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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/