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The farmers in the Volta river basin generally rely on rain-fed agriculture. However, insufficient or irregular rainfall frequently puts farmers at risk of losing their crops. Farmers must have access to a reliable water supply to sustain their livelihoods. In line with the problems highlighted, the Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) set out to find ways to strengthen the capacity of the famers, communities and other stake holders in the basin. As a lesson learnt, it is reasonable to expect stakeholders to adopt improved agricultural practices if such new practices are of their own benefit. Experiences show that stakeholders will only participate in innovation platform meetings when they see the value of doing so.

This Strategic Framework advances sector thinking around WASH and climate change. It is a collaboration between GWP and UNICEF.

One of the greatest barriers to achieving sustainable development is the increasing depletion of natural resources resulting in the degradation of ecosystems that are essential for human well-being and economic prosperity. This briefing note outlines the importance of ecosystem conservation. Briefing notes are two-page summaries on selected topics. They are prepared by GWP’s Global Secretariat and its partners.

New geopolitics of land and water call for a more strategic, governance-level response in which land and water are reconnected, and the political dimension of how they are allocated and used are fully recognised. This is a Perspectives Paper, meant to incite a discussion on important issues related to water and development.

A common understanding between the interlinkages of groundwater and land is needed to facilitate cross-sectoral dialogue on governance needs and management approaches, in order to sustain water resources and enhance land productivity. This is a Perspectives Paper, meant to incite a discussion on important issues related to water and development.

The paper provides an overview on the global groundwater economy and assesses the opportunities it offers for irrigated agriculture, as well as the risks it poses for depleting and degrading aquifer systems. The paper also reviews and evaluates various groundwater governance models. This is a Technical Background Paper, written by the GWP Technical Committee, a group of internationally recognised professionals in integrated water resources management.

This paper explores the concept of water security, its relation to IWRM, as well as possible ways to quantify water security. It suggests two approaches: the developmental approach, seeking to increase water security over time; and the risk-based approach, focussing on managing risks and reducing vulnerabilities resulting from climate variability and water-related disasters. This is a Technical Background Paper, written by the GWP Technical Committee, a group of internationally recognised professionals in integrated water resources management.

In 2002, at the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development, the Caribbean States committed to work towards developing integrated water resources management (IWRM) plans and water use efficiency (WUE) plans by 2005. Now, more than 10 years later, this paper looks into the measures taken and the progress that has been made towards adopting an integrated approach to water management. Technical Focus Papers are publications of the GWP Technical Committee that harness and share knowledge generated by GWP Partnerships.