A WATER-SECURE WORLD

IWMI IN INDIA

OUR ROLE: A WATER-SECURE WORLD The International Water Management Institute

(IWMI) is a non-profit, scientific research organization.

Through our award-winning studies, we provide

policymakers, communities and the private sector

with the evidence they need to sustainably manage

water and land resources for food security, people’s

livelihoods and the environment. IWMI is headquartered

in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and is a member of CGIAR, a

global research partnership for a food-secure future.

With offices in Delhi, Hyderabad and Anand, IWMI

has been working in India on issues related to water

and agriculture for over two decades. Our researchers

work in close collaboration with national and state

governments, and regularly contribute to water

resources policies and planning.

IWMI also partners with numerous national and

state-level bodies, such as the Indian Council of

Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the National

Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), and various

civil society organizations and foundations.

OUR EXPERTISE Driving innovative research and generating

ideas for solutions.

Providing science-based products and tools.

Facilitating learning, strengthening capacity

and achieving uptake of research findings.

HAMISH JOHN APPLEBY/IWMI.

COVER ALEXIS LIU/IWMI.

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IWMI WHAT WE DO

BUDGET AND DONORSIWMI’s annual expenditure is approximately

USD 47 million. Funding partners include

governments, foundations, multilateral

organizations and the private sector.

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OUR WORK IN INDIA

CLIMATE CHANGE

WATER AND CITIES

RIVER SYSTEMS

WATER-FOOD-ENERGY NEXUS

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RIVER SYSTEMSRivers in India hold a special significance for its

people. However, the health of many of the country’s

rivers, including the Ganges, is rapidly deteriorating

due to high levels of water abstraction and increased

pollution. Recognizing these challenges, IWMI is

undertaking a range of studies across the Ganges

River Basin. These include work on pollution

abatement, environmental health, and how

economic growth is affecting the nature of riverside

agriculture and natural resource use.

Many of the rivers in the Indian subcontinent,

including the Ganges, cross international boundaries.

This creates challenges in how they can be best

managed to ensure sustainable and equitable

growth. On the Indus River, a vitally important

resource for millions of farmers across India and

Pakistan, IWMI is studying how data sharing between

institutions can be improved and cooperation fostered

to enhance transboundary water management.

River systems feed into India’s extensive network

of irrigation channels, which have the potential

to water nearly 140 million hectares of farmland.

Despite heavy investment in this sector, the various

canal systems rarely deliver to their full potential.

IWMI’s research is looking at automated canal data

collection, performance benchmarking and the cost

recovery of canal irrigation systems. This information

can be used to develop new and more effective

management models, such as community run

systems. These partnerships help local authorities

and farmers work together to improve water

resources management and contribute to the

sustainable intensification of agriculture.

WATER AND CITIESIndia is urbanizing rapidly. This expansion has been

branded as “overloaded and underplanned” by

some critics, and the infrastructure of India’s cities

is struggling to cope. However, urban development

is also bringing new opportunities for farming and

resource recycling. IWMI leads a consortium of

partners exploring how waste and wastewater can

be recycled and put to profitable use. These new

approaches can potentially create jobs and

contribute to improvements in urban sanitation.

Specific studies have been undertaken in the

peri-urban areas of fast-growing cities such

as Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

CLIMATE CHANGE Climate change is likely to have a major impact

on India’s food security. IWMI aims to improve the

adaptive capacity of the agriculture and water

sectors by studying how climate change will directly

affect farming communities and developing

adaptation strategies for policymakers.

Climate change is also predicted to increase the

incidence of natural disasters such as floods and

droughts. IWMI is researching how to better manage

these risks. For instance, the effects of increased

flooding could be mitigated by funneling more surface

water into underground aquifers, and IWMI is running

a pilot scheme to test this in the Indian context.

To help farmers survive climate shocks such

as floods, IWMI and its partners are developing

new insurance products which use hi-tech satellite

sensing to identify damaged crops and swiftly

award compensation.

WATER-FOOD-ENERGY NEXUSWater, food and energy are inextricably intertwined

and dependent on each other. IWMI seeks to better

understand the interconnection between these

sectors. For example, in South Asia, most forms of

irrigation require energy for pumps. A lack of reliable

power, coupled with unsustainable groundwater

management which has led to increased energy

costs as water tables fall, has hampered agricultural

development. Such issues can only be addressed by

taking a holistic view that attempts to analyze how

the sectors interact, and how solutions applied in

one sector might affect outcomes elsewhere.

OUR RESEARCH

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OUR PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS IN INDIA

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Australian Centre for International Agricultural

Research (ACIAR)

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change,

Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS)

Department for International Development

(DFID), UK

Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA)

program of DFID

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United

Nations (FAO)

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)

Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs)

Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA)

International Crops Research Institute for the

Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

International Fund for Agricultural Development

(IFAD)

International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie)

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

Livelihoods and Natural Resources Management

Institute (LNRMI)

Ministry of Urban Development

Ministry of Water Resources, River Development

and Ganga Rejuvenation

National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG)

Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Navajbai Ratan Tata Trust

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

University of Applied Sciences Northwestern

Switzerland

World Bank

World Health Organization (WHO)

World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)

HAMISH JOHN APPLEBY/IWMI. PRASHANTH VISHWANATHAN/IWMI.

