Investments in agricultural water management for poverty reduction in Africa: Case studies of Limpopo,Nile, and Volta river basins

Much of Sub‐Saharan Africa is burdened with water scarcity and poverty. Continentally, less than four percent of Africa's renewable water resources are withdrawn for agriculture and other uses. Investments in agricultural water management can contribute in several ways to achieving the Millennium Development Goals of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger and ensuring environmental sustainability. Increased yield and cropping area and shifts to higher valued crops could help boost the income of rural households, generate more employment, and lower consumer food prices. These investments can also stabilize output, income and employment, and have favourable impacts on education, nutrition and health, and social equity. Investments in agricultural water management can cut poverty by uplifting the entitlements and transforming the opportunity structure for the poor. The overall role of investments in agricultural water management in eradicating hunger and poverty is analyzed. This paper contributes to the present debate and efforts to identify strategies and interventions that can effectively contribute to poverty reduction in Africa. It provides an overview of population growth, malnutrition, income distribution and poverty for countries in three case study river basins — Limpopo, Nile, and Volta. With discussions on the contribution of agriculture to national income and employment generation, the paper explores the linkages among water resources investments, agricultural growth, employment, and poverty alleviation. It examines the potential for expansion in irrigation for vertical and horizontal growth in agricultural productivity, via gains in yield and cropping area to boost the agricultural output. Factors constraining such potential, in terms of scarcity and degradation of land and water resources, and poor governance and weak institutions, are also outlined. The paper argues that increased investments in land and water resources and related rural infrastructure are a key pathway to enhance agricultural productivity and to catalyze agricultural and economic growth for effective poverty alleviation.     

Southwest climate gap: poverty and environmental justice in the US Southwest

This article examines the “climate gap” in the Southwest US (Arizona and New Mexico), referring to the “disproportionate and unequal implications of climate change and climate change mitigation” for “people of color and the poor” [Shonkoff, S.B., et al., 2011. The climate gap: environmental health and equity implications of climate change mitigation policies in California. Climatic Change, 109 (Suppl. 1), S485–S503]. The climate and poverty relationship is examined using multi-scaled analysis across three indicators of climate vulnerability, focusing on connections to health, food, and energy during the period 2010–2012. We provide an overview of climate-related social vulnerability in the Southwest based on available federal, state, and county-level census data. We then summarise the results from a stakeholder workshop and in-depth interviews about climate vulnerabilities with social service providers in southern Arizona. We identify a significant Southwest climate gap based on census data and interview findings about climate vulnerability especially relating to high levels of poverty, health disparities, and increasing costs for energy, water, and food. We find that grassroots and community organisations have mobilised to respond to climate and social vulnerability, yet resources for mitigation and adaptation are insufficient given the high level of need. Confronting a changing climate that is projected to be hotter, drier, and with the potential to reach new thresholds, we suggest that more research needs to be done to understand the social and spatial characteristics of climate risk and how low-income populations embody and experience climate risk, and adapt to a changing climate.     

Seeking calm water: Exploring policy options for India's water future

This paper seeks to identify some promising policy options which could be part of a strategic and holistic effort to address India's future water challenges. Significant increases in agricultural water productivity would be a major factor in reducing the need for developing new water sources. Crop diversification, appropriately targeted to account for the present agricultural systems and available water resources, will increase productivity. Furthermore, much more emphasis needs to be placed on effective management of the groundwater resources through renewed efforts to enhance artificial recharge and conservation. Also, efforts should be revived to improve the existing surface irrigation systems. In particular, systems could be reconfigured to provide a more reliable water supply and allow effective community level management, where appropriate. Finally, while some of the increasing demands from domestic and industrial users will be met by the development of groundwater and reallocation of water from the agricultural sector, this will not be sufficient. Given that such conditions are emerging in states with high economic growth and relatively water scarce basins, this will require the further development of water resources. In some cases, these conditions along with the demand for reliable water for high value crops, will be part of the justification for inter‐basin transfers.     

