions. These recent additions provide little insight on the power imbalances which shape plural values, meanings, experiences, and voices in wetlands use and governance, especially for the most marginalized of wetlands users. We welcome the call for a “reformulation” of a socio-ecological approach to managing and governing wetlands, but caution that unless wetlands governance structures and processes are re-politicized, changes in policies and approaches will likely remain rhetorical.
Local communities / Guidelines / Governance / Ecological factors / Social aspects / Policies / Inclusion / Political ecology / Women / Gender / Conventions / Wetlands Record No:H050500
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
Despite the rapid extension of public service delivery since the end of Apartheid, many rural citizens in South Africa still rely on their own initiatives and infrastructure to access water. They construct, improve, operate and maintain infrastructure of different complexities, from individual wells to complex collectively owned water schemes. While most of these schemes operate without legal recognition, they provide essential services to many households. In this article we will first provide an overview of the growing international body of literature describing self-supply as an alternative pathway for public service delivery. We then take a historical perspective on the role of communities and self-supply in South Africa and describe the emergence of six collectively owned, gravity-fed, piped schemes in Tshakhuma, Limpopo Province. We describe and compare these systems using key characteristics like resource access, investment, construction, operation, maintenance and institutional governance. We further assess their performance with regard to coverage, service level, reliability, governance structure, accountability and water quality. We do so because we are convinced that lessons learned from studying such schemes as locally adapted prototypes have the potential to improve public approaches to service delivery. The described cases show the willingness of community members to engage with service delivery and their ability to provide services in cases where the state has failed. The assessment also highlights problematic aspects of self-supply related to a lack of accountability, technical expertise and the exclusion of disadvantaged community members. By describing and assessing the performance of rural self-supply schemes, we aim to recognize, study and learn from such schemes. We consequently do not conclude this article by providing answers, but by raising some pertinent, policy-relevant questions.
Case studies / Households / Water quality / Water users / Infrastructure / Accountability / Investment / Governance / Institutions / Rural areas / Community involvement / Collective ownership / Water supply Record No:H050441
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
This analysis investigates the potential mechanism and the practical significance of the impacts of agricultural value chain development in a geographically challenging rural area of a developing country. We use data from a carefully designed primary survey administered in the hill and mountainous region in Western Nepal. Using the inverse probability weighted regression adjustment method, we show that linking small-scale producers with regional and local traders can help increase agricultural income. We unpack the potential mechanism of the impact pathway and show that the increase in agricultural income is a consequence of higher agricultural revenues, owing to a higher volume of sales at lower prices. We argue that value chain intervention in rural areas, where land is not fully exploited, can lead to acreage expansion or crop switching, which eventually results in higher supply at lower output prices. The positive impact on household income is practically significant in that it translated into improved food security, dietary diversity and household resilience. These findings are robust to various specifications. Targeted value chain interventions that strengthen and stabilize small-scale producers’ access to markets can contribute to rural poverty reduction via an increase in agricultural income.
Econometric models / Women / Minority groups / Villages / Highlands / Livestock / Food insecurity / Price indices / Agricultural prices / Commodities / Rural poverty / Resilience / Dietary diversity / Food security / Household income / Market access / Smallholders / Small scale systems / Farm income / Agricultural value chains Record No:H050432
Sri Lanka has no water scarcity within the country, and per capita, water availability is adequate to cater for the country’s estimated peak population. Nevertheless, the frequent variability of spatial and temporal water availability and extreme events have built up a water scarcity in Sri Lanka, which has been observed during the last two to three decades. Therefore, effective and efficient water governance is most important in today’s context, and regular review and amendment of policies, laws, and regulations are crucial to mitigate water scarcity. Although a few attempts were initiated, none of them succeeded. In this study, historical and present water governance mechanisms, including coordinating mechanisms and implementing water management agencies in Sri Lanka, were comprehensively reviewed. Further, the previously proposed water policies, their status and reasons for the failures of policies were discussed. Finally, the formulation of a novel institutional arrangement or altering the existing institutional arrangement with shared data and allocating non-shared responsibilities to each institution is suggested for better water governance in Sri Lanka.
Political aspects / Participatory approaches / Decision making / Donors / Committees / Government agencies / Water institutions / Water scarcity / Irrigation water / Irrigation management / Regulations / Water management / Water resources / Integrated management / History / Administrative structures / Coordination / Institutional development / Water policies / Water governance Record No:H050376
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
India’s agricultural economy has undergone profound transformation in the past 50 years with the rapid spread of groundwater irrigation. The tube well revolution has democratized irrigation, made famines history, helped alleviate agrarian poverty and made India food secure. However, the spread of private tube wells has cannibalized canals and tanks. The large-scale withdrawal of groundwater has caused acute groundwater stress in several parts of the country, leading to adverse environmental and sustainability challenges. Unlike the United States, Australia, and Spain, where tube wells are instruments of wealth creation in industrial agriculture, in India groundwater governance pits livelihoods of the poor against environmental protection. This study explores this unique challenge. It discusses several efforts undertaken to effectively manage groundwater such as direct regulation, indirect levers like energy pricing and rationing, and community-based groundwater governance. It emphasizes on the arrival of solar irrigation and its potential to reform the perverse energy-groundwater nexus. The paper stresses on the need to move away from resource development to resource management mode to solve the groundwater challenge.
Regulations / Resource management / Sustainability / Community management / Pricing / Water governance / Nexus / Groundwater management / Solar energy / Socioeconomic aspects / Political aspects / Environmental factors / Livelihoods / Groundwater irrigation Record No:H050270
A review of global trends in water governance reveals a paradigm dominated by political and institutional change which becomes increasingly aligned with global shifts towards sustainability and also a rapid decline in the hydraulic mission. Closely aligned to these trends, but distinct in its own trajectory, South Africa’s water governance dynamics have evolved through a period of considerable socio-political change marked by inequitable resource allocation and water scarcity. This paper presents the results of a review of water governance research and development (Ramp;D) trends in South Africa, aimed at informing the national funding agency – the Water Research Commission (WRC) – in its agenda-setting process for future water governance research. Through a bibliometric analysis, a data-mining exercise, and stakeholder consultations, this paper distils four key areas of focus for the future of water governance research in South Africa: (i) that future water governance research needs to be more needs-based, solution-oriented and embedded within real-life contexts; (ii) the need for a paradigm shift in water governance research to a constructive, adaptive and rapid response research agenda in an environment of increasing change and uncertainty; (iii) the need for the enabling environment to be strengthened, including acknowledgement of the role of individuals as agents of change, and the role of WRC in establishing a community of practice for water governance experts that can respond to issues with agility; and (iv) a consolidation of fragmented project-based knowledge to a programmatic approach that builds the pipeline of expertise in the water governance Ramp;D domain.
Data mining / Institutions / Political aspects / Government / Trends / Funding / Research projects / Stakeholders / Water policy / Water management / Water resources / Integrated management / Bibliometric analysis / Research and development / Public investment / Water governance Record No:H050260
Sustainable Development Goals / Gender / Models / Innovation / Digital divide / Social change / Water systems / Inclusion / Equity / Information and Communication Technologies Record No:H050850
Drought is an almost annual phenomenon in Sri Lanka, occurring at varying degrees of severity and affecting many parts of the country. These droughts cause significant damage to agriculture and other economic and social activities. This paper assesses the effectiveness of satellite-based weather Index insurance (WII) bundled with real-time climate and agronomic advisory services provided to farmers’ mobile phones. The aim is to enhance the drought resilience of diverse groups of farmers by providing solutions and strategies to extend bundled insurance products to more people and address equity issues.
In this pilot, an insurance product was introduced to farmers in a village in the North Central Dry Zone of Sri Lanka. WII products are seen as a part of the solution to reducing farmers’ risk to climate change. However, in many places, the structure of insurance schemes in the agriculture sector has failed to reach small-scale and marginal farmers who are most in need of risk transfer mechanisms. Based on a farmer survey, we extracted lessons from implementing a bundled insurance scheme as a pilot project to explore the utility of farmer organizations as an entry point for engaging different farmer groups and ensuring they can understand the WII insurance products and can make informed choices.
The survey results show that efforts made at the outset to understand contextual issues and challenges contributed to an effective product design and rollout approach. The rollout was more effective due in part to a partnership with an established local organization while adopting an aggregator model. Covid-19 mobility restrictions prevented full implementation of the rollout.
Index insurance bundled with mobile weather and agronomic advisories increased farmer resilience and reached diverse groups. Farmers emphasized that being able to assess the costs and benefits based on understanding how key elements of the product work is key to their future engagement with such products, which highlights the importance of investing in awareness raising through a blend of print, verbal and visual tools that make complex products understandable to stakeholders with low levels of literacy.
