By 2025, around four billion people will live in conditions of severe water stress. But the seventh Millennium Development Goal aims to halve the number of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water by 2015. How can policymakers make this happen?

In recent decades, many countries have reformed legislation relating to water resources and rights. In 1992, the United Nations hosted a conference that developed some basic principles which came to be known as ‘integrated water resource management’. Later, this approach developed further to embrace land management. But although integrated approaches to water and land management feature strongly on international policy agendas, the governance of water is in a state of confusion in many countries, with conflicting views on the best approach to managing water resources.

Relationships between water resources and land use are poorly understood. A common view is that planting trees improves water availability by attracting rainfall and storing water. India’s national water policy is based on the premise that forest cover conserves water in a catchment. However, research conducted under the Forestry Research Programme, UK, challenges this argument.

The research involved several projects in South Africa, Tanzania, Grenada and India. Researchers used mathematical modelling and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to produce detailed predictions about the relationship between vegetation and water flows and quality. The researchers in these projects also analysed local people’s response to a range of water management options, all of which involve trade-offs.

The research shows:

• In Limpopo Province, South Africa, upgrading water supply to private homes would make the greatest impact on the welfare of rural people. Allocating water for smallholder irrigation schemes promotes food self-sufficiency but in semi-arid conditions, improvements in rainfed farming may benefit more people under water scarcity.
• In India, many rural areas are under the jurisdiction of different ministries, so it is hard to determine what is happening at the watershed scale. This results in mixed messages being sent to government ministers working on land use and water management.
• In Grenada, farmers use pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers and clear land for agriculture. These activities may contaminate water supplies. The research tested two schemes which offer farmers payments to reduce these activities and manage water quality.

Development workers and policymakers who set frameworks for water resource management need support systems to assist them in decision-making and in negotiations between water users and managers. These findings have important implications for the water managers and policymakers:

• If water shortages are a problem in dry countries, limits should be imposed on forest plantations, especially of fast-growing evergreen species.
• If upland forests are cleared for cultivation, farmers should be provided with guidelines on best agricultural practice.
• Models and decision support systems that evaluate the impact of alternative land management options on water resources exist and should be used by policymakers.

Source(s):
‘From the mountain to the tap: how land use and water management can work for the rural poor’, Natural Resources International, by Becky Hayward, 2005 Full document.

Funded by: DFID Forestry Research Programme Projects R7991; R7937

id21 Research Highlight: 24 March 2006

Further Information:
Katelijne Rothschild
Forestry Research Programme
Natural Resources International Limited
Park House
Bradbourne Lane, Aylesford
Kent, ME20 6SN
UK

Tel: +44 (0) 1732 878 692
Fax: +44 (0) 1732 220 497
Contact the contributor: k.rothschild@nrint.co.uk

Forestry Research Programme, UK

Other related links:
'Is trade in virtual water a solution for water-scarce countries?'

'The value of rainfed agriculture in a world short of water'

'Tackling water scarcity in India: farmer participation in irrigation management'

'Managing the business costs of water scarcity'

See id21's links for forestry

See id21's links for water