Integrating Ecosystem Solutions
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Item Income inequality within smallholder irrigation schemes in Sub-Saharan Africa(Journal Article, 2017-09-03) Manero, AnaEquitable income distribution is recognized as critical for poverty reduction, particularly in developing areas. Most of the existing literature is based on region- or country-wide data; fewer empirical studies exist at community levels. This article examines income disparities within six smallholder irrigation schemes in Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Mozambique, comparing inequality at local and national levels, as well as decomposing inequality by group and by source. The results present significant contrasts between schemes and compared to national figures. This evidences that, inadvertently, nation-wide strategies may overlook high inequality at smaller scales, and thus, development policies should be tailored to the specific areas of intervention.Item Agricultural Development and Sustainable Intensification(Book Chapter, 2018) Merrey, Douglas J.; Mondal, Manoranjan K.; Hoanh, Chu Thai; Humphreys, Elizabeth; Dao, NgaThe livelihoods of people living in coastal deltas, especially in poor tropical countries, are being undermined by multiple insidious trends. Historically, these deltas have attracted large numbers of people, leading to high population densities, because they offer a wide range of ecosystem services. Tropical deltas are characterized by a combination of highly fertile land, multiple marine and freshwater resources, and rich biodiversity. Deltas are often the “breadbaskets” or “rice bowls” of the nations or regions where they are located: examples are the Nile, Irrawaddy, Mississippi and the Cauvery, as well as the Ganges and Mekong river deltas. However, deltas around the world are facing growing threats to their integrity and productivity. The origins of these threats are both anthropogenic and natural, and include the impacts of growing urbanization; agricultural intensication; anthropogenic alterations of ow paths and ood plains; upstream water consumption and pollution; over-extraction of groundwater; trapping of sediments; climate change; sea-level rise whose effects are amplied by sinking land levels and sedimentation of river beds; and extreme events such as river ooding and tidal surges (Renaud et al., 2013).Item Promoting sustainable agriculture in Africa through ecosystem‑based farm management practices: evidence from Ghana(Journal Article, 2018-12) Agula, C.; Akudugu, M.A.; Dittoh, Saa; Mabe, F. N.**Background** The type of farming practices employed within an agro-ecosystem have some effects on its health and sustainable agricultural production. Thus, it is important to encourage farmers to make use of ecosystem-friendly farming practices if agricultural production is to be sustainable and this requires the identification of the critical success factors. This paper therefore examined the factors to consider in promoting sustainable agriculture production in Africa through ecosystem-based farm management practices (EBFMPs) using Ghana as a case study. The study employed mixed methods—qualitative and quantitative techniques. Data were collected through key informant interviews, focus group discussions and a semi-structured questionnaire administered to 300 households. The Poisson and negative binomial models were employed to determine the factors that influence farmers’ intensity of adoption of EBFMPs. Eight (8) EBFMPs were used in the paper as the dependent variable, which are organic manure application, conservation of vegetation, conservative tillage, mulching, crop rotation, intercropping with legumes, efficient drainage system and soil bunding. **Results** The paper found that the intensity of adoption of EBFMPs is significantly determined by the age of farmers, distance to farms, perception of soil fertility, knowledge of EBFMPs, number of extension visits and the type of irrigation scheme available to farmers. **Conclusions** To promote sustainable agricultural production in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa using EBFMBs, these factors must be considered.Item Making Local Water Planning Gender and Socially Inclusive: Towards Gender Inclusive Water Sector Development(Report, 2017) International Centre for Integrated Mountain DevelopmentA crucial natural resource, water plays a multi-faceted role in the lives of rural residents in Nepal. However, climate change threatens to disturb that relationship as variations in temperature, rainfall, and rainfall patterns are affecting water availability. Thus, water scarcity has become an increasingly challenging issue, oftentimes leading to conflict, which leads to excess workloads for everyone. In situations like these, power differentials between men and women as well as different social groups can unduly influence decision-making processes around water.Item Springs, Storage Towers, and Water Conservation in the Midhills of Nepal(Report, 2016) Sharma, B.; Nepal, S.; Gyawali, D.; Pokharel, G. S.; Wahid, S.; Mukherji, A.; Acharya, S.; Shrestha, A. B.This pilot action research would not have been possible without the unstinting support of many people who, like us, felt that a big gap exists in the understanding of the geohydrology of the Himalayan midhills and its influence on the livelihoods of the millions who depend upon it. ICIMOD expressed interest in the initial ideas put forward by the Nepal Water Conservation Foundation (NWCF) and supported this research with time, resources, and encouragement. We especially thank David Molden, Director of ICIMOD, Renate Fleiner, Kanchan Shrestha, and all the team members of ICIMOD for their support. We would also like to thank Ingrid Schneider and Narendra Dangol of Namobuddha Resort, and Gopal Dahal of Lutheran World Federation and his field support team. Special thanks are due to Madhukar Upadhya, one of the founding members of NWCF, whose pioneering book on springs and ponds Pokhari ra Pahiro was the inspirational source of this study. We also drew inspiration from the insights of Jari Lukka, Team Leader, while preparing a handbook for recharge pond construction for the WASH Program of the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project in Western Nepal (RWSSPWN) supported by FINNIDA. The massive earthquake that struck Nepal on 25 April 2015 caused a major disaster in the villages in the areas where this research was carried out. In Dapcha alone, almost 90% of the houses were destroyed. The people in our study area have our deepest sympathy and we will support them in any way we can. We understand that rebuilding will be a long process, and having sufficient water to meet daily needs will be critical before, during, and after rehabilitation. In the second phase of this project, we have started an investigation to discover whether the springs, wells, and deep borings in the area have been disrupted, whether new sources of water have appeared, and whether any immediate action can be taken to help recharge existing low discharge and dried up springs. The local communities and leading village voices in our pilot study areas in Daraune Pokhari and Tinpiple provided tremendous help to our team in carrying out the fieldwork by providing valuable information, insights, and local knowledge, and most of all a warm welcome and hospitality to all of us. We especially wish to thank Nawaraj Adhikari, Krishna Bahadur Tamang, Dinesh Adhikari, Hari Adhikari, Keshav Humagain, and Rajina Adhikari of Dapcha, and Bhoj Raj Panta, Badri Prasad Dhungana, Narayan Sapkota, and Saroj Dhital of Tinpiple, as well as the many other members of the community who helped us at both sites.Item Assessing land suitability for aquifer storage and recharge in northern Ghana using remote sensing and GIS multi-criteria decision analysis technique(Journal Article, 2017-12) Owusu, Seth; Mul, Marloes L.; Ghansah, Benjamin; Osei-Owusu, P.K.; Awotwe-Pratt, V.; Kadyampakeni, D.Increasing climate variability and challenge in access to water pose major impediments to rainfed agricultural productivity. Extensive flooding of agricultural lands during the rainy season and lack of water during the 8-month long dry season affect the livelihood of the people in the northern Ghana, a situation that calls for better water management practices. The use of aquifer storage and recharge (ASR) based technique, helps to reduce flooding and improve access to water during the dry season; however such technology has specific requirements for successful implementation. This study assesses suitable areas for the technology in the northern Ghana terrain using multi criteria decision analysis (MCDA) in ArcGIS environment. The result suggests around 66% (48,516 km2) of the crop area in the northern Ghana available for the technology are within moderate to very high suitable sites, of which 44% (29,490 km2) fall into the high and very high suitable sites. This could imply high potential for the artificial groundwater storage system in northern Ghana given other conditions.