Press Clippings

Press coverage of the Challenge Program on Water and Food

• In Search Of A Good Dam On The Mekong | Asian Scientist MagazineDecember 5, 2012, 5:05 pm

  Plans to harness hydropower potential in the Lower Mekong Basin for the first time has led to a search for a good dam. This is the issue that some 200 scientists, development experts, policy makers, and representatives from the hydropower sector wanted to resolve when they participated in last month’s [...]

• In Search Of A Good Dam On The Mekong | Asian Scientist Magazine | Science, Technology and Medicine News Updates From AsiaDecember 5, 2012, 5:05 pm

  Plans to harness hydropower potential in the Lower Mekong Basin for the first time has led to a search for a good dam. This is the issue that some 200 scientists, development experts, policy makers, and representatives from the hydropower sector wanted to resolve when they participated in last month’s [...]

• Study reveals extent of Mekong dam food security threatDecember 3, 2012, 3:57 am

  [HANOI] The planned construction of hydropowered dams on the Mekong River in South-East Asia could jeopardise livelihoods, water access and food security for 60 million people, across Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, according to a study. The study reports that dams will block fish migration routes and decimate fish supplies [...]

• Study reveals extent of Mekong dam food security threat–SciDevDecember 3, 2012, 3:57 am

  [HANOI] The planned construction of hydropowered dams on the Mekong River in South-East Asia could jeopardise livelihoods, water access and food security for 60 million people, across Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, according to a study. The study reports that dams will block fish migration routes and decimate fish supplies [...]

• In the Mekong, it’s dam if you do, dam if you don’t – AlertNetNovember 30, 2012, 4:32 am

  Sompong Viengchan is shown standing in front of a long, narrow concrete water channel on a steep slope beside the Pak Mun hydropower dam in northern Thailand, on a tributary of the Mekong River. The concrete fish ladder was built as an afterthought when environmentalists’ warnings about the dam’s impact [...]

• Dam resettlement strategies need review | Bangkok Post: opinionNovember 28, 2012, 2:15 am

  At a recent forum in Hanoi, hydrologists, academics and NGOs agreed that projects often sink or swim depending on how they deal with those displaced by dams and urged governments to take a bigger role in implementing effective policies and compensation from the start

• IRIN Africa | WATER: Enough in the Nile to share, little to waste | Ethiopia | Conflict | Early Warning | Economy | Environment | Food Security | Water & SanitationNovember 17, 2012, 2:13 am

  As Ethiopia’s massive dam-building plans continue to cause disquiet in downstream Egypt, new research suggests there is sufficient water in the Nile for all 10 countries it flows through, and that poverty there could be significantly eased as long as access by small-scale farmers is boosted.

• Water, Food Problems: Scientific research must for solutionNovember 12, 2012, 7:47 am

  A scientific research based development strategy that promotes the policy of institutional and technological innovations is crucial for Bangladesh to enhance its water productivity and ecosystem services in an equitable and sustainable manner, said scientists yesterday. They opined this at a science workshop on Ganges Basin Development Challenge (GBDC) organised [...]

• New Book Explores Nile River (Afro FM 105.3)November 8, 2012, 5:42 am

  The book, titled “The Nile River Basin” was officially launched here in Addis Ababa. The history, major current and future challenges and opportunities of the Nile River Basin were presented in great detail. Africa has currently turned its face towards better harnessing and managing its natural resources. Water is of [...]

• Smallholder farmers need improved stake in Nile’s development (Seed Daily)November 8, 2012, 5:28 am

  A new book finds that the Nile river, together with its associated tributaries and rainfall, could provide 11 countries – including a new country, South Sudan, and the drought-plagued countries of the Horn of Africa – with enough water to support a vibrant agriculture sector, but that the poor in [...]

• Without Better Water Management, Nile Basin’s Poorest Will Be Left Behind (Oosaka News)November 8, 2012, 5:26 am

  The Nile River Basin has the potential to supply enough freshwater to “provide a vibrant agricultural sector” in all 11 basin states, if “effective and inclusive water management practices” are put into place, according to a new publication launched in Addis Ababa on November 5 by the CGIAR (Consultative Group [...]

• Smallholder farmers need improved stake in Nile’s development (Phys.org)November 8, 2012, 5:17 am

  A new book finds that the Nile river, together with its associated tributaries and rainfall, could provide 11 countries—including a new country, South Sudan, and the drought-plagued countries of the Horn of Africa—with enough water to support a vibrant agriculture sector, but that the poor in the region who rely [...]

• Voldoende water in de Nijl (Nederlands Dagblad)November 8, 2012, 5:16 am

  ADDIS ABEBA – De rivier de Nijl bevat voldoende water om de inwoners van alle elf landen in het stroomgebied – inclusief het nieuwe Zuid-Sudan – van water te voorzien. Maar het watermanagement moet dan wel worden aangepast. Dat staat in een boek dat vandaag is gepubliceerd door het CGIAR [...]

