IFAD Seminar Event on Farmer's Views First: Linking Land and Water Governance at the 2004 World Water Week

Stockholm
15 August 2004

ILC is partnering with IFAD to bring to the attention of water-related international debates, to pay greater attention to the linkages of access to land and access to water. From the farmer's point of view, land without water is of little use, especially in arid climate areas, as is access to water without land.

IFAD was applauded in bringing the debate of land and water governance at the World Water Week. IFAD highlighted support to management practices and technologies that can enable farmers and communities to improve their livelihoods and to use the limited natural resources wisely. IFAD's recent experience from Bangladesh, Peru and Sudan, as well as ILC and The Platform experience in southern Africa, are bringing new challenges to policy makers and project implementers to introduce changes in national policies and legislation, and particularly the greater engagements of civil society through NGOs at the local and national levels.

The case studies presented at the IFAD seminar and the ensuing discussions from the presentations are calling for necessary new approaches and ways of working together. A priority was put forward to strengthen the role of local institutions that can facilitate effective management of irrigation schemes and projects that should be controlled by communities. As Abby Taka Mgugu, Coordinator of The Platform says " unless we put a human face and people first when we build canals and infrastructure, those projects will not work."

For further information and copies of reports and case studies on land and water governance, please contact: Rudolph Cleveringa, Technical Advisor, Technical Advisory Division, IFAD: r.cleveringa@ifad.org ; or Jing de la Rosa, Advocacy and LAND Partnerships Progamme Officer, ILC: info@landcoalition.org