The Power of Water
Four propositions and
a resolution
Jeremy Bird, IWMI
Stockholm Water Prize Seminar 2014

Proposition 1:
There is water, we are just not managing it well

Adapting to competing demands – examples of water
productivity increases and transfers across sectors exist
Agricultural
production
levels
increased…
…as allocation to
agriculture reduced and
transferred to urban use
Molden et al

Tanzania – from bucket to pump –
facilitating entry into the irrigation market

Large scale drip systems are
becoming a reality, e.g. Gujarat
Photos, Hamish John Appleby

Proposition 2: Policy coherence is elusive but possible –
solutions for groundwater over-abstraction and under-utilization
Source: Tushaar Shah, IWMI
Jyotigram Yojana – solution to a
dilemma of perverse subsidies

West Bengal – easing regulatory and cost barriers
• Access to groundwater - a
major obstacle
• Reforms reduced red-tape -
licensing and connection
charges
• Could benefit more than 4.5
million smallholders
Source: Aditi Mukherji, IWMI

Looking forward – solar pumps reduce operating costs
Courtesy Jain Irrigation

Proposition 3: Hydropower development and irrigation
can be compatible
At basin level, hydropower storage can increase irrigation potential
– the Mekong case
Dry season water levels, Chiang
Saen, Mekong, Nov ‘13-May ’14
Source: MRC
…. and, in some cases, can lead to tension
Source: MRC
Huffington Post

At project level, the peaking flows from hydropower
projects require re-regulation. Is managed groundwater
recharge a possibility?

..or on-farm ponds to
provide a storage buffer?

Proposition 4: Dams – the controversy continues, but
affected people can also benefit…although not under
prevailing development models

Adopt a benefit sharing approach?
e.g. Andes experience
Institutional innovations for upstream-downstream benefit sharing:
 Benefit sharing mechanism (BSM) for Caneta Basin
 New Law on Payment for Ecosystems Services (PES) in Peru
 Supporting implementation of BSM in more than 30 new areas
throughout the Andes
Photo, Tom Schauble

Rethinking the use of reservoir
drawdown area for livelihoods,
Yali Dam, Vietnam
 Existing crops are at risk of flooding at the end of the season
 New shorter-duration varieties of cassava suited to reservoir operations
 Positive results
• 32 t/ha (up by 51%); 26% starch (up by 24%); benefit $350-$850/ha
Senaratna Sellamuttu S, IWMI
Photo: Oliver Joffre

Constructed reservoir wetlands – balancing the built -
natural environment
Without wetlands With created wetlands
Wet season: Reservoir full
Dry season: Reservoir drawn down
Source: Meynell, P-J

Resolution: Look for what ‘can’ be done,
……..not what ‘must’ be done
Identify political entry points:
A common thread of many successful examples has been
the people who looked beyond sectors for solutions and
found ways within sectors to implement them.
Photos, Hamish John Appleby

For more information: www.iwmi.org
CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems
http://wle.cgiar.org/