CPWF Program Director , Dr Alain Vidal, shows how interdisciplinary research supports the productivity and resilience of social and ecological systems of the world's poorest communities. Specifically how Multiple water uses (MUS), techniques and sources, and its resulting community organization, increase resilience in poor agricultural areas. The ability to adapt and mitigate change - such as economic or climatic change - enables people a better chance to climb out of poverty. Dr Vidal says the green-to-blue water continuum in water-for-food management for agriculture contributes to this resilience, and should not be overlooked by institutions and groups managing water.

1. The Green-to-Blue Water Continuum:An approach to improve agricultural systems’ resilience to water scarcity Alain Vidal, Barbara van Koppen, David Love & David Blake CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food

2. An oldhistory of combinedrainfed and irrigated agriculture Sinceancient times, the reality of water dependency has inspired farmers to innovate Water stored, mobilized and applied to plants in different ways, depending on the nature of the resource available Farmers have alwaysdealtwith the green-to-blue water continuum to extract the best productive value - not only from crops, but fish, livestock, etc

3. A recenthistory of opposedrainfed and irrigated agricultures Since the 60s, irrigation has almost doubled - from 160 to 300 Mha. Policies keep “poor” rainfed and “rich” irrigated agricultures separated, negating the green-to-blue water continuum New irrigation farmers were historically ‘rainfed’ farmers, if not breeders or fishers Almost half of today's irrigated surface is cultivated by farmers whose tradition is ‘rainfed’

4. Green-blue water in agriculture From Hoff & Rockström, SEI

6. Thresholds

8. ADAPTABILITYability for learning, to cope with disturbance

9. TRANSFORMABILITYcapacity to reorganize, and create a new systemHumid rainfed Dry rainfed Green water Blue water From Hoff & Rockström, SEI

10. Which is the right one? Resilient Non resilient Resilient Non resilient

12. Lack of investment and markets for crop production Irrigated systems for internal reasons Irrigated crops less resistant to drought resulting from irregular blue water supply Irrigation may generate water excess that degrade soils and crop productivity

13. CPWF aims to increase water productivity and to ensure more equitable use of water amongst users and the environment

14. The green-to-blue water continuum… From David Molden, IWMI

15. …a way to reconcileopposed agricultures Increasing water productivity and improving farmers’ livelihoods should be done along the existing green-to-blue water continuum Could significant progress be achieved by learning from each others’ resilience?

16. Crossed lessonslearntfrom CPWF Green water dominated systems IWRM research for mitigating drought and improving livelihoods within the Limpopo Basin (water scarce) Improving Mekong Water Allocation in the Nam Songkhram Basin (endangered wetland) Blue water dominated systems Multiple Use water Systems (MUS) project in the (Andean, Nile,) Limpopo, Ganges and Mekong basins

17. Lessons learnt from IWRM project Green water is the source of runoff and percolation of blue water Ways to improve access to green water: In-field soil water conservation techniques that increase the rate of infiltration and percolation, e.g. mulching Micro‐catchment or runoff farming and supplementary irrigation to capture overland flow from areas adjacent to fields

18. How IWRM increases resilience Negotiation processes of users result in new institutions Resilience builds upon a multi-stakeholder approach and a combination of water management interventions Household crop income raised from US$200 to 600 per year IWRM in water scarce Southern Africa Productivity Resilience zone Green water Blue water

19. Lessons learnt from Nam Songkhram Basin Highly contested waterscape Floods and droughts always presented as main obstacles to development, whereas flood pulse is main driver of wetland productivity Multiple actors, in complex context and history Threat of ‘Water Grid’ and other mega‐projects hangs over future of wetlands “paa boong paa thaam”

21. How is Paa Boong Paa Thaam more resilientthan « development » ? Highlydiversified on-farm and off-farm green water productive uses  Household income US$1100/y Rapid privatisation & land reform, coupled to continual pressure to build blue water control infrastructures, introduces disruptive changes Can PaaBoongPaaThaamsurvive transformation? Previous changes proved unsustainable Wetlands in the Mekong basin Wetland resilience zone Productivity Disruptive change Unstable zone Green water Blue water

22. Lessons learnt from MUS Multiple Use water Systems Multiple use water systems are an effective way to fightpoverty by improvingaccess to agricultural water Experience shows that farmers use/re-use multiple (up to 9!) sources of water

23. Domestic water: An ignored form of blue water Homestead-scale MUS gives high resilience against natural- and human-made volatility Especially for the poor and for women generates ‘more MDG per drop’ Multiple-use water ladder, with household water-derived income ranging from US$40 to 300/year Costs for multiple-use supplies for homestead-based production typically repaid within 3 years, from the income gained, therefore cross-subsidize domestic uses

24. How MUS increases resilience Ability to use multiple sources under various climatic conditions or as emergency provision, key for resilience Community-scale MUS allows building on what communities have been doing since time immemorial MUS - everywhere MUS resilience zone Productivity Single uses unstable zone Green water Blue water

25. Multiple water uses, techniques and sources, together with resulting community organization do increase resilience Neglecting the green-to-blue water continuum createsunaffordable disruptive changes Multiple use/sources resilience Productivity Disruptive Change Rainfed humid Single uses unstable zone Rainfed dry Green water Blue water Resilience in the green-to-bluewater continuum: A synthesis

26. Thankyou Alain Vidal, CPWF Directora.vidal@cgiar.org www.waterandfood.org