AN INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIPThe IWMI-Tata Water Policy Research Program

(ITP) supports the national government and

selected state governments to develop and validate

effective frameworks for water governance. This

involves developing robust water policies, and

setting up smart and responsive water institutions

which are capable of meeting the aspirations of

a large and growing economy, and competitive

demands from diverse sectors.

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BOOSTING IRRIGATION IN THE EASTIn West Bengal, groundwater legislation compelled

farmers to apply for permits to use tube wells.

This was costly and time consuming. In addition,

connections to the power grid were pricey. Poor

farmers were forced to hire expensive diesel pumps

if they wanted to irrigate. Agricultural growth

stagnated. A research team from IWMI was asked to

help. The team recommended two policy changes:

scrapping pump licenses in areas with plentiful

groundwater, and providing a subsidy towards

the cost of getting a new electricity connection.

This increased the number of pump connections

by over 90%, potentially increasing farmers’ incomes

by giving them affordable access to irrigation.

NEW POLICIES FOR SOLAR PUMPS Solar-powered pump subsidies are currently being

promoted by several Indian states. Not only are they

a boon for farmers with unreliable power supplies,

but they also run without emitting the greenhouse

gases that cause climate change. However, if farmers

have access to ‘free’ power, there is a serious risk

of over-pumping aquifers. To address this issue,

IWMI and its partners have recommended incentives

for farmers to sell back surplus solar power to the

grid – essentially a solar ‘cash crop’. This will also

encourage efficient and sustainable water use.

The Government of Gujarat has adopted this

approach for their recent solar policy.

INCREASING LAND PRODUCTIVITY IN TAMIL NADU THROUGH DRIP IRRIGATIONIn Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu, India, over 90%

of the farmers who had been encouraged to invest

in drip irrigation systems did not know how to use

them properly. Increases in crop productivity were

disappointing. A capacity building initiative, led by

the IWMI-Tata Water Policy Research Program and

local partners, trained farmers in all aspects of drip

irrigation. This led to reductions in water abstraction

and yield increases of up to 40% for some crops.

SUSTAINABLE GROUNDWATER USE AND IMPROVED ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY IN GUJARATFifteen years ago, Gujarat’s aquifers were severely

depleted. This was partly due to subsidies for farm

electricity, which made pumping water unrealistically

cheap. This nearly bankrupted the electricity board

and led to erratic power supplies. Change was needed,

but agricultural lobbies were resistant to a metered

electricity tariff. IWMI researchers recommended

separating the domestic and agricultural electricity

feeder lines, and then rationing power to match

the seasonal crop water requirements. With power

guaranteed only for limited periods, farmers became

more efficient at irrigating. Known as Jyotigram

Yojana, the concept has been so successful that

it is now being adopted by other states.

1999 2014

HOW WE MAKE A DIFFERENCE

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Maps generated from satellite images showing land-use change around Bengaluru over a

fifteen-year period. As India’s cities expand, more and more food production will take place

in or around built-up areas. IWMI’s expertise in remote sensing and computer modelling

allows it to produce detailed maps that can help city planners respond to these challenges.

LAND USE / LAND COVER

Abandoned/barren land

Fallow land

Forestland

Orchards

Other agricultural land

Peri-urban built-up area

Rice paddy

Shrubland

Urban built-up area

Urban green

Water bodies

Wetland

SOURCE: GRandD Unit/IWMI

20 YEARS OF RESEARCH IN INDIA

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ANAND OFFICEc/o India Natural Resource Economics and

Management (INREM) Foundation

IWMI-India Water Policy Program “Jal Tarang”

Near Smruti Apartment, Behind IRMA, Mangalpura,

Anand 388001, Gujarat, India

TEL/FAX +91 2692 263816/817

EMAIL iwmi-anand@cgiar.org

HEADQUARTERSInternational Water Management Institute (IWMI)

127 Sunil Mawatha

Pelawatte, Battaramulla

Colombo, Sri Lanka

MAILING ADDRESS

P. O. Box 2075, Colombo, Sri Lanka

TEL +94 11 2880000, 2784080

FAX +94 11 2786854

EMAIL iwmi@cgiar.org

WEBSITE www.iwmi.org

NEW DELHI OFFICE2nd Floor, CG Block C, NASC Complex,

DPS Marg, Pusa, Opp Todapur,

New Delhi 110 012, India

TEL +91-11-25843536, 25840812,

65976151

FAX +91-11-25840811

EMAIL iwmi-delhi@cgiar.org

HYDERABAD OFFICEc/o International Crops Research

Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics

(ICRISAT)

401/5, Patancheru 502324, Medak

District, Telangana, India

TEL +91 40 30713735/44

FAX +91 40 30713074/30713075

EMAIL iwmi-hyderabad@cgiar.org

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CONTACT US

PRINTED February, 2016