Water Policy Briefings

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PLANNING GROUNDWATER USE FOR SUSTAINABLE RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Groundwater use is rapidly increasing in Sri Lanka, bringing several benefits to small farmers—by allowing them to grow more crops, minimize the impact of droughts, and profit from selling high-value produce. But how can this be sustained? Lessons learned from other countries with longer histories of groundwater use can help policymakers, planners, and development organizations avoid the pitfalls and dangers of indiscriminate use, and capture the benefits that groundwater can bring.

BREAKING THE CYCLES OF LAND DEGRADATION: A CASE STUDY FROM BAN LAK SIP, LAO PDR
Unsustainable farming practices in many regions are causing land resources to degrade—threatening future food security as well as the livelihoods of poor rural people. But, as new research has shown, tackling local problems requires an understanding of the policies and wider economic and social factors that influence farmers to adopt inappropriate land use practices. A broad, multi-scale analysis of land degradation in a village in Laos has provided valuable lessons that could guide environmental policymaking elsewhere, helping to ensure that new policies do not have unintended consequences.

TAKING A MULTIPLE-USE APPROACH TO MEETING THE WATER NEEDS OF
POOR COMMUNITIES BRINGS MULTIPLE BENEFITS
Poor people need and use water for a wide range of essential activities, including earning much-needed incomes.  Deliberately making provisions for these multiple uses of water when designing and managing water supply and irrigation schemes could greatly reduce poverty, increase gender equity, and improve health—at little additional cost.

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Home > Research Themes > Theme 2 - Land, Water and Livelihoods > Water Policy Briefings