Innovative approaches to rural development: Moving from state-controlled towards market-based land reform

Among the world's poor, approximately 75% of those in extreme poverty live and work in rural areas and two‐thirds of them depend mainly on farming or farm labour for their livelihood. Policies to grant the rural poor secure access to land and water for irrigation — and to improve the economic efficiency of small‐scale agriculture — can thus play a critical role in the implementation of rural development strategies, including efforts to combat rural poverty. Since inadequate access to arable land is probably the most important cause of rural poverty, redistributive land reform is increasingly seen as crucial for socio‐economic development and poverty alleviation in many developing countries with substantial amounts of (unused) arable state land or (under‐utilized) large private landholdings. This article argues that market‐based land redistribution schemes, such as the one being implemented in South Africa, can be considered one of the most innovative approaches to land reform that have emerged over the last decade. These schemes thus provide a useful alternative to more conventional, state‐controlled land redistribution programmes. The article concludes, however, that when countries opt for market‐based approaches to land redistribution, the State still has an important role to play, without necessarily deciding which land parcels change hands.     

Sustainable agriculture and eradication of rural poverty in Pakistan

Poverty is rampant in the rural areas of Pakistan, where people are in a state of deprivation with regard to incomes, clothing, housing, healthcare, education, sanitary facilities and human rights. Agriculture generates nearly 20.9 percent of the country's GDP and provides employment for 43.4 percent of its workforce. Most importantly, 65.9 percent of the population living in rural areas is directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. Rising population, shrinking agricultural land, increasing demand for water resources, widespread land degradation and inadequate infrastructure appear to be major concerns of the agriculture sector in Pakistan. An attempt has been made to examine the population growth–agriculture growth–poverty alleviation linkage. It is argued that agriculture will continue to be one of the most important sectors of Pakistan's economy for years to come. To alleviate poverty, it is suggested that Pakistan enhance the productivity of the agriculture sector through the provision of a series of inputs including provision of easy credit to the small farmer, availability of quality fertilizers and pesticides, tractor and harvester services, improvement in the effectiveness of the vast irrigation system and, finally, farmer education. It is concluded that the high rate of population growth needs to be curbed for increased agricultural productivity to have any significant effect on poverty in rural areas of Pakistan.     

Equity and productivity assessments in the Olifants River basin, South Africa

Emerging approaches to water resources development and management typically highlight equity and productivity as two main objectives. In the context of integrated water resources management within a river basin, managers and stakeholders often need a comparative assessment of different options for water augmentation and/or allocation. Pitting such options against predefined objectives, such as equity and productivity, requires an assessment of the effects that available options will have on these objectives. Available documentation indicates that not only does the interpretation of such objectives vary widely, but also the available methods for assessing equity and productivity run into significant limitations in the availability of adequate data. This limitation has largely kept decision makers from gaining a comprehensive overview of equity and productivity scenarios, whether within or across sectors, that could facilitate better‐informed decisions. To address this methodological gap, this article scrutinizes different notions associated with equity and water productivity, and limitations in prevalent assessment methods with the view to develop and demonstrate pragmatic methodologies for assessing equity and productivity in data‐scarce contexts. The discussion and findings are based on a review of relevant literature and empirical and consultative research work in the Olifants River basin in South Africa. The demonstrated methodologies for assessing equity and productivity, besides being useful in data‐scarce contexts, are insightful for initiating several policy measures and also for exploring the relationship between equity and water productivity.     

Women and natural resource management: Illustrations from India and Nepal

This article attempts to delineate women's roles in natural resource management by highlighting their roles in management of water, agriculture, livestock, forestry and fishery. The article is based on the findings of case studies in rural areas of India and Nepal done during 2003 and 2004 by the author as well as by other researchers. Taking women as primary respondents, empirical work used participatory techniques, such as in‐depth surveys, focus group discussions and participant observation. Findings suggest that women clearly outdo men in terms of their involvement in use and management of all the studied sectors, i.e., water, agriculture, livestock, forestry and fishery. Yet, they face categorical exclusion and denial of equal sharing of benefits from natural resources. In order to ensure sustainable use of these resources, the article recommends that policy makers, planners and development workers must have a better understanding of the relative and often shifting roles of men and women in natural resource management, including division of labour, access to resources, decision‐making and traditional knowledge and practices. The article concludes with sector‐specific recommendations.     

