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Welcome to the 23rd Issue of Water and Food – the CPWF bimonthly newsletter, March/April 2007

Note from the editor

The tenor of this newsletter is one of achievement and technological development. In this issue we bring you insight into the inspiring governance and modeling work being conducted in the Volta as part of CPWF project 40; the significant changes coastal resource management is making in Vietnam; a way forward for synthesis research in the CPWF, plus much more…

Don’t forget!
The CPWF newsletter is an excellent avenue to get information about your discipline, basin, project, field experiences, events or announcements out to the CPWF community. Submit your piece for the May/June Newsletter, to: f.woodhams@cgiar.org

CPWF: Moving toward the second phase

Following the momentum generated by a meeting in Port Camargue, France in October 2006, a small group of the CPWF community met in Dubai between 29 January and 1 February to share ideas and visions for a proposed second phase of the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food. Participants heard about progress and challenges during the first phase of the Program, and about current trends in water and food research. A facilitated set of discussions and activities followed, with an aim to examine second phase options in detail. A writing team worked over two additional days in order to draft a proposal based on the ideas that emerged during the meeting.

Elements of the proposal were further debated during the CPWF’s Consortium Steering Committee (CSC) meeting, held in Davis, California, 6 – 7 March. The input and guidance offered by Committee members directed the work of the Management Team, which met 8 – 10 March, also in Davis, to refine sections of the draft proposal. A more advanced early draft will receive comments from the CSC later in May and then be presented to the CPWF external review. By mid year, as the proposal is sharpened, we intend to share it with a broader range of CPWF stakeholders.

External Review of the CPWF is underway

Alongside two sister Challenge Programs initiated in 2002-3, the CPWF is undergoing an external review arranged by the CGIAR Science Council and the CGIAR Secretariat. This is of great importance in providing guidance to the evolving Program as it moves towards Phase 2. We are fortunate to have three distinguished and highly experienced members, Professor Asit Biswas (Chair), Professor Jeff Bennett and Mr. Markus Palenberg. The review team commenced interactions with CPWF management and coordinators in early April and has visited the Secretariat headquarters. Basin visits are to the Ganges (already conducted) and the Mekong. The report of the review is expected in early August.

Synthesis Research Now Online

One of the key areas in which the CPWF adds further value to research is by identifying similar strands of information that tell us something about the greater whole. The CPWF refers to this as synthesis research. It involves identifying CPWF projects and other non-CPWF initiatives that carry out research on similar topics, and then pulling these disparate strands of information together to form a coherent whole.

While synthesis research has already produced reports for 2004, 2005 and 2006 (nearing completion), the CPWF has decided to enrich the process by launching a new synthesis website. The interactive facility allows anyone (including those who may not be members of CPWF projects) to submit information in response to specific research questions proposed by each of the CPWF's five theme leaders. These questions will be updated quarterly. The main contributors are expected to be the CPWF's basin coordinators and project leaders, while the Program's theme leaders will monitor inputs, and assemble these into coherent 'stories' that respond to the questions that they have posed.

This unusual and innovative method for harvesting data and conducting synthesis will be up and running in May 2007. Contributors will be able to debate the questions, as well as their answers. Contributions from non-CPWF thinkers will open up new and potentially promising seams of enquiry, and extend basin networks.

Contribute to synthesis research and visit http://synthesis.waterandfood.org 

Integrating governance and modeling in the White Volta
Achievements from CPWF Project 40

CPWF project 40 has transformed basin scale water management in the Volta by using integrated simulation models as decision tools in multi-stakeholder negotiation processes. At the sub-basin level, in the White Volta region, research aims to support the recently appointed multi-stakeholder body, the White Volta Basin Board (WVBB), to conduct successful basin scale water management.

The water-related problems currently being tackled in the White Volta Basin (WVB) include chemical pollution and sedimentation caused by farming too close to river banks, pollution from illegal fishing practices and mining, irregular rainfall patterns, prolonged periods of drought, and a long unproductive dry season. All of these factors combined make poverty in this region the highest in all of Ghana. Project 40’s aim is to assist the new governing body to prosper, ensuring that the environmental issues continue to be addressed for many years to come.