Models / Mobile phones / Socioeconomic environment / Households / Communities / Landlessness / Smallholders / Women / Gender / Partnerships / Stakeholders / Equity / Cost benefit analysis / Insurance premiums / Decision making / Resilience / Disaster risk reduction / Risk transfer / Compensation / Crop losses / Climate change / Arid zones / Awareness-raising / Advisory services / Farmers organizations / Pilot projects / Drought / Crop insurance / Weather index insurance Record No:H050840
Isotope analysis / Villages / Livelihoods / Social inclusion / Gender equality / Awareness-raising / Capacity development / Citizen science / Community involvement / Participatory approaches / Stakeholders / Government agencies / Civil society organizations / Water user groups / Payments for ecosystem services / Discharges / Hydrogeology / Databases / Data management / Scaling / Impact assessment / Geographical information systems / Remote sensing / Monitoring / Groundwater recharge / Water budget / Aquifers / Water security / Funding / Financial analysis / Technology / Policies / Best practices / Guidelines / Water management / Water springs Record No:H050807
McDougall, C.; Badstue, L.; Mulema, A.; Fischer, G.; Najjar, D.; Pyburn, R.; Elias, M.; Joshi, Deepa; Vos, A. 2021. Toward structural change: gender transformative approaches. In Pyburn, R.; van Eerdewijk, A. (Eds.). Advancing gender equality through agricultural and environmental research: past, present, and future. Washington, DC, USA: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). pp.365-401. [DOI] More... | Fulltext (1.30 MB)
Women / Agricultural research / Gender equality / Structural change / Gender-transformative approaches Record No:H050806
Joshi, Deepa; Monterroso, I.; Gallant, B.; Perera, Kokila; Peveri, V. 2021. A gender–natural resources tango: water, land, and forest research. In Pyburn, R.; van Eerdewijk, A. (Eds.). Advancing gender equality through agricultural and environmental research: past, present, and future. Washington, DC, USA: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). pp.221-258. [DOI] More... | Fulltext (1.33 MB)
Land rights / Legal pluralism / Water governance / Water management / Forest governance / s empowerment / Womenapos / Natural resources management / Gender equality Record No:H050805
Lao People’s Democratic Republic is a poorly developed, surface water-rich country that has traditionally given limited priority to its groundwater resources, which has resulted in a situation of inadequate scientific knowledge, technical capacity, and policies within the sector. This is slowly changing as the role of groundwater in socioeconomic development is better recognized. This chapter presents an overview of the country’s groundwater resources. It examines the state of knowledge, challenges, gaps, and barriers for effective groundwater resource development. It also reviews the scope and degree of success of recent efforts to enhance groundwater governance. Finally, it presents a concise outlook for groundwater governance, including policy, capacity development, and research perspectives.
Planning / Nongovernmental organizations / State intervention / Institutions / Knowledge and information systems / Awareness raising / Training / Capacity building / Human resources / Stakeholders / Sustainability / Aquifers / Water supply / Water quality / Water use / Legislation / Water policy / Water governance / Water resources / Integrated management / Groundwater management Record No:H050120
Following the National League for Democracy’s landslide victory in the 2015 national election, Myanmar embarked on a series of legal and political transitions. This paper highlights parallel processes alongside such transitions. Linking land governance with the ongoing peace processes, and taking Karen state as a case study, it brings to light how both processes are in fact closely interlinked. Building on legal pluralism research, we argue that in the context of ethnic states, farmers’ strategies to strengthen their land rights resemble the very notion of state transformation.
Case studies / Local communities / Villages / Strategies / Land titling / Customary tenure / Land tenure / Farmers / Legal frameworks / Political institutions / Central government / Land policies / Land rights / Land use / Political power / Legal pluralism / Land governance Record No:H049411
The paper draws on the Community Capitals Framework to frame and analyze the process of rural women’s empowerment through agricultural interventions in two districts of Ethiopia. A blend of qualitative data collection methods comprising group discussions, life histories, and key informant interviews was used. Our study shows that investing in social, human, financial, cultural, natural, physical, and political capitals resulted in increased assets within those capitals and others amongst the beneficiaries. The interaction between capitals builds “power with”, “power within”, “power to” and “power over” in an upward spiral. Specifically, the interaction between social, human and financial capitals is a key entry point to rural women’s empowerment. Cultural capital intermediates the interaction and flow of capital assets during the empowerment process. We argue that empowering women requires an approach that enhances their capability to identify and systematically manage interactions among capitals that foster their voice and agency.
Decision making / Households / Political aspects / Infrastructure / Financing / Off farm employment / Livelihood diversification / Social networks / Collective action / Cultural capital / Natural capital / Human capital / Social capital / Rural communities / Agriculture / Gender equality / s empowerment / Womenapos Record No:H050056
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed the context of global migration. From a migration perspective, the pandemic is a source of insecurities that challenge migrants, their livelihoods and migration governance. Meanwhile, curtailment in movement has led to economic decline affecting labour markets. For migrant origin and hosting countries, this poses multidimensional development challenges. Analysis from March to August 2020 of China, Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Morocco, Nepal and Thailand highlights the varying ways in which they are all severely affected by the disruptions in migration, suggesting a potentially emerging complex situation in migration patterns and pathways. The disruptions in migration and remittances have had a profound impact on migrants and migrant-sending households. The uncertainty of migration returning to pre-pandemic levels and the potential of lasting consequences on migrants and migration patterns and pathways, suggests a future of greater risk and exploitation, and a wider gap between formal and informal migration. This paper calls for greater mobility cooperation between countries and suggests strengthening mobility migration frameworks and policies for safer migration and for the rights of migrants.
This factsheet provides information on the general knowledge collected by the city region food system (CRFS) project in its phase 2 regarding the assessment of risks for the CRFS of Tamale. The data was collected through literature review and stakeholder consultations.
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
The Middle East and North Africa region experiences severe socioeconomic and political impacts during droughts and faces increasing drought risk in future climate projections. The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction’s Sendai Framework and the International Drought Management Programme provide a global standard (a norm) to manage droughts through natural hazard risk reduction approaches. We use participatory engagement to evaluate whether norm diffusion has taken place in four countries. Data were collected in interviews, focus groups, workshops, and policy documents. Analysis reveals incomplete norm diffusion; stakeholders subscribe to relevant values, but national policies and implementation do not fully reflect the norm. Process tracing reveals that the availability of drought early warning data is a key barrier to risk reduction. Further more, a drought early warning system would not be feasible or sufficient unless paired with policy measures and financial mechanisms to reduce the political and economic costs of a drought declaration.
Political aspects / Insurance / Financial situation / Governance / Stakeholders / Civil societies / Government agencies / Decision making / Participatory approaches / Climate change / Groundwater / Vulnerability / Early warning systems / Declarations / Policies / Monitoring / Frameworks / Disaster risk reduction / Disaster risk management / Drought Record No:H050017
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
This article investigates water security in Nepal from the perspective of the water-energy-agriculture (food) nexus, focusing on pathways to water security that originate in actions and policies related to other sectors. It identifies promoting development of Nepal’s hydropower potential to provide energy for pumping as way to improve water security in agriculture. Renewable groundwater reserves of 1.4 billion cubic meters (BCM), from an estimated available balance of 6.9 BCM, could be pumped to irrigate 613,000 ha of rainfed agricultural land in the Terai plains, with a potential direct economic gain of USD 1.1 billion annually and associated benefits including promotion of energy-based industry, food security and local employment. Governance also plays an important role in addressing water security. We conclude that a nexus-based approach is required for effective water management and governance.
Population growth / Rural areas / Urban areas / Irrigated land / Environmental sustainability / Climate change / Irrigation systems / Water supply / Hydropower / Domestic water / Industrial uses / Agricultural water use / Water governance / Water management / Water resources / Integrated management / Groundwater / Surface water / Water availability / Nexus / Food security / Energy sources / Water security Record No:H049496
Kyrgyzstan is one of the most remittancedependent countries in the world.1 Remittance inflows to this low-income country have remained a key contributor to the country’s GDP over the past decade. Migration labor outflows continue to play a significant role in sustaining the Kyrgyz domestic economy. Due to the fact that Russia and the Central Asian region share a common history, cultural links, and lingua franca, the Russian market remains a popular destination for CA migrants.2 In 2019, almost 98% of Kyrgyz intra-family financial transfers came from the Russian Federation.3 However, the global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has severely affected remittance flows to low and middle-income countries (LMICs) generally, and remittancedependent economies such as Kyrgyzstan have found themselves deeply vulnerable during different international events, including the financial crisis of 2008 and the current pandemic. To become more resilient, the Kyrgyzstan economy needs thorough reform that can improve the domestic job market and create more effective economic incentives that can decrease dependence on remittances and migration labor outflows, particularly in rural Kyrgyzstan.
