IWMI Nile Basin and East Africa sub-regional office
The East Africa region is one of the most food insecure areas of the world, despite having significant land and water resources. IWMI’s research seeks solutions to the agricultural water challenges that contribute to the lack of food security faced by the countries in the region. The Nile Basin, encompassing 10 countries, approximately 160 million people and the world’s longest river, continues to be one of the bench mark basins of the Challenge Program on Water and Food and a focus of IWMI’s broader research. Over 70% of the people within this region depend on subsistence rain-fed agriculture for their livelihoods. Such a reliance on rain-fed agriculture is becoming more problematic with the increasingly unpredictable and variable rainfall occurring in the region. Land degradation, erosion, low crop yields, negative effects of climate change, unsustainable water use and sharing of water resources are also all important issues that need to be addressed. Appropriate management and development of land and water resources is crucial to reduce poverty, improve food security and increase economic growth throughout the region.
IWMI supports effective land and water management in the region by:
· generating knowledge and making recommendations on the management and development of land and water resources to governments, planners, policy makers, and donors
· partnering and collaborating with various organizations to generate a greater impact from the knowledge generated from research
· building the capacity of institutions, researchers and students
Figure 1: Nile Basin and East African Countries
Figure 2: Nile Basin (source: www.nilebasin.org )