Your search found 240 records
1 IWMI. South Africa. 2003. Agricultural water use and improving rural livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa: Current status, future directions, and the role of the International Programme for Technology and Research in Irrigation and Drainage (IPTRID). Keynote paper prepared for the IPTRID event at the ICID Congress, Montreal, Canada, 23 July 2002. Presented on behalf of the South Africa Office of IWMI. 39p.
Water use ; Rural development ; Livelihoods / South Africa / Africa South of Sahara / Olifants Basin
(Location: IWMI-HQ Call no: IWMI 631.7.3 G110 IWM Record No: H031847)
Its focus is on small-scale agricultural water use technologies (irrigation in its widest sense) in sub-Saharan Africa. Section 1 provides an overview of the current status of natural resources, rural development and poverty, irrigation investment trends, and emerging new irrigation technology options. Section 2 discusses IPTRID’s contribution to these emerging options. Section 3 proposes some ideas for consideration in terms of the future directions of IPTRID’s work on small-scale irrigation in sub-Saharan Africa.
2 Shah, Manisha; Bharti; Verma, Shilp. 2017. Reviving minor irrigation in Telangana: midterm assessment of Mission Kakatiya. IWMI-Tata Water Policy Research Highlight, 8. 8p.
Irrigation schemes ; Small scale systems ; Groundwater irrigation ; Groundwater recharge ; Assessment ; Water distribution ; Water supply ; Water levels ; Irrigation water ; Irrigated land ; Farm income ; Farmers ; Agriculture ; Tank irrigation ; Economic aspects ; Rice ; Livelihoods / India / Telangana
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H048733)
http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/iwmi-tata/PDFs/iwmi-tata_water_policy_research_highlight-issue_08_2017.pdf
(6 MB)
3 Feleke, E.; Assefa, E.; Zeleke, T. 2020. Effects of small scale irrigation on household income and its implication for livelihood sustainability in the drought prone Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia. Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa, 22(1):104-131.
Irrigation systems ; Small scale systems ; Livelihoods ; Sustainable development ; Drought ; Rainfed farming ; Smallholders ; Farmers ; Markets ; Socioeconomic environment ; Household income ; Rural areas ; Policies ; Models / Ethiopia / Central Rift Valley
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049913)
http://www.jsd-africa.com/Jsda/2020%20V22%20No1%20Spring/PDF/Effects%20of%20small%20scale%20irrigation%20on%20household%20income_Tesfaye%20%20Zeleke.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H049913.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H049913.pdf
(0.61 MB) (628 KB)
Smallholder rainfed agriculture is the mainstay for the majority of the population in Ethiopia. However, its performance is very poor, particularly in drought-prone areas. Hence, small scale irrigation has been introduced to averse the negative effects of climate variability. This research aims to examine the impacts of small scale irrigation on income and its implication on rural livelihood sustainability. Data were collected using a household survey questionnaire and focus group discussions. Descriptive statistics and the Heckman two-step model were used to analyze the data. Participation in irrigation significantly and positively affects the amount of household income. However, the contribution of irrigation on household income has a limited role to support the sustainability of livelihood in the time of chronic drought in which irrigators were in food aid like non-irrigators. Creating market access, credit provision, better extension service, introducing gender-friendly irrigation, and expanding irrigation command area needs policy priority to sustain the economic benefit of irrigation.
4 Sharma, Akriti; Karki, Emma; Eriyagama, Nishadi; Shrestha, Gitta; Jeuland, M.; Bharati, Luna. 2020. Whose river is it?: an assessment of livelihood and cultural water flow requirements for the Karnali Basin. Ecology and Society, 25(3):22. [doi: https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-11763-250322]
Environmental flows ; River basins ; Livelihoods ; Sociocultural environment ; Assessment ; Water management ; Flow discharge ; Water levels ; Ecosystems ; Biodiversity ; Water pollution ; Water use ; Fisheries ; Irrigation ; Household consumption ; Tourism ; Riparian zones ; Local communities ; Women ; Sustainable development ; Socioeconomic aspects / Nepal / Karnali Basin / Terai Region / Hill Region
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050015)
https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol25/iss3/art22/ES-2020-11763.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050015.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050015.pdf
(1.07 MB) (1.07 MB)
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 > 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.