Households / Women / Gender / Livestock / Agriculture / Policies / Remittances / Uncertainty / COVID-19 / Labour / Governance / Migration Record No:H052220
The growing relevance of research on gender and social inclusion in agricultural research for development calls for systemic, transformative change processes. Transformative gender ambitions can stand at odds with personal biases and experiences that shape diverse understandings of gender, institutional values, structures and cultures that tend to reward technological quick-fix solutions, and other practical challenges to ‘doing’ gender on the ground. Very little is known about these challenges. How are these challenges navigated by (relatively small) teams of gender researchers, who are often caught between the demand for tangible fast gains on gender, and the intractable challenges of deep-rooted and complex, intersectional gender inequalities? This was the focus of the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE) End of Program Reflection and Evaluation (EoPRE) to assess how gender and inclusion research is pursued, and the key barriers to knowing and doing gender in eight research projects. Adopting a reflexive, self-analytical feminist approach to evaluation, this EoPRE facilitated eight project teams, diverse and with an uneven focus on gender, to connect the dots between the processes of knowing and doing gender research. A key finding of this evaluation is that the need for change is foremost internal. We need to begin by fixing our personal biases and assumptions, and fixing institutional cultures, values and structures instead of just trying to fix things out there, including fixing poor and marginalized women. A key recommendation is to seek more regular and open conversations across researcher disciplines and hierarchies, and between CGIAR and external partners and stakeholders, including feminist grassroots actors and networks – on what works well (and does not) and why. This would allow us to grasp why we start with different meanings and conceptualizations of gender; how agile we are (or not) in adapting to changes on the ground; and how, through a culture of reflection and learning, we might shift pathways to more transformative change processes in a fast evolving and increasingly unequal world.
Impact assessment / Diversification / Policies / Stakeholders / Corporate culture / Institutions / Learning / Norms / Social change / Marginalization / Women / Gender-transformative approaches / Agricultural research for development / Project evaluation / Research programmes / CGIAR / Social inclusion / Gender equality Record No:H050977
This paper explores outcome indicators and process principles to evaluate landscape resilience in agro-ecosystems, drawing on outcome indicator case studies of the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE). Four questions are addressed: (1) which outcome indicators and process principles feature most prominently in the seminal literature on resilient agro-ecological landscapes? (2) to what extent are these principles represented in CGIAR Outcome Impact Case Reports (OICRs) and selected peer-reviewed studies? (3) how does the use of process principles in the case studies compare to their occurrence in the theoretical literature? and (4) which process principles co-occur with related outcome indicators in the OICRs? The findings enable researchers and practitioners to be more specific about the outcomes and processes that drive resilience in agro-ecosystems, thereby informing adaptive program management. Seven novel research themes are proposed.
Stakeholders / Institutions / Governance / Livelihoods / Social inclusion / Gender equity / Farm income / Land rights / Land access / Biodiversity / Ecosystem services / Agroecosystems / Soil management / Agrifood systems / Production systems / Sustainability / Meta-analysis / Case studies / Monitoring / Impact assessment / Research programmes / CGIAR / Indicators / Ecosystem resilience / Agricultural landscape / Agroecology Record No:H050974
With adverse impacts of climate change growing in number and intensity, there is an urgent need to reduce emissions from food systems to net zero. This can only be achieved if rural areas in low- and middle-income countries gain access to clean energy. A review of the research and capacity building contributions of the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE) over the last 10 years suggests important contributions in the areas of energy policy and energy investment planning, cost and feasibility frameworks, and business models for clean energy technology uptake. WLE has also conducted successful pilot projects on solar irrigation to provide an evidence base for scaling up innovative energy initiatives. Finally, the program also considered non-agricultural uses of energy where relevant to food systems, and implemented capacity building activities.
Going forward, CGIAR has a key role to play in providing information, supporting access and piloting innovative, scalable clean energy interventions to support the achievement of multiple impacts for the poorest and most food-insecure women and men farmers and entrepreneurs.
Food security / Women / Farmers / Smallholders / Capacity development / Business models / Income generation / Reuse / Resource recovery / Emission reduction / Environmental sustainability / Pilot projects / Innovation / Investment / Technology / Pumps / Electricity / Groundwater / Irrigation systems / Solar energy / Energy consumption / Climate change / Water systems / Land use / Agrifood systems / Research programmes / CGIAR / Rural areas / Energy policies / Transformation / Agriculture Record No:H050910
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
Water-permit systems are widely used across Africa as a blanket requirement for small and micro irrigation enterprises, as well as large enterprises. The present study aimed to, first, further understand the implications of permit systems for both the most vulnerable and the state, and, second, based on the findings, identify options for pro-poor water legislation that also meet the water governance requirements of the state. The growing recognition of the importance of farmer-led irrigation development for food security across the continent underlines the importance of these questions. Focusing on Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Uganda, Zimbabwe, and other African countries, we found that permit systems criminalized instead of protected the water rights of small-scale farmers. Moreover, little if any attention is paid to the logistical burdens and costs to the state of implementing such systems relative to the intended revenue generation. As many small-scale farmers in Africa were found to operate under customary land and water tenure systems, the study proposes a hybrid system of water rights that formally recognizes such practices, along with the use of permits, including enforcement of conditions for large users, to serve the interests of both the state and small-scale farmers.
Irrigation / Small scale systems / Farmers / Smallholders / Water users / Legislation / Legal pluralism / Customary law / Licences / Water law / Water governance / Water rights Record No:H050006
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
Groundwater governance has become an intractable policy issue, which has many implications for the living standards and well-being of millions of rural poor in South Asia. Groundwater governance is complex as it is influenced by various hydrogeological, sociopolitical and socioeconomic factors. Unregulated groundwater extraction rates in South Asia have depleted the aquifers causing a raft of socioeconomic, environmental and human health problems. This paper analyzes de facto rights in groundwater markets and other emerging ‘groundwater-sharing institutional arrangements’ in India. Using a multi-dimensional property rights model, the paper decomposes de facto groundwater rights while drawing insights and broad policy lessons. The findings indicate that there is much scope for enhancing the ‘small group groundwater sharing’ governed by social regulatory measures. Moreover, distortionary subsidies for agriculture in general and groundwater development, in particular, have had an adverse impact of the resource use and merit further attention.
Economic analysis / Models / Cooperation / Social aspects / Land rights / Conjunctive use / Nexus / Energy / Surface water / Groundwater recharge / Aquifers / Water policy / Groundwater extraction / Transaction costs / Water market / Water use / Water rights / Property rights / Water governance / Evaluation / Water institutions / Groundwater management Record No:H049313
The last decade has witnessed rapid progress in energy cooperation between the countries of the BBIN (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal) sub-region. Cooperation has been bilateral, with each of the countries entering into separate energy development and trade agreement with India, broadly similar to the water sector where national governments engage bilaterally on transboundary cooperation and dispute resolution. A more recent wave of electrical grid interconnections and hydro-energy cooperation has emerged with governments increasingly shifting from bilateral to multilateral energy-sharing agreements. This trend holds considerable potential for regional transboundary water governance. Based on documentary and media analysis along with interviews of key BBIN policy-makers, we identify and examine in this paper four factors for future progress: 1) technical cooperation can be extended to information-sharing for policies and institutions to regulate and manage water resources; 2) India must seize the opportunities and benefits of enhanced regional leadership in the region; 3) simultaneous informal discussion and diplomatic negotiation of water, energy and their nexus can provide BBIN countries the opportunity to highlight potential gains of cooperation and interstate interdependencies; and 4) regional cooperation can give a strong impetus to nations for advancing structural reforms, building institutions and capacity, developing a shared knowledge base, bridging infrastructural gaps, attracting private sector participation, and addressing poverty alleviation goals including job creation.
Riparian zones / Institutional development / Political aspects / Investment / Trade agreements / Bilateral agreements / Treaties / International agreements / Water policy / Water governance / River basins / Water resources / Water security / International waters / International cooperation / Energy generation / Hydropower Record No:H049878
Viewing the Salween River as a transboundary commons, this paper illustrates how diverse state and non-state actors and institutions in hybrid and multi-scaled networks have influenced water governance in general, and large dam decision-making processes in particular. Putting power relations at the centre of this analysis and drawing on the conceptual lenses of hybrid governance and critical institutionalism, we show the complexity of the fragmented processes through which decisions have been arrived at, and their implications. In the context of highly asymmetrical power relations throughout the basin, and the absence of an intergovernmental agreement to date, we argue that hybrid networks of state and non-state actors could be strategically engaged to connect parallel and fragmented decision-making landscapes with a goal of inclusively institutionalising the transboundary commons and maintaining connected local commons throughout the basin, foregrounding a concern for ecological and social justice.
