Water, Climate Change & Resilience

Climate-induced changes in water resource systems impact economies, food systems, cities, energy, health, ecosystems, and the security of communities. Smallholder farmers and those disconnected from water infrastructure are particularly at risk. Shifting water availability requires solutions and services that harness advances in technology, policies and finance. To support developments in planning and investment, digital modeling is required on future scenarios of water availability and allocation. Of particular importance are advances in policies and technologies for disaster preparedness and response, climate smart strategies for water storage and the development of financial remediation schemes such as insurance. 

Our approach

IWM’s approach to adaptation planning, whether for national, river basin or city level, is based on thinking that accommodates growing uncertainties within and between sectors. This means knowledge development that brings technical solutions linked with political and economic incentives that are developed within social and environmental contexts. Through digital modeling of future likely conditions, solutions may be designed to help manage the trade-offs of when, where, who and how water is allocated.  

IWMI also advances the monitoring, forecasting, and risk and impact management of dynamically changing water shocks and stresses: floods, drought, extreme precipitation, and changing seasonality. The goal is, through IWMI’s knowledge and experience, to equip people and societies with the means to make the robust and flexible adjustments across systems, sectors and scales that are needed to withstand, recover from, and anticipate the impacts of climate change. Water management provides these vital levers and tools for resilience. Enhanced water management can thus be an enabler of both adaptation and more sustainable, water-conscious development across sectors and communities. 

Our research on Water, Climate Change and Resilience

• Integrates modeling, monitoring and scenario planning for surface water and groundwater to help governments and partners plan and operationalize climate change adaptation.
• Further develops and deploys flood and drought monitoring and forecasting technologies for improving disaster preparedness.
• Uses river basin modeling and field assessment tools to analyze the hydrological impacts of adaptation and mitigation solutions such as nature-based solutions or new energy technologies.
• Empowers effective water governance and policy developments for climate change adaptation and mitigation.
• Strengthens gender-responsive implementation of climate-smart agriculture.
• Improves and scales up the application of financial risk transfer products for smallholder and estate farming.
• Integrates data and analytical tools, research and knowledge on institutions, equality and inclusion, and facilitates capacity development and dialogue in programs for building river basin resilience.
• Enhances knowledge of how water relates to social, economic and environmental drivers of migration, and promotes the use of this evidence in policies on migration.

Latest publications on this topic

A rapid assessment of vegetable and irrigation systems in Tigray, Ethiopia, before and after the 2020-2022 conflict.
2024
More... | Fulltext (3.78 MB)

Before the 2020-2022 war, the food system in Tigray supported the livelihoods of most of the population, with 80% of Tigrayans relying on smallholder agriculture for food and income. The major crops were cereals, cultivated by 90% of farm households, with vegetables and root crops grown by 26% of farmers. The conflict that erupted in 2020 had devastating impacts on the food system, farmers and their livelihoods, but the extent of the impact on vegetable production is not documented. This rapid assessment was thus undertaken to understand the situation before, during and after the conflict, on vegetable systems, including irrigation which is a key resource for production. A total of 10 focus group discussions and 24 key informant interviews were carried out in July and August 2023, in the Southern, Southeast, Eastern and Central zones of Tigray. The main vegetables grown before the conflict included pepper, tomato, cabbage, onion, and potato. There was also an increasing trend in vegetable production, the use of irrigation, and irrigation infrastructure development. Inputs such as fertilizer and seed were provided through the national and regional governments. The conflict led to a disruption of the vegetable and irrigation systems as crops and infrastructure were destroyed, transportation blocked, and labor reduced due to migration. Inputs such as seeds and fertilizers became unavailable. Food insecurity increased and most people shifted their production patterns to prioritize cereals instead of vegetables. However, vegetable consumption reportedly increased as the vegetable market was not there and households opted to substitute common bean-based side dishes with vegetables because beans were not available or accessible. The situation after the conflict is that vegetable production remains low with only 30% of total irrigable land being utilized, down from 70% pre-conflict. A diversity of vegetables is still be grown, however, including tomato, onion, peppers, cabbage, Swiss chard, and lettuce, among others. Most producers are selling their vegetables for income while little is kept for consumption. Food insecurity continues to be the greatest challenge, as most households cannot produce because of the loss of productive assets, and ability to purchase food is limited because of the loss of employment and income. As efforts are channeled towards the recovery of the livelihoods in Tigray, vulnerable groups including refugees and internally displaced persons face the most challenges in recovering. Key interventions to support the vegetable and irrigation systems should concentrate on improving access to and availability of seed, and irrigation infrastructure, improving market linkages, and improving awareness of vegetables for nutrition and health, with a focus on the most vulnerable groups.

