Comprehensive Assessment on Water Management in AgricultureThere is broad consensus on the need to improve water management and to invest in water for food as these are critical to meet The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The role of water in food and livelihood security is a major issue of concern in the context of continued environmental degradation and persistent poverty throughout the developing world. Although there is considerable knowledge on the issue, an overarching picture on the water-food-livelihoods-environment nexus is missing, leaving uncertainties about where to invest in order to address both human and environmental water needs.
The Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture (CA) is an innovative multi-institute process aimed at identifying existing knowledge and stimulating thought on ways to manage water resources to continue meeting the needs of both humans and ecosystems. The CA critically evaluates the benefits, costs, and impacts of the past 50 years of water development and challenges to water management currently facing communities. It assesses innovative solutions and explores consequences of potential investment and management decisions.
The CA is designed as a learning process, engaging networks of stakeholders to produce knowledge synthesis and methodologies. The main output of the CA is an Assessment report that aims to guide investment and management decisions in the near future considering their impact over the next 50 years in order to enhance food and environmental security to support the achievement of the MDGs.
The Assessment synthesis report is developed along the lines of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment reports, and has formal linkages with the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development. It differs in that it provides in-depth analysis of water and food issues that are inadequately addressed in other global exercises, and benefits from gap-filling research of its first project phase. In the first phase, over 30 projects were developed to fill knowledge gaps and a publications process was initiated to disseminate project results. The development of the Assessment report forms the second phase of the CA process.
Tropical Deltas and Coastal Zones : Food Production, Communities and Environment at the Land-water Interface ed. C T Hoanh, B Szuster, K S Pheng, A Ismail, A Noble. CABI Publication, Wallingford UK and Cambridge MA USA, 2010 |
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Historically, land and water mangement within many coastal deltas has focused on the exclusion of saline water flows that move upstream from the coast. However, this approach fails to recognize the diversity of rural livelihoods and ecosystems in coastal deltaic areas, the environmental consequences of altering natural saline water flows and the emergence of new activities such as shrimp farming that require brackish water. Focusing on the developing contries of Asia, Africa and South America, chapters explore the diverse livelihoods of people in these areas, the impact of land-water management on environments, new techniques and methodologies and lessons learned in land and water management to solve the conflicts between agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries.
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River Basin Trajectories : Societies, Environments and Development ed. F Molle, and P Wester, CABI Publication, Wallingford UK and Cambridge MA USA, 2009 |
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Using a variety of case studies, this book provides an overview of how societies have gradually developed their water resources and furthers our understanding of how such resources can be managed successfully or unsuccessfully. Discussing how and why particular options are selected, and why a particular course of events eventually prevails, the book stresses the importance of context and a multidisciplinary approach in moving towards sustainable and equitable development.
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Rainfed Agriculture Unlocking the Potential ed. S Wani, J Röckstorm, and T Oweis , CABI Publication, Wallingford UK and Cambridge MA USA, 2008 |
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This book is based on research undertaken by a team of leading scientists from 10 global organizations. Chapters consider the potential of rainfed agriculture on the basis of case studies for different regions in Asia and Africa with the aim to assess the need of water for achieving food security and reducing poverty. Yield gaps for major rainfed crops are analysed globally and possible ways and means including technological, social and institutional options to bridge the yield gaps are discussed in detail.
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Conserving Land, Protecting Watered. D Bossio and K Geheb, CABI Publication, Wallingford UK and Cambridge MA USA, 2008 |
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The degradation of land and water resources as a result of agricultural activity has had an enormous impact on human societies and economies. It is predicted that, by 2025, most developing countries will face physical or economic water scarcity, compounded by land degradation. In order to alleviate this problem, an advanced understanding of the state of our water resources and the relationships between land use, water management and social systems is needed.
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Community-Based Water Law and Water Resource Management Reform in Developing Countries ed. B van Koppen, M Giordano, and J Butterworth, CABI Publication, Wallingford UK and Cambridge MA USA, 2007 |
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The lack of sufficient access to clean water is a common problem faced by communities, efforts to alleviate poverty and gender inequality and improve economic growth in developing countries. While reforms have been implemented to manage water resources, these have taken little notice of how people use and manage their water and have had limited effect at the ground level. On the other hand, regulations developed within communities are livelihood-oriented and provide incentives for collective action but they can also be hierarchal, enforcing power and gender inequalities. This book shows how bringing together the strengths of community-based laws rooted in user participation and the formalized legal systems of the public sector, water management regimes will be more able to reach their goals.
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Irrigation Water Pricing The Gap Between Theory and Practiceed. F Molle and J Berkoff , CABI Publication, Wallingford UK and Cambridge MA USA, 2007 |
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Much hope has been vested in pricing as a means of helping to regulate and rationalize water management, notably in the irrigation sector. The pricing of water has often been applied universally, using general and ideological policies, and not considering regional environmental and economic differences. Almost fifteen years after the emphasis laid at the Dublin and Rio conferences on treating water as an economic good, a comprehensive review of how such policies have helped manage water resources an irrigation use is necessary.
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The Agricultural Groundwater Revolution: Opportunities and Threats to Development ed. M Giordano and KG Villholth, CABI Publication, Wallingford UK and Cambridge MA USA, 2007 |
 | This book focuses on addressing the issues of using groundwater in agriculture for irrigation in the developing world, this book discusses the problems associated with the degradation and overexploitation of using it. It explores the practiced and potential methods for its management in the context of agricultural development.
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Environment and Livelihoods in Coastal Zones: Managing Agriculture - Fishery - Aquaculture Conflicts ed. CT Hoanh, TP Tuong, JW Gowing and B Hardy, CABI Publication, Wallingford UK and Cambridge MA USA, 2006 |
 | This book focuses on the challenges people face in managing agricultural crops, aquaculture, fisheries and related ecosystems in areas of coastal zones in the tropics of Asia, Africa, Australia and South America. Challenges arise from conflicts in the use of natural resources among different stakeholders. Through many case studies, the book discusses the nature of these conflicts and identifies what is known and not known about how to manage them.
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Water Productivity in Agriculture: Limits and Opportunities for Improvemented. JW Kijne, R Barker, and D Molden, CABI Publication, Wallingford UK and Cambridge MA USA, 2003 |
 | In a large number of developing countries, policy makers and researchers are increasingly aware of the conflicting demands on water, and look at agriculture to be more effective in its use of water. Focusing on both irrigated and rain-fed agriculture, this book give a state of the art review of the limits and opportunities for improving water productivity in crop production.
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Water-wise Rice Productioned. BAM Bouman, H Hengsdijk, B Hardy, PS Bindraban, TP Tuong and JK Ladha International Rice Research Institute, 2002 |
 | Proceedings from a thematic workshop on Water-Wise Rice Production held 8-11 April, 2002 at IRRI, Los Baños, Philippines. The workshop brought together scientists and irrigation system manager from several consortia and projects examining water scarcity in rice production. |
Other Publications |
The World Bank has released new data and tools on climate change as the latest additions to its Open Data Initiative.