Political aspects / Nongovernmental organizations / Conflicts / International agreements / Development projects / Decision making / Institutions / State intervention / River basins / Dams / Hydropower / Collective action / International waters / Water governance Record No:H049874
Inclusion / Social aspects / Food systems / Empowerment / Gender equality / Gender-transformative approaches Record No:H050550
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
Government / Institutions / Stakeholders / Funding / Research projects / Trends / Data mining / Water law / Water policy / Water management / Water resources / Integrated management / Assessment / Knowledge level / Investment / Research and development / Water governance Record No:H049797
McDonnell, Rachael; Fragaszy, S.; Sternberg, T.; Veeravalli, S. 2020. Drought Policy and Management. In Dadson, S. J.; Garrick, D. E.; Penning-Rowsell, E. C.; Hall, J. W.; Hope, R.; Hughes, J. (Eds.). Water science, policy, and management: a global challenge. Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley and Sons. pp.233-253. More...
Case studies / Institutions / Strategies / Impact assessment / Early warning systems / Water allocation / Insurance / Planning / Disaster preparedness / Resilience / Mitigation / Vulnerability / Desertification / Arid climate / Climate change / Monitoring / Governance / Legislation / Water scarcity / Disaster risk management / Policies / Drought Record No:H049800
Le Burkina Faso, pays enclave dapos;Afrique de lapos;Ouest, est confronte au defi de la penurie dapos;eau. Le pays sapos;est engage dans des reformes liees a lapos;eau, conformement a l’evolution a l’echelle mondiale en matiere de gestion des ressources en eau, et met en oeuvre la GIRE depuis le debut des annees 2000. Ce document passe en revue l’ensemble de la legislation passee et actuelle sur lapos;eau au Burkina Faso, en mettant particulierement lapos;accent sur lapos;approvisionnement en eau potable et les associations d’usagers de lapos;eau en milieu rural. Le document traite des lois et reglements adoptes entre 1960 et 2014, avec un suivi supplementaire en 2019 pour inclure tout nouveau texte. Il aborde les questions liees a la participation des usagers et a lapos;inclusion des femmes dans les processus decisionnels de lapos;approvisionnement en eau en milieu rural.
Decision making / Participatory approaches / Water user associations / Gender / Water scarcity / Water governance / Periurban areas / Rural areas / Regulations / Legislation / Law reform / Water management / Water resources / Infrastructure / Drinking water / Water supply Record No:H049718
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
Communities / Policies / Labour / Rural areas / Agriculture / Governance / Migration Record No:H050382
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
Land degradation is a critical problem around the world. Intensive rain-fed and irrigated crop and livestock systems have contributed to the degradation of land and natural resources. Numerous institutional and socioeconomic challenges complicate attempts to reverse land degradation, including the lack of short-term incentives for investment; low investment by communities in natural resources management that offers little immediate financial reward; failure of public sector institutions to invest sufficiently in natural resources management because of low, immediate political rewards; and sectoral fragmentation, among others. In poor communities, the incentive to extract short-term economic returns from land and natural resources often outweighs perceived benefits from investing in long-term environmental restoration, and related economic and ecosystem returns.
Restoring degraded ecosystems through the establishment of exclosures – areas that are excluded from woodcutting, grazing and agricultural activities – is an increasingly common practice in the Ethiopian Highlands, and regional states are also following this practice. This report proposes and applies an adapted business model to explore the feasibility of exclosures for land restoration. It aims to identify short-term revenue streams from activities that can be carried out within exclosures, such as beekeeping, harvesting fodder for livestock fattening, and cultivating high-value plant species, including fruits and herbs. These are feasible, sustainable economic activities that could allow for the restoration of ecosystem services over the long term. Mobilization of financial resources, engagement of local communities, provision of training and continuous follow-up, as well as facilitation of market opportunities in the value chain for local communities and enterprises (e.g., creating market linkages and establishing innovation platform to engage with market actors) could support the sustainable implementation of the revenue streams.
Living standards / Women / Gender / Farmers / Smallholders / Local communities / Rural areas / Feasibility studies / Nongovernmental organizations / Government agencies / Private sector / Multi-stakeholder processes / Policies / Regulations / Strategies / Institutions / Investment / Economic viability / Cost benefit analysis / Cash flow / Incentives / Income / Financing / Supply chain / Markets / Integrated systems / Environmental sustainability / Horticulture / Land cover / Land use / Grazing lands / Forage yield / Feed production / Fattening / Livestock production / Honey production / Apiculture / Trees / Fruits / Crop production / Ecosystem services / Natural resources management / Sustainable land management / Land degradation / Business models / Exclosures / Landscape conservation Record No:H049614
Nongovernmental organizations / Farmer-led irrigation / State intervention / Famine / Dry season / Intensification / Agricultural development / Markets / Pumps / Solar energy / Tube well irrigation / Aquifers / Groundwater depletion / Groundwater irrigation / Water governance / Water resources / Policies / Green revolution / Irrigated land / Irrigated farming / Communal irrigation systems / Small scale systems / Smallholders / Farmer managed irrigation systems Record No:H049612
Kjellen, M.; White, M.; Matthews, J.; Mauroner, A.; Timboe, I.; Burchi, S.; Dhot, N.; van Waeyenberge, T.; El Fenni, Y. R.; Lohani, A.; Newton, J.; Imamura, Y.; Miyamoto, M.; Moors, E.; de Oliveira, V. G.; Schmeier, S.; Crespo, C. C.; Gutierrez, M. T.; Welling, R.; Suhardiman, Diana; Hada, R.; Saji, M.; Jimenez, A.; Lymer, B. L.; Saikia, P.; Mathews, R.; Bernardini, F.; Koeppel, S.; Aureli, A.; Resende, T. C.; Avellan, T.; Hahn, A.; Kirschke, S. J.; Perera, D.; Loeffen, A.; Turner, R.; Pories, L.; Aldaco-Manner, L.; Daher, B.; Willemart, S.; Schillinger, J. 2020. Water governance for resilience to climate change. 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.150-159. More... | Fulltext (37.7 MB)
This chapter outlines legal, institutional and political means to support climate change adaptation and mitigation, to enhance resilience, and to reduce vulnerability through more inclusive water management, especially at the country level.
Poverty / Uncertainty / Monitoring / Decision making / Public participation / Legal aspects / Institutions / Political aspects / Disaster risk reduction / Water policy / Water management / Water resources / Integrated management / Resilience / Climate change mitigation / Climate change adaptation / Water governance Record No:H049605
Increasing demands for energy to boost the Mekong economies have attracted the keen interest of riparian countries for hydropower development. This is evidenced by extensive investment in hydropower projects across the region over the last few decades. Drawing on interviews with key stakeholders, including officials from Ministry of Energy and Mines, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, private sector actors, civil society organisations and academics, as well as secondary data from public and policy resources, this paper aims to examine how the government of Laos’ (GoL) decisions in hydropower development are influenced by regional energy dynamics, and how these shape the country’s future energy development. The paper argues that the GoL’s decisions on hydropower development are highly dilemmatic, given the current limited institutional capacity in hydropower governance and the accelerating evolution of alternative energy in neighbouring countries. While uncertainty in power markets is recognised, this places greater pressure on new hydropower projects as to how much power could be sufficiently produced and exported. The paper calls for GoL’s policy considerations on the development and planning of alternative energy to secure the sustainable and equitable use of water resources as stipulated in the 1995 Mekong Agreement.
Environmental effects / Markets / Economic aspects / River basins / Dams / Development projects / Strategies / State intervention / Governance / Energy policies / Trade agreements / International trade / Energy generation / Hydroelectric power generation Record No:H049593
Solar-powered irrigation pumps (SPIPs) have been promoted in the Eastern Gangetic Plains (EGP) in recent decades, but rates of adoption are low. This case study assesses the evidence from several solar pump business models being adopted in parts of the EGP, particularly eastern Nepal and northern India, and explores how different models perform in various contexts. It documents lessons for increasing farmers’ resilience to droughts through better groundwater use by promotion of SPIPs. Groundwater access for agriculture in the past was dependent on diesel and electric pumps, respectively constrained by costs and reliability of energy. Both government and nongovernment agencies have promoted SPIPs in the Ganges basin for irrigation and drinking purposes. SPIPs receive different levels of subsidies across countries and states in the region to facilitate adoption and ensure continuous and timely irrigation, which particularly benefits small and marginal farmers. Because the EGP faces variability in water availability, the SPIPs could help in building drought resilience. However, because low operating costs for SPIPs does little to incentivize farmers to use water efficiently, one critical question is how to balance equitable access to SPIPs while ensuring groundwater overdraft is not perpetuated. Farmers’ awareness of efficient water management options is crucial to avoid overextraction of groundwater.
