Uniting agriculture and nature for poverty reduction Ganges Focal Research Portfolio IWMI Sri Lanka Sept 7, 2015

Uniting agriculture and nature for poverty reduction

Ganges Focal Research PortfolioIWMI Sri Lanka Sept 7, 2015

WLE Regional Program in the Ganges

Challenges from the Ganges:

• 860,000 sq km across India, Nepal, Bangladesh making the world’s most population basin

• 200 million living below the poverty line• Some of the most fertile lands in the world• Pollution pressure with threats to biodiversity and

env sustainability• Absence of infrastructure development with weak

env governance and lack of technical expertise to manage these challenges


What are WLE Responsibilities for Ganges Research Ensure good synergies and communication among all 5 projects. The WLE

board expects these to be woven as one program of work in the Ganges. How? Obvious are gender, data and report sharing, freq visits by Yusuf, monthly or regular skype calls. We announced our regional meeting Dec 7-10 2015, venue in Dhaka/Jessore.

Coordinate and facilitate the research. If there were any constraints to the implementation of their research, the PI and others are to inform us and together we can work out a way out. We want no surprises.

Ensure emphasis on gender research, not just accommodating women’s needs, but transforming them toward gender equity. Most projects need to have 20% of their budgets must be on gender oriented research.

Due diligence of their work to Nate and Andrew who will provide to the WLE board.

Identify or assist each project toward co-funding during the 2 years. With successful project deliveries in sight, assist for a scale out run on project after the end of the 2 year projects.


Hydropower/irrigation nexus

Poverty squares and gender circles

Reviving springs and providing access to solar powered irrigation pumps

Community water management

Restoring the Ganges



Hydropower-Irrigation Nexus Project

A clear and equitable model for Hinex needs to look into local community’s grievances. This could have a positive impact on both power generation versus irrigation needs of the people. Through this project findings, the project will advocate to modify state government policy on hydropower.





Poverty square and gender Circle project

This project is analyzing the major existing agricultural projects of three countries (Bangladesh, India and Nepal). Its results could bring policy recommendation for increased women involvement and empowerment. As university faculty members of Bangladesh (BAU) and India (NBU) are doing this research, the resulting changes in curriculum will be instrumental to include gender aspects in their university.

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Spring revival & Solar Powered Irrigation Pump(SPIP)

Spring Revival technique could improve livelihoods of millions of Hill people of Nepal and Uttrakhand where springs are the major source of water.

SPIP has a much greater chance for changing the irrigation systems of Tarai areas of Nepal when an appropriate financial model is employed.





Community water management at sub-polder level

Polder is the lifeline of millions of coastal people of Bangladesh. However, within the polder, appropriate water management model for facilitating drainage may be pivotal for sustainable intensification of the cropping systems and aquaculture. It may create a large impact on Polder based agriculture having big monetary and social value by investing a small amount.






Restoring Ganges

The work on three selected cities of UP, India would generate data and policy recommendations which could influence the policy of state government to adopt the framework for RRR for cleaning the upper Ganges and ensure e-flow. Then it has a large impact on Ganges based ecosystem service and clean water for people.






Data sets from CPWF

Utilization of previous date sets in WLE program (eg. Community water management at sub-polder level in Bangladesh)

Establishing new data sets contributing to Ganges Research for Development Projects


Funding Potential Challenges

WorldFish, Bangladesh submitted project on “Beels” to IDRC through WLE endorsement

Submitted in 2014 a proposal on community saline monitoring in the Southern Coastal Bangladesh, but was declined; may dust off and resubmit elsewhere

Possible Beels may be entertained by WLE if rejected by WorldFish


Integration across regions

Fellowship has been offered from the Ganges Focal Region following WLE Mekong region

This fellowship would allow integration across region

Poverty square and Gender Circle project is integrating all three countries


Project Linkage

Through inception workshop and follow –up communication and activities WLE Ganges, five projects have been established with linkages with concerned policy making GO of each three countries, four universities, along with potential NGOs (BRAC, PSI, MODESH Foundation) and private sector (15 no.)


Theory of Change:

Theme 1.

Gender Equity

What are the major barriers to achieving gender equity in

access to and management of land and water resources? What approaches could be scaled up

and out? What might be new and innovative approaches to

achieving gender equity that could be pilot tested in the

future?

[G8] How does performance of springs affect women and men differently and how do women cope wth changes in spring regimes?

[G8] What are the gender differentiated impacts of solar pumps and in what ways are gender roles reshaped by this?

[G7] What are the challenges and barriers to improving or changing unequal gender relations in research and development interventions?