The USGS Water Availability and Use Science Program: Needs,Establishment, and Goals of a Water Census

Many reports have recognized the need for a national water census for the United States and have called upon the U.S. Geological Survey to undertake this challenge. For example, the National Science and Technology Council stated: “The United States has a strong need for an ongoing census of water that describes the status of our Nation's water resource at any point in time and identifies trends over time.” Responding to the need for this information, the U.S. Congress established the SECURE Water Act. The directives are to provide a more accurate assessment of the status of the water resources of the United States; determine the quantity of water available for beneficial uses; identify long‐term trends in water availability; assist in determination of the quality of the water resources; and develop the basis for an improved ability to forecast the availability of water for future economic, energy production, and environmental uses. This article provides summary and new information on the process and progress on work to estimate water budget components nationwide, involvement of stakeholder interests, efforts to examine water‐use characteristics throughout the Nation, studies of water availability in geographically focused areas and the initiation of methods to provide open access to existing and new water resources information contributing to Open Water Data Initiative (OWDI) efforts and objectives.     

Beijing's Water Resources: Challenges and Solutions

Beijing's local water resources have been overexploited and the ecological and environmental pressures exceed the carrying capacity of this densely populated megacity. This article examines the current status of Beijing's water resources with respect to its industrial, residential, and eco‐environmental water usage and the challenges it may face in the near future. The article describes the context of water uses, the steps taken by Beijing to alleviate the water shortage problems, and challenges to Beijing's abilities to meet its urgent and future water needs. A multipronged strategy is proposed that aims at both the present problems and the anticipated future challenges. In particular, engineering and institutional approaches for Beijing's successful transition from overexploitation to sustainable utilization of water resources are explained. Actions include reasonable water utilization, water conservation, reclaimed wastewater, and importing water from neighboring areas. We conclude that Beijing must take additional steps in water resource management to ensure its sustainable development that involves continued urbanization sprawls and population growth. Future water resource management strategies should focus on strengthening water demand management through water conservation, efficient interbasin water transfers, use of nontraditional water resources, strategically reserving water supply, and promoting rehabilitation of the eco‐environments.     

Past and future sustainability of water policies in Europe

The article contributes to a discussion on two global issues on water: water resources management, and water supply and sanitation. Focusing on Europe, it traces the legal roots of current systems in history: as a resource, water is considered as a common property, rather than a market good; while as a public service it is usually a commodity. Public water supply and sanitation technologies and engineering have developed under three main paradigms: quantitative and civil engineering; qualitative and chemical/sanitary engineering (both on the supply side); and the most recent one, environmental engineering and integrated management (on the demand side). The cost of public drinking water is due to rise sharply in view of the two‐fold financial challenge of replacing an ageing infrastructure and keeping up with ever‐rising environmental and sanitary quality standards. Who will pay? Government subsidies, or water users? The author suggests that apparent successes with privatisation may have relied heavily on hidden government subsidies and/or the healthy state of previously installed water infrastructure: past government subsidies are still felt for as long as the lifetime of the infrastructure. The article stresses the importance of public participation and decentralized local management of water and sanitation services. Informing and involving users in water management decisions is seen as an integral part of the ‘ethics’ side of the crucial three E's (economics, environment, ethics). The article strongly argues for municipal provision of water services, and hopes that lessons learnt and solutions found in the European experience may serve water services management efforts in other regions of the world.     

Building resilience to drought in desertification-prone savannas in Sub-Saharan Africa: The water perspective

Securing sustainable livelihood conditions and reducing the risk of outmigration in savanna ecosystems hosted in the tropical semiarid regions is of fundamental importance for the future of humanity in general. Although precipitation in tropical drylands, or savannas, is generally more significant than one might expect, these regions are subject to considerable rainfall variability which causes frequent periods of water deficiency. This paper addresses the twin problems of “drought and desertification” from a water perspective, focusing on the soil moisture (green water) and plant water uptake deficiencies. It makes a clear distinction between long‐term climate change, meteorological drought, and agricultural droughts and dry spells caused by rainfall variability and land degradation. It then formulates recommendations to better cope with and to build resilience to droughts and dry spells. Coping with desertification requires a new conceptual framework based on green‐blue water resources to identify hydrological opportunities in a sea of constraints. This paper proposes an integrated land/water approach to desertification where ecosystem management supports agricultural development to build social‐ecological resilience to droughts and dry spells. This approach is based on the premise that to combat desertification, focus should shift from reducing trends of land degradation in agricultural systems to water resource management in savannas and to landscape‐wide ecosystem management.     

