International Water Management Institute
Encyclopedia
The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) is a non-profit research organisation with headquarters in Colombo
, Sri Lanka
, and offices across Africa and Asia. Research at the Institute focuses on improving how water and land resources are managed, with the aim of underpinning food security and reducing poverty while safeguarding vital environmental processes.
As water becomes scarcer, there is a growing need to find ways to produce sufficient food to feed the world’s expanding population, while using less water, safeguarding fragile environmental services and without having much opportunity to open up new agricultural lands. The Institute undertakes research projects with this aim in mind.
Its research focuses on: water availability and access, including adaptation to climate change; how water is used and how it can be used more productively; water quality and its relationship to health and the environment; and how societies govern their water resources.
Part of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
(CGIAR), IWMI is about to expand its collaborative work within its parent organisation under a new 'mega program' known as CGIAR Research Project 5. This will widen its focus to Water, Ecosystems and Land.
and the Government of Sri Lanka, supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
and the World Bank
. During the Green Revolution
of the 1940s to 1970s, billions of dollars had been spent building large-scale irrigation systems. These contributed, along with new fertilizers, pesticides and high-yielding varieties of seeds, to helping many countries produce greater quantities of food crops. By the mid 1980s, however, these irrigation systems were no longer performing efficiently; IIMI's job was to find out why.
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 Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit gave credence to this approach by recommending that water management be decentralized, with farmers and other stakeholders playing a more important role in managing natural resources. Initially met with resistance, PIM went on to become the status quo for governments and major lending agencies. IIMI became a member of the CGIAR system in 1991.
analysis and environmental flows. In 1998, its name changed to the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), reflecting this new wider approach.
Although it was becoming evident that water could no longer be considered an infinite resource, as had been the case in the 1950s when there were fewer people on the planet, no one knew just how scarce the resource was. This prompted IWMI to try and find out. Its research culminated in publication of Water for food, Water for life: A comprehensive assessment of water management in agriculture. A map within the report showed that a third of the world’s population already suffered from ‘water scarcity’. The report defined physical water scarcity
, as being where there are insufficient water resources to meet the demands of the population, and economic water scarcity
as where water requirements are not satisfied because of a lack of investment in water or human capacity.
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. At Stockholm World Water Week 2010, IWMI highlighted a six-point plan for averting a water crisis. According to the Institute, the following actions are required: 1) gather high-quality data about water resources; 2) take better care of the environment; 3) reform how water resources are governed; 4) revitalize how water is used for farming; 5) better manage urban and municipal demands for water; and 6) involve marginalized people in water management.
In 2011, IWMI celebrated its 25th anniversary by commissioning a series of essays on agricultural and development themes.
and World Bank
both indicated that governments should cut the electricity subsidies and charge farmers based on metered consumption of power. However, when some state governments tried to do so, the farmers formed such powerful lobbies that several chief ministers lost their seats. A different solution was clearly required.
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 greatly boosted individuals’ well-being.
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, and offices across Africa and Asia. Research at the Institute focuses on improving how water and land resources are managed, with the aim of underpinning food security and reducing poverty while safeguarding vital environmental processes.
As water becomes scarcer, there is a growing need to find ways to produce sufficient food to feed the world’s expanding population, while using less water, safeguarding fragile environmental services and without having much opportunity to open up new agricultural lands. The Institute undertakes research projects with this aim in mind.
Its research focuses on: water availability and access, including adaptation to climate change; how water is used and how it can be used more productively; water quality and its relationship to health and the environment; and how societies govern their water resources.
Part of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
The CGIAR is a strategic alliance that unites organizations involved in agricultural research for sustainable development with the donors that fund such work. These donors include governments of developing and industrialized countries, foundations and international and regional organizations...
(CGIAR), IWMI is about to expand its collaborative work within its parent organisation under a new 'mega program' known as CGIAR Research Project 5. This will widen its focus to Water, Ecosystems and Land.
