The Southern African Development Community (SADC) and its Member States are making renewed efforts to revive agriculture in the region. Given that much of it is water-stressed, appropriate and sustainable land and water management practices are vital to achieving this objective. Recognising this, SADC's Land and Water Management Applied Research and Training Programme has convened two scientific symposiums. Held in Lilongwe, Malawi, in February 2006, the inaugural symposium brought together practitioners from 10 participating SADC countries to deliberate on land and water management for sustainable agriculture, and discuss how the most recent research and development advances in land and water management might be made more relevant to policymakers as well as the region's small-scale farmers. The edited contributions to this first symposium appear in this volume. The second symposium was held in Gaborone, Botswana, in February 2007, and brought together regional experts to discuss opportunities for improving water use and water use efficiency in agriculture in semi-arid and arid areas. The edited contributions to the second symposium appear in a companion volume entitled Land and Water Management in Southern Africa: Towards Better Water Use in Agriculture in Semi-Arid and Arid Areas (AISA 2008). It is hoped that these two volumes will help to disseminate regional expertise on land and water management to a wider audience, thus helping policy-makers and others to strengthen the agricultural sector in the region, and, in so doing, improve its food security and the wellbeing of its people.

"Based on the UN's handbook for environmental accounting, this book describes the implementation and policy application of water accounts in three African countries - Botswana, Namibia and South Africa - and discusses how they have been used by water managers."--BOOK JACKET.

For the past two decades, Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) has been the dominant paradigm in water resources. This book explores how ideas of IWRM are being translated and adapted in Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Grounded in social science theory and research, it highlights the importance of politics, history and culture in shaping water management practices and reform, and demonstrates how Africa has clearly been a laboratory for IWRM. While a new cadre of professionals made IWRM their mission, we show that poor women and men may not have always benefitted. In some cases IWRM has also offered a distraction from more critical issues such as water and land grabs, privatisation, the negative impacts of water permits, and a range of institutional ambiguities that prevent water allocations to small and poor water users. By critically examining the interpretations and challenges of IWRM, the book contributes to improving water policies and practices and making them more locally appropriate in Africa and beyond.

Water Management in Africa and the Middle East: Challenges and Opportunities

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) and its Member States are making renewed efforts to revive agriculture in the region. Given that much of it is water-stressed, appropriate and sustainable land and water management practices are vital to achieving this objective. Recognising this, SADC's Land and Water Management Applied Research and Training Programme has convened two scientific symposiums. Held in Lilongwe, Malawi, in February 2006, the inaugural symposium brought together R&D practitioners from 10 participating SADC countries to deliberate on land and water management for sustainable agriculture, and discuss how the most recent research and development advances in land and water management might be made more relevant to policy-makers as well as the region's small-scale farmers. The edited contributions to the first symposium appear in a companion volume entitled Land and Water Management in Southern Africa: Towards Sustainable Agriculture (AISA 2008). The second symposium was held in Gaborone, Botswana, in February 2007, and brought together regional experts to discuss opportunities for improving water use and water use efficiency in agriculture in semi-arid and arid areas. The edited contributions to this second edition appear in this volume. It is hoped that these two volumes will help to disseminate regional expertise on land and water management to a wider audience, thus helping policy-makers and others to strengthen the agricultural sector in the region, and, in so doing, improve its food security and the wellbeing of its people.

According to estimates by the International Land Coalition based at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), 57 million hectares of land have been leased to foreign investors since 2007. Current research has focused on human rights issues related to inward investment in land but has been ignorant of water resource issues and the challenges of managing scarce water. This handbook will be the first to address inward investment in land and its impact on water resources in Africa. The geographical scope of this book will be the African continent, where land has attracted the attention of risk-taking investors because much land is under-utilised marginalized land, with associated water resources and rapidly growing domestic food markets. The successful implementation of investment strategies in African agriculture could determine the future of more than one billion people. An important factor to note is that Sub-Saharan Africa will, of all the continents, be hit hardest by climate change, population growth and food insecurity. Sensible investment in agriculture is therefore needed, however, at what costs and at whose expense? The book will also address the livelihoods theme and provide a holistic analysis of land and water grabbing in Sub-Saharan Africa. Four other themes will addressed: politics, economics, environment and the history of land investments in Sub-Saharan Africa. The editors have involved a highly diverse group of around 25 expert researchers, who will review the pro and anti-investment arguments, geopolitics, the role of capitalist investors, the environmental contexts and the political implications of, and reasons for, leasing millions of hectares in Sub-Saharan Africa. To date, there has been no attempt to review land investments through a suite of different lenses, thus this handbook will differ significantly from existing research and publication. The editors are Tony Allan, (Professor Emeritus, Department of Geography, School of Oriental and African Studies and King’s College London); Jeroen Warner (Assistant Professor, Disaster Studies, University of Wageningen); Suvi Sojamo (PhD Researcher, Water and Development Research Group, Aalto University); and Martin Keulertz (PhD Researcher, Department of Geography, London Water Group, King’s College London).

One of the early set of reforms that South Africa embarked on after emerging from apartheid was in the water sector, following a remarkable, consultative process. The policy and legal reforms were comprehensive and covered almost all aspects of water management including revolutionary changes in defining and allocating rights to water, radical reforms in water management and supply institutions, the introduction of the protection of environmental flows, and major shifts in charging for water use and in the provision of free basic water. Over ten years of implementation of these policy and legislative changes mean that valu­able lessons have already been learned and useful experiences gained in the challenge of effective water resources management and water services provision in a middle income country.

Africa is endowed with rich land and water resources, which significantly contribute to the development of many economies on the continent. However, land degradation and water pollution remain major challenges facing many African countries. Harnessing Land and Water Resources for Improved Food Security and Ecosystem Services in Africa examines challenges facing land and water resources management in Africa and explores possible measures to improve food security and reduce poverty on the continent. The book is a compilation of research papers, written by eminent researchers and scientists from renowned Universities and reputable organisations in Ghana, Ethiopia, USA, South Africa, Nigeria, the Netherlands and Indonesia. Its main objective is to draw attention to the impact of human activities on land and water resources and the need for the sustainable management of Africa's ecosystem services to improve livelihoods. The individual chapters present relevant case studies on the effects of water and land management practices including urban waste water uses, land grabbing and climate change issues, so as to draw lessons from best practices that can be adopted to mitigate their efforts on food security and the well-being of the African population. The monograph concludes with recommendations on the appropriate strategies for managing wastelands to meet Africa's green energy needs.