• New Solutions Offered for Nile Basin Region Smallholder FarmersNovember 8, 2012, 5:11 am

  A new book offers unique solutions to the complex issues surrounding the use and sharing of the water from the world’s longest river, the Nile. The book, “The Nile River Basin: Water, Agriculture, Governance and Livelihoods”, offers new research and analysis that go beyond the subject of irrigation using the [...]

• “No reason to go for war on the River Nile”: Scholars (Ethiopian Herald)November 8, 2012, 5:00 am

  A new book entitled “The Nile River Basin: Water, Agriculture, Governance and Livelihood” revealed that the Nile River, together with its associated tributaries and rainfall, could provide the 11 countries including a new country, South Sudan, and the drought-plagued countries of the Horn of Africa with enough water to support [...]

• More ‘crop per drop’? Only when ‘more milk per drop’ saves the poor as well as Nile Basin waterflows (ILRI)November 7, 2012, 2:38 am

  Ten years ago, scientists at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) established a partnership centred at ILRI’s campus in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The partnership was formed to address widespread concerns that livestock consume excessive amounts of water and that livestock keeping is a [...]

• Ambiente: c’e’ abbastanza acqua nel Nilo per sviluppo Africa (AGI)November 6, 2012, 10:14 am

  Addis Abeba, 5 nov. – Una nuova pubblicazione sostiene che il fiume Nilo, insieme ai suoi affluenti e alla pioggia, e’ in grado di fornire ad undici paesi, tra cui il Sudan del Sud e le aree tormentate dalla siccita’ del Corno d’Africa, acqua sufficiente a sostenere l’agricoltura. Il libro [...]

• Rio+20: CGIAR calls for equal sharing of natural resources (AlertNet)November 6, 2012, 9:56 am

  In our RIO+20 Call-to-action, CGIAR urged addressing the unequal sharing of natural resources and their benefits through improved governance and technology dissemination. But what does that practically mean? We sat around the table with four distinguished guests to find out more: Steve Hall (Director General, WorldFish Center), Peter McCornick (Deputy [...]

• Sustainable agriculture needs integrated solutions (AlertNet)November 6, 2012, 9:56 am

  In our RIO+20 Call-to-action, CGIAR called for “adopting cross-sectoral approaches which facilitate broader partnerships, coordinated regulatory frameworks and appropriate economic incentives. We need the vision and courage to transcend conventional sectoral approaches and apply integrated thinking to the management of agriculture, aquaculture, livestock, forests and water.” We wanted to find [...]

• Re-greening Uganda’s cattle corridor (New Agriculturist)November 6, 2012, 9:55 am

  Uganda’s ‘cattle corridor’, which makes up the northern third of the country, is among the most degraded areas in the upper Nile basin, following years of overgrazing and charcoal production. Repeated attempts have been made to reseed and restore the bare land without success, as grass seedlings are quickly eaten [...]

• Bangladesh’s Rice Man (AlertNet)November 6, 2012, 9:33 am

  Growing up in Bangladesh’s flood-prone and salt affected coastal areas, Manoranjan Mondal saw firsthand the hardships facing hundreds of thousands of poor rice farmers.

• Sweden to Fund Innovations in Water Sector (Inter Press Service)November 6, 2012, 5:11 am

  When the international community was struggling to ward off a potential decline in development aid in early 2000, it came up with a novel idea: a proposal for “new and innovative sources of financing”, including a tax on airline tickets and a levy on foreign exchange transactions. The funding, mostly [...]

• Groundwater irrigation actually reduces poverty: Aditi Mukherji (Times Of India)November 6, 2012, 5:05 am
• Wary as Nile basin development leaves out the poor (Africa Science News)November 6, 2012, 5:04 am

  The Nile river could provide 11 countries—including a new country, South Sudan, and the drought-plagued countries of the Horn of Africa—with enough water to support a vibrant agriculture sector, but the poor in the region who rely on the river for their food and incomes risk missing out on these [...]

• Perú instalará “Pabellón de Montañas” en Cumbre Río+20 | InforegionMay 29, 2012, 7:40 am
• How to grow rice with less water – AlertNetMay 29, 2012, 7:40 am
• World Water Forums Expose Large Dams as ‘Unsustainable’ – IPS ipsnews.netApril 29, 2012, 4:48 am

  Numerous non-governmental organisations used the World Water Forum (WWF) held in Marseille last week as an opportunity to remind the international community about the serious global impacts of large dams all over the world. Defined as dams higher than 15 metres or with a reservoir volume of at least three [...]

• Niger river dams could displace 1.5 million – 22 March 2012 – New ScientistApril 29, 2012, 4:46 am

  the inner Niger delta in northern Mali, one of the world’s largest wetlands, could soon run almost completely dry every fourth year. Massive engineering works on the Niger river, West Africa’s largest river, are set to turn the delta into a desiccated sump. The result would be a “human catastrophe [...]