Due to the unforeseen results of close collaboration between researchers and policy makers in the WVB, project 40 has been able to extend beyond its original goals and start developing a new method of analysis. The process is called Influence Network Mapping and was developed to ascertain the influence of various networks and potential actors on specific multi-stakeholder bodies.

Eva Schiffer, Douglas Waale and a member of the WVBB undertaking influence network mapping

Influence Network Mapping was inspired by the first CPWF Impact Pathway Assessment Workshop, led by Boru Douthwaite in the Volta last year. Following this event, project 40 researcher, Eva Schiffer, modified the original method by using very simple equipment including board game figures to represent different actors and towers of checkers pieces to represent the influence of the actors on the process. The ’new’ method was used to map influence networks for the 17 members of the White Volta Basin Board and to enter a strategic influence network planning process with the Basin Board. Responses from the board participants were encouraging.

‘I have learnt so much during the interview. I have tried to list important actors on paper before but I would have never come up with such a comprehensive list of actors. Throughout the discussion I remembered a lot of actors that first slipped my mind’
(Board coordinator, Aaron Aduna)

The resulting influence network maps can be analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively using network analysis software. This analysis can be used to readily identify key actors and potential weaknesses in the networks. Influence network mapping and analysis in the White Volta Basin has enabled project 40 to support the White Volta Basin Board with its organizational development. According to Mr. Aduna, the board is now ready to function; it has ‘heart and soul, now getting arms and legs’.

Example of an Influence Network Map

The success of influence network mapping in the Volta has also inspired researchers to develop an Influence Network Toolbox. The toolbox is designed for easy application to a whole range of users in all facets of resource management including NGO’s, researchers, policy makers and donors.

As the field work of Project 40 comes to an end, research activities turn to identifying a sustainable exit strategy so that the White Volta Basin Board can continue its efforts into the future. Researchers intend to carry on feeding information into the policy framework in the Volta Basin whilst promoting necessary autonomy for the White Volta Basin Board.
Now, the extensive environmental problems present in the White Volta can be addressed with the understanding and capacity of a strong management team.

For more information about this project contact Eva Schiffer: e.schiffer@cgiar.org
For information on the research products of Project 40 go to: www.uni-hohenheim.de/igm

Most significant change story

Integrated natural resource management supports livelihoods in fresh – saline water interface environments.

CPWF project 10: Coastal resource management for improving livelihoods.

To help CPWF develop an understanding of factors affecting the success of our research, development impact and partnerships, CPWF project leaders, basin coordinators and theme leaders were asked, in January 2007, to share stories from within their research  about areas of most significant change. Fifty stories were compiled based on the following two questions:

• What has been the most significant technical development/advancement made by your CPWF project / theme / basin since the start?
• What has been the most significant partnership change (significant in terms of making scientific progress and/or developmental impact more likely) that has taken place since the start of your CPWF project (or theme or basin)?

Here, we feature one Most Significant Change story that highlights the targeted, multi-scaled and adaptive approaches characteristic of CPWF projects.

A particularly impressive story of change has come out of Bac Lieu province in Vietnam. Here, CPWF project 10 entitled Coastal Resource Management for Improving Livelihoods has successfully transformed water use regimes for agriculture and aquaculture at the land sea interface. Their work crosses a number of scales and has influenced management regimes at the farm, local management, national planning and scientific levels.

Background

In 2000, the Vietnamese government invested in new water management infrastructure to prevent salt water intrusion. The new infrastructure, consisting of embankments and sluices, achieved the desired result of boosting profitable rice production for export. However, the intervention adversely affected the livelihoods of people in the west of the protected area who needed the brackish water to raise shrimp. It was not long before conflict mounted between the villagers. This combined with a dramatic increase in demand for aqua-products in 2001 confirmed the need for dramatic resource management change.

