International Water Management Institute (IWMI)

🥬🫘 Water security is at the heart of building resilient food systems in a changing climate, a central focus of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI). This was highlighted on September 29 at the International Conference on Sustainable Water Management: Science, Policy and Practice (ICOSUWAM-2026) in Diyarbakır, Türkiye. IWMI's Strategic Program Director for Water, Food and Ecosystems, Dr. Mohsin Hafeez, delivered the keynote “Transforming Water Scarcity into Water Security: New Pathways for Resilient Food Systems.” Hafeez highlighted how climate change, growing water demand, water scarcity, ecosystem pressures and gaps in water data are interconnected challenges that cross traditional sectoral boundaries. The presentation showcased IWMI's innovative approaches, including managed aquifer recharge in India, digital water tools in Pakistan, soil-moisture sensing and AI-based demand forecasting for canal management. 🚰📱 🍋 Hafeez also chaired the session “Between Opportunity and Risk: Boron in Irrigation Water and Its Management in Citrus,” bringing scientific attention to an important water-quality issue affecting irrigated agriculture. Through platforms such as #ICOSUWAM, IWMI contributes to international conversations that connect science, policy and practice around one of the defining challenges of our time: securing water for people, food, economies and ecosystems. #WaterSecurity #WaterManagement #WEFE #ClimateResilience #FoodSystems #WaterInnovation

🌱 Strengthening collaboration for sustainable water and natural resource management in Northeast India International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the North Eastern Regional Institute of Water and Land Management (NERIWALM) have signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen collaboration on sustainable water and natural resource management. The partnership will support: 🔹 Joint research and capacity-building programmes in natural resource management and sustainable agriculture 🔹 Joint development of research and development projects 🔹 Exchange of knowledge, scientific materials and publications of mutual interest The MoU builds on ongoing collaboration between IWMI and NERIWALM, including joint capacity-building on irrigation and water management in the north-eastern mountainous ecosystems under the CGIAR Capacity Sharing. By bringing together research, knowledge and capacity-building, the partnership aims to support evidence-based approaches for more sustainable and resilient water and agricultural systems across the region. Gopal Kumar | Smaranika Mahapatra | Gulshan Borah, PhD | Nirmal Sigtia #WaterManagement #NortheastIndia #CapacityBuilding

🚜🌱 What does implementation look like on the ground? The WASA Malawi Pause & Reflect 2026 began with a field visit across four sites in Salima, bringing consortium partners, technical teams, farmers and community representatives together to observe implementation, exchange experiences and learn directly from the field. The visits included: 📍 Gabion gully reclamation at Khote Village 📍 A chili nursery and market-linkage model at Mkhwali Village 📍 A 10,000-seedling tree nursery at Guwende Village 📍 Community-led gully reclamation using sandbag check dams Together, the sites offered different perspectives on restoration, agricultural production, market linkages, livelihoods, community ownership and climate resilience. The field experience set the foundation for Pause & Reflect: 🔑 Understanding what is happening on the ground? 🔑 What communities are experiencing? 🔑 What is working? 🔑 What can be learned to inform the next phase of implementation? Tinashe Lindel Dirwai | Mahlatse Nkosi | Juan Carlos Sanchez | Ojong Enokenwa Baa (PhD) | Greenwell Matchaya | Munyaradzi.Junior Mutenje | Mirriam Makungwe (PhD) | Inga Jacobs-Mata | African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership (AFAP) | Total LandCare (TLC) | Solidaridad Network | CIMMYT | CGIAR

🌍 From the first Green Revolution to a more precise, resilient one The first Green Revolution transformed global food production but decades of blanket policies around water, energy, fertilizers and infrastructure have also left deep environmental and systemic challenges. Today, we need a different approach: precision over uniformity. The Water–Energy–Food–Environment (WEFE) nexus offers a framework for understanding these interconnected challenges and designing solutions that work at the right scale. The next Green Revolution may not be about producing more at any cost. It may be about producing more sustainably, using resources more intelligently and building resilience across entire landscapes and river basins. 👉 Read the full piece: https://lnkd.in/g9G3SyRB Anton Urfels | Khosro Morovati | Iqra Akram | Bunyod Holmatov | International Rice Research Institute | CGIAR Policy Innovations | Tsinghua University #Water #FoodSecurity #ClimateChange #WEFENexus #Agriculture #Sustainability #Groundwater #MultisectorSolutions Photo: Shutterstock

When scale isn’t size, what does success actually look like? At #ScalingWeek2026, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) convened Scaling Against the Odds, bringing together the CGIAR Scaling for Impact and CGIAR Food Frontiers and Security Science Programs to explore responsible scaling in fragile and conflict affected settings. The discussion drew on ongoing Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office funded work led by IWMI in partnership with the WFP Innovation Accelerator under Scaling for Impact AoW3, supporting four innovators as they navigate the realities of scaling in fragile contexts. Perspectives from research, island food systems, enterprise, innovation acceleration and donors helped unpack a central question: how do we remain ambitious about scale while recognising that context shapes what meaningful and sustained impact looks like? Key takeaways: 🔸 Fragility changes the conditions for scaling. Conflict, displacement, weak or disrupted markets, institutional gaps, recurrent shocks and limited infrastructure all shape what is feasible, how quickly scale can happen, and what meaningful success looks like in that context. 🔸 Responsible scaling means looking beyond reach alone. We also need to ask whether scaling strengthens resilience, builds local institutions and ownership, avoids harm, and creates impact that can last. 🔸 Bring accelerator expertise in from the start. Scaling pathways, timelines, resources and expectations for SME growth need to be realistic from the outset. 🔸 Scaling expectations need realistic timeframes. A short accelerator cycle cannot immediately be expected to generate large numbers. Sustained scaling requires time, appropriate partnerships and continued support. 🔸 Small numbers can still represent significant impact. In island and other small or geographically dispersed contexts, beneficiary numbers alone can understate impact. Reaching fewer people may still be highly significant where vulnerability is high and delivery is inherently more difficult. Ngowenani Nohayi | Hampus Eriksson | Josey KAMANDA, PhD | Anna Okello | Sandra Ruckstuhl, PhD | Seeseei Molimau-Samasoni | Claire MacPherson | Ayoola Dominic | Inga Jacobs-Mata | Jeremy Stone | Regina Schmidt | The Scientific Research Organisation of Samoa | Koolboks #Scaling #FCAS #FragileContexts #Innovation Photos: Douglas Kiobo

🌱 What do insect-based fertilizers, compost made from urban waste and indigenous plant-based milks have in common? They are all part of Kenya’s growing circular agri-food economy. And small and medium-scale enterprises are finding innovative ways to turn these ideas into real products and solutions. But there is a problem: innovation is moving faster than regulation. A new study examining three Kenyan enterprises finds that businesses working in these emerging areas can face: 📋 No clear pathway for getting new products certified ⚖️ Regulations that were not designed for these new types of products 🏛️ Different government agencies with overlapping or unclear responsibilities 💰 Higher costs and long delays trying to navigate the system 🚫 Limited access to public procurement and subsidies These resulting in promising businesses that could help restore soils, reduce waste and build more sustainable food systems can struggle to grow. The study points to practical solutions, from developing standards for emerging products and clarifying regulatory responsibilities to improving coordination between national and county institutions. 🔎 Read the paper: on.cgiar.org/4gR0hmH Idil Ires | CGIAR | CGIAR Food Frontiers and Security #CircularEconomy #AgrifoodSystems #Biofertilizers #ClimatesmartAgriculture