5 Haileslassie, Amare; Mekuria, Wolde; Schmitter, Petra; Uhlenbrook, Stefan; Ludi, Eva. 2020. Changing agricultural landscapes in Ethiopia: examining application of adaptive management approach. Sustainability, 12(21):8939. [doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/su12218939]
Agricultural landscape ; Land management ; Water management ; Ecosystem services ; Land use ; Land cover ; Land degradation ; Land restoration ; Exclosures ; Farmland ; Soil conservation ; Water conservation ; Water harvesting ; Carbon sequestration ; Biodiversity ; Livelihoods ; Decision making ; Indicators ; Foreign investment ; Socioeconomic aspects / Ethiopia
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050044)
(0.64 MB) (657 KB)
Ethiopia has decades of experience in implementing land and water management interventions. The overarching objectives of this review were to synthesize evidences on the impact of implementation of land and water management practices on agricultural landscapes in Ethiopia and to evaluate the use of adaptive management (AM) approaches as a tool to manage uncertainties. We explored how elements of the structures and functions of landscapes have been transformed, and how the components of AM, such as structured decision-making and learning processes, have been applied. Despite numerous environmental and economic benefits of land and water management interventions in Ethiopia, this review revealed gaps in AM approaches. These include: (i) inadequate evidence-based contextualization of interventions, (ii) lack of monitoring of bio-physical and socioeconomic processes and changes post implementation, (iii) lack of trade-off analyses, and (iv) inadequacy of local community engagement and provision of feedback. Given the many uncertainties we must deal with, future investment in AM approaches tailored to the needs and context would help to achieve the goals of sustainable agricultural landscape transformation. The success depends, among other things, on the ability to learn from the knowledge generated and apply the learning as implementation evolves.
6 Freed, S.; Barman, B.; Dubois, M.; Flor, R. J.; Funge-Smith, S.; Gregory, R.; Hadi, B. A. R.; Halwart, M.; Haque, M.; Jagadish, S. V. K.; Joffre, O. M.; Karim, M.; Kura, Y.; McCartney, Matthew; Mondal, M.; Nguyen, V. K.; Sinclair, F.; Stuart, A. M.; Tezzo, X.; Yadav, S.; Cohen, P. J. 2020. Maintaining diversity of integrated rice and fish production confers adaptability of food systems to global change. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 4:576179. [doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2020.576179]
Food systems ; Inland fisheries ; Ricefield aquaculture ; Food production ; Fishery production ; Agropisciculture ; Agricultural practices ; Diversification ; Community involvement ; Food security ; Nutrition security ; Food policies ; Shrimp culture ; Biodiversity conservation ; Sustainable Development Goals ; Green revolution ; Agroecology ; Livelihoods ; Case studies / Cambodia / Bangladesh / Myanmar / Vietnam
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050055)
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2020.576179/pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050055.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050055.pdf
(1.92 MB) (1.92 MB)
Rice and fish are preferred foods, critical for healthy and nutritious diets, and provide the foundations of local and national economies across Asia. Although transformations, or “revolutions,” in agriculture and aquaculture over the past half-century have primarily relied upon intensified monoculture to increase rice and fish production, agroecological approaches that support biodiversity and utilize natural processes are particularly relevant for achieving a transformation toward food systems with more inclusive, nutrition-sensitive, and ecologically sound outcomes. Rice and fish production are frequently integrated within the same physical, temporal, and social spaces, with substantial variation amongst the types of production practice and their extent. In Cambodia, rice field fisheries that strongly rely upon natural processes persist in up to 80% of rice farmland, whereas more input and infrastructure dependent rice-shrimp culture is expanding within the rice farmland of Vietnam. We demonstrate how a diverse suite of integrated production practices contribute to sustainable and nutrition-sensitive food systems policy, research, and practice. We first develop a typology of integrated production practices illustrating the nature and degree of: (a) fish stocking, (b) water management, (c) use of synthetic inputs, and (d) institutions that control access to fish. Second, we summarize recent research and innovations that have improved the performance of each type of practice. Third, we synthesize data on the prevalence, outcomes, and trajectories of these practices in four South and Southeast Asian countries that rely heavily on fish and rice for food and nutrition security. Focusing on changes since the food systems transformation brought about by the Green Revolution, we illustrate how integrated production practices continue to serve a variety of objectives to varying degrees: food and nutrition security, rural livelihood diversification and income improvement, and biodiversity conservation. Five shifts to support contemporary food system transformations [i.e., disaggregating (1) production practices and (2) objectives, (3) utilizing diverse metrics, (4) valuing emergent, place-based innovation, (5) building adaptive capacity] would accelerate progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 2, specifically through ensuring ecosystem maintenance, sustainable food production, and resilient agricultural practices with the capacity to adapt to global change.
