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in Review > Overview
of IWMI’s Research in Asia
RESEARCH IN ASIA
IWMI's research
and knowledge management activities in Asia focus on reducing poverty
and improving food security through the improved management of
water and land resources. The overall portfolio is organized into
three sub-regions: South Asia, South East Asia and Central Asia,
with Iran being managed separately.
Improving Water Productivity in the Krishna Basin, India
Water scarcity is a
serious issue in South Asia. In the Krishna Basin, located in the
provinces of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka, and working
with partners such as the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University
(JNTU), the Central Water Commission (CWC) and Irrigation Departments
in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka, IWMI is carrying
out research on water allocation and identifying opportunities
to improve basin-scale water productivity through an integrated
framework that takes into account hydrologic, water-resources and
economic research.
Using remote sensing techniques, IWMI has mapped irrigated areas
to study land/water use and documented spatial and temporal patterns
of hydro-climatology and crop water demands. Through water-poverty
mapping, IWMI has been able to analyze the relationships between
poverty and access to safe water and land resources. These studies
will provide generic lessons to address problems related to water
management and poverty in closing river basins.
The IWMI - Tata Water Policy Program aims to help policy makers
at central, state and local levels address their water challenges.
IWMI works with a broad alliance of researchers and practitioners
to identify, analyze and document relevant water-management approaches,
which are then synthesized in the “Water Policy Briefing” Series.
Enhancing Livelihoods through Structured Water Management
in the
Mekong River Delta, Vietnam
Surveys undertaken during 2000 to 2005 have shown that, as
a result of a more structured approach to water management in
the Mekong River Delta in Vietnam, fishery production has been
significantly improved. The annual per capita GDP of approximately
800 000 people in the Bac Lieu Province has increased from
US$ 248 to US$ 648. In addition, the incomes of poor
communities living on acid sulfate soil areas have increased
three-fold and there have been no conflicts between shrimp and
rice farmers since 2002.
Increased shrimp production in the Mekong
Delta of Vietnam once led to conflicts over access to water between
rice farmers and fishers. On the one hand, rice farmers require
freshwater for the production of rice, while shrimp farmers require
brackish water. To expand the fresh water zone for rice production,
the Government of Vietnam had built dams and sluices in the Ca
Mau Peninsula to prevent the movement of much needed brackish
water that is critical for shrimp production. As a result, a
conflict erupted in the Bac Lieu Province when, in 2001, shrimp
farmers destroyed a major diversion to allow the movement of
brackish water upstream to service their shrimp farms.
With support
from DFID, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), WorldFish,
and IWMI initiated a project to establish viable options that would
address the conflict between rice and shrimp farmers and accelerate
poverty elimination through the sustainable resource management
of coastal lands. Through a participatory process between rice
farmers, fishers, water managers and local and provincial authorities,
a land use zoning map was developed and agreed upon by all parties,
along with a sluice gate operation protocol based on modeling scenarios
to regulate salinity in the river and canal systems. Water managers
and provincial authorities have adopted these guidelines and management
recommendations to manage the conflicting demands for water between
the two different interest groups by providing freshwater to rice
farmers in the eastern part of the Mekong Delta whilst keeping
the western part dedicated to shrimp production.
Making Impacts
through IWRM in the Ferghana Valley, Central Asia
IWMI’s
successful Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) Project in
the Ferghana Valley is now in its third phase. It is an action research
project located in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, funded
by the Swiss Development Cooperation, and jointly implemented by
IWMI and its regional partner in Central Asia, the Scientific Information
Center of the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination (SIC-ICWC).
In its first two phases, the project developed, tested and adopted
major approaches, frameworks and methodologies. It is currently
consolidating, improving and up-scaling these achievements.
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