This study is certainly most needed and timely.
In my view, it should articulate micro and macro dimensions of water management: so far there has been a bias – explicit and implicit - towards macro and commercially driven aspects. This must be rebalanced. But it should also give specific attention
o to the most vulnerable (food insecure) who may depend on access to water for their survival and have limited say or visibility
o to the most fragile eco-systems
You may therefore want to consider an initial section summarizing community level issues within representative territorial perspective?
An important dimension of access to water is that of opportunity cost for fetching water (and related gender and youth implications). Time and labour-saving interventions (including rainwater harvesting) can be essential for improved livelihoods.
I assume the section on Actors, entitlements and rights will bring out cultural dimensions: (I am thinking of water access problems linked to the cast system in Nepal).
The reference to water grabs is well appreciated. It is important that the study explicitly acknowledges the potential water grab effect of agriculture interventions: driving a borehole for horticulture (or for a guesthouse in an oasis) can have an impact on water access of people depending on the same groundwater table for their livelihoods (seasonally or not).
If we are aiming at sustainable development (and sustainable food systems), we need to adapt crops to the environment rather than the environment to crops, and screen irrigation efforts accordingly. Locally appropriate alternatives to increasingly standardized agriculture products should be systematically investigated. Retrieval of indigenous knowledge (including water management) and sustainable management of local biodiversity can contribute significantly to more effective water management.
The study may want to give more attention to the reuse of waste water, in particular in urban and peri-urban areas (I assume IWMI will be involved in this initiative?), and to the accountability of private sector (e.g. industry, mining companies) regarding contamination – I am thinking of the impact of effluents on homestead food production In the Andes, or on UPA in Nairobi. Water and food security are an important dimension of rural-urban linkages.
The study may also want to include DRM issues (e.g. prevention of floods), particularly in the context of climate change, as a key dimension of food security?
Florence EGAL