Case studies / attitudes / Farmersapos / Community involvement / Entrepreneurs / Subsidies / Water costs / State intervention / Policies / Business models / Electricity supplies / Water market / Water use efficiency / Groundwater extraction / Pumps / Solar energy / Irrigation methods / Water governance / Groundwater irrigation Record No:H049596
Interventions that are robust, cost effective, and scalable are in critical demand throughout South Asia to offset growing water scarcity and avert increasingly frequent water-related disasters. This case study presents two complementary forms of intervention that transform water hazards (floodwater) into a resource (groundwater) to boost agricultural productivity and enhance livelihoods. The first intervention, holiya, is simple and operated by individual farmers at the plot/farm scale to control local flooding in semiarid climates. The second is the underground transfer of floods for irrigation (UTFI) and operates at the village scale to offset seasonal floods from upstream in humid climates. Rapid assessments indicate that holiyas have been established at more than 300 sites across two districts in North Gujarat since the 1990s, extending the crop growing season and improving water quality. UTFI knowledge and experience has grown rapidly since implementation of a pilot trial in western Uttar Pradesh in 2015 and is now embedded within government programs with commitments for modest scaling up. Both approaches can help farmers redress the multiple impacts associated with floods, droughts, and groundwater overexploitation at a range of scales from farm plot to the river basin. The potential for wider uptake across South Asia depends on setting up demonstration sites beyond India and overcoming gaps in technical knowledge and institutional capacity.
Case studies / Villages / s participation / Womenapos / Gender / Farmers / Community involvement / Institutions / Social aspects / Environmental effects / Economic aspects / Sustainability / Performance evaluation / Technology assessment / Flood irrigation / Drought / Flood control / Water management / Water storage / Aquifers / Groundwater recharge Record No:H049595
The coastal region of Bangladesh is prone to natural disasters and these events are expected to worsen as a result of climate change. Combined with anthropogenic factors, these events challenge livelihood opportunities, especially crop production. Waterlogging, tidal activity and the lack of proper drainage facilities are major constraints to agricultural production in these areas.
The CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE) tested, at pilot scale, the combination of innovative agricultural technologies with improved water management to overcome these challenges.
This report assesses this intervention by observing the effects, measuring the short-term impacts and understanding the perceptions. The results highlight the need to integrate the interventions into the local context, and acknowledge that institutions and markets need to mature to harness the benefits from innovations. It also underlines the potential of multi-scale interventions combining plot-level and farmer-led innovations, community management and rehabilitation of large schemes.
Households / Villages / Research projects / Climate change / Benefit-cost ratio / Economic analysis / Irrigation canals / Maintenance / Infrastructure / Water governance / Siltation / Drainage / Salinity / Waterlogging / Submergence / Reclaimed land / Family labour / Hired labour / Farmers’ attitudes / Fertilizer application / Rice / High yielding varieties / Diversification / Farm inputs / Markets / Profitability / Crop yield / Agricultural production / Seasonal cropping / Cropping patterns / Technology / Agricultural practices / Agricultural development / Coastal zones / Agricultural extension / Participatory approaches / Community management / Water management in upland / Water management in lowland / Learning / Agricultural research for development Record No:H049571
This brief assesses the current state of migration-related policies in Ethiopia, and provides some early recommendations and policy pointers based on work carried out under the AGRUMIG project. In Ethiopia, the scale of migration and its impacts on rural and urban transformations are underestimated and probably increasing. There is a lack of a coherent national migration policy in the country, which is a potential development hindrance. Establishing a national migration policy and improving bilateral arrangements with receiving countries could help Ethiopia reap greater positive impacts from migration and remittance income, including assisting in crucial processes of social transformation in rural areas.
Poverty / Urban areas / Rural areas / Remittances / Employment / Agriculture / Migrants / Labour mobility / Governance / Development policies / Migration Record No:H049561
Purpose: The need to increase women’s access to extension has been extensively discussed. This paper assesses women’s access to extension services through the Plantwise extension approach as a baseline for future comparison of women’s access through other extension approaches. It also assesses whether crops that men and women farmers seek plant health advice on are similar or not, and attempts to disperse assumptions that continue to be made about what crops women and men grow.
Approach: We analysed data from the Plantwise Online Management System for 13 countries using descriptive and inferential statistics.
Findings: We show that the Plantwise extension approach enables higher levels of women’s access than generally reported for agricultural extension, that the crops that women and men seek extension advice on is not gender dependent, and there are few clear distinctions between their crops of interest.
Practical implications: There is limited literature studying gender inclusiveness in different extension approaches. The findings add to the documentation of assessing women’s access to demand-driven extension.
Theoretical implications: Plantwise is a new extension approach which needs to be assessed from spatial and temporal perspectives to understand whether demand-driven extension enables increased women’s access over time.
Originality/value: Extension service provision is often based on assumptions about what crops are being grown. Small studies have challenged these assumptions, but this large dataset enables us to test these assumptions more thoroughly across 13 countries adding to the weight of evidence against the existence of women’s and men’s crops.
Cropping patterns / Male involvement / Women farmers / Farmer participation / s participation / Womenapos / Extension approaches / Gender analysis / Agricultural extension systems Record No:H049538
The African Water Facility, together with the Water Research Commission, South Africa, as its implementing agent, supported the demonstration project Operationalizing community-led Multiple Use water Services (MUS) in South Africa. As knowledge broker and research partner in this project, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) analyzed processes and impacts at the local level, where the nongovernmental organization Tsogang Water and Sanitation demonstrated community-led MUS in six diverse rural communities in two of the poorest districts of South Africa, Sekhukhune and Vhembe districts - Ga Mokgotho, Ga Moela and Phiring in the Sekhukhune District Municipality, and Tshakhuma, Khalavha and Ha Gumbu in Vhembe District Municipality. In conventional water infrastructure projects, external state or non-state agencies plan, diagnose, design and prioritize solutions, mobilize funding, and implement the procurement of materials, recruitment of workers and construction. However, this MUS project facilitated decision-making by communities, and provided technical and institutional advice and capacity development. Based on IWMI’s evidence, tools and manuals, the project team organized learning alliances and policy dialogues from municipal to national level on the replication of community-led MUS by water services authorities; government departments of water, agriculture, and others; employment generation programs; climate and disaster management; and corporate social responsibility initiatives.
This working paper synthesizes the lessons learned about the six steps of the community-led MUS process in all six communities. The step-wise process appeared to be welcome and effective across the board. The duration of the process and the costs of facilitation, technical and institutional capacity development, and engineering advice and quality control were comparable to conventional approaches. However, the respective responsibilities of the government and communities, also in longer-term co-management arrangements, depended on the type of infrastructure. Some communities were supported to improve their communal self supply systems. In other communities, the process enabled an extension of the reticulation of borehole systems owned, operated and maintained by municipalities. Almost all households used water supplies at homesteads for multiple purposes, underscoring synergies in cross-sectoral collaboration between the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and irrigation sectors.
Households / Villages / Wages / Labour / Inclusion / s participation / Womenapos / Climate change adaptation / Decision making / Nongovernmental organizations / State intervention / Capacity building / Institutions / Financing / Costs / Collaboration / Technical aid / Innovation / Construction / Boreholes / Infrastructure / Water quality / Water storage / Water management / Water resources / Integrated management / Participatory approaches / Planning / Small scale systems / Communal irrigation systems / Rural communities / Guidelines / Co-management / Water supply / Multiple use water services Record No:H050124
The African Water Facility, together with the Water Research Commission, South Africa, as its implementing agent, supported the demonstration project Operationalizing community-led Multiple Use water Services (MUS) in South Africa. As knowledge broker and research partner in this project, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) analyzed processes and impacts at the local level, where the nongovernmental organization Tsogang Water and Sanitation demonstrated community-led MUS in six diverse rural communities in two of the poorest districts of South Africa, Sekhukhune and Vhembe districts - Ga Mokgotho, Ga Moela and Phiring in the Sekhukhune District Municipality, and Tshakhuma, Khalavha and Ha Gumbu in Vhembe District Municipality. In conventional water infrastructure projects, external state and non-state agencies plan, diagnose, design and prioritize solutions, mobilize funding, and implement the procurement of materials, recruitment of workers and construction. However, this MUS project facilitated decision-making by communities, and provided technical and institutional advice and capacity development. Based on IWMI’s evidence, tools and manuals, the project team organized learning alliances and policy dialogues from municipal to national level on the replication of community-led MUS by water services authorities; government departments of water, agriculture, and others; employment generation programs; climate and disaster management; and corporate social responsibility initiatives.