7 Nguyen-Khoa, S.; McCartney, Matthew; Funge-Smith, S.; Smith, L.; Senaratna Sellamuttu, Sonali; Dubois, M. 2020. Increasing the benefits and sustainability of irrigation through the integration of fisheries: a guide for water planners, managers and engineers. Rome, Italy: FAO; Penang, Malaysia: WorldFish; Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 92p. [doi: https://doi.org/10.4060/cb2025en]
Fishery production ; Sustainability ; Irrigation systems ; Integrated management ; Water resources ; Water management ; Guidelines ; Irrigation management ; Aquatic ecosystems ; Habitats ; Aquaculture ; Irrigated farming ; Infrastructure ; Livelihoods ; Food security ; Nutrition security ; Socioeconomic environment ; Monitoring and evaluation ; Environmental Impact Assessment ; Trends ; Sustainable Development Goals ; Community management ; Participatory approaches ; Water governance ; Institutions ; Stakeholders ; Conflicts ; Rural areas ; Water reservoirs ; Rivers ; Floodplains / Africa / Asia
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050111)
(2.84 MB)
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.
8 Pande, S.; Uhlenbrook, Stefan. 2020. On the linkage between hydrology and society—learning from history about two-way interactions for sustainable development. Water History, 12(4):387-402. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12685-020-00264-2]
Hydrology ; Archaeology ; Sustainable Development Goals ; River basins ; Human settlements ; Society ; Migration ; Livelihoods ; Population ; Diversification ; Climate change ; Resilience ; Water policy ; Technology ; Innovation ; Case studies / Australia / Pakistan / India / Murrumbidgee River Basin / Indus Valley / Indus River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050112)
https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12685-020-00264-2.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050112.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050112.pdf
(0.86 MB) (884 KB)
The challenge of sustainable development is enshrined in the ambitious 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations. The 17 goals and its various targets are unique with water being one of the cross cutting themes. Taking examples of past water dependent societies in a comparative setting, this paper challenges the new field of Archaeo-hydrology in how it could contribute to the 2030 Agenda based on what can be learned from past and contemporary water dependent societies. We find that societies have coped with climate variability by diversifying both in occupation, livelihoods and use of space. Sharing the costs of coordinating such diversification requires inclusive institutions and technological innovations. Similar to technology, new social institutions emerge in response to a changing environment. However, in tandem, slow out-migration of people seems to go on, driven by better livelihood opportunities outside. If technological innovation and institutional evolution are not rapid enough, then migration seems to take over as the adaptive mechanism in response to environmental changes resulting in rapid dispersal. This means that migration from smaller, less endowed societies can be expected to be rapid, with repetitive cycles of abandonment and rehabilitation after each critical climate or adverse environment events. Consequently, more place based local innovations should be encouraged and local economies should be diversified to increase the resilience so that vulnerable societies may inherit favourable know-how for a sustainable future under changing climatic conditions.
