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CGIAR ReseARCh PRoGRAm on WAteR, LAnd And eCosystems
UnItInG AGRICULtURe And nAtURe foR PoveRty RedUCtIon
Our use of land, water and ecosystems is not sustainable. WLE is a unique global network linking disparate areas of
environmental management, agriculture and poverty reduction together to meet development needs by identifying
innovative and sustainable solutions to complex problems.PRofessoR JohAn RoCkstRom, ChAIR, WLe steeRInG CommIttee
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Our visiOn A world in which agriculture thrives within vibrant ecosystems and where communities have higher incomes, improved food security and the ability to continuously improve their lives.
PHOTO gEOrgina smith / ciat
Led by
InteGRAted soLUtIons foR A ComPLex WoRLd
Uniting agricUltUre and natUre for poverty redUction 3
The global population, which is steadily climbing
toward nine billion, is pushing the natural systems
that support us all beyond their limits. Our current
food production systems and natural resource
management practices are unsustainable and hold
significant risk for future generations. The World
Economic Forum (2014) highlighted the ‘water
crisis’ as the third-most significant risk to economic
growth. Large-scale agriculture continues to be one
of the primary drivers of unsustainable practices
and the single largest contributor to loss of
biodiversity, carbon emissions and water scarcity.
“ Sustainable development should be at the core of humankind’s pursuit of shared progress.” Ban Ki MOOn SecreTary General Of THe Un
The CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and
Ecosystems (WLE) combines the resources of 11
CGIAR centers, the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations (FAO) and numerous national,
regional and international partners to foster a new
integrated approach to natural resource management
research: It considers a healthy, functioning ecosystem
is a prerequisite for agricultural development,
resilient food systems and human well-being.
WLE seeks to improve the sustainability of
development in Africa, Asia and Latin America,
regions that are seeing fast-paced economic growth
but need to balance burgeoning demands for food
and water, while ensuring environmental security.
To achieve our vision of building resilient food
systems, WLE has defined five intermediate
development outcomes that are integrated and
build upon one another:
1 Productivity Improved land, water and energy
productivity in rain-fed and irrigated agro-ecosystems.
2 Income Increased and more equitable income
from agricultural and natural resource management
and ecosystem services in rural and peri-urban areas.
3 Gender & Equity Enhanced decision-making power
of women and marginalized groups and increased
benefits derived from agricultural and natural resources.
4 Adaptation Increased ability of low-income
communities to adapt to environmental and
economic variability, demographic shifts, shocks
and long-term changes.
5 Resilience Increased resilience of communities
through enhanced ecosystem services in
agricultural landscapes.
IssUes We AddRess WLE addresses the issues listed below by conducting ecosystem and landscape analysis and synthesis to
identify innovative options that are sustainable, financially viable and equitable. We address problems from
multiple angles and assist decision makers to understand trade-offs and synergies of different solutions.
Almost 90% of all
agriculture depends on
rain, but only 4% of the
rainwater in Africa is used
for agricultural production.
By 2030, the world’s
urban population
is expected to
reach five billion.
Only 5% of arable
land in Africa is
irrigated, compared
with 37% in Asia.
Every dollar invested
in recovering and
reusing resources
saves $4.90
in health costs.
20 million hectares of
arable land worldwide
are reportedly irrigated
with wastewater.
Groundwater reserves
in Africa are about
one hundred times
greater than the amount
of surface water.
2 cgiar research program on Water, land and ecosystems
Land degradation adversely
affects the ecological integrity
and productivity of about two
billon hectares, or 23%, of
landscapes under human use.
In 2011, extreme
climate events resulted
in an estimated $200
billion of damage.
Only 5% of the resources
provided through extension
services in Africa are
available to women.
Up to 40% of the world’s
agricultural land is
seriously degraded.
Every dollar spent on pre-disaster water
infrastructure can save up to $10 in disaster
relief. Yet, 90% of aid is only delivered
after a flood or drought has occurred.
If women had the same access
to resources as men, farm yields
could increase 20–30% and
reduce hunger by 12–17%
in developing countries.
40%
R e G e n e R At I n G d e G R A d e d L A n d s
I n C R e A s I n G L A n d A n d WAt e R P R o d U C t I v I t y U s I n G A n e C o s y s t e m s - b A s e d A P P R o A C h
R e C o v e R I n G A n d R e U s I n G R e s o U R C e s
m A n A G I n G vA R I A b I L I t y
e q U I t y A n d I n e q U A L I t y
5%
5,000,000,000
4% 5%
20-30%
=
PHOTO s. mOjumdEr / drik / cimmYt
4 cgiar research program on Water, land and ecosystems
hoW We WoRkWLE’s programming combines three different
but interconnected components.