This working paper reports on the local findings of Ga Mokgotho and Ga Moela villages, which had completed construction works. The paper presents an in-depth analysis from the preproject situation to each of the steps of the participatory process, and highlights the resulting benefits of more water, more reliable and sustainable supplies, and multiple benefits, including a 60% and 76% increase in the value of irrigated produce in Ga Mokgotho and Ga Moela, respectively. Women were the sole irrigation manager in 68% and 60% of the households in Ga Mokgotho and Ga Moela, respectively. The user satisfaction survey highlighted communities’ unanimous preference of the participatory process, capacity development and ownership compared to conventional approaches.
Villages / Rural areas / Nongovernmental organizations / State intervention / Capacity building / s participation / Womenapos / Income / Livelihoods / Households / Water users / Financing / Irrigated farming / Livestock / Domestic water / Water use / Water distribution / Groundwater / Geohydrology / Maintenance / Boreholes / Wells / Pumps / Infrastructure / Water storage / Water management / Water resources / Integrated management / Water availability / Access and benefit-sharing / Innovation / Participatory approaches / Communal irrigation systems / Water supply / Community management / Multiple use water services Record No:H050123
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
Credit constraint is considered by many as one of the key barriers to adoption of modern agricultural technologies, such as chemical fertilizer, improved seeds, and irrigation technologies, among smallholders. Past research and much policy discourse associates agricultural credit constraints with supply-side factors, such as limited access to credit sources or high costs of borrowing. However, demand-side factors, such as risk-aversion and financial illiteracy among borrowers, as well as high transaction costs, can also play important roles in credit-rationing for smallholders. Using primary survey data from Ethiopia and Tanzania, this study examines the nature of credit constraints facing smallholders and the factors that affect credit constraints. In addition, we assess whether credit constraints are gender-differentiated. Results show that demand-side credit constraints are at least as important as supply-side factors in both countries. Women are more likely to be credit constrained (from both the supply and demand sides) than men. Based on these findings, we suggest that policies should focus on addressing both supply- and demand-side credit constraints, including through targeted interventions to reduce risk, such as crop insurance and gender-sensitive policies to improve women’s access to credit.
Econometric models / Irrigation / Small scale systems / Policies / Risk factors / Financial institutions / Microfinance / Adoption / Technology transfer / Socioeconomic environment / Women / Gender / Households / Constraints / Supply balance / Farmers / Smallholders / Loans / Agricultural credit Record No:H050170
Nicol, Alan; Abdoubaetova, A.; Wolters, A.; Kharel, A.; Murzakolova, A.; Gebreyesus, A.; Lucasenco, E.; Chen, F.; Sugden, F.; Sterly, H.; Kuznetsova, I.; Masotti, M.; Vittuari, M.; Dessalegn, Mengistu; Aderghal, M.; Phalkey, N.; Sakdapolrak, P.; Mollinga, P.; Mogilevskii, R.; Naruchaikusol, S. 2020. Between a rock and a hard place: early experience of migration challenges under the Covid-19 pandemic. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI) 22p. (IWMI Working Paper 195)[DOI] More... | Fulltext (1.92 MB)
This working paper was produced under the European Union Horizon 2020 funded AGRUMIG project and traces the impact of Covid-19 on migration trends in seven project countries – China, Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Morocco, Nepal and Thailand.
The context of global migration has changed dramatically due to the coronavirus pandemic. Both within and between countries there has been a substantial curtailment of movement. As a result of multiple lockdowns, economic activity has severely declined and labor markets have ground to a halt, with mass unemployment in industrialized economies looming on the horizon. For both migrant hosting and origin countries – some are substantially both – this poses a set of complex development challenges.
Partners of the AGRUMIG project undertook a rapid review of impacts across project countries, exploring the impacts on rural households but also identifying the persistent desire to migrate in spite of restrictions.
Uncertainty / Assessment / Policies / Border closures / Travel restrictions / Quarantine / Governance / State intervention / Rural areas / Households / Food supply / Social inequalities / Poverty / Economic activities / Remittances / Income / Health hazards / Livelihoods / Unemployment / Migrant labour / Labour market / Pandemics / COVID-19 / Migration Record No:H050125
This report explores how women perceive participation and empowerment vis-a-vis access to water and other agricultural resources in the Tarai/Madhesh of Nepal. The report argues that gendered vulnerability is indeed intricately connected with other axes of difference, such as caste and economic status, despite women’s critical role in agricultural production and their active engagement in access to water and irrigation in agriculture. Overall, women’s well-being seems to have decreased as a consequence of male out-migration. However, there are women who have also become empowered in new ways, taking up enterprise opportunities.
The authors point out that at the level of policy and external development interventions, a dominating narrative on women’s limited participation in agriculture being a result of ‘social norms’ exists. Public irrigation agencies have used this myth to absolve themselves of the responsibility for ensuring gender equality in program implementation.
The report concludes that strengthening equitable irrigation user groups alongside capacity building for farmers and program implementers are critical measures for improving women’s access to irrigation and overall well-being. Women should be ensured meaningful participation, including leadership roles.
Finally, this report recommends linking irrigation user groups to other income-generation schemes, and facilitating access to better credit, finance and agricultural inputs.
State intervention / Decision making / Institutions / Enterprises / Remittances / Microfinance / Economic resources / Poverty / Labour / Constraints / Villages / Livelihoods / Households / Caste systems / Social change / Capacity building / Water user associations / Climate change / Tube wells / Irrigation canals / Water availability / Land tenure / Land ownership / Farmers / Role of women / Migration / Communities / Groundwater irrigation / Vulnerability / Gender equality / Women’s empowerment / Women’s participation / Agricultural sector / Gender relations Record No:H050103
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
Shirsath, P. B.; Saini, S.; Durga, Neha; Senoner, D.; Ghose, N.; Verma, Shilp; Sikka, Alok. 2020. Compendium on solar powered irrigation systems in India. Wageningen, Netherlands: CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) 68p. More... | Fulltext (12.7 MB)
Case studies / Villages / Farmers / s participation / Womenapos / Investment / Community involvement / Policies / Government / Decentralization / Fish culture / Subsidies / Financing / Business models / Water use / Tube wells / Groundwater / Pumps / Portable equipment / Power plants / Sustainability / Climate-smart agriculture / Technology / Electricity supplies / Irrigation systems / Solar energy Record No:H050021
Faced with severe groundwater depletion, many governments have opted to increase the power of the state. Despite calls for more inclusive governance and a role for groundwater users, modes of governance have tended to continue to rely on a diversity of policy tools and state-run strategies in the attempt to control groundwater (over)abstraction. Yet, around the world, the performance of state-centered governance has remained dismal. Beyond common difficulties in terms of data and financial or human resources, this article analyzes in greater depth the limited effectiveness of state groundwater policies that has been observed, emphasizing its political ramifications. The various aspects of weak monitoring and enforcement, as well as of the infamous “lack of political will,” are considered from the perspective of the political economy of groundwater economies. Cases of relative success are then used to identify favorable drivers and contexts for effective state-centered groundwater governance.
Aquifers / Monitoring / Social aspects / Bureaucracy / Conflicts / Legal aspects / Corruption / Political aspects / Regulations / Water use / Water policy / State intervention / Water governance / Groundwater management Record No:H049373
Land tenure, or access and rights to land, is essential to sustain people’s livelihoods. This paper looks at how farm households perceive land tenure (in)security in relation to food (in)security, and how these perceptions evolve throughout different policy periods in Laos. The paper highlights the centrality of farmers’ strategies in configuring the dynamic relationships between tenure (in)security and food (in)security, by demonstrating how farmers’ perceived and de facto land tenure insecurity shapes their decisions to diversify livelihood options to ensure food security. While the paper’s key findings reveal the close interlinkages between land tenure (in) security and food (in)security, we argue that the first does not automatically result in the latter. In contrast, we show how perceived and de-facto land tenure insecurity pushes farmers to explore alternative strategies and avenues to ensure food supply, through farm and non-farm employment. From a policy perspective, the paper highlights the need to put people’s livelihoods at the center of land governance, thus moving beyond the current positioning of land as merely a means for agricultural production or environmental conservation.