9 van Koppen, Barbara; Magombeyi, Manuel S.; Jacobs-Mata, Inga; Molose, V.; Phasha, K.; Bophela, T.; Modiba, I.; White, M. 2020. Process and benefits of community-led multiple use water services: comparing two communities in South Africa. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 43p. (IWMI Working Paper 193) [doi: https://doi.org/10.5337/2020.212]
Multiple use water services ; Community management ; Water supply ; Communal irrigation systems ; Participatory approaches ; Innovation ; Access and benefit-sharing ; Water availability ; Integrated management ; Water resources ; Water management ; Water storage ; Infrastructure ; Pumps ; Wells ; Boreholes ; Maintenance ; Geohydrology ; Groundwater ; Water distribution ; Water use ; Domestic water ; Livestock ; Irrigated farming ; Financing ; Water users ; Households ; Livelihoods ; Income ; Women's participation ; Capacity building ; State intervention ; Nongovernmental organizations ; Rural areas ; Villages / South Africa / Sekhukhune / Ga Mokgotho / Ga Moela
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H050123)
(4.75 MB)
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.
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.
10 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: https://doi.org/10.5337/2020.216]
Migration ; COVID-19 ; Pandemics ; Labour market ; Migrant labour ; Unemployment ; Livelihoods ; Health hazards ; Income ; Remittances ; Economic activities ; Poverty ; Social inequalities ; Food supply ; Households ; Rural areas ; State intervention ; Governance ; Quarantine ; Travel restrictions ; Border closures ; Policies ; Assessment ; Uncertainty / China / Ethiopia / Kyrgyzstan / Republic of Moldova / Morocco / Nepal / Thailand
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H050125)
(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.
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.
11 Karn, Sujeet; Sugden, Fraser; Sah, K. K.; Maharjan, J.; Shah, T. N.; Clement, F. 2020. Shifting gender relations in agriculture and irrigation in the Nepal Tarai-Madhesh. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE). 34p. (WLE Research for Development (R4D) Learning Series 10) [doi: https://doi.org/10.5337/2020.211]
Gender relations ; Agricultural sector ; Women’s participation ; Women’s empowerment ; Gender equality ; Vulnerability ; Groundwater irrigation ; Communities ; Migration ; Role of women ; Farmers ; Land ownership ; Land tenure ; Water availability ; Irrigation canals ; Tube wells ; Climate change ; Water user associations ; Capacity building ; Social change ; Caste systems ; Households ; Livelihoods ; Villages ; Constraints ; Labour ; Poverty ; Economic resources ; Microfinance ; Remittances ; Enterprises ; Institutions ; Decision making ; State intervention / Nepal / Eastern Gangetic Plains / Tarai-Madhesh Region / Sunsari / Siraha / Ekamba Village Development Committee / Amaduwa Village Development Committee / Lohani / Kharotole / Bhagwanpur / Fulkahakati
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H050103)
(2.95 MB)
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.
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.
12 Huijsmans, R. (Ed.) 2016. Generationing development: a relational approach to children, youth and development. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. 335p. (Palgrave Studies on Children and Development) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-55623-3]
Children ; Youth ; Child development ; Young workers ; Age groups ; Socioeconomic environment ; Economic development ; Sustainable Development Goals ; Gender ; Women ; Violence ; Discrimination ; Refugees ; Poverty ; Migration ; Migrants ; Labour ; Sex workers ; Agricultural sector ; Farmers ; Teachers ; Parents ; Livelihoods ; Education ; Schools ; Households ; Marriage ; Social aspects ; Rural communities ; Cash transfers ; Urban areas / Jordan / Canada / Vietnam / Ethiopia / Ghana / India / Ecuador / Burundi / Nova Scotia / Addis Ababa / Tamale / Tamil Nadu
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy SF Record No: H049581)
13 CGIAR System Organization. 2020. Responding to COVID-19: CGIAR's contribution to global response, recovery and resilience. Montpellier, France: CGIAR System Organization. 48p.
