Andrew Noble presented on WLE's approach and strategy at the IWMI Annual Research Meeting on December 2, 2014.

1. Uniting agriculture &nature
IWMI-ARM, Colombo, Dec 2, 2014
PROSPEROUS COMMUNITIES. PRODUCTIVE FOOD SYSTEMS. HEALTHY LAND.

2. A new approach to NRM where..
….a healthy, functioning ecosystem is a prerequisite for
agricultural development, resilient food systems and human
well-being.

3. A different perspective
WLE emphasizes the need to rethink agricultural development in
the context of growing resource constraints and rising risks of
abrupt changes affecting water, land and ecosystems.
WLE’s ecosystems-based approach seeks to harness ecosystem services
for production goals or in ways that support these goals while reducing
negative impacts on the natural resource base providing these ecosystem
services.

4. Global conversations have changed
Economic development vs. environmental degradation – current
economic growth models may not be sustainable.
Urbanization and peri-urban agriculture – we are moving to a new
era sedentary living in large / mega cities
Equity and inequality – women and youth are being left behind – a
lost opportunity with significant risk.
Environmental risk and crisis – climate change, resource limits
There is a need to rethink agricultural development and the entire
food system.

5. Integrated solutions in a complex world – the core
focus of WLE
Productivity: Improved land, water and energy productivity in rain-fed and
irrigated agro-ecosystems.
Income: Increased and more equitable income from agricultural and natural
resource management and ecosystem services in rural and peri-urban areas.
Gender & Equity: Enhanced decision-making power of women and
marginalized groups and increased benefits derived from agricultural and
natural resources.
Adaptation: Increased ability of low-income communities to adapt to
environmental and economic variability, demographic shifts, shocks and long-term
changes.
Resilience: Increased resilience of communities through enhanced
ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes.

6. Putting ecosystem services at the forefront
An ecosystems-based approach to sustainable intensification provides an
opportunity to achieve agricultural productivity and socioeconomic
development, while maintaining resilient landscapes.

7. transition to integrated and holistic sustainable intensification systems requires decision makers levels—from local to international—to make complex choices among competing uses of, management strategies for, water, land, ecosystems, energy and other resources.
WLE at Scale
WLE ES&R Framework
http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/Publications/wle/corporate/
ecosystem_services_and_resilience_framework.pdf

8. Trade-offs, costs & benefits across scales
An ecosystem-based approach provides integrated solutions that
consider trade-offs, costs and benefits across sectors and scales,
allowing us to balance seemingly contradictory goals of increasing food
production while maintaining ecosystem services.

9. The nexus
Increasing global focus on “nexus” thinking. WLE also looks at the nexus
between natural resources (water, land, forests), agriculture and others
developments (industry, energy, mining, etc.).

10. Urbanization
Increasing urbanization provides opportunities to leverage different
agriculture and natural resource management options both in rural areas
and in peri urban areas. This also provides an opportunity to look at resource
recycling and how we close the nutrient loop nutrient

11. How we work
WLE’s
programming
combines three
different but
interconnected
components.

12. Where we work
The focal regions are an important part of WLE’s research-for-development
approach. The focal regions prioritize opportunities to address large- and small-scale
water and land development sustainability challenges.

13. is able to leverage the extensive capacity and research of its partners. WLE recognizes that transition to integrated and holistic sustainable intensification systems requires decision makers levels—from WLE local At to Scale
international—to make complex choices among competing uses of, management strategies for, water, land, ecosystems, energy and other resources.

14. WLE Flagships
U N I T I N G A G R I C U LT U R E A N D N AT U R E F O R P O V E R T Y R E D U C T I O N

15. INTEGRATING ECOSYSTEM SOLUTIONS INTO POLICY AND
INVESTMENTS (IES)
Harnessing and integrating WLE’s R4D portfolio will foster a transition to
sustainable intensification (SI) while enhancing national and regional capacity.
Critical Issues
• National and regional issues
being addressed in an integrated
manner.
• Supporting development through
sound economic investments.
Key areas of work
 The Nile and East Africa
 The Volta/Niger
 The Greater Mekong
 The Ganges
 The Innovation Fund
Uniting agriculture and nature for poverty reduction
LEADER:
Nathanial Matthews

