IFWF3 -The Third International Forum on Water and Food, CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food

Climate change in the Andes is shrouded in myths that risk concealing the real issues

By Alejandra Visscher

It's a myth that rising temperatures and the melting of glaciers in the Andes is the main factor influencing water availability.

A month after our third Forum, what sticks in my mind? It was an intense week, rich in encounters, sparkling debates and a blossom of new ideas. Our Forum’s Policy and Impact Panel helped us better understand who we are, what we do, and how we impact and engage different stakeholders. I would like to share my post-Forum reflections on those questions.

An interview with Mr Pech Sokhem, representative to Cambodia for CPWF-Mekong

By Songpol Kaopatumtip

"Like many parts of the Ethiopian highlands, the Lenche Dima watershed has suffered from severe land degradation and over-grazing by cattle. Increasingly erratic seasonal rains have also contributed to erosion. However, a watershed development project, which promoted improved..."

Read the full article on the New Agriculturist. 

"In Nigeria we have NGOs and NGIs (nongovernmental individuals) but the development ends in their pocket and not with the community."

Research for development in agriculture can answer pressing questions about food and water security in an increasingly changing climate, says the president and chief executive of South Africa’s Agricultural Research Council (ARC), Dr Shadrack Moephuli.

Interview with climate change expert Belynda Petrie  

It is no secret that food security depends on water security and that climate change is impacting on both. The question is whether these issues will be addressed at COP17 in Durban. Is there still time to have them feature on the agenda?

It is not just about “engendering” research projects for the sake of rhetorical equality; it is about how robust your research is.

“The score never interested me, only the game.”  -Mae West

There is nothing as practical as a good theory. And there is nothing as strategic as a game one might say, judging from the interest that the ‘happy strategies’ game generates among serious researchers. Not surprising perhaps, since the game holds a lot of value to understand the strategic issues behind effective land and water management. And it does so in a playful way.

From the first day of the Forum, it was clear that change is a key theme in the Challenge Program on Water and Food’s research for development (R4D) deliberations.