Case studies / Rural areas / Villages / Highlands / Land governance / Government policy / Non-farm employment / attitudes / Farmersapos / Strategies / Living standards / Household income / Land policies / Land use planning / Food security / Perception of tenure security / Land tenure Record No:H049372
With decreasing aquifer levels, increasing groundwater pollution, inequitable access, and generally poor management outcomes, better groundwater governance has been put forward as a recipe to address these challenges worldwide. Existing recommendations focus on improved legal frameworks, monitoring and control of access and abstraction through permits or formal rights. In addition, decentralized water management, enforcement of regulations, and supply-side technological solutions are seen as cornerstone components of good groundwater governance systems. However, until now, these approaches have generally failed to reconcile the fundamental dynamics and properties of groundwater as a natural resource and of governance as a social and political phenomenon. This has caused a disregard for local to planetary boundaries, power dynamics, and intra- and intergenerational inequalities in access to benefits from groundwater. As the current general notion of good groundwater governance is limited, solutions put forward are also partial and do not encompass the wider challenges affecting groundwater governance, in effect replacing sustainable management goals and policy for governance as a process. This paper takes a particular look at the Middle East and North Africa and agricultural groundwater use for irrigation to constructively redefine groundwater governance and fully address the multilayered and multifaceted core challenges of groundwater governance. Equally, the paper puts forward a new conceptual thinking that will help support the effective development of governance-based solutions to achieve sustainable, socially acceptable, resilient and equitable resource use.
Monitoring / Agriculture / Sustainability / Political aspects / Social aspects / Water supply / Decentralization / Legislation / Water law / Water policy / Water governance / Groundwater management Record No:H049371
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
River flows connect people, places, and other forms of life, inspiring and sustaining diverse cultural beliefs, values, and ways of life. The concept of environmental flows provides a framework for improving understanding of relationships between river flows and people, and for supporting those that are mutually beneficial. Nevertheless, most approaches to determining environmental flows remain grounded in the biophysical sciences. The newly revised Brisbane Declaration and Global Action Agenda on Environmental Flows (2018) represents a new phase in environmental flow science and an opportunity to better consider the co-constitution of river flows, ecosystems, and society, and to more explicitly incorporate these relationships into river management. We synthesize understanding of relationships between people and rivers as conceived under the renewed definition of environmental flows. We present case studies from Honduras, India, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia that illustrate multidisciplinary, collaborative efforts where recognizing and meeting diverse flow needs of human populations was central to establishing environmental flow recommendations. We also review a small body of literature to highlight examples of the diversity and interdependencies of human-flow relationships—such as the linkages between river flow and human well-being, spiritual needs, cultural identity, and sense of place—that are typically overlooked when environmental flows are assessed and negotiated. Finally, we call for scientists and water managers to recognize the diversity of ways of knowing, relating to, and utilizing rivers, and to place this recognition at the center of future environmental flow assessments.
Case studies / Declarations / Ecosystems / Ecological factors / Cultural values / Living standards / Indigenous peoples / Water governance / Water allocation / Freshwater / Social conditions / Human relations / Water management / Environmental flows / Rivers Record No:H049329
This analysis provides new estimates of chronic kidney disease (CKD) prevalence – including CKD of unknown etiology (CKDu) – across ten districts most affected by CKD in Sri Lanka, including an examination of rural householdsapos; historical reliance on groundwater consumption. A carefully designed household survey provides information on whether these households self-reported having a member in the decade prior to 2018, who had been clinically diagnosed with CKD. Households were classified according to whether or not they had used groundwater (from household wells, agro-wells or springs) as their primary source for drinking or cooking for at least five years between 1999 and 2018. More than 98% of households reported having consumed groundwater as their primary source of drinking or cooking water for at least five of those years and gt;15% of households reported having at least one CKD-affected member in the ten-year period up to 2018, but these numbers varied across and within districts. The reported characteristics of symptomatic individuals reveal that the incidence of CKD was significantly higher among females (62%) than males (38%). In addition to CKD, about 63% of symptomatic individuals had hypertension and about one-third of them also had diabetes. About 33% of the symptomatic individuals had neither diabetes nor hypertension, where this group most closely fits commonly used definitions of CKDu. With a survey response of over 8000 households comprising as many as 30,000 individuals, these data illustrate the scale of CKD in the most-affected districts of Sri Lanka on an aggregate basis as well as revealing differences across districts and at the sub-district level.
Hypertension / Diabetes / Public health / Gender / Households / Cooking / Drinking water / Water use / Groundwater / Aetiology / Chronic course / Kidney diseases Record No:H049322
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
Mainstreaming gender in water governance through “how to do gender” toolkits has long been a development focus. It has been widely argued that such toolkits simplify the complex, nuanced realities of inequalities by gender in relation to water and fail to pay attention to the fact that the proposed users of such gender-water toolkits, i.e. mostly male water sector professionals, lack the skills, motivation and/or incentives to apply these toolkits in their everyday work. We adopt a feminist political ecology lens to analyse some of the barriers to reduce social inequalities in the management of global commons such as international rivers. Our findings highlight the leap of faith made in the belief that gender toolkits, as they exist, will filter through layers of a predominantly masculine institutional culture to enable change in ground realities of complex inequalities by gender. Analysing the everyday workings of two hydropower development organisations in India, we show how organisational structures demonstrate a blatant culture of masculinity. These two organisations, like many others, are sites where hierarchies and inequalities based on gender are produced, performed and reproduced. This performance of masculinity promotes and rewards a culture of technical pride in re-shaping nature, abiding by and maintaining hierarchy and demonstrating physical strength and emotional hardiness. In such a setting, paying attention to vulnerabilities, inequalities and disparities are incompatible objectives.
Case studies / Private sector / Public sector / Water institutions / Organizations / Risks / Human behaviour / Social aspects / Men / Gender equality / Hydropower / Political ecology / Women / Gender mainstreaming Record No:H049290
Global discourses have advocated womenapos;s empowerment as a means to enhance food security. Our objective was to critically review the causal linkages between womenapos;s empowerment and food availability and access. We relied on mixed methods and a cross-country analysis, using household survey data from Bangladesh, Nepal and Tajikistan and qualitative data from Nepal. The quantitative analysis highlights the diversity of patterns linking empowerment and food security indicators and the roles socio-economic determinants play in shaping these patterns across countries. The qualitative analysis further stresses the need for a truly intersectional approach in food security programmes that supports challenging the structural barriers that keep marginalised men and women food insecure. Lastly, our findings call for informing standardised measures of empowerment with an assessment of local meanings and values.
Strategies / Decision making / Social structure / Socioeconomic environment / Household consumption / Indicators / Malnutrition / Food shortages / Food access / Food supply / Empowerment / Women farmers / Gender / Food security Record No:H049254
State control of land plays a critical role in producing land dispossession throughout the Global South. In Myanmar, the state’s approach towards territorial expansion has driven the country’s system of land governance, resulting in widespread and systemic land grabbing. This article investigates ongoing land governance reforms as key terrains for contesting such abuses of power. Employing a relational land governance approach, we view reform processes as shaped by changing power-laden social relations among government, civil society, and international donor actors. Legal and regulatory reforms in Myanmar potentially act as sites of meaningful social change but in practice tend to maintain significant limitations in altering governance dynamics. Civil society organizations and their alliances in Myanmar have played an important role in opening up policy processes to a broader group of political actors. Yet, policies and legal frameworks still are often captured by elite actors, becoming trapped in path dependent power relations.
Social aspects / Land rights / Farmers / Land law / Legal aspects / Political aspects / Donors / Civil society organizations / State intervention / Land grabbing / Land use / Land reform / Land policies / Land governance Record No:H049252
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
Small reservoirs are a critical coping mechanism in water-stressed rural areas in Africa, providing immense livelihood benefits that include improved food and water security, entrepreneurial activities and climate resilience. Challenges associated with the implementation of investments in small reservoirs include appropriate site selection, weak institutions, insufficient maintenance and sedimentation. The findings from this study suggest that the benefits of small reservoirs may be tapped more efficiently by rehabilitating old sites rather than building new infrastructure. However, the findings also point to broader lessons on the need to change the way of doing business, i.e., to adopt a long-term, more holistic approach (or model) to the construction and maintenance of small reservoirs that matches the degree of the challenge associated with sustainably tapping the benefits of the water that they store.
