Your search found 13 records
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050092)
(0.55 MB)
The main objective of this research paper is to assess the extent to which the concept of water accounting has been applied for water management at the river basin scale in India. For this, the study first assesses the importance given to the use of water accounting for water management in India's national water policy. It then analyses the evolution of water accounting approaches in India through a systematic review of the past research studies on the theme. Further, it looks at their contribution to decision-making concerning allocation of water resources and resolving conflicts over water sharing. Finally, it identifies the existing gaps in the methodologies for water accounting so far used in India.
2 Hart, A. C.; Rosewarne, E.; Spencer, W.; McCausland, R.; Leslie, G.; Shanthosh, J.; Corby, C.; Bennett-Brook, K.; Webster, J. 2021. Indigenous community-led programs to address food and water security: protocol for a systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(12):6366. (Special issue: Global Food Security and Public Health) [doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18126366]
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050564)
(0.28 MB) (288 KB)
The connection between indigenous peoples and Country (a multidimensional concept including land and water) enabled communities to thrive and survive over millennia. This has been eroded by colonisation, dispossession and increasing food and water insecurity due to climate change and supply constraints. Globally, indigenous peoples experience a disproportionate burden of chronic disease and poor nutrition is a major risk factor. Indigenous leaders have been advocating for community-led solutions. The primary aim of this systematic review is to determine what community-led programs have been undertaken to address food and/or water security globally. A comprehensive search of peer-reviewed literature will be performed in EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus, LILACs, Informit and Business Source Premier. The grey literature search will include grey literature databases, customised Google search engines, targeted websites, and consultation with experts. The search strategy will consist of four concepts, combined as follows: (1) indigenous peoples AND (2) community program AND (3) food security OR (4) water security. Covidence will be used for study screening and data extraction by two authors. A deductive thematic analysis using indigenous-informed methodologies will be used to synthesise data. This review seeks to provide insight on models and mechanisms to encourage action and metrics for quantifying success of indigenous community-led programs to improve food and water security.
3 Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe; Hlahla, S.; Chimonyo, V. G. P.; Henriksson, R.; Chibarabada, T. P.; Murugani, V. G.; Groner, V. P.; Tadele, Z.; Sobratee, N.; Slotow, R.; Modi, A. T.; Baudron, F.; Chivenge, P. 2022. Diversity and diversification: ecosystem services derived from underutilized crops and their co-benefits for sustainable agricultural landscapes and resilient food systems in Africa. Frontiers in Agronomy, 4:859223. [doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fagro.2022.859223]
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051093)
(2.48 MB) (2.48 MB)
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.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051246)
(3.82 MB) (3.82 MB)
The last decade has seen considerable progress in scientific research on vegetation ecosystem services. While much research has focused on forests and wetlands, grasslands also provide a variety of different provisioning, supporting, cultural, and regulating services. With recent advances in remote sensing technology, there is a possibility that Earth observation data could contribute extensively to research on grassland ecosystem services. This study conducted a systematic review on progress, emerging gaps, and opportunities on the application of remote sensing technologies in quantifying all grassland ecosystem services including those that are related to water. The contribution of biomass, Leaf Area Index (LAI), and Canopy Storage Capacity (CSC) as water-related ecosystem services derived from grasslands was explored. Two hundred and twenty-two peer-reviewed articles from Web of Science, Scopus, and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers were analyzed. About 39% of the studies were conducted in Asia with most of the contributions coming from China while a few studies were from the global south regions such as Southern Africa. Overall, forage provision, climate regulation, and primary production were the most researched grassland ecosystem services in the context of Earth observation data applications. About 39 Earth observation sensors were used in the literature to map grassland ecosystem services and MODIS had the highest utilization frequency. The most widely used vegetation indices for mapping general grassland ecosystem services in literature included the red and near-infrared sections of the electromagnetic spectrum. Remote sensing algorithms used within the retrieved literature include process-based models, machine learning algorithms, and multivariate techniques. For water-related grassland ecosystem services, biomass, CSC, and LAI were the most prominent proxies characterized by remotely sensed data for understanding evapotranspiration, infiltration, run-off, soil water availability, groundwater restoration and surface water balance. An understanding of such hydrological processes is crucial in providing insights on water redistribution and balance within grassland ecosystems which is important for water management.