An initial DfID funded project conducted an analysis of pros and cons of the existing salinity control measures and the land use policy that favored rice intensification. The analysis showed that it was possible to not only have a system which enhanced rice production in the east but also supported shrimp culture in the west. From 2002 to 2003, the local government adopted the newly proposed land use zoning and revised the sluice operation procedures. A water quality monitoring network was also established. What was needed now was a system of continued monitoring, education and management reform to ensure that the new zoning and infrastructure were used effectively.

Project 10’s achievements

Land use zoning in Bac Lieu province was developed with local stakeholders to create a buffer zone between rice and shrimp

When project 10’s work began in 2004, it focused on refining the hydraulic and salinity models used to compare different water management scenarios. These were used to define the impact of sluice operations in Bac Lieu and its surrounding area. By combining this research with continued exchanges with local water management offices, project 10 researchers increased the capacity of people to manage their own systems. Now, water quality monitoring and sluice operations are managed by the people directly impacted by their use.

Researchers also conducted new agriculture and aquaculture experiments with farmers which have effectively improved production systems to reduce risks and increase income. For example, with the help of CPWF researchers, shrimp farmers have introduced Scirpus littoralis (wetland sedge) into the shrimp fields to regulate pond temperature, reducing shrimp disease and subsequently increasing income.  Farmers also raise mud crab, goby and genetically improved farm tilapia together with shrimp to improve income and reduce the risk of shrimp disease.

The changes brought about by project 10’s involvement in Bac Lieu Province have been extensive. Since the onset of the project, perceptions of brackish water have changed. It is no longer viewed as a ‘constraint to production’ but as a ‘resource’. Income has been boosted in both farming sectors due to diversified farming techniques and increased understanding of water management systems in their home land. Moreover, the multi-scaled approach to water management and the quantification of upstream-downstream interaction among different zones has set up sound avenues for future management.

Details submitted by TP Tuong on behalf of project 10 members in Vietnam.
To find out more about project 10 go to: http://www.waterandfood.org/index.php?id=246
Or contact: TP Tuong: t.tuong@cgiar.org

Bayesian Network Analysis of water and poverty: Workshop in the Volta River Basin

Workshop participants, Accra

In the development arena, many studies provide insight into the relationships between livelihood assets and poverty for specificsocial groups. Other studies offer generaladvice on the need to improve agricultural water management. Presently, however, there isn’t a single general modeling method flexible enough to describe the impact of water and agricultural water management on poverty in a specific developing region.
Bayesian networks may provide one solution. They have been used in a wide range of applications, to determine the causal linkages between factors in complex systems. In March, CPWF scientists ran a workshop to determine the potential of Bayesian network analysis for combining both general understanding of the water-poverty nexus with site-specificdata within a basin.
The workshop was part of the CPWF’s Basin Focal Project in the Volta River Basin. It involved 15 participants from various backgrounds and expertise from both within CPWF community and outside, ranging from researchers to economists. Outcomes of the workshop include:

• a realization that poverty can be mapped using this method over entire basins, using a range of available data about socio-economic and bio-physical aspects
• demonstration of the value of using basin experts to help interpret and define predictive quantitative models, and 
• a realization of the complex sub-systems that determine the range of associations between agricultural water management and livelihoods

Work is on-going to develop mapping software to enable users to have graphical representation of water-related poverty over basins.

This map, produced using Bayesian Network Analysis, depicts the probability of food insecurity in Ecuador, based on known associations with factors of drought, agricultural employment, and access to regional markets. The areas displayed in red represent low food security with gradations increasing to blue in the most food secure areas.

To find out more about Bayesian Network Analysis contact Simon Cook: s.cook@cgiar.org

Announcements

CPWF Master’s student wins prestigious award

Mr. William Moyce

CPWF Master's student Mr. William Moyce from the University of Zimbabwe's Department of Geology was awarded the Geological Society of Zimbabwe's Phaup Award on the 23rd February 2007. The award is given to the scientist whose paper is thought to have contributed the most during 2006 to the understanding of Zimbabwean geology. He received the award for the scientific paper:

Moyce, W., Mangeya, P., Owen, R. & Love D., (2006) Alluvial aquifers in the Mzingwane catchment: Their distribution, properties, current usage and potential expansion. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth. In Press.