COVID-19 ; Pandemics ; CGIAR ; Research programmes ; Agricultural research ; Food security ; Nutrition security ; Resilience ; Food systems ; Value chains ; Water systems ; Livelihoods ; Poverty ; Gender equality ; Public health ; Environmental health ; Social protection ; Inclusion ; Sustainability ; Policies ; Investment ; Income ; Strategies ; Economic impact
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049854)
https://cgspace.cgiar.org/bitstream/handle/10568/108548/CGIAR-Responding-to-COVID-19.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H049854.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H049854.pdf
(2.81 MB) (2.81 MB)
The COVID-19 pandemic, itself likely the result of unsustainable food, land and water systems, is exposing weaknesses in food systems, societies and economies around the world. The health risks of the pandemic, combined with the social and economic impacts of measures to stop the spread of the disease (e.g. social isolation directives, travel bans, border closures) are posing threats to food, nutrition and water security, as well as continued progress on global goals to end poverty and hunger, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Without substantial emergency relief, 140 million people could fall into extreme poverty, potentially increasing hunger and malnutrition for millions. Women, youth, migrant workers and poor urban populations are among those most significantly impacted. The global response to the pandemic must be swift and science-based, harnessing new and existing knowledge. Solutions need to be coordinated across sectors to provide immediate response and assistance for those most in need, ongoing and inclusive support in recovery and, perhaps most importantly, future resilience to all shocks–including climate extremes. The COVID-19 crisis presents an unprecedented opportunity for humanity to “build back better,” particularly in the food systems at the root of the pandemic. The crisis has demonstrated how quickly society can fail – but also that collective positive change in human behavior is possible at scale and speed. CGIAR will join its network of partners to co-lead global debate and action on what “building back better” looks like for food, water and land systems.
14 Ricciardi, V.; Wane, A.; Sidhu, B. S.; Godde, C.; Solomon, D.; McCullough, E.; Diekmann, F.; Porciello, J.; Jain, M.; Randall, N.; Mehrabi, Z. 2020. A scoping review of research funding for small-scale farmers in water scarce regions. Nature Sustainability, 3(10):836-844. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-00623-0]
Small scale farming ; Research support ; Water scarcity ; Smallholders ; Farmers ; Donors ; Income ; Sustainable Development Goals ; Gender ; Livelihoods ; Natural resources ; Environmental impact ; Livestock ; Irrigation
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050033)
(4.47 MB) (4.47 MB)
Water scarcity is a global issue that disproportionately affects small-scale farmers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Through geospatial analysis, we estimated that less than 37% of small-scale farms probably have irrigation in water scarce regions across LMICs, compared with 42% of non-small-scale farms. Through a literature synthesis assisted by machine learning, we then systematically mapped the existing research for on-farm interventions that improve the incomes or yields of small-scale farmers in water scarce regions. We mapped over 888 on-farm interventions used to combat water scarcity from 560 publications and showed a research bias towards yields rather than livelihoods. We found gaps in evidence for many commonly proposed solutions, including livestock management, digital technology and solutions to protect natural resources at the farm-level, such as buffer strips. Our findings can be used to set a funding agenda for research on the geographies that are most at risk of water scarcity and the interventions that most lack evidence.