5 Chakraborty, Shreya; Mukherji, Aditi. 2022. Training on systematic review methods. Proceedings of the Virtual Training Workshop on Systematic Review Methods, Online Platform, 7-8 & 14-15 November 2022. New Delhi, India: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). CGIAR Initiative on Transforming Agrifood Systems in South Asia (TAFSSA); CGIAR Initiative on Low-Emission Food Systems (Mitigate+). 4p.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051634)
(314 KB)
The One-CGIAR initiatives for Mitigate+: Research for Low-Emission Food Systems (Mitigate+) and Transforming Agrifood Systems in South Asia (TAFSSA) jointly organised a virtual training workshop on Systematic Review Methods for CGIAR scientists to build capacities in concepts and tools of evidence synthesis. The workshop covered a 12-hour course module in 3-hour sessions across four days from across CGIAR centres, particularly focussed on scientists and researchers working on systematic scoping reviews. This was organized considering that multiple systematic scoping reviews had been planned or were ongoing in the two host initiatives as well as other CGIAR initiatives, making this effort for capacity building of researchers timely.
6 Brouziyne, Youssef; El Bilali, A.; Epule, T. E.; Ongoma, V.; Elbeltagi, A.; Hallam, J.; Moudden, F.; Al-Zubi, Maha; Vadez, V.; McDonnell, Rachael. 2023. Towards lower greenhouse gas emissions agriculture in North Africa through climate-smart agriculture: a systematic review. Climate, 11(7):139. [doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/cli11070139]
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy onl Record No: H052079)
(1.07 MB) (1.07 MB)
North Africa (NA) is supposed to lower emissions in its agriculture to honor climate action commitments and to impulse sustainable development across Africa. Agriculture in North Africa has many assets and challenges that make it fit to use the tools of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) for mitigation purposes. This study represents a first attempt to understand if CSA practices are sufficiently established in NA to contribute to reducing agriculture emissions. A PRISMA-inspired systematic review was carried out on an initial 147 studies retrieved from Scopus, Google Scholar, and the Web of Science databases, as well as from gray literature. 11 studies were included in the final analysis since they report the mitigation and co-benefits of CSA-based practices within NA. A bias risk was identified around the optimal inclusion of studies produced in French, and a specific plan was set for its minimization. Synthesis results revealed that most studies focused either on improving soil quality (nine studies) or managing enteric fermentation (two studies). The review revealed a poor establishment of the CSA framework in the region, especially in sequestering GHG emissions. A set of recommendations has been formulated to address the identified gaps from research orientations and organizational perspectives and empower the CSA as an ally for mitigation in north African agriculture.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052179)
(1.23 MB) (1.23 MB)
This paper assessed existing EWS challenges and opportunities in cloud computing through the PSALSAR framework for systematic literature review and meta-analysis. The research used extant literature from Scopus and Web of Science, where a total of 2516 pieces of literature were extracted between 2004 and 2022, and through inclusion and exclusion criteria, the total was reduced to 98 for this systematic review. This review highlights the challenges and opportunities in transferring in-house early warning systems (that is, non-cloud) to the cloud computing infrastructure. The different techniques or approaches used in different kinds of EWSs to facilitate climate-related data processing and analytics were also highlighted. The findings indicate that very few EWSs (for example, flood, drought, etc.) utilize the cloud computing infrastructure. Many EWSs are not leveraging the capability of cloud computing but instead using online application systems that are not cloud-based. Secondly, a few EWSs have harnessed the computational techniques and tools available on a single platform for data processing. Thirdly, EWSs combine more than one fundamental tenet of the EWS framework to provide a holistic warning system. The findings suggest that reaching a global usage of climate-related EWS may be challenged if EWSs are not redesigned to fit the cloud computing service infrastructure.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052234)
(11.70 MB) (11.7 MB)
Timely, accurate spatial information on the health of neglected and underutilised crop species (NUS) is critical for optimising their production and food and nutrition in developing countries. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with multispectral sensors have significantly advanced remote sensing, enabling the provision of near-real-time data for crop analysis at the plot level in small, fragmented croplands where NUS are often grown. The objective of this study was to systematically review the literature on the remote sensing (RS) of the spatial distribution and health of NUS, evaluating the progress, opportunities, challenges, and associated research gaps. This study systematically reviewed 171 peer-reviewed articles from Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science using the PRISMA approach. The findings of this study showed that the United States (n = 18) and China (n = 17) were the primary study locations, with some contributions from the Global South, including southern Africa. The observed NUS crop attributes included crop yield, growth, leaf area index (LAI), above-ground biomass (AGB), and chlorophyll content. Only 29% of studies explored stomatal conductance and the spatial distribution of NUS. Twenty-one studies employed satellite-borne sensors, while only eighteen utilised UAV-borne sensors in conjunction with machine learning (ML), multivariate, and generic GIS classification techniques for mapping the spatial extent and health of NUS. The use of UAVs in mapping NUS is progressing slowly, particularly in the Global South, due to exorbitant purchasing and operational costs, as well as restrictive regulations. Subsequently, research efforts must be directed toward combining ML techniques and UAV-acquired data to monitor NUS’ spatial distribution and health to provide necessary information for optimising food production in smallholder croplands in the Global South.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052235)