Case studies / Livestock / Empowerment / Women’s participation / Gender / Entrepreneurship / Rural communities / Socioeconomic development / Funding / Financing / State intervention / Nongovernmental organizations / Impact assessment / Land use / Environmental sustainability / Public health / Household income / Living standards / Food security / Performance indexes / Infrastructure / Sedimentation / Dams / Water users / Water use / Water supply / Water institutions / Water storage / Water availability / Cost benefit analysis / Reinvestment / Irrigation investment / Irrigation management / Rehabilitation / Reservoirs / Small scale systems Record No:H049244
The increasing demand for water, energy and food, and the interdependence of these systems could lead to potential human conflict in the future. This was seen in the food crisis of 2008, which stirred a renewed interest in taking a quot;systemsquot; approach to managing resources. The initial flurry of activities led to many nexus frameworks, but there remains a gap between theory and its implementation. This paper tries to look at various frameworks and unpacks the concept of nexus in order to develop matrices to help quantify and understand the interlinkages between the nexus systems. It suggests multi-level and multi-system indices to measure the health of nexus systems and to identify the weak links. It is hoped that such frameworks can be used at country level, and eventually be used to measure and rank countries on the health of their systems. The paper suggests a questionnaire that can be used (after modifying for local conditions) to collect country-level institutional and political-economy data (which is difficult to get from online resources) to be used in the framework.
Decision making / Resource allocation / Resource management / Legislation / Sustainability / Risk management / Environmental impact assessment / Socioeconomic environment / Stakeholders / Ecosystem services / Nexus / Water governance / Water policy / Water institutions / Water security / Water availability / Energy sources / Energy generation / Food security / Food production Record No:H049196
Despite frequent calls for transformative approaches for engaging in agrarian change and water governance, we observe little change in everyday development and research praxis. Empirical studies on transformative engagements with gender relations among smallscale or tenant farmers and water user groups are particularly rare. We explore transformative engagements through an approach based on critical pedagogy (Freire, 1996) and transformative practice (Leder, 2018). We examine opportunities to promote empathy and critical consciousness on gender norms, roles and relations in agriculture and resource management. We developed and piloted an innovative “Participatory Gender Training for Community Groups” as part of two internationally funded water security projects. The training consists of three activities and three discussions to reflect on gender roles in families, communities and agriculture, to discuss the gendered division of labour and changing gender relations over time and space, and to create empathy and resolve conflicts through a bargaining role play with switched genders. The approach was implemented in twelve villages across four districts in Nepal and India (Bihar, West Bengal). Our results show how the training methods can provide an open space to discuss local gender roles within households, agriculture and natural resource management. Discussing own gender norms promotes critical consciousness that gender norms are socially constructed and change with age, class, caste and material and structural constraints such as limited access to water and land. The activities stimulated enthusiasm and inspiration to reflect on possible change towards more equal labor division and empathy towards those with weaker bargaining power. Facilitators have the most important role in transformative engagements and need to be trained to reinterpret training principles in local contexts, and to apply facilitation skills to focus on transforming rather than reproducing gender norms. We argue that the gender training methods can initiate transformative practice with the gender-water-agriculture nexus by raising critical consciousness of farmers, community mobilisers, and project staff on possibilities of social change “in situ”.
Social aspects / Villages / Water management / Water resources / Labour / Women farmers / Community involvement / Gender training / Participatory research / Participatory approaches / Water governance / Agriculture / Gender relations Record No:H049737
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:
Enhancing capacity for system transformation
Food, land and water systems are complex networks of actors, institutions and activities related to the production, value addition and consumption of food. These systems are connected to and influenced by the structures and supporting mechanisms that underlie them. System transformation cannot occur without changing these underlying structures and supporting mechanisms. However, the capacity for actors to take up specific roles and responsibilities in scaling processes is sometimes lacking. Stimulating system transformation therefore requires enhancing actors’ capacity to assume their roles and responsibilities in the system to ensure that scaling processes provide equitable opportunities and contribute to sustainable development.
As a research institution, IWMI stimulates system transformation by building capacity within institutions and facilitating dialogue and collaboration between various stakeholders across sectors and their respective networks. IWMI does this by developing evidence-based capacity-strengthening programs and strategies. These include demand-driven internships with private sector entities and innovation hackathons.
This focus area contributes to the following One CGIAR impact areas:
Strengthening and sustaining the enabling environment
Making agricultural innovations and water solutions available to farmers on a massive scale is crucial if the world is to meet growing food demands and mitigate climate change impacts. However, innovation scaling efforts often do not have the desired impact because they do not sufficiently consider the factors enabling and inhibiting farmers’ adoption of these innovations. In some instances, they may even produce undesirable impacts, including environmental degradation, loss of access to resources and social inequality. IWMI develops tools and other evidence-based resources to help partners and stakeholders understand and sustain the enabling environment and introduce measures to ensure scaling success. In addition, IWMI co-designs innovative, inclusive financial modalities to accelerate investment in innovations by farmers and agri-businesses.
A key part of this focus area is the Accelerator Program, for which 12 small and medium-sized agribusinesses were selected to scale five innovation bundles that support climate information services and climate-smart agriculture.
This focus area contributes to the following One CGIAR impact areas:
Enabling gender and youth inclusion
Agriculture is the bedrock of food and nutrition security and a major source of income and employment in many developing countries. Inclusive agriculture, provides opportunities for women and youth who have historically been excluded from agriculture-led economic growth. Enhancing gender and youth inclusion in high-value agricultural value chains has the potential to increase the production of nutrient-rich, profitable crops and create attractive job opportunities for currently disadvantaged groups. Inclusive agriculture includes ensuring that women, youth and other vulnerable groups gain equitable access to water resources and technologies to support agronomic growth.
IWMI conducts comprehensive analyses of the policy framework and interventions in value chains in key geographies to clarify the barriers to gender and youth inclusion. Inclusion segmentation is also carried out to understand the investment needs and abilities of women and youth regarding innovation. IWMI then makes recommendations and develops evidence-based strategies to enable public and private sector actors to achieve sustainable and inclusive scaling of water solutions and agricultural innovation bundles. Among these strategies are internships with private sector companies for young professionals and entrepreneurs. These create win-win situations in which companies benefit from interns’ specific knowledge or skills while interns gain valuable private sector work experience and mentorship.
This focus area contributes to the following One CGIAR impact areas:
Brokering knowledge for sustainability
As a research-for-development organization, IWMI is both a producer and broker of knowledge. IWMI generates evidence to support investment in innovations that sustainably increase agricultural productivity and economic returns, support human well-being, water security and safeguard ecosystems in a changing climate. Through forums and events, often co-convened with partners, IWMI brokers knowledge exchange to catalyze change in water and food systems and accelerate innovation scaling. These forums and events include multi-stakeholder dialogues, demand-supply linkage workshops and knowledge exchange conferences.
This focus area contributes to the following One CGIAR impact areas:
Cultivating scaling preparedness
Scaling preparedness is a set of actions undertaken throughout the scaling process to maximize the adoption of innovation bundles, accelerate scaling and increase the likelihood of achieving transformational change. In cultivating scaling preparedness, stakeholder engagement is key to gain stakeholders’ buy-in, commitment, resource contribution and investment as well as adaptability. By cultivating scaling preparedness, IWMI is better able to identify and develop high-potential innovation bundles with the greatest chance of being successfully scaled.
This focus area contributes to the following One CGIAR impact areas:
Fostering scaling partnerships
Private sector actors play a central role in the dissemination and adoption of technologies and services such as information, financing, and pre- and after-sales support. IWMI has established scaling partnerships with private sector companies across Africa and Asia. Besides technical assistance, IWMI provides its partner companies with research evidence and advice, risk and suitability assessments and capacity strengthening for effective climate change-related planning and management.
Armed with these tools and resources, companies are better equipped to identify and reach their target customers in ways that are equitable, economically viable and environmentally sustainable. At the same time, farmers benefit from better access to innovations vital for improving livelihoods and climate adaptation.
This focus area contributes to the following One CGIAR impact areas:
Co-developing innovation bundles
Although agricultural water is still mainly funded by the public sector, private sector organizations and farmers are increasingly investing in innovative water management and irrigation technologies. At the same time, simply increasing the amount of finance flowing to the agricultural water sector is not enough to guarantee the uptake of innovative solutions. Investments must also be responsible, targeted and bundled with improved inputs and services, market information and access, and digital payment methods.
Consequently, IWMI partners with farmers and public and private sector actors to co-develop contextually relevant socio-technical-institutional-financial and process innovation bundles that are contextually relevant. IWMI integrates the scaling of innovation bundles into agricultural and food value chains, for instance by strengthening market linkages, to enhance the impacts on farmers’ investments, incomes and livelihoods.
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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: