Uniting agriculture and nature for poverty reduction

What is WLE (Water, Land and Ecosystems)? The CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems

(WLE) is a global research program promoting a new integrated approach to sustainable intensification.

A healthy functioning ecosystem is seen as a prerequisite to sustainable agricultural development, resilience of food systems and human well-being.

Led by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), the Program combines the resources of 11 CGIAR centres (IWMI, ICARDA,CIAT, ICRISAT, ICRAF, Biodiversity, CIP, IFPRI, ILRI, IITA, WorldFish), and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Uniting agriculture and nature for poverty reduction

Why the Research Project? The overall hypothesis is that implementing

a multidisciplinary ecosystems-based approach to agriculture will result in sustainable intensification.

This will increase food, nutritional and livelihood security by creating resilient, equitable socio-ecosystems that provide multiple services over long time frames.

Uniting agriculture and nature for poverty reduction

WLE recognizes six Ecosystem Services and Resilience principles:

1. Meeting the needs of poor people and marginalized groups is fundamental.

2. Equity and gender are vital building blocks for enhancing and maintaining ecosystem services; therefore empowering women and men including youth to meet their needs is critical.

3. People and nature are intrinsically linked; enhanced ecosystem services to and from

agriculture can improve livelihoods.

Uniting agriculture and nature for poverty reduction

Contd. principle 4. Cross-scale interactions in agricultural

landscapes can be managed to positively impact development actions and outcomes.

5. Governance mechanisms are vital tools for achieving equitable access to and provision

of ecosystem services. 6. Building resilience is about enhancing the

capacity of communities to sustainably adapt and develop in an uncertain world.

Uniting agriculture and nature for poverty reduction

WLE Ganges -Poject-5 for 2105-16

One of the largest basin -1.2million km2 area 1/3 of Bangladesh, a majority of India and whole of Nepal within this basin About 655 Million population- of which 30 % below poverty

level Agriculture still remains the mean of livelihoods for majority of the Ganges

basin for the foreseeable future. agricultural productivity in the basin is extremely low relative to global

averages. Improving water use efficiency and water productivity would significantly contribute to food security, poverty reduction, and economic growth in the basin.

One of the important project is spring revival and solar irrigation pump for the agricultural development of Mid-hill and Terai region of Nepal.