(1.80 MB) (1.80 MB)
Mixed farming systems (MFS) are the main food source and exist across almost all agroecological regions in the Global South. A systematic scoping review was conducted to identify the status of integrated crop-livestock research in MFS of the Global South. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses protocol was used to identify 210 studies (excluding reviews) addressing productivity, resilience, challenges, opportunities, and perceptions of integrating crops and livestock in the Global South from the Scopus and Web of Science database. Publication details, problem statement, experimental details and research outcomes of each study were extracted into an MS. Excel sheet. Descriptive methods such as frequency counting and the word frequency cloud were used to analyze the data and identify emerging themes. Integrated crop-livestock research was mostly conducted in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia and not much from North Africa and the Caribbean. The integrated research has been focused on farm production of human food and animal feed by smallholder farmers and soil productivity. Maize was the most dominant crop, while for livestock, it was sheep and cattle. The integrated crop-livestock research seeked to address various challenges, including the growing demand for food and fodder, water scarcity, land scarcity and degradation, climate change, disease outbreaks and social changes. The review summarized proposed strategies and approaches to improve the efficiency of MFS in the Global South. Under the current challenges, feed quality and supply can be improved through adoption of high biomass, climate smart and improved drought-tolerant fodder crops. Using crop residues incorporated in crop fields for improved soil organic matter and controlled grazing were some strategies suggested for land rehabilitation. Building the resilience of smallholder farmers in MFS can be done through diversification and ensuring access to information, markets and finance. Policies that promote the business component, i.e., markets, training, gender equality, private investments, tenure systems and technology adoption were identified for the sustainability of MFS. There is need for research that integrates crop-livestock systems and natural resource management innovations and that evaluates sustainable intensification strategies to meet productivity goals without compromising social and ecological outcomes in MFS.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052315)
(2.28 MB) (2.28 MB)
The Tana-Beles sub-basin, a strategic economic growth corridor in Ethiopia, relies on water storage to provide a suite of key services to agriculture, drinking water supply, energy, and ecosystems. While there are a range of storage options (e.g., from large dams to subsurface aquifers) that can be utilized to provide these services, a systematic stock-take of literature on water storage in the Tana-Beles has not been undertaken. This knowledge gap constrains the identification of the relative contribution of different storage types in the Tana-Beles. Accordingly, in this study, we conducted a systematic review of literature on the surface and sub-surface storages to examine key issues of the different storage types and their linkages in the Tana-Beles sub-basin. Peer-reviewed and grey publications from various databases were considered for the systematic review. The results indicate that literature in the Tana-Beles sub-basin is more focused on natural storage like wetlands and Lake Tana than built storage types like human-made reservoirs. Overall, the analysis revealed three key points. First, storage volume and water quality in those storages are declining. Second, the causal factors for storage loss and water quality deterioration are agricultural expansion, land degradation, sedimentation, and increasing water withdrawals. Third, the storage gap will increase because of climate change, population, and economic growth while current management options are fragmented. Therefore, the need for more integrated nexus approaches is paramount to optimize storage resources in water, food, energy, and ecosystems in light of population-driven growth in demand and the ongoing global climate crisis.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052407)
(5.01 MB) (5.01 MB)
While there is a proliferation of Decision Support Tools (DSTs) to enhance agricultural water productivity (AWP) and related objectives such as food security, an assessment of their adoption and performance is not known to be undertaken. To develop new or improved DSTs for bespoke applications in optimizing AWP, there needs to be a stock-take of the existing tools, their functionality, user-friendliness and uptake. We compiled and assessed existing DSTs for AWP as a starting point for present and future developers who intend to improve existing or develop new DSTs for optimizing AWP. Secondarily, this review identifies DSTs’ key characteristics, availability, and applicability for different typologies and spatio-temporal scales. