The Nile Basin Development Challenge:
a component of the CGIAR Challenge Program on
Water and Food
Alan Duncan
ILRI Ethiopia projects meeting
Addis Ababa, 11 March 2013

• CPWF aims to increase water productivity and
resilience of social and ecological systems
• Through its broad partnerships, it conducts
research that leads to local impact and wider
change

Phase 2, start 2009

Basin Development Challenges (BDCs)
• Nile – rainwater management in landscapes
• Andes – Benefit sharing mechanisms
• Ganges – intensification in coastal areas
• Limpopo – rainwater management and water access
• Mekong – dams, reservoirs and livelihoods
• Volta – rainwater management and small reservoirs

Programme Structure
Learning about Integrating technologies, policies
rainwater and institutions.
management This project will develop integrated rainwater
management strategies - to slow down land
systems. degradation and reduce downstream siltation.
This project reviews
past and ongoing
activities, compiles an Targeting and scaling out of
inventory of actors, and
identifies best practices rainwater management systems.
for dissemination and This project will better target or ‘match’
use. promising technologies with particular Catalyzing
environments, thus overcoming the limited platforms for
success and impact of many past agricultural
development efforts. learning,
communication
Assessing and anticipating the and coordination.
This project provides a
consequences of innovation in multi-stakeholder
rainwater management systems. platform for all the
This project will quantify the consequences of projects in support of
improved rainwater management, measuring improved
downstream, cross-scale consequences of communication,
successful innovation in the Ethiopian innovation and adaptive
highlands. management.

Nile BDC scales and sites
Basin
National
Local

ILRI inputs into NBDC
• Work on livestock water productivity
• Diagnosis of current status of local
planning and implementation around NRM
• Piloting approaches to bottom up NRM:
innovation platforms, participatory
planning tools (Wat-a-game etc)
• Suitability mapping

Livestock water productivity
Simplified framework for assessing livestock-water productivity can help identify options to reduce water
8
depletion associated with animal keeping and increase goods and …. (Peden et al., 2007).

Calculating livestock water
productivity
More milk per cow
means less water
use per litre of milk

Assessment of current NRM
planning approaches
Diagnosis of current
status of local
planning and
implementation
around NRM

Preliminary findings: RWM planning
& implementation
 RWM planning is based on a top-down quota system...
with some perverse incentives affecting woreda officials
and DAs
 Woreda offices have an incentive to increase woreda
targets to win resources, leading to pressure on
implementaters at kebele level
 DAs’ performance assessment is based on how far targets
are met --> limited opportunity / incentive to innovate or
listen to farmers.
 Farmers report that they have very little say in where and
how RWM is implemented, and some feel that government
imposes on them.

Innovation platforms
Joint identification of
common NRM issue
to ensure collective
action

Conventional approach to agricultural
research for development (especially in
Ethiopia)
Technologies

Why Innovation Platforms?
Or...

Experimenting with local participatory
planning tools
A lot of talk about ‘participation’ but little knowledge about how to put it into
action.
WAT-A-GAME- Participatory planning for NRM
(www.watagame.info)

Nile Goblet Tool
Suitability
mapping of
rainwater
management
strategies

Global OLM
OUTCOMES
Used by: Knowledge, Attitude and skills
Practice changes
changes
Main Actor groups
NDBC Outputs
Experience RMS that actually
Evidence at the Farmers and
Tools for RMS planning at work Test, adapt and adopt RMS IMPACT
lanscape level Farming
community, national and Greater capacity to engage in
regional level developed Communities collective action in resource use
RMS Synthesis,
Scenarios, Maps and and tested and management
Policy Makers and
Tools for planning investors (scaling up)
Institutions and incentives
Maps identifying what for RMS implementation Receive better incentives to do Use more effective tools for planning for
RMS work best and identified and their work, are more aware of RMS at landscape scale and to negotiate
where in the basin strengthened benefits and cumulative impacts fair use and win- win solutions for the
of strategic trans- insttitutional available resources
Analysis of the best Networks / platforms for RWS Planners at boundary work on RWM Improve planning, decision making and
land use systems for improved RWM in local, national and Stengthen ability to use tools, resource allocation processes
different parts of the identified and regional levels such as integrated planning and Work beyond traditional institutional
basin strengthened scenario analysis boundaries Improved farming
livelihoods
+ Communication,
documentation and
Actively create market
opportunities and
More resilient social
and ecological
Impact assessment of Increased adoption, adaptation and
synthesis developed and incentive mechanisms, systems
Have an increased promotion of effective RMS
future widespread used facilitate institutions,
understanding of the benefits of Work beyond traditional institutional Improved food
adoption of improved Researchers at influence the
RWM research approaches, of boundaries and employ participatory security
RMS in the Ethiopian national and basin investment of time and
different landscapes and of the research methods, considering gender
Highlands levels money in RWM systems
socio-economic contexts and end user priorities
Have improved skills in spatial Conduct research on fundamental basin
analysis, scenario analysis and problems
modeling Promote more problem-oriented RWM
research in university curricula
Have improved access to inputs,
Regional and local Evidence-based planning and decision
negotiate land use policy and
policy makers making supportive of RWMS
can facilitate community action

http://nilebdc.org