Read the paper (628KB pdf)

Fresh off the production line!

Living Labs: New DVD series about CPWF Research

Living Labs cd cover

The CPWF has recently released an exciting new DVD series detailing the worldwide efforts by its researchers and associated farming communities to grow more food with less water. First screened at the International Forum on Water and Food, the DVD series, entitled ‘Living Labs’, includes one 40 minute introductory documentary and 8 mini documentaries (5 minutes each), each highlighting CPWF research in a single project in a particular river basin. The DVDs are ideal for use at conferences and meetings to introduce the Program to participants.

For general inquiries or to obtain a copy of Living Labs please contact the CPWF Communications Coordinator Amena Mohammed a.mohammed@cgiar.org

World Water Day 22 March 2007: CPWF Makes a Splash with the Vientiane Statement

This year’s World Water Day theme was ‘Coping with Water Scarcity’. As this theme is at the core of most CPWF research, World Water Day was considered a prime time to release the Vientiane Statement for international media appreciation. The Vientiane Statement, drafted at last year’s CPWF International Forum on Water and Food (IFWF) was compiled by leading agricultural researchers, development professionals and policy experts. The Statement embodies an innovative declaration of vision and strategy on how to achieve a more water and food secure world in the face of increasing water scarcity. The CPWF circulated a press release to coincide with World Water Day highlighting the Vientiane Statement. The press release received a good reception and was featured in news services throughout the globe in three different languages.

• Read the Press Release
• Read the Vientiane Statement
• Go to the Forum website

Prize Winning Paper from Project 25

Researchers from CPWF project 25 entitled Companion Modeling and Water Dynamics have been awarded the 2006 Ralf Yorque Memorial Competition Award for their paper on Companion modeling, conflict resolution, and institutional building: sharing irrigation water in the Lingmuteychu watershed, Bhutan. The award, given by The Journal of Ecology & Society, recognized the work of Tayan Raj Gurung, F. Bousquet and G. Trébuil for the most novel paper of 2006, integrating different streams of science to assess fundamental questions in the ecological, political, and social foundations for sustainable social-ecological systems. Congratulations!
To read the paper, go to: http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol11/iss2/art36/

Gender, Institutions and Participation Website

A New Gender, Institutions and Participation (GIP) website has been set up for the CPWF. In includes a wealth of information and tools for stakeholder analysis, gender and poverty analysis and participatory research. A section is also included on monitoring and evaluating such analysis and research. The website is designed to assist all researchers in developing sound research processes that effectively engage communities to initiate change.

Go to: http://gip.waterandfood.org

What’s on?

International Conference on Water Management and Technology Applications in Developing Countries

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 14 -16 May

The International Water Association (IWA) has given its support to this conference, organized under the auspices of the Specialist Group for Developing Countries, which is an initiative to provide a fresh perspective on the latest development of water management and technology, aligned with integrated water resources management.
To find out more got to: http://www.watermalaysia.com/conference/theconference.htm

5th Annual Mekong Flood Forum

Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, 17 – 18 May 2007

The theme for the forum is: “Improving Inputs towards Medium-term Flood Forecasting and Warning in the Mekong Basin”. The Forum aims to raise the awareness of the current state of data collection, transmission and exchange (especially, water level and rainfall) at the national and regional levels in the Mekong Basin.
Register: Registration Form - AMFF5 (Word)
To find out more go to: http://www.mrcmekong.org/MRC_news/upcoming_events.htm

4th International Conference on River Basin Management

Kos, Greece, 23 – 25 May 2007

The conference aims to communicate recent advances in the overall management of riverine systems, including advances in hydraulic and hydrologic modeling, environmental protection and flood forecasting.
To find out more go to: http://www.wessex.ac.uk/conferences/2007/rm07/index.html

International Conference on Collaborating in Africa: New Approaches in the Water Sector

Quebec, Canada, 24 – 25 May 2007

The aim of the forum is to promote collaboration for the development of new knowledge, the definition of water policies and programs, the better management of water utilities, and the establishment of projects to improve access to safe drinking water and sanitation, and sustainable use of the resource.
To find out more go to: http://www2.uquebec.ca/TS/EA/Pres/ConfAng.html

7th World General Assembly of the International Network of Basin Organisations

Debrecen, Hungary, 7 – 9 June 2007

The World General Assembly will be organized around four strategic topics for the implementation of river, lake and aquifer basin management: prevention and management of the extreme climate phenomena of floods and droughts; transboundary basin management; monitoring, monitoring networks, reporting, inter-calibration; and preparation of action plans for basin organizations and their financing, etc. A special session will deal with public and water users’ participation.
To find out more go to: http://www.inbo-news.org/ag2007/index_eng.htm

Ecohydrology Summer School

Amsterdam, 11 – 15 June 2007

The aim of the course is to provide an overview of the current state of ecohydrology, and to give several in-depth examples of the ecohydrological functioning of different ecosystems around the globe.
For more information go to: http://www.hydrology.vu/ecohydro/

Managing Transitions to Adaptive River Basin Management Summer School

Germany, 11 – 21 July 2007

The Summer School is intended as a sequel to last year's Autumn School in Peyresq, France which introduced NeWater and non-NeWater researchers to concepts of and methods for adaptive river basin management. It is organised by the Institute of Environmental Systems Research, University of Osnabrück, Germany, in cooperation with the Global Water System Project (GWSP).
For more information go to: http://www.gwsp.org/news/summer_school.html

CPWF Staff Changes

Recently, CPWF said goodbye to two of its basin coordinators.

In 2005, Massoud Shaker joined CWPF as the Limpopo Basin Coordinator, representing the Agricultural Research Council, South Africa.  Since that time, Massoud has displayed outstanding leadership and valuable input to the Program. Massoud, we thank you for your rich contributions and wish you all the best in your future endeavors. We look forward to working with Mishack Molope who will be acting basin coordinator for the Limpopo Basin.

We also look forward to working with Mahmoud Moustafa in his new role as Policy Officer for Environment and Water Resources at the African Union Organization. CPWF congratulates Mahmoud on his new appointment and thanks him for all of his efforts as Nile Basin Coordinator and for his commitment to the Program. A new basin coordinator is expected to be endorsed shortly by the CPWF Steering Committee.  David Molden new Chair of CPWF Steering Committee  

Dr. David Molden

At the end of April, 2007, Frank Rijsberman resigned his CPWF Consortium Steering Committee (CSC) Chair, coinciding with his upcoming move from IWMI to google.org. David Molden, IWMI’s Deputy Director General Research, has been named as his successor. For the last five years, David has led the Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture (CA) and has been instrumental in developing the vital link between the CA and CPWF in many ways. CPWF extends a warm welcome to David.

In the Next Issue of Water and Food, CPWF pays tribute to Frank Rijsberman’s contribution to the Program. Please send your contributions (wishes, memories, photos etc.) to f.woodhams@cgiar.org.

We would also like to wish a warm welcome to Chris J Smith, representing CSIRO and Jean Albergel, representing IRD on the Consortium Steering Committee. Chris takes over from Colin Chartres and Jean replaces Harry Palmier, who have both moved to new organizations; Colin is now the Chief Science Advisor to the Australian National Water Commission while Harry is Senior Liaison Officer in the CGIAR Secretariat. CPWF is grateful for the leadership and support shown by Colin and Harry during their time in the CSC. We look forward to maintaining contact with both of them in their new roles.

Share your news and views!

To make this newsletter a successful and useful tool for all of us, share your progress, results and stories, or simply send us snippets that your colleagues might find interesting! Contributions can be short and simple — ideally with a nice photo or graphic.

We would appreciate your feedback. Is it useful? What would you like to see more of? Do you like the layout?

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Send your contributions and comments to:
Felicity Woodhams - f.woodhams@cgiar.org
The Editor, Water and Food
CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food

For further information about the program contact the CPWF secretariat at cpsecretariat@waterandfood.org