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach was applied to search for literature from Scopus and WoS databases. The study revealed the existence of 81 documented AWP DSTs whose development started from around the 1970 s, peaked in the 1990 s, and declined after that although the improvement and upgrading of existing DSTs continued. Over half (51%) of the DSTs are not readily available in the public domain. The prevalent spatial and temporal application scales are field and day, respectively. There is limited reporting on the application at scale, partly due to the wide unavailability of DSTs. A gap exists in AWP DSTs with geospatial capabilities (one in 10 or 10% had geographic information systems (GIS) integration capabilities). Most DSTs focus on water and food (yield) components but omit energy and other dimensions of AWP. Regarding format, most tools were available as desktop (35%) and web-based (48%) applications, and codes (27%). Developers should strive to deliver AWP tools in convenient, compatible, and user-friendly for a wide range of users, from novices to experts.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052474)
(24.80 MB) (24.8 MB)
Beyond the production of food: how can Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture address nutrition challenges? Despite substantial strides in reducing poverty over the past five decades in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), these countries experience disproportionately high rates of undernutrition. Agriculture is a key sector that plays a significant role in addressing malnutrition by addressing food insecurity. Particularly promising are nutrition-sensitive agriculture (NSA) interventions, which are agricultural interventions that incorporate a clear objective to improve nutrition and integrate nutrition actions to achieve the nutrition objective, thereby also addressing nutrition security. As a part of the multisectoral response, NSA interventions address multiple underlying causes of malnutrition. However, studies on the mechanisms by which such interventions impact nutrition and which factors influence outcomes are scarce. Therefore, this PhD research aimed to gain insights into the impact pathways of NSA interventions to improve nutritional status, as well as the factors influencing the implementation and sustainability of the interventions in LMICs. This research used a mixed-methods study design that included two systematic reviews and two case studies based on NSA projects implemented in Bangladesh and Lao PDR. In six articles (4 already published), we explain the effects of NSA interventions on nutrition, the pathways to their, and the factors influencing the implementation and sustainability of the interventions. Three chapters demonstrate that NSA interventions can address the multiple determinants of malnutrition, significantly improve diet, reduce micronutrient deficiency, and, to a lesser extent, reduce underweight. This PhD research confirms that NSA interventions can contribute to nutrition through pathways of agricultural production, agricultural income, and women’s empowerment. In addition, this study puts forward the idea of labelling nutrition-related knowledge and behaviour change communication (BCC) as a separate pathway and identifies the strengthening of local institutions as a novel pathway. The dissertation, in three chapters, explains the factors across five domains of implementation research: the outer setting, the inner setting, the characteristics of individuals, the intervention characteristics, and the implementation process. The studies highlight a complex interaction of the factors at multiple levels. Sustaining NSA interventions is challenging due to the complex adaptive features of the food system that make the system both adaptive and resilient. To conclude, transforming agriculture to become more nutritionally sensitive can be impactful in realizing food and nutrition security, but it requires several interrelated strategies across pathways, of which strengthening local institutions, is key.
13 Abera, W.; Getaneh, Y.; Balcha, Y.; Assefa, T.; Mulatu, C. A.; Ebrahim, Girma Yimer; Tesfaye, M.; Dawit, M.; Abebe, W. B.; Taye, Meron Teferi. 2024. Framing water–energy–food–ecosystem (WEFE) nexus interactions in the Tana-Beles Sub-basin of Ethiopia. Sustainability Nexus Forum, 32(1):2. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00550-024-00540-2]
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H053005)
(7.46 MB) (7.46 MB)
The water–energy–food–ecosystems (WEFE) provide vital resources that are essential to human existence. Exploring synergies and trade-offs in these systems has been of interest in recent years to increase economic gain while sustaining the environment. The Tana-Beles Sub-basin of Ethiopia is challenged by population density, climate change, and ecosystem degradation that requires a WEFE Nexus thinking. To understand the current WEFE nexus interactions in the basin, a systematic review of 102 scientific research articles published from 1991 to 2021 was undertaken. Additionally, the systematic review is complemented by spatial data analysis to identify synergies and trade-offs among the WEFE nexus indicators. The analysis revealed the dominance of food–water–ecosystem interdependencies in WEFE nexus research for the Tana-Beles Sub-basin. This dominance is driven by extensive food production activities, which lead to substantial water abstraction and hydrological alterations to meet the intensive water demands of crop cultivation. Simultaneously, the energy-ecosystem interactions are critical due to excessive biomass utilization that exceeds the biomass production potential of the area. Furthermore, the available vegetation cover of the area is very limited to supplement the growing fuel wood demands, which is exerting extreme land degradation and threatening the ecosystem in the sub-basin. This study identifies gaps in WEFE understanding, highlights specific challenges and opportunities within the basin, and calls for coordinated stakeholder action for sustainable resource management through a Nexus approach.
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