Climate Smart WATer Management and Sustainable DEVelopment for food and agriculture in North-East Africa (WATDEV)

Management of water resources in East African river basins is a sensitive issue, linked both to food security and water management in agriculture. Water management is strictly interlinked with the sustainability of other natural resources, such as biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, soil, energy and with livelihoods of people. In many East-African areas, the benefits of agricultural resources are endangered by demographic pressure, unplanned rural development and lack of alternative livelihood opportunities causing deforestation, overgrazing, soil and water degradation and – on the socio-economic side – reduction of agricultural productivity and agricultural systems efficiency. WATDEV aims to develop an in-depth understanding of small to large-scale water and agricultural resource dynamics and management and people’s resilience to climate through innovative research, modelling and capacity building approaches. WATDEV will collect, analyze, and implement available best practices/innovations in study areas and model impact scenarios with use of models and knowledge achieved in regional water studies.

Project leader: Mauro Centritto
IPSP personnel: Raffaella Maria Balestrini, Fabiano Sillo, Elisa Zampieri, Giovanni Marino, Matthew Haworth, Andre Daccache.
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