International Water Management Institute
Formation | 1985 |
---|---|
Type | Nonprofit research organisation |
Location |
|
Key people | Dr Mark Smith, Director General; Syon Niyogi, Corporate Services Director |
Parent organization | CGIAR |
Website | www |
Remarks | IWMI won the 2012 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate |
The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) is a non-profit international
Its research focuses on:
IWMI is a member of CGIAR, a global research partnership that unites organizations engaged in research for sustainable development, and leads the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems. IWMI is also a partner in the CGIAR Research Programs on: Aquatic Agricultural Systems (AAS); Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS); Dryland Systems; and Integrated Systems for the Humid Tropics.
History
Early focus on irrigation
The institute was founded under the name International
IIMI's researchers discovered that problems affecting irrigation were often more institutional than technical. It advocated ‘Participatory Irrigation Management’ (PIM) as the solution, an approach that sought to involve farmers in water management decisions. In 1992, the
Wider perspective
By the mid-1990s, competition for water resources was rising, thanks to a larger global population, expanding cities and increasing industrial applications.
Although it was becoming evident that water could no longer be considered an "
Averting a global water crisis
IWMI's approach towards defining water scarcity provided a new context within which the scientific debate on water availability subsequently became centred. For example, the theme of the UN World Water Day in 2007 was Coping with Water Scarcity;[7] The USA's Worldwatch Institute featured a chapter on water management in its assessment State of the World 2008;[8] and reports published in 2009 by the World Economic Forum and UNESCO concluded that water scarcity is now a bigger threat than the global financial crisis.[9] Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri, Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, also highlighted water scarcity at the 2009 Nobel Conference.[10]
If current trends continue, global annual water usage is set to increase by more than two trillion cubic metres by 2030, rising to 6.9 trillion cubic metres. That equates to 40 per cent more than can be provided by available water supplies.
In 2011, IWMI celebrated its 25th anniversary by commissioning a series of essays on agricultural and development.
Using water management to reduce poverty
IWM's work in
IWMI scientists who studied the problem suggested governments should introduce ‘intelligent rationing’ of farm power supply by separating the power cables carrying electricity to farmers from those supplying other rural users, such as domestic households and industries. They should then provide farmers with a high-quality power supply for a set number of hours each day at a price they could afford. Eventually Gujarat decided to include these recommendations in a larger programme to reform the electricity utility. A study conducted afterwards found its impacts to be much greater than anticipated. Prior to the change, tube-well owners had been holding rural communities to ransom by ‘stealing’ power for irrigation. After the cables were separated, rural households, schools and industries had a much higher-quality power supply, which in turn boosted individuals’ well-being. [13]
See also
- Environmental impact of irrigation
References
- ^ SL-based IWMI wins world's most prestigious Water Prize Archived 2012-03-30 at the Wayback Machine, Daily News, 26 March 2012
- FAO
- ^ United Nations, 1992. Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, 3–14 June 1992
- ^ Chartres, C. and Varma, S. (2010). Out of Water: From abundance to scarcity and how to solve the world's water problems. FT Press (USA).
- ^ Turral, H. More crop per drop – Moving from dry to wet water savings Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine IWMI Annual Report 2004/2005.
- ^ BBC News Map details global water stress, Monday 21 August 2006.
- ^ UN World Water Day, 2007. Coping with water scarcity. Archived 2017-05-10 at the Wayback Machine 22 March 2007.
- ^ Bergkamp, G. and Sadoff, C. Chapter 8: Water in a sustainable economy, State of the World 2008 Archived 2009-04-01 at the Wayback Machine. Worldwatch Institute.
- ^ Lean, Geoffrey Water scarcity now bigger threat than financial crisis. The Independent, Sunday 15 March 2009.
- ^ Water scarcity will create global security concerns: Pachauri. The Economic Times, 7 October 2009.
- ^ Gilbert, N. How to avert a global water crisis. Nature News, 4 October 2010.
- ^ Eichenseher, Tasha. Six steps for avoiding a global water crisis Archived 2010-09-10 at the Wayback Machine Nat Geo News Watch, September 6, 2010.
- ^ Mishra, P. K. Alleviating energy poverty through innovation: the case of Jyotigram Yojana (rural lighting scheme) of Gujarat Archived 2011-07-26 at the Wayback Machine World Energy Council