inter-Regional Technical Platform on Water Scarcity (iRTP-WS)

Knowing Water Better: Towards Fairer and More Sustainable Access to Natural Resources - KnoWat

01/02/2022

Competition for water resources between users will also increase. Smallholder farmers are particularly vulnerable to changes in water access and availability. Therefore, a strengthened focus on water accounting and water governance for agriculture and food.

In order to undertake the water resources assessment and to evaluate water management and allocation options, considering the multiple needs of water users, the project builds on the following tools and methods:

  • The use of WaPOR, FAO’s portal to monitor Water Productivity through Open access of Remotely sensed derived data, to access geospatial data on the water resources in the three countries.
  • The use of AQUASTAT, the FAO global information system on water resources and agricultural water management, to get information on water use in the three countries.
  • Water accounting and auditing (WA&A) to understand the water balance, including water supply and demand, and its spatial and temporal dimensions. This will help to make better use of water-related information.
  • Water tenure assessment to understand the formal - and legally binding - as well as customary and informal arrangements to access water. Exploring the concept of water tenure at country level contributes to better understand the different relationships between people and water resources.  

In Rwanda, several scenarios of water allocation will be explored in the context of increasing competition among water users. In Sri Lanka the project will analyze the different strategies to manage water in a more sustainable manner taking into account environmental protection, economic growth social equity. In Senegal the project will seek to better understand the interlinkages between water and land.

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