First, its core research area uses integrated
ecosystems-based approaches to achieve
sustainable intensification by increasing land
and water productivity, revitalizing degraded
land, reusing and recovering resources, and
managing variability.
Second, the program’s core research is
complemented by research under three strategic
themes: ecosystem services and resilience;
poverty, gender and institutions; and decision
analysis and information systems. These themes
help the program build capacity and partnerships,
and they guide it toward its objectives.
Third, the program’s focal regions and its
innovation fund, which is managed through
open and competitive calls, encourage innovative,
multi-disciplinary research, seeking to develop
cross-regional and global tools, methods and
analyses that can help improve investments
and decisions on sustainable intensification.
WLE influences development choices to improve
sustainable agricultural intensification through
nature-based solutions by providing
Evidence that sustainable solutions provide
improved food security, equity, strengthened
livelihoods and healthy landscapes. Integrated solutions to better manage risk related
to rising shocks and competing uses. Models and scenarios to understand trade-offs
and synergies. Improved management practices achieved
primarily through action research at the community
and landscape level in order to promote learning
and adaptive management. Institutional innovations that address inequity
and gender imbalances, while promoting inclusive
and sustainable growth.
Gend
er, Pove
rty and Institutions (GPI) Ecosystem Services and Resilience (ESR)
LivELiHOODs PrODuCTiviTY
Ies foCAL ReGIons
LWP
RRR
mRv Rde EFFiCiEnCY susTAinABiLiTY
Strengthening Decision Analysis and Information (DAI)
Generate evidence with partners
Multi-sector engagement & use
shift mindsets and behaviours
Quick reference
iEs Integrating ecosystem solutions into policy and investments LWP Sustainably increasing land and water productivity Mrv Managing resource variability and competing uses rDE Regenerating degraded agricultural ecosystems rrr Recovering and reusing resources in urbanized ecosystems
are wOMen BeTTer STewardS Of THe envirOnMenT THan Men?
Understanding gender perspectives is key to
improving sustainable intensification and poverty
alleviation efforts. WLE seeks to ensure that women
have decision-making power over, and increased
benefits from, agriculture and natural resources –
a central component of WLE’s vision of sustainable
agricultural intensification.
WLE will conduct strategic gender research; mainstream
gender into all its research; and forge relationships
that promote gender work in its focal regions.
WLE has supported partners to examine the innovative
use of gender-related data in hydrological modeling
that quantifies the impacts of land management
practices to improve watershed management.
In Gondar, Ethiopia, for example, the International
Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas
(ICARDA) used findings to introduce more fuel-
efficient cooking stoves in an effort to reduce the
time women spend collecting fuel and to combat
land degradation.
Uniting agricUltUre and natUre for poverty redUction 5
WheRe We WoRkWLE is a global program that works in eight
regions where different research components
and crosscutting themes are integrated to achieve
maximum impact. The map depicts WLE’s current
investments in some of the world’s poorest regions
with pressing land- and water-related problems.
At the regional level, WLE works in South Asia
(Ganges basin), Southeast Asia (Greater Mekong),
East Africa (Nile and East Africa corridor) and West
Africa (Volta and Niger basins). WLE also has a
significant portfolio of activities in Latin America,
Southern Africa, the Indus Basin and Middle East
and Northern Africa.
WLE’s focal regions are an important part of its
research-for-development approach and commitment
to generating positive change in specific geographical
locations. The focal regions prioritize opportunities
to address large- and small-scale water and land
development sustainability challenges.
• Latin America (Andes and Central America)
West Africa •(Volta and Niger)
Middle East •(Tigris and Euphrates)
• Southern Africa(Zambezi and Limpopo)
• East Africa(Nile and East African Corridor)
• Central Asia (Syr Darya and Amu Darya)
• Indus (Pakistan)
• Ganges (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal)
• Southeast Asia (Greater Mekong)
Priority Focal Region
Focal Region
Uniting agricUltUre and natUre for poverty redUction 7
oUR AChIevement And oUtComes
WLE emphasizes the need to rethink agricultural
development in the context of growing resource
constraints and rising risks of abrupt changes
affecting water, land and ecosystems.
WLE’s ecosystems-based approach seeks to
harness ecosystem services for production goals
(e.g., increased yields, nutrition and goods) or
in ways that support these goals (e.g., controlling
pests, diseases and weeds, and regulation of
hydrological flows), while reducing negative
impacts on the natural resource base providing
these ecosystem services.
