Home > Year
in Review
This section highlights significant areas of research and events
that IWMI has been involved in the past year. They cover the 4
thematic areas of IWMI’s research and also show research
in Africa and Asia.
‘Water
scarcity: Fact or Fiction?’
1.2 billion
people suffer from lack of safe and affordable water for domestic
use, and the majority of
the 900 million people that make up the rural poor in developing
countries do not have access to water for their livelihoods. The
debate surrounding the existence of a serious water crisis continues. Understanding
the ‘water
scarcity’ is crucial to addressing degradation, poverty and
ill-health.
'Mapping Irrigation: Food security now and in the future'
An
IWMI estimation of irrigated areas at the end of 1999 is 318
Mha for the main season, and 637 Mha when irrigation intensity
is considered. Mapping irrigation using multiple satellite sensor
data can help quantify irrigated agriculture on a global scale.
Such data has the potential to inform food security for the future
and also the extent of environmental impact.
‘The
Krishna River: More production and less poverty in a closing
basin’
The water resources of the Krishna Basin, India’s
fourth largest river system are being stretched due to decades
of agricultural growth and rapid urbanization in the region.
The impact of stream flow depletion on water productivity, water
poverty and the environment have been significant, as have the
effects on livelihoods, ecosystems and vulnerability.
‘Livelihoods
in the Ferghana Valley’
Water sector reforms are only truly effective when they
consider socioeconomic contexts and aim to support the maintenance
of irrigation and drainage systems. Rural livelihoods in the Ferghana
Valley are vulnerable to unreliable water supply, badly maintained
irrigation systems and poor access to credit and other services.
‘Water taxes and titles in rural Sub-Saharan Africa:
Killing two birds with one stone’
Regulation of water use through taxes, levies, licences, permits,
laws and rights in Sub-Saharan Africa is growing. The economic
and political rationale for formalizing of water use affects customary
arrangements in communities and does not necessarily increase water
security for communities as much as infrastructure development.
'Recycling Realities:
Managing health risks to make wastewater an asset’
Polluted wastewater is one of the most important sources of water
for irrigation in low-income countries. This source of water is
most often used by people living in urban and peri-urban areas
whose livelihoods are still predominantly based on agriculture.
The main concerns with wastewater arise from the health risks that
are associated with its use.
‘When
Conservation leads to land degradation: Lessons from Ban Lak
Sip, Laos'
In Ban Lak Sip, Laos, government
efforts aimed at conservation such as resettlement schemes and
land use policies have had a greater impact on land degradation
than agronomic practices.
‘IWMI joins Ramsar Partners
IWMI joins as the Ramsar convention’s fifth International Organization
Partner at the 9th meeting of the Conference of the Parties
to the Convention on Wetlands, at Kampala, Uganda.
‘Health Impacts of Small Dams
in Morocco: Listening to the community
for better planning and
management’
In countries
with arid and sub arid climates and erratic patterns of rainfall
small dams are an important tool in rural poverty alleviation,
reduction of rural exodus, aquifer replenishment, prevention
of floods and large dam siltation. However, negative health impacts
such as increased transmission of water-related diseases may
be substantial and the investments do not always result in sustainable
development. IWMI’s involvement
in a project in Morocco engages the community to jointly evaluate
health risks and opportunities associated with small dams.
Back to top
Home > Year
in Review |
