The CGIAR Consortium has released the 2014 report of its research program on Water Land and Ecosystems (WLE), which presents the outputs and outcomes achieved during the first 18 months of this three-year research program, including three features on impact, six stories of change and five research highlights.
October 2015: The CGIAR Consortium has released the 2014 report of its research program on Water Land and Ecosystems (WLE), which presents the outputs and outcomes achieved during the first 18 months of this three-year research program, including three features on impact, six stories of change and five research highlights.
The WLE research program combines different strands of research from the CGIAR Consortium’s international agricultural research centers and other partners aiming to ensure that agricultural intensification benefits smallholder farmers and uses ecosystem services sustainably. According to the report, in 2014, the research program implemented 64 tools, including for on-farm waste water treatment, soil carbon determination and mapping of water aquifers. It has also built the capacity of more than 14.000 farmers through training programs and multi-stakeholder platforms, and resulted in more than 350 scientific publications and 150 new technologies.
The feature stories on impact highlight how WLE research has catalyzed the use of solar power in India and organic fertilizer production and use in Ghana, as well as the overall contributions of WLE research to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The stories of change present how new approaches to managing water, land and biodiversity have been implemented in collaboration with policy makers and communities in several countries.
The research highlights showcase the development of new technologies and management practices to address challenges such as: infrared spectrometry as a cost effective tool for soil surveillance; satellites and cell phone apps for flood prediction in Nigeria; drones for data collection on crop development in Peru; and geospatial mapping to identify interventions to improve gender equity in the Ganges, Nile Volta and Mekong river basins.
Other sections of the report describe the structure of the WLE research program and provide an outlook on the mechanisms for partnerships and other objectives that will be pursued by the research program in the future. [Publication: WLE 365] [Bioversity International Press Release] [Message from the WLE Acting Director]