AGRICULtURe fRom A neW PeRsPeCtIve
An ecosystems-based approach to sustainable
intensification provides an opportunity to achieve
agricultural productivity and socioeconomic
development, while maintaining resilient landscapes.
WLE focuses on strengthening the regulating
services that ecosystems provide, such as by
moderating extreme weather events, regulating
water flows, treating waste, preventing erosion,
maintaining soil fertility, controlling pollination,
and regulating the climate. The program works
in peri-urban areas, degraded sloping-lands,
deltas and floodplains.
stronger Policies and Laws
WLE produces integrated solutions to complex
problems across the water, land, energy and
environment nexus. These solutions support
decision makers to understand costs and
benefits, trade-offs and synergies of different
development pathways. WLE provides evidence-
based solutions to governments to improve
policies, laws and implementation guidelines
as well as to investors (public and private)
to consider in their investment plans.
example In Peru, WLE, through the International
Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and its other
regional partners, has been working to promote
the concept of benefit-sharing mechanisms, which
redistribute the cost and benefits of ecosystems
services. On June 11, 2014, the Peruvian government
passed a historic law on implementing and
establishing such mechanisms. CONDESAN (the
Consortium for the Sustainable Development of the
Andes) and CIAT have made important contributions
to the law by advising the Peruvian Ministry of
Environment on technical and terminological
challenges related to benefit-sharing mechanisms.
“ The new law is important because it provides legitimacy to the schemes and guidance for their practical implementation.” BerT de Bièvre cOndeSan
Changed Investments and Global Processes
WLE seeks to bring ecosystem services to the
forefront of the development agenda by engaging
in global fora, conventions and dialogues around
sustainable development and agriculture resource
management. WLE also seeks to influence how the
private sector, donors and multi-lateral agencies
invest in agriculture.
example WLE partners are actively contributing
to several deliverables of the Intergovernmental
Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and
Ecosystem Services (IPBES), an intergovernmental
body for assessing ecosystem services. WLE has
also led discussions on the water, food and energy
nexus and is engaging in disaster preparedness
and insurance schemes.
WLE’s work on resource reuse and recovery seeks
changes in perceptions and use of waste streams
by analyzing, evaluating and promoting the most
promising scalable business models (e.g., private
sector, public-private partnerships or models that
leverage private sector capital) and technologies
(e.g., co-composting of faecal sludge). To achieve
this, WLE forms strategic partnerships with a
number of global change agents including the
private sector, UN agencies and other global
programs focused on water and sanitation.
PHOTO nEiL PaLmEr / ciat
PHOTO nEiL PaLmEr / ciat
PHOTO jOsianE nikiEma / iWmi
ContACt Us CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE), International Water
Management Institute (IWMI), 127 Sunil Mawatha Pelawatte, Battaramulla, Sri Lanka
Email [email protected] Website wle.cgiar.org Agriculture and Ecosystems Blog wle.cgiar.org/blogs
deSi
Gn ji
m@
jimsm
ithd
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n.cO
.uk
Improved decisions
WLE works with farmers to help them make more
informed decisions on land and water management.
We focus on the impacts of farming practices on the
overall system rather than solely on aggregating yield,
and this ecosystems-based approach has proved
crucial to ensure that technical options can improve
agricultural production and help alleviate poverty.
example In Vietnam, resettled communities
living nearby the 720-MW Yali Falls dam had begun
cultivating cassava in the drawdown zone on the
bank of the reservoir, but with the primary variety
requiring more than 10 months to reach maturity,
and with the land in the drawdown zone being
exposed only for 7 to 8 months, the possibility of
a sudden and devastating flood was high. Instead,
researchers introduced a new variety with a shorter
growing season, fostered greater capacity in local
extension agents and spurred the hydropower
company to share a water level calendar with
farmers—all of which made trialing of the new
variety possible. Farm-based trials in 2013 led
36 households to experience 60-89% increases
in yields and 100% increase in net income.
balanced Costs and benefits
At the landscape level, WLE supports local government
agencies, farmer organizations, private sector
actors and others to understand the trade-offs of
different investment decisions. Costs and benefits
are accounted for based on the overall system,
and agriculture is weighed against industrial,
urban and other uses of ecosystems.
example In Kenya, CIAT has been invited by
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the Water
Resources Management Authority (WRMA) to
support the country’s first water fund in the
Tana basin, which is to facilitate more equitable
sharing of water while considering many competing
water uses. WLE is providing evidence to guide
investments that can make implementing sustainable
farming practices more attractive to farmers and
preserve essential ecosystems services.
PHOTO cPWF PHOTO a. daVEY
Science with a human face
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH: