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Basin Focal Projects

***For the latest information about Basin Focal Projects, visit the BFP Wiki at http://cpwfbfp.pbwiki.com/ ***

About BFPs

In essence, the BFPs define ‘blueprints’ for each of the CPWF basins. They translate the global goals of the CPWF into specific research objectives for each basin, while maintaining coherence of the program through common methodologies. Through whole-basin analysis of hydrology and poverty, coupled with more detailed analysis of livelihood support systems, each research project defines specific problems of water and agriculture, the people they affect, the areas over which they occur. Further analysis identifies potential opportunities for impact through research from both existing and future projects. An essential part of the BFP effort is to identify the pathways to impact from projects, in collaboration with the institutions that will deliver it.

The relationship between water, agriculture and poverty

Water poverty: The loss of livelihood support that occurs as a result of water-related factors. This occurs as a result of either poor water availability or low productivity (i.e. poor conversion), or both.

Water availability: Measured crudely as the per capita availability within countries (UNECA, 2004). People who have access to less than 1700 m3/capita per year are regarded as water stressed. Those with less than 1000 m3 /yr are regarded as water scarce. Agriculture is the dominant user of water.

Agricultural water productivity: Measurable as the net gain per volume of water consumed. Typical figures for WP are (for irrigated rice) a little under 0.2 kg/m3 and (for wheat) about 0.8km/m3 (Kijne et al., 2005). To maintain a cereal intake of around 250kg/person, which is the average for South Asia (Dyson, 1999), at the present levels of water productivity, rice growers would need to be guaranteed about 1250 m3 /capita of water.

Food security: One way water supports livelihoods. Other demands for water are also increasing. In addition, there is a growing recognition of the need to maintain essential river functions through environmental flows.

Low water productivity can occur because

Generic solutions to increase overall water productivity include moving water to situations in which it is more likely to produce benefit and increasing water productivity in situ, through better agronomy or risk management.

Specific solutions are often highly complex. Many are described in the CPWF research portfolio.

BFPs in Action

All BFPs share the following basic processes:

1 Team formation: International advanced research institutes (ARIs) assemble multi-disciplinary teams comprising national research partners and NGOs. BFP Teams provide world-class skills of hydrology, socio-economics, aquatic biologists and agronomy.

2 Identification of key issues: Through consultation before, during and after basin tours, teams determine the broad issues that relate agricultural water use and poverty alleviation.

3 Data availability: Analysis must adapt to a highly variable availability of data. Each team will review availability of biophysical and social data for analysis. Socio-metric data is of highly variable resolution and quality.

4 Analytical framework: Teams will explore a coherent set of analytical frame works in which to evaluate the data linking water, agriculture and livelihoods. These will need to couple analysis at multiple scales to provide basin-wide, yet detailed analysis. The aim of analysis is to identify the unambiguous relationship between poverty and agricultural water use.

5 Methodologies: Teams will develop detailed methodologies to determine causal factors at basin-scale. More detailed analysis will identify variation of such relationships with sufficient resolution to target interventions and enable basin-wide estimation of impact. Methodologies will be robust to operate under conditions of data scarcity, hence ultimately enable a coherent global assessment. A significant contribution will be to understand the role of water in food systems.

6 Outputs: Each team will develop an inventory of outputs. These will include maps of Water Productivity, Water Poverty, expansion of analytical method, data-bases, etc.).

7 Impact Assessment: Detailed analysis of selected impact pathways, extrapolation domains for scaling-up and most-significant change. Impact assessment will specify the changes that can reasonably be expected within the lifetime of the CP.

8 Data-base: Each basin focal project will contribute to the IDIS global data-base that will manage common-source data used in analysis.

Activities

Activities already completed or in progress include:

Research

Workshops