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Jeremy BirdChiang Mai, 6 November 2016

Five years after the Bonn Nexus conference: implications for irrigation and drainage

2nd World Irrigation ForumKey issues of irrigation and drainage in balancing water, food, energy and ecology

1. Nexus – ‘buzzword’ or ‘stimulus for change ’?  

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Acknowledgements to Stuart Carlson and the Milwaukee 

Journal Sentinel

Biofuels – a classic ‘nexus’ case 

Increase policy coherence

Accelerate access

Create more with less

End waste and minimise losses

Value natural infrastructure

Mobilise consumer influence

http://www.water-energy-food.org/

Nexus messages - multiple implications for irrigation

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Multiple initiatives: Citations

Bonn Conference: 622 Citations in Google Scholar; 278 Book Chapters in Google Books

Background paper: 323 citations in research publications

Global and regional meetings

– e.g. nexus theme at Mekong Summit 2014

IWA – IUCN Dialogue on Nexus infrastructure

Industry and development bank flagship reports

e.g. World Bank - Thirsty Energy;

BP – Water in the energy industry

..and more

Post‐Bonn2011 

World Energy Council 2016: water‐energy nexus

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2.  An unprecedented opportunity for change

SDGs

..both sectoral and cross-sectoral (nexus)

COP 21 Climate change agreement..both mitigation and adaptation dimensions

Global agreements and political commitment 

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‘Irrigation’ or ‘agricultural water management’?

3. The starting point: climate resilient and sustainable agriculture  

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Sustainably increasing agricultural productivity and incomes

Adapting and building resilience to climate change

Reducing and/or removing greenhouse gas emission, where possible.  FAO, 2013

Taking a broad perspective – climate smart villages

Understanding the context within which decisions are made and providing the incentives to change  

Source: T. Shah, IWMI

‘Solarizing pumping’ could reduce CO2 emissions in Gujarat State alone by 1.8 million tonnes of CO2

Feeding excess electricity generated into the grid provides an incentive for improved water management

Diversifying income streams – solar power as a remunerative crop

What started as a mitigation measure has adaptation benefits  

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www.iwmi.org

Water for a food-secure world

>60% of inner Ganges Basin potentially suitable for managed aquifer recharge 

Storing flood water underground – a new reality? 

IBFI Concept

Partners: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Indian Institute of Water Management (IIWM-ICAR); Agriculture Insurance Corporation of India;Institute of Water Modeling (IWM); Bajaj Allianz; Pragati Insurer; Swiss Re

Insurance payout 

2016 Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana Crop Insurance Scheme in Bihar:

> 285,000 farmers benefit by stabilizing farm income

c. 2.5 m.ha insured covering crop loss or damage due to natural calamities

Index‐based crop insurance – a safety net?

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Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Dry season

System productivity can be increased from 3‐6 tons per hectare to 11‐19 tons per hectare, depending on location.

Wet season

Shrimp Rice + Fish

Integrated sub‐polder management, Bangladesh

Institutional solutions ‐ identifying win‐wins? 

Uniting agriculture and nature for poverty reduction

Tana-Nairobi Water Fund

Regenerating degraded lands – a viable model? 

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Fodder from biomass

Reclaimed land

Licorice roots

Extract for pharmaceuticals

Reclaiming saline soils – and making a profit?

Uniting agriculture and nature for poverty reduction

Increased focus of attention, for example,

the 4 per 1000 Initiative to mitigate climate change through soil carbon sequestration

Adaptation of African Agriculture (AAA) –initiative of African Ministers being tabled at COP22

Managing the soil differently – a carbon sink?  

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Safe use of waste water – multiple benefits

Conserving natural resilience and related livelihoods by understanding:

• how land‐use and catchment management affect the reservoir

• how upstream tributaries and wetlands interact with reservoirs through movement of water, fish, plants etc. 

• how dam operation affects both the reservoir and downstream ecosystems

• how the reservoir will evolve over time 

• the role of the reservoir in livelihood adaptation for local communities coping with dam‐driven change

Balancing built and natural capital –generating the evidence

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4. Some ‘nexus’ challenges for irrigation 

Hyderabad, India

Rural – urban linkages are intensifying:  

Need to be proactive in managing change 

Resource dependency Resource degradation Dietary change – crop choice Labour migration

Influence of remittances  Consolidated land holdings Commercial investments …

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Need to adapt systems for increasing variability 

Design under conditions of uncertainty Meet expectations for more flexible operation Deliver on SDG targets  Co‐manage surface and groundwater resources

Photo: Arif Anwar 

Need for equitable access to raise incomes

Feminization of agriculture in many parts of the world  Responses needed at multiple levels – regulatory, cultural, 

finance, perceptions, etc. 

Photo: Liza Debevec

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Need to develop groundwater in Africa – lessons from Asia? 

GRIPP – objectives• Enhance the role of groundwater management in reaching the SDGs • Showcase and out‐scale success stories• Support governments in adopting evidence‐based policies and approaches• Implement research that enhances and sustains groundwater benefits

Groundwater Solutions Initiative for Policy and Practice (GRIPP) 

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Need to re‐assess irrigation management

WUAs ‐ some successes but many failures – do the underlying objectives remain valid today? 

PPPs ‐ exchange experiences on what has worked and why  

Targeting areas for improving water productivity  at field scale….

..and at basin / country scale 

Need to exploit big data – from field to basin

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Water for agriculture is a prominent part of the climate adaptation and food security agendas….at the same time…

competition from urbanization and industry is rapidly increasing

variability of rainfall and extreme events makes water management more uncertain

groundwater is often over exploited and under threat of pollution  

The SDGs and Paris climate agreement provide an opportunity bringing… 

greater political support to find and scale out solutions

new financing mechanisms from governments, private sector municipalities and the climate funds

We all have a role to play in providing the evidence base for solutions   

Some reflections 

Sustainable solutions for people and societies

CGIAR Water, Land and Ecosystems Research Program

www.iwmi.orghttps://wle.cgiar.org/