15 Berhe, H. T. 2020. Households’ nonfarm livelihood participation and agricultural inputs investment: evidence from northern Ethiopia. African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 17p. (Online first) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/20421338.2020.1817261]
Off farm employment ; Households ; Livelihoods ; Nonfarm income ; Public participation ; Farm inputs ; Investment ; Livestock ; Income generation ; Rural areas ; Regression analysis / Ethiopia / Tigray
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050138)
(0.53 MB)
Evidence shows that nonfarm livelihood activities are an important source of income for rural households and they may interact with farm activities in different ways. This article attempts to examine the investment linkage in which evidence is scarce in the study area. Also the paper examines the determinants of households’ nonfarm employment participation. The study uses household level data collected from 455 randomly selected rural families in Tigray, northern Ethiopia. Findings from the logit regression indicate that livestock holding, access to credit and male-headed households significantly increase nonfarm employment participation. Conversely, the possibility of nonfarm employment participation decreases with age, number of children, access to irrigation and remittance. Moreover, the propensity score matching estimates and auxiliary estimates using tobit and ordinary least square (OLS) consistently indicate nonfarm employment significantly decreases agricultural inputs investment. Similarly, participation in nonfarm activities significantly lowers investment in crop inputs. Further, findings from this study indicate that nonfarm livelihood activities may help in reducing rural poverty. Moreover, the study suggests that policies targeting enhancement of agricultural inputs investment should look at other options rather than relying on income generating nonfarm activities to increase agricultural inputs investment.
16 Khoza, S.; de Beer, L. T.; van Niekerk, D.; Nemakonde, L. 2020. A gender-differentiated analysis of climate-smart agriculture adoption by smallholder farmers: application of the extended technology acceptance model. Gender, Technology and Development, 22p. (Online first) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/09718524.2020.1830338]
Gender analysis ; Climate-smart agriculture ; Technology transfer ; Smallholders ; Farmers' attitudes ; Women farmers ; Decision making ; Social aspects ; Psychological factors ; Climate change ; Resilience ; Disaster risk reduction ; Livelihoods ; Communities ; Models / Malawi / Zambia / Chikwawa / Gwembe
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050141)
(2.13 MB)
The low adoption of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) technologies by farmers in developing regions where agrarian livelihoods are threatened by climate-related disasters remains a concerning enigma. Adoption patterns are not commensurate with merits of CSA on food security and climate resilience and attention to gender in relation to behavioral and attitudinal patterns in CSA adoption remains scarce. An exploratory-sequential mixed methods study was conducted, using a socio-psychological theoretical lens to test the applicability of the extended technology acceptance model in predicting CSA adoption among at-risk smallholder farming communities in Malawi and Zambia. Spearman’s rho correlation results show that relationship strengths between socio-psychological factors—perceptions on ease of use, usefulness and climate risk—differed between men and women householdheads. Results also show that social processes are central in influencing women’s decision-making on adoption. For practitioners and policy-makers, these findings reflect a critical need for gender-specific behavioral change communication strategies and inclusive participatory engagement. This will promote dialogue with diverse groups of smallholder-farmers aimed at changing negative, and leveraging on positive, behavior and attitudes toward new CSA technologies. CSA technology development for smallholder-farmers needs to appreciate the role of socio-psychological factors in adoption decisions. Further scientific research is required to establish causality between related socio-psychological factors.
17 Pavelic, Paul; Sikka, Alok; Alam, Mohammad Faiz; Sharma, Bharat R.; Muthuwatta, Lal; Eriyagama, Nishadi; Villholth, Karen G.; Shalsi, S.; Mishra, V. K.; Jha, S. K.; Verma, C. L.; Sharma, N.; Reddy, V. R.; Rout, S. K.; Kant, L.; Govindan, M.; Gangopadhyay, P.; Brindha, K.; Chinnasamy, P.; Smakhtin, V. 2021. Utilizing floodwaters for recharging depleted aquifers and sustaining irrigation: lessons from multi-scale assessments in the Ganges River Basin, India. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 20p. (Groundwater Solutions Initiative for Policy and Practice (GRIPP) Case Profile Series 04) [doi: https://doi.org/10.5337/2021.200]
Groundwater management ; Groundwater recharge ; Aquifers ; Floodwater ; Water use ; Groundwater depletion ; Groundwater irrigation ; Sustainable use ; Groundwater flow ; Transfer of waters ; Flood control ; Groundwater table ; Water storage ; Water quality ; Pumping ; Technology ; Pilot projects ; Assessment ; Risk management ; Cost benefit analysis ; Stakeholders ; Community involvement ; Socioeconomic aspects ; Livelihoods ; Food security ; Irrigated farming ; Environmental impact ; River basins ; Ponds ; Wells ; Monsoons ; Rain ; Drought / India / Ganges River Basin / Ramganga Basin / Uttar Pradesh / Rampur / Jiwai Jadid
