Although gender issues are today a priority on the agendas of irrigation policy makers, interventionists, farm leaders and researchers, there is still a considerable gap between positive intentions and concrete action. An important but hitherto ignored reason for this is the lack of adequate generic concepts and tools that are policy-relevant and can accommodate the vast variation in irrigation contexts worldwide. The Gender Performance Indicator for Irrigation (GPII) aims to fill this gap. In any particular scheme, this tool diagnoses the gendered organization of farming and gender-based inclusion or exclusion in irrigation institutions. It informs irrigation agencies what they themselves can do for effective change-if necessary. The tool also identifies gender issues beyond a strict mandate of irrigation water provision. The Indicator was applied and tested in nine case studies in Africa and Asia. The research report presents the underlying concepts, methodological guidelines and selected applications of the GPII.

The overall goal of the Collaborative Program on ‘Investments in Agricultural Water Management in Sub-Saharan Africa’ is to contribute to broad-based sustainable poverty reduction and smallholder agricultural growth. The component on ‘Poverty considerations in investments in agricultural water management’ focuses in more detail on poverty and gender dimensions. It consists of two parts. The first part is thematic and elaborates poverty and gender issues emerging from the literature that complement the other components of the Collaborative Program. Part two is empirical. Acknowledging the lack of empirical data on poverty impacts of investments in agricultural water management, the Collaborative Program initiated case studies throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. Eight case studies on ‘Agricultural Water Development for Poverty Reduction in Eastern and Southern Africa’, for which the field research was conducted in 2003/2004, were supported by IFAD (Peacock,2005). Further, the African Development Bank supported three case studies in West Africa in 2004, two by Kamara et al. (2004), and one by Babatunde Omilola (2005). Part two synthesizes the empirical findings of these case studies.

Only 4 percent of arable land in sub-Saharan Africa is irrigated, using just 2 percent of the available water resources. Furthermore, 18 percent of the area equipped for irrigation is not utilized at all and the intensity of use varies between 50 percent and 80 percent. This highlights the huge potential available for intensifying and expanding irrigated area, provided that the investments required can be successfully mobilized. However, it must be noted that if investments in irrigation are to yield satisfactory returns, investments must also be made in a series of related activities. Current global figures for the amount of private investment in irrigation confirm that good returns can indeed be achieved. Prospects for sub-Saharan Africa would be far more favorable if public development assistance, particularly foreign direct investments, did not show declining trends.

This book analyzes water policies in South Asia from the perspective of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). It seeks to address the problems of water scarcity, conflict and pollution resulting from the gross mismanagement and over-exploitation of this finite resource. Highlighting the need for IWRM in mitigating abuse and ensuring sustainable use, it discusses issues relating to groundwater management; inter-state water conflicts; peri-urban water use; local traditional water management practices; coordination between water users and uses; and water integration at the grassroots level. With case studies from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal, the innovative, painstaking and transnational researches presented in the volume deal with questions of equity, gender, sustainability, and democratic governance in water policy interventions. It will interest researchers and students of development studies, environmental studies, natural resource management, water governance, and public administration, as also water sector professionals, policymakers, civil society activists and governmental and nongovernmental organizations.