[G7] What factors will enable a shift from supply to demand-led approaches in engendering interventions and outcomes on the ground?

[G9] What are the roles and responsibilities of women and men both in the management of the sluice gate, and the management of land and water in the WMUs?

[G6] How are gendered livelihoods affected by the irrigation-hydropower nexus?


[G9/1] Documentation of present status of households and communities in terms of production systems, economics, nutrition, social capital, community dispute, women empowerment

Theme 1.

Gender Equity

[G8/3] Understanding spring hydrogeology and management and role of women (publications);

[G8/3] piloting solar pumps for women and small farmers (report) / Experimental or quasi-experimental set up of solar pumps in consultation with local communities/ women groups. Baseline report for quantitative evaluation. Focal group discussions on qualitative process of adoption and how vary between men and women.

[G7/1] Gender-inclusive and Ecosystem services and Resilience(ESR)oriented research framework for the EGP actively promoted (available online), used by the researchers, decision makers and practitioners

Assumptions 1/3 Willingness and ability of ongoing sectoral interventions to adopt changes in their focus, strategies and implementations plans regarding a greater understanding and emphasis on poverty-gender-ecosystem inter-relations.

Assumptions 1/2 Pilot sucessfully proves the benefits and adoption of solar pumps, particularly by women. Potential for repplicability depends on cost effectiveness, and sufficiently big sample of study to cover range of social, institutional and cultural variances.


Assumptions 1/4 Ability to influence men and women in terms of their respective roles vis-a-vis WMUs, management of sluice gates.

Assumptions 1/5 Successful facilitation between hydropower developers and women from farm communities; interest on the part of farm women to learn about EIAs/SIAs and public hearings



Theme 2.

Ecosystems Services

What other innovative and under-used ecosystem services can be

harnessed more effectively by local people, including women and youth,

and communities for their own benefit?

What ecosystems services and upstream-downstream impacts and

linkages of investments could significantly contribute to shifting from trans-boundary tensions to cooperation on water and energy within the next decade? How can

upstream and downstream linkages be harnessed to develop win-win

models for sustainable management of natural resources?

[G6] What are the ecosystem impacts for instream-riparian and hillslope/watershed-scale units of analysis?

[G7] To what extent does ecosystems viability and sustainability impact agricultural productivity or more general livelihood security for the poorest?


Theme 3.

Water- Food - Energy Nexus

[G10] What are the costs, benefits and trade-offs of using environmental flows for riverine ecosystem rejuvination?

What potential innovative and sustainable practices and

technologies can be identified or have been tested to develop the still-underdeveloped water and

energy resources at multiple scales, in ways that bring

substantial benefits to the people ?

[G6] What are the water and energy interactions (irrigation-hydropower nexus) in the study basins?

[G3] Solar - nexus - to be completed


Theme 4.

Financial Models

What innovative financing mechanisms can be encouraged for

developing the productive and ecosystem services potential of the

Ganges?

[G10] What are the most promising options for treatment, recovery and reuse of solid and liquid wastes from towns and cities through combined technologies and creating businsesses?

[G8] What institutional and financial models are most effective to support equitable access to solar powered irrigation for women and marginal farmers?

[G9] What are the economics of investing in infrastructure improvements inside the polders to improve water management?


Theme 5.

Institutions

[G6] What institutional frameworks exist for governance of hydropower linked to irrigation, ecosystem services and socio-economic impacts?How can effective collective

management of natural resources and ecosystem services be encouraged

and supported?

What are the existing and potential future innovative policies and

institutional arrangements that would support equitable and effective

collective management of shared natural resources, for example canals,

village ponds, aquifers, forests, and wetlands?

[G6] How can local community-based organisations, state and central government policies be strengthened to enhance irrigation-hydropower synergies and minimize tradeoffs

[G9] Are community Water Management Units (WMUs) an effective way of improving water governance and coordination in management of land and water in polder ecosystems?


Bright Spots and Hot Spots

Bright spots: Community, local government and policy making GO and donor

agency engagement through Community water management at sub-polder level project in Bangladesh coastal area

Installation of SPIP at the farmers’ level for the first time in Nepal and was used by the community—this created much excitement

Hot spots: Formulating research methodology for Poverty Square and

Gender Circle project and formation of effective research team at country level—a formative task!

Selection of community and hydropower in different parts of Uttrakhand-and linking between community, hydropower developer and policy makers has proven more difficult.


Documents

Uniting agriculture and nature for poverty reduction Ganges Focal Research Portfolio IWMI Sri Lanka Sept 7, 2015