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H050171)
(3.67 MB)
Pragmatic, cost-effective, socially inclusive and scalable solutions that reduce risks from recurrent cycles of floods and droughts would greatly benefit emerging economies. One promising approach known as Underground Transfer of Floods for Irrigation (UTFI) involves recharging depleted aquifers with seasonal high flows to provide additional groundwater for irrigated agriculture during dry periods, while also mitigating floods. It has been identified that there is potential for implementing the UTFI approach across large parts of South Asia. The first pilot-scale implementation of UTFI was carried out in a rural community of the Indo-Gangetic Plain in India, and performance of the approach was assessed over three years from a technical, environmental, socioeconomic and institutional perspective. The results are promising and show that UTFI has the potential to enhance groundwater storage and control flooding, if replicated across larger scales. The challenges and opportunities for more wide-scale implementation of UTFI are identified and discussed in this report. In areas with high potential for implementation, policy makers should consider UTFI as an option when making decisions associated with relevant water-related development challenges.
18 O’Brien, G. C.; Dickens, Chris; Baker, C.; Stassen, R.; van Weert, F. 2020. Sustainable floodplains: linking e-flows to floodplain management, ecosystems, and livelihoods in the Sahel of North Africa. Sustainability, 12(24):10578. (Special issue: Durable Protections for Free-Flowing Rivers) [doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/su122410578]
Floodplains ; Sustainability ; Environmental flows ; Water management ; Ecosystem services ; Livelihoods ; Risk assessment ; Water resources ; Flooding ; Social aspects ; Ecological factors ; Stakeholders ; Communities ; Habitats ; Deltas ; Rivers ; Models ; Uncertainty / North Africa / Sahel / Mali / Inner Niger Delta / Upper Niger River
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050174)
(16.10 MB) (16.1 MB)
Floodplains are particularly important in the semi-arid region of the Sub-Sahelian Africa. In this region, water governance is still being developed, often without adequate information and technical capacity for good, sustainable water resource management. However, water resources are being allocated for use with minimal sustainability considerations. Environmental flows (e-flows) include the quantity and timing of flows or water levels needed to meet the sustainable requirements of freshwater and estuarine ecosystems. Holistic regional scale e-flows linked to floodplain management can make a noticeable contribution to sustainable floodplain management. The Inner Niger Delta (IND) in Mali is an example of a vulnerable, socio-ecologically important floodplain in the Sahel region of North Africa that is being developed with little understanding of sustainability requirements. Although integrally linked to the Upper Niger River catchment, the IND sustains a million and half people within the region and exports food to surrounding areas. The flooding of the Delta is the engine of the socio-economic development as well as its ecological integrity. This paper aims to demonstrate the contribution that holistic regional e-flow assessment using the PROBFLO approach has to achieving floodplain sustainability. This can be achieved through the determining the e-flow requirements to maintain critical requirements of the ecosystems and associated services used by local vulnerable human communities for subsistence and describing the socio-ecological consequences of altered flows. These outcomes can contribute to the management of the IND. In this study, the socio-ecological consequences of altered flows have been evaluated by assessing the risk of alterations in the volume, duration, and timing of flows, to a number of ecological and social endpoints. Based on the risk posed to these endpoints by each scenario of change, an e-flow of 58% (26,685 million cubic meters (MCM) of water annually) was determined that would protect the ecosystem and maintain indicator components at a sustainable level. These e-flows also provide sustainable services to local communities including products for subsistence and limit any abnormal increases in diseases to the vulnerable African communities who live in the basin. Relative risk outputs for the development scenarios result in low-to-high-risk probabilities for most endpoints. The future development scenarios include insufficient flows to maintain sustainability during dry or low-flow periods with an increase in zero flow possibilities. Although unsuitable during the low-flow or dry periods, sufficient water is available through storage in the basin to meet the e-flows if these scenarios were considered for implementation. The IND is more vulnerable to changes in flows compared to the rivers upstream of the IND. The e-flow outcomes and consequences of altered flow scenarios has contributed to the management of vulnerable IND floodplains and the requirements and trade-off considerations to achieve sustainability.