• New Agriculturist: Brèves – La vidéo participative au service des agriculteurs en EthiopieApril 11, 2012, 1:48 pm

  L’Ethiopie reçoit des précipitations abondantes souvent suivies de longues périodes de pénuries d’eau, ce qui entraîne des problèmes d’érosion des sols importants. Bien souvent, les interventions de gestion des eaux de pluie dans le pays tiennent peu compte des besoins et des réalités des communautés agricoles locales. Toutefois, grâce à [...]

• EDF’s Wolf Calls For Three Sectors, Water-Energy-Food, To Be Governed By One Policy – ForbesMarch 23, 2012, 6:49 am

  Today is UN’s World Water Day with water and food security as its theme. Leading up to it, panelists gathered at the 6th World Water Forum in Marseille, France last Friday to discuss creating a more systematic approach in understanding the linkages between water, food and one additional sector, energy, [...]

• Hydropower ‘could supply Africa’s entire power needs’ – SciDev.NetMarch 20, 2012, 11:39 pm

  Hydropower could supply all of Africa’s electricity needs if cross-border cooperation was stepped up, according to a UN report launched last week (12 March) at the World Water Forum in Marseilles, France.

• Energy companies pledge to measure impacts of large dam projects | Global development | guardian.co.ukMarch 19, 2012, 9:15 pm

  Two of the world’s largest energy companies committed last week to assess the impacts of their hydropower projects using new voluntary guidelines to evaluate the economic, social, and environmental consequences of big dam projects. But civil society activists denounced the protocol as an attempt to “greenwash” the industry.

• The Dusty Limpopo RiverMarch 15, 2012, 9:30 pm

  Chapita Ramovha remembers the days when the Limpopo River lapped at the foot of his village in south Zimbabwe. He says that back then residents of Makakavhule village had to build high walls to protect their homes from flooding. “The Limpopo River was a marvel to watch, a beauty of [...]

• Joined-up thinking on water, energy and foodMarch 15, 2012, 3:26 pm

  Africa’s third longest river, the Niger, is a source of water, food and energy for nine West African countries. But frequent droughts induced by a changing climate, and exacerbated by rapidly growing demand, pose a threat to water availability and livelihoods. Big hydroelectric projects involving the building of dams on [...]

• Integration of Global Water, Food and Energy Policies Can Divert Future Conflict Argue ExpertsMarch 13, 2012, 12:28 am

  Mar 12 2012 — As food and energy production intensify around the world, their demands on dwindling water resources have prompted the search for an innovative and collaborative solution. On Friday, March 16, a High Level Panel convened by the EDF Group and the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and [...]

• Fresh Warning of Water WarsMarch 13, 2012, 12:26 am

  As non-governmental organisations question the relevance of the World Water Forum being held here this week and slam its “corporate” nature, the United Nations says that a coordinated approach to managing and allocating water is critical.

• Experts: Integrate global water, food and energy policies to divert future conflictMarch 12, 2012, 8:49 am

  As food and energy production intensify around the world, their demands on dwindling water resources have prompted the search for an innovative and collaborative solution. On Friday, March 16, a High Level Panel convened by the EDF Group and the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) will gather [...]

• People’s Daily–Mekong countries hold forum on sustainable development of water, food, energyFebruary 1, 2012, 9:29 am
• Hatfield Group–Hatfield Participates in the Mekong Forum on Water, Food and EnergyFebruary 1, 2012, 9:29 am
• Bangkok Post–Food security key issue in mekong dam debateFebruary 1, 2012, 9:28 am

  Not only is the waterway home to millions of people, but the freshwater fish it supplies is a major food source for the people of four different countries

• Phnom Penh Post–Transparency sought in Xayaburi decisionFebruary 1, 2012, 9:27 am
• National Geographic–Africans Must Adapt to Drought in Warming World: ReportFebruary 1, 2012, 9:26 am

  Climate change will call for more flexible solutions to water challenges.

• Le Pays–Bassin de la VoltaFebruary 1, 2012, 9:25 am

  En 2010, cinq projets de recherche ont été mis en place pour répondre au “Défi de développement du Bassin de la Volta” afin de contribuer à la réduction de la pauvreté et au renforcement de la résilience des moyens de subsistance dans le bassi…

• Business Guide Ghana–Harvesting rainwater as a way of lifeFebruary 1, 2012, 9:24 am

  Farmers at Bawjiase in the Central region used to be proud of their green and high yielding farms during the dry season but today the story is different and most of them are out of business.

• Rite fm Online–Policy on transfer of agro-based technologies developedFebruary 1, 2012, 9:23 am

  Ghana has developed a policy aimed at the development, application and transfer of agro-based techonogies for sustainable agriculture and food security.

• IPS International–Recueillir plus d’eau de pluie pour faire face aux changements climatiquesFebruary 1, 2012, 9:22 am

  Trois mois avant le début de la saison pluvieuse écoulée, Jacob Tumbulto, directeur par intérim de l’observatoire de l’Autorité du bassin de la Volta (VBA), et ses collègues des institutions sous régionales, avaient prédit lors d’une renc…

• BBC News – Laos Mekong Xayaburi dam plan delayed againDecember 9, 2011, 5:01 am