16. INCREASING WATER AND LAND PRODUCTIVITY (LWP)
Improved access to natural resources and increased adoption of sustainable
intensification practices will lead farmers to become more resilient and food secure.
Key areas of work
 Agricultural water and land
productivity
 Revitalizing irrigation systems
Uniting agriculture and nature LEADERS:
for poverty reduction
Meredith Giordano
Theib Oweis

17. REVITALIZING DEGRADED ECOSYSTEMS (RDE)
Reduce land degradation and increase resilience of small scale farming
communities in sub-Saharan Africa and other hot spots across the globe.
Influencing investments on land degradation so they take
an ecosystem perspective
Key areas of Work
• Landscape restorations and their
impacts
• Ecosystem services assessment,
exploring trade-offs, and equitable
planning of restoration interventions
Uniting agriculture and nature for poverty reduction
• Economic solutions and incentives
LEADERS:
Deborah Bossio
Suhas Wani

18. RECOVERING AND REUSING RESOURCES (RRR)
Reduce the negative urban footprint on ecosystems and human health through market
driven incentives that promote investments in water and energy recovery and reuse
Business models and innovative partnerships
Uniting agriculture and nature for poverty reduction
Key Activities:
1. Business opportunities in nutrient, water and energy
recovery and reuse
2. Safe waste water reuse
3. Resource management in intensified peri-urban
ecosystems.
LEADER:
Pay Drechsel

19. MANAGING RESOURCE VARIABILITY AND COMPETING USES (MRV)
Assist decision makers to reconcile natural variability, competition among sectors and
trade-offs, and the importance of equitably sharing these resources
Key areas of research
• Managing water
resources variability and
rethinking storage
• Resource allocation and
sharing of benefits for all
• Water and energy for
Uniting agriculture and nature for poverty reduction
food
LEADERS:
Claudia Ringler
Vladimir Smakhtin

20. WLE Core Themes
U N I T I N G A G R I C U LT U R E A N D N AT U R E F O R P O V E R T Y R E D U C T I O N

21. GENDER, POVERTY AND INSTITUTIONS (GPI)
Identify where, when and how women can gain equitable access to water, land
and other natural resources
Women as a central component to improving
sustainable intensification
• More than one-third of the female
workforce is engaged in agriculture,
while in regions like sub-Saharan
Africa and South Asia more than
60% of all female employment is in
this sector.
• Two-thirds of the world’s 796 million
illiterate adults are women.
• Only 29% of researchers in the world
today are women.
LEADER:
Nicoline de Haan

22. ECOSYSTEM SERVICES AND RESILIENCE (ES&R)
Understand trade-offs and synergies, both short and long term, on how mixed use
landscapes can be managed for their multi-functionality.
Support to thematic work and focal regions in developing
ecosystem based approaches & engaging in global
processes
Core Issues
• 10 million hectares of farmland are lost
every year due to ecosystem
degradation.
• Radical overhaul of agriculture can create
farms which enhance rather than
degrade the world’s ecosystems.
• 66% of wetlands are used for agriculture
in Africa and 48% in Asia.
Examples of work
• Community based fisheries
• Changing Landscapes in Kyrgyzstan
• Engaging and contributing to global
processes
LEADER:
Fabrice DeClerck

23. STRENGTHENING DECISION ANALYSIS AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS
(DAI)
Use information analysis tools to help governments and investors reduce risk
and enhance rural farm livelihoods
Key Issues:
1. Decision analysis and risk assessment.
2. Information systems
Areas of work
1) Cost-effective soil information systems based on new
spectral diagnostics and digital mapping techniques;
2) A global water accounting platform that will provide water
accounts on a monthly basis for major river basins of the world;
and
3) Global information and knowledge facility for agro-biodiversity.
LEADERS:
Keith Shepherd
Lisa Rebelo

24. PROSPEROUS COMMUNITIES. PRODUCTIVE FOOD SYSTEMS. HEALTHY LAND
and Water.
Wle.cgiar.org/blogs