Multicriteria Evaluation of Water Resources Sustainability in the Context of Watershed Management1

Kang, Min‐Goo and Gwang‐Man Lee, 2011. Multicriteria Evaluation of Water Resources Sustainability in the Context of Watershed Management. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 47(4):813‐827. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2011.00559.x Abstract: To evaluate water resources sustainability at the watershed scale within a river basin’s context, the Water Resources Sustainability Evaluation Model is developed. The model employs 4 criteria (economic efficiency, social equity, environmental conservation, and maintenance capacity) and has 16 indicators, integrating them using their relative weights. The model is applied to evaluate the water resources sustainability of watersheds in the Geum River basin, South Korea. A geographic information system is employed to efficiently build a database for the indicators, and the values of the indicators are normalized using the probability distribution functions fitted to the datasets of the indicators. The evaluation results show that, overall, the water resources sustainability of the watersheds in the upper basin is better than other areas due to the good environmental conditions and the dam management policies of South Korea. The analysis of the correlations among the model’s components and the comparison between the results of the model and the Water Poverty Index show that the model can provide reasonable evaluation results for the water resources sustainability of watersheds. Consequently, it is concluded that the model can be an effective tool for evaluating the states of water resource management from the perspective of sustainable development and provide a basis on which to create policies for improving any inadequacies in watersheds.     

A Level‐of‐Service Concept for Planning Future Water Supply Projects under Probabilistic Demand and Supply Framework

One of the most challenging tasks of water supply utilities is planning the timing and quantity of new water supply sources as demand for water consumption grows. Many water supply utilities target on meeting 100% of their customers' needs based on scenario‐based deterministic demand projections numbers even though there are uncertainties in both supply and demand values. This may result in under or overly conservative approach in assessing future needs. In this article, a level‐of‐service concept is introduced to capture a utility's willingness to accept a given level of risk, plan for it, and invoke a management strategy during extreme events than build a facility to accommodate those in planning for new water supply sources. Accounting for uncertainties in both supply and demand help quantify reliability by achieving a prescribed level of service. The major benefit of such an approach for planning future water supply is that it allows policy makers to evaluate the use of adaptive water management strategies and develop supply in an incremental fashion as demand warrants it. For example, if a given level of service cannot be reliably met with the existing system at a future time t, an incremental water supply project would come online to bring the required reliability level up but no more.     

The Water Poverty Index: Development and application at the community scale

The article details the development and uses of the water poverty index (WPI). The index was developed as a holistic tool to measure water stress at the household and community levels, designed to aid national decision makers, at community and central government level, as well as donor agencies, to determine priority needs for interventions in the water sector. The index combines into a single number a cluster of data directly and indirectly relevant to water stress. Subcomponents of the index include measures of: access to water; water quantity, quality and variability; water uses (domestic, food, productive purposes); capacity for water management; and environmental aspects.
The WPI methodology was developed through pilot projects in South Africa, Tanzania and Sri Lanka and involved intensive participation and consultation with all stakeholders, including water users, politicians, water sector professionals, aid agency personnel and others. The article discusses approaches for the further implementation of the water poverty index, including the possibilities of acquiring the necessary data through existing national surveys or by establishing interdisciplinary water modules in school curricula. The article argues that the WPI fills the need for a simple, open and transparent tool, one that will appeal to politicians and decision makers, and at the same time can empower poor people to participate in the better targeting of water sector interventions and development budgets in general.     

China's water scarcity

China has been facing increasingly severe water scarcity, especially in the northern part of the country. China's water scarcity is characterized by insufficient local water resources as well as reduced water quality due to increasing pollution, both of which have caused serious impacts on society and the environment. Three factors contribute to China's water scarcity: uneven spatial distribution of water resources; rapid economic development and urbanization with a large and growing population; and poor water resource management. While it is nearly impossible to adjust the first two factors, improving water resource management represents a cost-effective option that can alleviate China's vulnerability to the issue. Improving water resource management is a long-term task requiring a holistic approach with constant effort. Water right institutions, market-based approaches, and capacity building should be the government's top priority to address the water scarcity issue.     