Marketing / Institutions / Policies / Nutrition / Food consumption / Food security / Food insecurity / Seeds / Fertilizers / Farmers / Households / Livelihoods / Farm inputs / Agricultural value chains / Smallholders / Assessment / Irrigation systems / Vegetables
Record No:H052842

---

Catalyzing farmer-led irrigation development in Africa: vision and pathways drawing from business, research and development practices. Adaptive Innovation Scaling - Pathways from Small-scale Irrigation to Sustainable Development.
2024
More... [DOI] | Fulltext (2.66 MB)

Farmer-led irrigation development (FLID) has been part of the farming system for hundreds of years, but has only recently attracted increased attention from government institutions, donors and development organizations. Yet, despite its vast potential, FLID has only been expanding slowly. Barriers to scaling include inadequate policy and legal frameworks, underdeveloped irrigation technology and supply chains, a lack of affordable finance, and limited access to input and output markets. Transformative scaling of FLID requires identifying the sociotechnical innovation bundles that fit, designing and implementing effective scaling strategies, and fostering multi-actor engagement and partnerships to achieve impact and trigger changes across farm, local, national, regional and global scales.

Political aspects / Risk / Credit / Entrepreneurs / Learning / Capacity development / Farming systems / Solar powered irrigation systems / Irrigation technology / Youth / Women / Social inclusion / Gender equality / Collaboration / Non-governmental organizations / Development organizations / Donors / Public sector / Private sector / Stakeholders / Partnerships / Incentives / Policies / Value chains / Investment / Business models / Financing / Sustainable development / Small-scale irrigation / Innovation scaling / Research for development / Irrigation development / Farmer-led irrigation
Record No:H052986

---

Market segmentation to facilitate scaling of solar-based irrigation bundles in Ethiopia. Adaptive Innovation Scaling - Pathways from Small-scale Irrigation to Sustainable Development.
2024
More... [DOI] | Fulltext (1.75 MB)

Despite the high potential of and strong demand for wider adoption of agricultural innovations in Ethiopia, scaling efforts have often been ineffective, and innovation adoption remains limited. Successful and sustainable innovation scaling requires co-identifying and co-developing best-fit solutions for farmers and other actors in the value chain. Bundling these solutions, such as solar-powered irrigation pumps, with pay-as-you-go financing has improved the enabling environment for adoption. Identifying the farmer segments interested in investing in such bundles and strengthening linkages along the irrigation value chains are essential for matching demand and supply and creating the conditions to reach scale.

Groundwater / Water resources / Water user groups / Non-governmental organizations / Private sector / Partnerships / Investment / Financing / Pumps / Agricultural value chains / Farmers / Smallholders / Sustainable development / Innovation adoption / Agricultural innovation / Small-scale irrigation / Innovation scaling / Solar powered irrigation systems / Market segmentation
Record No:H052801

---

Climate and water-related vulnerabilities in refugee hosting communities in northern Jordan: Irbid and Ramtha municipalities.
2024
More... | Fulltext (1.04 MB)

Jordan is one of the most water-scarce countries in the world and hosts the second-highest share of refugees per capita in the world. A fast-increasing population, rapid urbanization, and extreme weather-related hazards, such as drought and flash floods, compound the risks to already vulnerable refugee-hosting communities in Jordan. The Jordanian government as well as humanitarian and development organizations have committed to addressing these challenges by prioritizing the design and implementation of disaster risk management models which include early warning/early action and anticipatory action strategies for climate response and resilience. To design and implement disaster preparedness strategies that are sustainable and inclusive, research on the specific vulnerabilities of communities is needed. This research report provides data on climate- and water-related vulnerabilities in refugee-hosting communities in Northern Jordan to inform disaster risk management, anticipatory action, and emergency preparedness strategies that improve long-term adaptation and climate resilience. The project is titled Anticipatory Approaches in Host Communities for Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Mitigation (AHEAD), and is part of the CGIAR Initiative on Fragility, Conflict, and Migration, which aims to address challenges in livelihood, food and climate security for vulnerable populations in fragile and conflict-affected areas. Research for this report was conducted in Irbid and Ramtha municipalities in Irbid Governorate in Northern Jordan over the course of four months. The research included a desk review of relevant literature and national policies, as well as interviews with key informants and stakeholders. This study presents a qualitative analysis of how the specific vulnerabilities of refugee-hosting communities can impact the refugee-hosting community needs during an extreme weather-related disaster, such as flash flooding in this case. Specifically, the study analyzed how climate change and water scarcity, urbanization, and socio-economic risks compound vulnerabilities in refugee-hosting communities. Mapping out these risks is the starting point for designing more inclusive and sustainable disaster risk management models and anticipatory action approaches. Given the fact that only 18% of refugees in Jordan live in refugee camps (UNHCR 2024), and the rest live in urban areas, there is an urgent need to understand the differing needs and vulnerabilities of refugees and hosting communities living in cities. This study highlights two locations, Irbid Municipality and Ramtha Municipality and 1) the water and climate risks they face, 2) the effects of climate change on the city, 3) the existing refugee and hosting populations, 4) the available infrastructure and services, and 5) the humanitarian context. The two case studies demonstrate the challenges that these municipalities face in designing and implementing disaster risk management and anticipatory act

Socioeconomic aspects / Urbanization / Urban area / Livelihoods / Municipal authorities / Strategies / Water policies / Early warning systems / Flash flooding / Disaster risk management / Climate resilience / Communities / Refugees / Vulnerability / Water scarcity / Climate change
Record No:H053256

---