Vietnam News: Red sludge steel could solve VN's pollution problem (9 April 2014)

Red sludge steel could solve VN's pollution problem

Scientists have reported that experiments in making steel from red sludge, a by-product of producing aluminium, offers a solution to environmental problems in the bauxite-alumina project in the Central Highlands.— Photo daibieunhandan

HAI PHONG (VNS)— Scientists have reported that experiments in making steel from red sludge, a by-product of producing aluminium, offers a solution to environmental problems in the bauxite-alumina project in the Central Highlands.

The announcement was by Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai during a visit to a factory in Hai Phong City where the industrial-scale experiment was carried out.

The tests involved the Viet Nam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) and the Thai Hung Company.

The academy said red sludge, or red mud, a toxic by-product of the production of alumina from bauxite contained high amounts of iron. They added that this could give Viet Nam an advantage in steel production.

The report also said that a batch of steel refined from red mud met the strict standards set for Japanese SD 390 steel.

Nguyen Van Tuan, director of Thai Hung Company, said 2.4 tonnes of dry red mud could produce a tonne of iron ore.

Vu Duc Loi, deputy director of the Institute of Chemistry, said experiments would be completed by June and that the research team could then start feasibility studies on production.

Assessing the result of the trial project, Professor Nguyen Van Hieu, a leading scientist, said the project was a breakthrough in various ways, including opening up a path for more sustainable bauxite development.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai praised test results, saying they would help provide solutions to environmental degradation around the mining sites in the Central Highlands.

Hai aksed relevant parties to continue their research, adding that the Government would consider supporting the project with appropriate policies. — VNS

source from: http://vietnamnews.vn/environment/253519/red-sludge-steel-could-solve-vns-pollution-problem.html

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World News: Think Differently for Asia's Water, Food, and Energy Security - ADB President (6 Feb 2014)

Think Differently for Asia's Water, Food, and Energy Security - ADB President

NEW DELHI, INDIA – It is critical that Asia’s precious but increasingly scarce water resources are managed in a coordinated way to ensure the region has not only sufficient water but also enough food and energy to meet its needs, Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Takehiko Nakao said today.

“We need to think differently about water and its uses for food and energy production—and take action,” Mr. Nakao told delegates in a keynote speech at the 14th Delhi Sustainable Development Summit in New Delhi.

Asian Water Development Outlook 2013 notes that 36 of ADB’s 48 Asian member countries, including the People’s Republic of China and India, have poor water security, with some nations facing imminent water crises that threaten their food and energy security. ADB’s Food Security in Asia and the Pacific publication calls for a new approach in addressing malnutrition while theEnergy Outlook for Asia and the Pacific looks at the policy, social, infrastructure, and technology issues affecting energy demand.

Mr. Nakao said it is critical to look at the links - or nexus - between water, food, and energy.

Excessive groundwater has been extracted in some places because subsidized energy allows for unrestricted use of electric power pumps. This in turn threatens water shortages for farmers and a lower power supply to other users. Such distorted pricing must disappear.

Meanwhile, rising energy use will squeeze already scarce water resources since large quantities of water are needed for extracting energy and refining fuels.  As 80% of water use is for agriculture, water shortages lead to food shortages. The region must change its mindset to understand that “food wasted is water and energy wasted,” Mr.  Nakao said.

He said river basin organizations that gather users, utilities, and government representatives are key to resolving competition between different uses for water. ADB is working with such organizations to encourage collaborative water management, set up new institutions with better data and information, and encourage innovative technologies. These activities are helping improve water security for more than 400 million people in around 30 rivers basins in the region.

The annual Delhi Sustainable Development Summit gathers policymakers, experts, and leaders from business, academia, and civil society to discuss sustainable development. The event is organized by The Energy and Resources Institute, based in New Delhi.

source from: http://www.adb.org/news/think-differently-asias-water-food-and-energy-security-adb-president

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New Books: Water Tech A Guide to Investment, Innovation and Business Opportunities in the Water Sector By William Sarni, Tamin Pechet (30 Sep 2013)

Water Tech

A Guide to Investment, Innovation and Business Opportunities in the Water Sector

By William Sarni, Tamin Pechet

Routledge – 2013 – 224 pages

Descriptions:

This book unveils how the world in the twenty-first century will need to manage our most fundamental resource need, water. It outlines how stakeholders can improve water use in their homes, their businesses, and the world.