Early focus on irrigation
The Institute was originally founded under the name International Irrigation Management Institute (IIMI) in 1985 by the Ford FoundationFord Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
and the Government of Sri Lanka, supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
The CGIAR is a strategic alliance that unites organizations involved in agricultural research for sustainable development with the donors that fund such work. These donors include governments of developing and industrialized countries, foundations and international and regional organizations...
and the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
. During the Green Revolution
Green Revolution
Green Revolution refers to a series of research, development, and technology transfer initiatives, occurring between the 1940s and the late 1970s, that increased agriculture production around the world, beginning most markedly in the late 1960s....
of the 1940s to 1970s, billions of dollars had been spent building large-scale irrigation systems. These contributed, along with new fertilizers, pesticides and high-yielding varieties of seeds, to helping many countries produce greater quantities of food crops. By the mid 1980s, however, these irrigation systems were no longer performing efficiently; IIMI's job was to find out why.
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 Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit gave credence to this approach by recommending that water management be decentralized, with farmers and other stakeholders playing a more important role in managing natural resources. Initially met with resistance, PIM went on to become the status quo for governments and major lending agencies. IIMI became a member of the CGIAR system in 1991.
A wider perspective
By the mid 1990s, competition for water resources was rising, thanks to a larger global population, expanding cities and increasing industrial applications. Viewing irrigation in isolation was no longer relevant to the global situation. A new approach was needed that would consider it within a river basin context, encompassing competing users and the environment. IIMI began developing new fields of research, on topics such as open and closed basins, water accounting, multiple-use systems, basin institutions, remote sensingRemote sensing
Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon, without making physical contact with the object. In modern usage, the term generally refers to the use of aerial sensor technologies to detect and classify objects on Earth by means of propagated signals Remote sensing...
analysis and environmental flows. In 1998, its name changed to the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), reflecting this new wider approach.
Although it was becoming evident that water could no longer be considered an infinite resource, as had been the case in the 1950s when there were fewer people on the planet, no one knew just how scarce the resource was. This prompted IWMI to try and find out. Its research culminated in publication of Water for food, Water for life: A comprehensive assessment of water management in agriculture. A map within the report showed that a third of the world’s population already suffered from ‘water scarcity’. The report defined physical water scarcity
Physical water scarcity
Physical water scarcity is the situation where there is not enough water to meet all demands, including that needed for ecosystems to function effectively. Arid regions frequently suffer from physical water scarcity. It also occurs where water seems abundant but where resources are over-committed...
, as being where there are insufficient water resources to meet the demands of the population, and economic water scarcity
Economic water scarcity
Economic water scarcity is a type of water scarcity caused by a lack of investment in water or insufficient human capacity to satisfy the demand for water. Symptoms of economic water scarcity include a lack of infrastructure, with people often having to fetch water from rivers or lakes for domestic...
as where water requirements are not satisfied because of a lack of investment in water or human capacity.
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; the USA’s Worldwatch Institute featured a chapter on water management in its assessment State of the World 2008; 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. Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri, Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, also highlighted water scarcity at the 2009 Nobel Conference.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. At Stockholm World Water Week 2010, IWMI highlighted a six-point plan for averting a water crisis. According to the Institute, the following actions are required: 1) gather high-quality data about water resources; 2) take better care of the environment; 3) reform how water resources are governed; 4) revitalize how water is used for farming; 5) better manage urban and municipal demands for water; and 6) involve marginalized people in water management.
In 2011, IWMI celebrated its 25th anniversary by commissioning a series of essays on agricultural and development themes.
Using water management to reduce poverty
IWM's work in Gujarat, India, exemplifies how improving water management can have an influence on peoples' livelihoods. The state faced the dual problem of bankrupt electricity utilities and depleted groundwater storage following the introduction of electricity subsidies to farmers from around 1970. The situation arose because the subsidies enabled farmers to easily pump groundwater from ever-increasing depths. The Asian Development BankAsian Development Bank
The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966 to facilitate economic development of countries in Asia...
and World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
both indicated that governments should cut the electricity subsidies and charge farmers based on metered consumption of power. However, when some state governments tried to do so, the farmers formed such powerful lobbies that several chief ministers lost their seats. A different solution was clearly required.
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 greatly boosted individuals’ well-being.