19 Fischer, H. W. 2021. Decentralization and the governance of climate adaptation: situating community-based planning within broader trajectories of political transformation. World Development, 140:105335. (Online first) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105335]
Climate change adaptation ; Decentralization ; Governance ; Local government ; Political aspects ; Decision making ; Development projects ; Irrigation canals ; Community involvement ; Planning ; Institutions ; Livelihoods ; Households ; Villages / India / Himachal Pradesh / Kangra
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050181)
(2.14 MB)
Decentralized, “community-based” approaches to climate adaptation are now viewed as a key strategy to assist vulnerable populations confront global climate change. While these efforts are premised on the belief that citizen participation will lead to more effective climate responses, there remains limited empirical evidence of the relationship between local democracy and climate risk reduction. This paper asks: How, and through which processes, do local institutions emerge as more substantively democratic arenas to coordinate responses to climate risk and change? And how does the character of local democratic practice, in turn, influence the effectiveness of adaptive responses? To answer these questions, the paper analyzes the implementation of India’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)—a substantial devolution of development resources to rural local governments in India—and its effects on climate risk reduction in the state of Himachal Pradesh. A primary dataset of 798 small-scale development projects in 35 villages shows that a majority of water-related interventions are helping to improve water access in the face of water stress, while benefits skew towards poorer and historically marginalized social groups. Drawing on intensive qualitative enquiry, the paper argues that these outcomes were made possible as the result of long-term political transformations in the region, which have paved the way for more inclusive — if often contested — participation in local decision-making processes. The analysis underscores the need to move beyond a narrow focus on institutional building to undertake longer-term investments in supporting more robust subnational democratic systems. The growing flow of resources dedicated to climate assistance has the potential to help drive such processes where the nascent conditions for democratic deepening are in place.
20 Singh, P. K.; Chudasama, H. 2021. Pathways for climate change adaptations in arid and semi-arid regions. Journal of Cleaner Production, 284:124744. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.124744]
Climate change adaptation ; Arid zones ; Semiarid zones ; Extreme weather events ; Vulnerability ; Resilience ; Temperature ; Agricultural productivity ; Diversification ; Institutions ; Governance ; Rural communities ; Livelihoods ; Models / India
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050186)
(2.55 MB)
Climate variability and change coupled with small landholdings, low land productivity and water scarcity in arid and semi-arid regions contribute to environmental degradation, reduced agricultural productivity, and increased vulnerability to the rural communities. With the aid of the fuzzy cognitive maps constructed by 427 community groups with 4–5 members in each group, drawn from 96 villages in 12 districts of arid and semi-arid India, the paper evaluates the effectiveness of various adaptation pathways. The ongoing adaptations in arid and semi-arid India face adaptation deficits. The FCM-based simulations revealed that integrated adaptation measures that embrace nature-based solutions, including integrated water resource management, natural farming-assisted soil rejuvenation, and improved agricultural productivity are most likely to enhance the resilience of small and marginalised farming communities to climate variability and change. Facilitation of such adaptation measures requires inclusive and adaptive local institutions, sufficient financial assistance, and climate information services. Besides, gender-nuanced, inclusive, and adaptive governance and processes would be helpful for the implementation of appropriate adaptation interventions in arid and semi-arid drylands worldwide. Hence policy-makers must enable polycentric and adaptive governance, and inclusive institutions and processes. The emphasis on multiple factors in a socio-ecological system often makes it difficult to understand the critical role of a particular factor. However, the FCM-based simulations in this study helped us overcome such limitations.
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