In particular, it focuses on the role of stakeholders in crafting a twenty-first century paradigm for water. Investors not only drive innovation through direct investment in new technologies but also by highlighting risk and driving reporting and disclosure within the business community.

Water Tech highlights the business drivers to address water related issues. These include business disruption, regulatory risk and reputational risk along with opportunities in the commercialization of innovative technologies such as desalination and water reuse and treatment. The authors argue that through increased attention on water scarcity through activities such as reporting and disclosure we are now accelerating innovation in the water industry. They show how we are just now capturing the true cost and value of water and this is creating opportunities for investors in the water sector. The text takes the reader through key aspects of emerging innovative technologies along with case studies and key issues on the path to commercialization. A roadmap of the opportunities in the water sector is presented based on interviews with leading authorities in the water field including innovators, investors, legal, regulatory experts and businesses.

Contents:

Foreword

Marcus Norton

Foreword

Tom Kostigen

Preface

Part 1: Innovation

Introduction

1. The Value of Water

2. Global Trends as Drivers for Innovation

Part 2: What is Water Tech?

Introduction

3. Do Water and Innovation "Mix?"

4. Water Supply

5. Water Demand

6. The Water, Energy, and Food Nexus

Part 3: Building the 21st Century Water Industry – Ideas, Money and Commercialization

Introduction

7. The Ideas

8. The Money

9. Commercialization

10. What does Success Look Like?

11. The Global World Water Forum 2024

For more information: http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9781849714730/

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New Books: Civil Society in Water Governance in South Asia Edited by N. C. Narayanan, S. Parasuraman, Rajindra Ariyabandu (30 Sep 2013)

Civil Society in Water Governance in South Asia

Edited by N. C. Narayanan, S. Parasuraman, Rajindra Ariyabandu

Routledge India – 2013

Descriptions:

The central issue this book attempts to address is paradigm shifts in water policy/governance and the role of the civil society organizations (NGOs) in influencing public policy. The volume maps current State–society relations in South Asia under neoliberal governance reforms, its implications and key responses.

Contents:

List of Tables. List of Figures. List of Maps. List of Abbreviations. Foreword. Acknowledgments. Introduction: Paradigm Shifts in Water Governance and Civil Society Responses in South Asia — A ReviewN. C. Narayanan, S. Parasuraman and Rajindra de Silva Ariyabandu 1. Nature of State, Space for Civil Society and Challenges to Democratic Governance in South AsiaMahfuzul H. Chowdhury 

Part I. NGOs in Collaborative Advocacy 2. Watershed Development Policies and Programs in India: Scope and Constraints of Civil Society Action K. J. Joy 3. How Samaj Pragati Sahyog Works the State and Why it Succeeds Vasudha Chotray 

Part II. Foreign Assistance and Water Governance
4. Water Provision and Modernity: The Consequence of Foreign Aid in Nepal Sudhindra Sharma
5. Foreign Assistance, Dependence and Debt: Sanitation Case Study, Kandy, Sri Lanka Sunil Thrikawala and N. C. Narayanan 6.Institutional Changes, Public Provision and Drinking Water Supply in Kerala N. C. Narayanan and S. Mohammed Irshad 

Part III. NGOs in Policy Influence
7. Water Policy Development in a Multi-party System of Governance: A Case Study of Sri Lanka Rajindra de Silva Ariyabandu 8.Water Rights in Civil Society and Governance: The Sri Lankan Experience Ruana Rajepakse 9."Flood Action Plan" and NGO Protests in Bangladesh: An Assessment Hamidul Huq 

Part IV.Social Movements in Water Governance
10. The Water Rights Movement in South Maharashtra, India Suhas Paranjape and Seema Kulkarni 11. Lessons from Plachimada: From Anti-Coca-Cola Agitation to Democratization of Water C. R. Bijoy. About the Editors. Notes on Contributors. Index

For more information: http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415710619/

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HK's Updates: A newly launched Hong Kong Water Quality Resource Centre Website (Sep 2013)

A newly launched Hong Kong Water Quality Resource Centre Website
The Environmental Protection Department has recently launched a new thematic website - Hong Kong Water Quality Resource Centre (HKWQRC). 

This website (http://www.epd.gov.hk/wqrc) provides a one-stop interactive platform for comprehensive information on our efforts in protecting water quality, and for community education on working together to protect our environmental waters.