Building the role of local government authorities towards the achievement of the human right to water in rural Tanzania

In recent decades, many changes have occurred in the approach to financing and operating water services in developing countries. The demand‐responsive approach is now adopted in many countries in a context of donor‐supported decentralization processes, which gives more responsibility to end users. However, the government's responsibility at different levels is enforced by the international recognition of the human right to water. This paper examines specific actions that build the role of local government authorities in this scenario. A collaboration between an international NGO and a rural district in Tanzania from 2006 to 2009 is used as an action research case study that is representative of local capacity‐building needs in decentralized contexts and rural areas. Three main challenges were detected: i) lack of reliable information; ii) poor allocation of resources in terms of equity; and iii) lack of long‐term community management support from the district. Two mechanisms were established: i) water point mapping as a tool for information and planning; and ii) a District Water and Sanitation Unit Support (DWUS) for community management. The results show how the framework provided by the goal of human right to water helps to define useful strategies for equity‐oriented planning and post‐project support at the local level.     

Is the WTO after your water? The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and poor people's right to water

The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) seeks to expand international trade in a wide range of services ranging from tourism to telecommunications and education. In recent years, it has come under attack from civil society organizations in both the North and the South for having a detrimental impact on poor people's right to basic services. This article explores some of these controversies, using the example of water services. It focuses specifically on the impact of the GATS on poor people's right to water and national governments’ ability to safeguard the interests of poor people through regulation. It demonstrates that, de jure, the liberalization of water‐related services under the GATS may not necessarily undermine the ability of governments to introduce the kind of legislative measures necessary to realize poor people's right to water. Still, de facto, the exercise of policy autonomy might be substantially curtailed due to inherent ambiguities in treaty interpretation, the politics of process arising out of power asymmetries, a lack of transparency in processes of negotiation as well as institutional and other deficiencies in the domestic politics of WTO member states.     

Water, women and community in Trinidad, West Indies

This article examines the history and character of the water supply in Trinidad and Tobago and the nature of problems associated with the procurement of water by Trinidadians. The article reports on case studies of two rural communities in which women have taken the lead to solve water problems. It reflects on the importance of small‐scale, community‐managed water systems for the possibility of achieving water democracy.     

Perspectives on corporate social responsibility in the chemical sector: A comparative analysis of the Mexican and South African cases

In recent years, the debate on corporate responsibility has shifted from a focus on environmental management towards a broader concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR). This article examines the chemical industry's approach to CSR from the perspective of two emerging economies: Mexico and South Africa. The global chemical industry was one of the first to respond to public concerns about environmental pollution, toxic waste and human health by adopting an industry‐wide code of practice, known as Responsible Care. This article examines the extent to which the chemical industry has responded to the broader debate on CSR. On the basis of a comparative case study, this article argues that the response to social issues by Mexican and South African chemical companies has tended to be limited to the ‘community awareness and emergency response’ (CAER) or community dialogue component of the international voluntary management framework, Responsible Care. Similarities and differences in regulatory and institutional conditions, as well as different levels of civil society engagement, reveal additional limitations for CSR, beyond that of the Responsible Care framework. This article argues that the socio‐political context influences the extent to which companies embrace CSR, especially in emerging economies, and highlights several challenges for the chemical industry in moving forward on CSR: credibility, stakeholder engagement, value‐chain accountability, disclosure and transparency. Reflecting on these challenges, the authors conclude by recommending a renewed focus on: (1) developing a broader set of CSR management practices beyond Responsible Care; (2) institutionalizing stronger accountability measures, such as reporting and verification; and (3) developing multi‐stakeholder partnerships that complement regulation and build public sector regulatory and guidance capacity.     

Community‐based water supplies in Cikarang,Indonesia: are they sustainable?

Community‐based water supply (CBWS) is an example of how a community manages common pool resources (CPR). This results in an alternative approach to solve water supply problems in developing countries by enhancing community participation in managing water supply. This research evaluates the sustainability of five CBWS projects in Cikarang, Indonesia by using Ostrom's design principles, with additional sustainability factors found in the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on drinking water and groundwater sustainability. Quinn et al. (2007) criteria were used in the analysis, and the results show that the management of four CBWS institutions were absent and one CBWS institution was weak. With regards to the SDG's drinking water target, the CBWS institutions were unable to comply with safe water standards, and in terms of groundwater sustainability, efforts to monitor and sustain groundwater tables were absent. Results from this research suggest that more focus must be placed on water quality and groundwater sustainability for CBWS projects.