Last week, during CGIAR Scaling Week 2026, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT and Responsible Innovations co-led two sessions on responsible scalin.g The conversation explored how we can move beyond scaling readiness to ensure innovations are scaled responsibly, equitably and with attention to unintended consequences? Session 1 | Strategic leadership: Responsible Scaling and GESI in the IPSR and PRMS processes We reflected on progress in embedding responsible scaling and GESI into CGIAR system. Discussions highlighted work in hard-to reach and agility and conflict-affected settings, the potential for a Responsible Scaling Index, and the need to strengthen approaches to social differentiation, risk anticipation and equitable benefit-sharing. Session 2 | From principle to practice: Equity, legitimacy and power in scaling This session moved from concept to case work by tracing the trajectory of responsible scaling in CGIAR, testing the equity principles (McGuire et al., 2024) and the six dimensions of responsible innovation (anticipation, inclusion, reflexivity, responsiveness, legitimacy and knowledge) against participants' own scaling experiences in small groups. Three takeaways stood out: 💡 Responsible scaling asks questions beyond the innovation: Who benefits? Who makes decisions? Who sets priorities? Who can deliver outcomes? ⚖️ Innovation and scaling are not neutral and power matters. Consider availability, affordability, awareness, ability to use and autonomy. 🤝 Move from linear scaling to participatory scaling: “nothing for us, without us”. Our work now looks ahead to what this means for science (understanding where, for whom and under what conditions innovations work), practice (adaptive, participatory scaling that can be changed or stopped when evidence shows harm), and funding (longer-term, flexible finance that rewards learning and course correction, not only reach and adoption targets). Thank you to all colleagues and partners who brought their cases, challenges and commitments into the room. The work continues through the Responsible & Inclusive Scaling Community of Practice, a shared space for turning GESI evidence into scaling decisions, pathways and portfolio choices. Ojong Enokenwa Baa (PhD) | Erin McGuire | Hanna Ewell | Esther Kihoro PhD | CGIAR Scaling for Impact #ScalingWeek2026 #ResponsibleScaling #GESI Photos: Douglas Kiobo

🌏 In Sydney, this week, IWMI’s Dr. Susanne Bodach and Ian Overton will explore how circular approaches can transform water, resources and markets at the Asia Pacific Circular Economy Hotspot Conference. 📅 October 1 11:45 AEST | Plenary: Overton joins a panel on how circular science can transform consumption. 15:30 AEST | Unlocking Circular Markets — Water: Overton facilitates a conversation with Bodach and experts on circular water resilience, nutrient recovery and new water trading markets. 📅 October 2 13:45 AEST | Circular Accelerator Series — Circular Water: Bodach and Overton spotlight wastewater as one of the region’s biggest untapped resources and how cities, farmers and industry are already putting it to work. Need less. Use again. Recover what’s inside. 💧♻️ https://lnkd.in/ewAuw9Jy #APCEHotspotSydney #CircularWater #CircularEconomy #WaterSecurity #AsiaPacific

“Climate change and climate extreme events are fundamentally changing Nepal’s mountain environment landscape.” 🏔️ IWMI Water Resources and Climate Change Researcher Santosh Nepal, PhD shares with BBC News's The Inquiry how climate change is reshaping Nepal's mountains and why investment in multi-hazard early warning systems is essential. 🔊 Listen to the interview: https://lnkd.in/edKHfPtm #Nepal #ClimateChange #ExtremeWeather #MultiHazards #EarlyWarningSystems Photo: Nabin Baral for IWMI

💧 Where are the most pressing water-related issues, and where can we add value in the shortest amount of time? These were the key questions raised when we first approached CONAGUA (National Water Commission) in #Mexico in 2025.  A year and a half later, we met in Mexico City to celebrate the tangible progress of the digital tools developed with Conagua (Comisión Nacional del Agua) and to sign the formal collaboration agreement, reaffirming the trust placed in IWMI and aligning with the priorities of Mexicos National Water Plan 2026–2030.    💬 Reflecting on this milestone IWMI Director General Mark Smith shared at the events closing: “This new partnership with CONAGUA gives IWMI an opportunity to support Mexico in improving water management and advancing its ambitions for water security. It marks the start of a wider set of collaborations through which we can leverage IWMI’s research, knowledge, evidence and data to make progress on Mexico’s priorities for sustainable water futures”    Supported by Google.org, this project integrates AI, earth observation and advanced analytics to transform water security into actionable decisions. 🌐📊   🔗 Read more here about the initiatives that are part of the project: https://lnkd.in/gw42NSJU   Ian Overton | Naga Manohar Velpuri | Mariangel (Angie) Garcia, PhD | Javier Mateo-Sagasta, PhD | Afua Owusu | Komlavi Akpoti, PhD | Karthikeyan Matheswaran | Marissa Mar Pecero | Luis Alberto Palacios-Sanchez | Mario Lopez Perez | Eduardo Guevara #WaterSecurity #ClimateResilience #DataForGood #Mexico #PartnershipsForImpact #CONAGUA   Photo: Malú Vidal/IWMI