For more information: http://wqrc.epd.gov.hk/en/overview/main.aspx

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Publications: Thinking about Water Differently: Managing the Water–Food–Energy Nexus by ADB (Sep 2013)

Thinking about Water Differently: Managing the Water–Food–Energy Nexus

Date:	September 2013
Type:	Guides
Subject:	Agriculture and natural resources; Energy; Water
ISBN:	978-92-9254-252-8 (print), 978-92-9254-253-5 (web)
Price:	US$18.00 (hard copy)

PURCHASE PUBLICATION

ADB Publishing

DOWNLOAD FOR FREE

English

Description

The water-food-energy nexus is emerging as a critical issue in Asia and the Pacific. It is clear that solutions must be found to assure water security, thereby eliminating the immediate--and increasing--risk to food security, energy security, and economic growth and stability: water must be recognized as an economic as well as a social good. Governments need to be encouraged to think differently about water, take the longer-term view, and be mindful of the strategic and economic value of this limited resource.

This publication is the result of a scoping study initiated by the Asian Development Bank to better understand the issues associated with the water-food-energy nexus in Asia and the Pacific. It provides high-level guidance on the choices available to address the region's water security issues.

ADB and water

Some strategic thrusts likely to be promoted by ADB in the water sector include the following:

Asian Water Development Outlook 2013: Measuring Water Security in Asia and the Pacific

1. Reforming water governance. Through advocacy at global, regional, and national levels, demonstrate convincingly to developing members the critical need to manage water differently, assigning its strategic and vital value in allocation and trade-offs, and to amend governance structures and procedures accordingly;
2. Data and information. Support developing members in generating reliable data on the availability and behavior of water resources, in particular, groundwater. Make information on all aspects of water security accessible and place them into the public domain, including possible measures to deal with water scarcity;
3. Resource protection. Support developing members in more effective reduction of wastewater and other waste discharging into freshwater supplies through regulation, investment, and innovation;
4. Water for food. Stimulate research into improving the use of water in agriculture, increasing food production on the same area of land, and using less water; and
5. Increasing storage. Promote increases in strategic storage, including aquifer recharge, in response to uncertainties in supply, aggravated by climate change.

Contents

• Executive Summary
• Background
• Water Security in the Face of Water Scarcity
• The Water–Food–Energy Nexus
• New Water Accounting
• Emerging Opportunities
• The Potential Response
• References

For more information: 

http://www.adb.org/publications/thinking-about-water-differently-managing-water-food-energy-nexus

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Vietnamese Updates: A new penalty for Vietnam’s territorial water violation (5 Sep 2013)

A new penalty for Vietnam’s territorial water violation 
Thứ năm, ngày 05 tháng 09 năm 2013 cập nhật lúc 03:39

Foreigners who violate Vietnam’s territorial waters with a purpose of exploring and exploiting oil and gas will be fined and expelled from Vietnam

That is the important content of the Decree No. 97/2013/ND-CP dated August 27, 2013 of the Government regulations on sanction of administrative violations in the field of oil, gas and petrol. The Decree clarifies that any violations in the territorial waters, contiguous zone,exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in order to research, explore and exploit oil and gas will be fine from VND 900 million to 1 billion. Along with this fine, any foreigner who violates the territorial water of Vietnam will be expelled from Vietnam.

The penalty also applies to similar acts aimed at oil and gas exploration. The violators will be confiscated material evidences and means used to commit acts of violation and foreigners will be expelled from the territory of Vietnam. The violations in the field of mine development and operation of oil and gas exploitation, safety, security and environment in this field, petroleum business conditions will be specified in the Decree. The Decree will be effective on October 10, 2013.

Van Trang

Source: 

http://www.monre.gov.vn/v35/default.aspx?tabid=675&CateID=80&ID=129247&Code=FYUK129247

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Results: ACQWA Project Assesses Climate Impacts on Water Quantity and Quality (4 Sep 2013)

ACQWA Project Assesses Climate Impacts on Water Quantity and Quality

4 September 2013: The results of a project known as ACQWA (Assessing Climate Impacts on the Quality and Quantity of Water) were presented at a conference at World Meteorological Organization (WMO) headquarters on 4 September.

The project assessed the vulnerability of water resources in mountain regions, such as the European Alps, the Central Chilean Andes and the mountains of Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan), where declining snow and ice are likely to affect hydrological regimes in a warmer climate, impact on water availability, and increase competition among economic sectors, such as agriculture, tourism or hydropower.

The project aimed to use model results to quantify the environmental, economic and social impacts of changing water resources to assess the suitability of current water governance strategies and to consider adaptive measures to alleviate the negative impacts of climate change on water resources and use.

During the conference, project coordinator Martin Beniston, University of Geneva, said while mountains account for 20% or less of continental surface area, they are the source of more than half the world's rivers and 60% of surface water. Thus, the project examined how future shifts in temperature and precipitation patterns, and changes in the behavior of snow and ice in many mountain regions would change the quantity, seasonality, and possibly the quality of water originating in mountains and uplands. WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud told the conference that the ACQWA project would enhance the research base of the WMO-led Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS), which aims to strengthen the provision of accessible, accurate climate services to meet the needs of users, with priority being given to the water, food security, disaster risk reduction (DRR) and health sectors.

The project was undertaken by a consortium of 30 partners from ten countries, with the participation of over 100 scientists, and with the EU contributing nearly €6.5 million.

[Publication: ACQWA: Summary for Policymakers] [WMO Press Release on ACQWA Project] [WMO Website]

For more information: http://climate-l.iisd.org/news/acqwa-project-assesses-climate-impacts-on-water-quantity-and-quality/214152/

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Study: FAO Assesses Food Waste Impacts on Land, Climate, Water and Biodiversity by FAO (11 Sep 2013)

FAO Assesses Food Waste Impacts on Land, Climate, Water and Biodiversity

11 September 2013: The Food and Agriculture of the UN (FAO) has released a study documenting the environmental impacts of global food wastage as well as its direct economic impacts, which it reports add up to $750 billion annually.

The study provides a global account of the environmental footprint of food wastage (both food loss and food waste) along the food supply chain, focusing on impacts on climate, water, land and biodiversity. It includes a tool-kit that documents how food loss and waste can be reduced. FAO stresses the moral issue of 870 million people going hungry while 1/3 of all food produced goes to waste.

The study indicates that food waste is responsible for 3.3 billion tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, making food wastage rank as the third top emitter, after the US and China. It notes that 54% of wastage occurs during production, post-harvest handling and storage, and 46% of wastage occurs during processing, distribution and consumption, with production losses occurring most in developing countries, and consumption losses highest in high and middle income countries.

Hotspots of food wastage identified in the report are: wastage of cereals in Asia, with impacts on carbon, blue water and arable land; wastage of meat in high income regions and Latin America; fruit wastage with blue water impacts in Asia, Latin America, and Europe; and vegetables wastage in industrialized Asia, Europe, and South and South East Asia, with a high carbon footprint.

The study calls for reducing food wastage through better planning and addressing post-harvest loss, as well as by finding secondary markets and diverting excess food to livestock feed. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) is a partner of the FAO in the Think Eat Save-Reduce Your Foodprint campaign. 

[UNEP Press Release] [FAO Press Release] [UN News] 

[Publication: Food Wastage Footprint: Impacts on Natural Resources] [UN Press Release]

For more information: 
http://climate-l.iisd.org/news/fao-assesses-food-waste-impacts-on-land-climate-water-and-biodiversity/214724/

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Publications: ITP Water Risk Assessment 2013 by Kyungmee Kim, Andreas Lindström and Josh Weinberg (Aug 2013)

ITP Water Risk Assessment 2013

Source: ITP, 2013

Link to the document: http://www.tourismpartnership.org/images/content/downloads/pdf/itp%20water%20risk%20assessment%20final.pdf

For more information: http://chinawaterrisk.org/resources/research-reports/general/

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Call for Applications: South Asian Youth Camp on Climate Agriculture and Water from 26 to 28 Sep 2013

Call for Applications: South Asian Youth Camp on Climate Agriculture and Water

11 SEPTEMBER 2013

South Asia Youth Camp on Climate, Agriculture and Water (SAYCAW) will take place in Noakhali, Bangladesh, from September 26- 28, 2013. In Partnership with Oxfam, Campaign for Sustainable Rural Livelihood (CSRL), Humanitywatch, Online Knowledge Society and Participatory Research Action Network- PRAN are organizing the Camp. This camp will bring together a vast array of youth participants to work together and agree on joint actions to ensure rights of smallholder producers in South Asia.

SAYCAW Call for Applications Final

OBJECTIVE
To mobilize opinion of youth group and concerned stakeholders towards influencing the states undertaking proper initiatives for rights of smallholder producers in South Asia.

THEMES
- Agriculture
- Climate Change and
- Water Resources

WHO CAN APPLY
Youth between the ages of 21 and 35 from the South Asia (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan & Sri Lanka) region with proven experience on related fields, including campaign and advocacy, are eligible to apply. Those with demonstrated leadership in equitable development issues are strongly encouraged to apply. Participants will must have active engagement and commitment to continuous participation is required as a follow up after the camp.

SPONSORSHIP
Due to limitation of resources, a very few participants will be provided with economy class travel, accommodation, food and local transport. Self-funded participants are highly encouraged.

SELECTION
The names of selected participants will be posted on the event’s facebook page. Selected participants will be notified via email also. Selected participants will be required to present a copy of their valid passport/national identity card from their stated country of origin. Inability to do so will result in disqualification from the program.

HOW TO APPLY
Participants can register by filling-up Online Application Form on Google only. Please click <http://goo.gl/Oa1nzT> or <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1uIDNx0pVBc0nj-mpzwxGWMkqAggElphZrJl0f6uTEtc/viewform> for the application form. You can also visit Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/saycaw to get Application Form.

Don’t forget to attach scanned copy of your valid passport (at least 6 months validity) or National Identity Card (for Bangladeshi participants only) with the email.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION
The application deadline is September 14, 06:00 pm (GMT+6), for those who need a Bangladesh visa and September 18, 2013, 10:00 pm (GMT +6) for those who are Bangladeshi citizen or do not need visa to enter to Bangladesh.

CONTACT
Please write to: Monisha Biswas <MBiswas@oxfam.org.uk>
Nurul Alam Masud <masud@pran-bd.org>
Prodip Kumar roy <prodip2006@gmail.com> or
Hasan Mehedi <hwforg@gmail.com>
Phone : +880 321 61920

For more information:

http://www.apn-gcr.org/2013/09/11/call-for-applications-south-asian-youth-camp-on-climate-agriculture-and-water-26-28-september-2013-noakhali-bangladesh/

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Publications: “Climate Change, Water Conflicts and Human Security” Report Released (2 Sep 2013)

“Climate Change, Water Conflicts and Human Security” Report Released

2013•09•02     BONN

Climate change has — and will continue to have — far-reaching impacts on environmental, social and economic conditions.

Increasingly, climate change and the associated increase in the frequency of extreme weather events (such as floods, droughts and rising sea level) are acknowledged as not only having humanitarian impacts, but also creating national/regional political and security risks. While people and governments can adapt to these impacts, their capacity to do so varies.

The UNU Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) joined 13 other international research teams on the project Climate Change, Hydro-conflicts and Human Security (CLICO). The CLICO project sought to discover to what extent the effects of climate change — in terms of water scarcity, droughts and floods —present a threat to human security in the Mediterranean, Middle East and Sahel region, not least by exacerbating social tensions and intra- and inter-state conflicts. Conversely, the study also considered whether climate change might be a catalyst for cooperation and peace.

Results confirm that climate and hydrological factors, and socio-economic, institutional and political conditions, are all important drivers of human (in)security, but their relative importance depends on the specific context in which they interact.

Adaptation plays a key role in determining whether climate change is likely to undermine human security. The study found that adaptation processes — either undertaken by individuals/groups or governed and led by the state — can both reduce and increase insecurities.

The final CLICO synthesis report — “Climate Change, Water Conflicts and Human Security:Regional Assessment and Policy Guidelines for the Mediterranean, Middle East and Sahel” — presents a comprehensive assessment of the region in terms of climate change impacts, vulnerabilities, conflict/cooperation and human security at various geographical scales and in a variety of historical contexts.

With regard to water-related conflict and cooperation, the study found slightly more cooperative than conflictive events in the region. CLICO research also points toward stronger links between political,
economic and social factors and water-related conflict than between climate-related variables and water conflict (although in the future these relationships could change).

The report makes several recommendations to guide policymakers in terms of improving adaptive capacities, reducing vulnerabilities and, hence, increasing human security in the face of climate change.

The full CLICO report can be downloaded directly by clicking on the link above, or via the Climate change, water conflicts and human security page on the UNU-EHS website.

For more information: http://unu.edu/news/news/clico-report-released.html

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Publications: Water and Food Security – Experiences in India and China by The Global Water Partnership (2013)

Water and Food Security – Experiences in India and China

Source: The Global Water Partnership, 2013

Executive summary

The twin challenges of accessing water and energy for food and agriculture are central to reducing poverty and hunger in Asia. Despite the green revolution's success, the continent is home to two thirds of the world's poor and hungry. Investments in the 1970s and 1980s in irrigation and energy have fuelled agricultural revolutions throughout much of Asia and increased employment and incomes. But with the near double digit economic growth, Asia has also experienced increasing inequality, the world's highest population densities, and growing competition for limited land and water resources. The 2030 Water Resources Group, an alliance of private sector organisations, concluded that historic rates of supply expansion and efficiency improvement will only close 20 percent of the supply–demand gap. The Group argues that the future 'water gap' can be closed if water scarce countries boost efficiency, augment supply, or reduce the water-intensity of their economies by ranking alternative investments in terms of their benefits and costs.

But water and food security pose a 'wicked challenge'. A complex mix of hydrology, engineering, constitutional, legal, political, social, inter-sector, institutional, and agronomic issues – with a mix of vested interests – drive policy and determine outcomes in each country. As yet there are few examples of well-documented sustainably managed land and water systems even after nearly 20 years of global acceptance of the Dublin principles (ICWE, 1992).

Water and land related conflicts are increasing within and across national borders. Economicm growth will likely exacerbate these conflicts. Defence and security experts warn that such conflicts pose the biggest threat to regional peace and security in Asia in the twenty-first century.

There is a renewed urgency to understand the determinants and dynamics of water demand, given climate change and demographic pressures, and the challenges that governance poses for harnessing water resources for their effective, equitable, and sustainable use. To further the debate and analysis, this paper identifies important strategic issues confronting the governance of agricultural water management in Asia and its integral relationship with energy management in irrigated and rainfed agriculture. This paper focuses on India and China as dominant and influential countries in the region. Comparisons between these two mega-countries have fascinated analysts for decades as they have each attempted to address similar issues under very different political systems. This interest has increased even more. Their populations now exceed 1 billion each, and together constitute nearly a third of the global population. And until the advent of the global recession they were experiencing near double digit growth. This paper compares and contrasts the ways in which these countries are tackling the same challenge of harnessing water resources to increase effectiveness, equity, and sustainability under conditions of growing water scarcity and competing demands.

Effective water management is a more complex challenge in democratic and decentralised countries, such as India. Here there are competing interests at the political, administrative, and basin levels and less central control than in unitary centrist states, such as China. The differences range from their constitutions to local management. According to the Chinese constitution, ownership of land, water, and other natural resources is vested in the nation state. In a federated India, ownership and user rights, as well as responsibility for the management of water, agriculture, and forests, is largely vested in the hands of the governments of the 28 states and seven union territories. The role of the central government is limited to transboundary issues between states or across national boundaries.

Each country offers useful insights into developing agriculture and water policies and raises issues about the appropriate balance between the exercise of central authority and decentralised management. Yet solutions are not easily transferable across countries and continents, e.g. between China and India, or between Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, which also faces severe water and food security challenges. In the words of Douglas North, the Nobel Prize
winning economist, "the political choices and institutions are path dependent". Experience in China and India suggests that where governance and community capacity is weak, it is risky to undertake technologically demanding hardware projects. In situations of weak governance and institutional capacity, effective small-scale water management solutions are necessary, but are unlikely to be sufficient in the face of growing intra-country and inter-country transboundary
competition, impending threats of climate change, and differential state capacities for collective action. Three areas are in need of urgent attention:

• Better, more reliable and transparent information on the rapidly changing nature of hydrological, demographic, and socioeconomic pressures at all levels, and an understanding of their complex and changing interactions;
• Empirically based, methodologically sound analyses of the realities on the ground as an  essential input into developing normative policy prescriptions, including integrated water  resources management (IWRM) approaches; and
• Awareness raising, information, and advocacy campaigns among people and decision makers at all levels to develop consensus on the magnitude of the water challenge and the urgency to act on it. This is an essential ingredient for developing solutions that are  effectively implemented and independently assessed on a routine basis to determine their impacts and refine solutions.

Link to download the full document:

http://www.gwptoolbox.org/images/stories/gwplibrary/technical_focus/food%20security_gwp_tech_focus_paper_web.pdf

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