Climate-adaptive Community Water Management for Food Security:

Experiences from the UNDP Community Water Initiative

Abstract

Facing the double menace of climate change and water crisis, poor communities are now encountering ever more severe challenges in ensuring agricultural productivity and food security. Hence, communities have to manage these challenges by adopting a comprehensive approach that not only enhances water resource management, but also adapts agricultural activities to climate variability. Implemented by the Global Environment Facility’s Small Grants Programme, the Community Water Initiative (CWI) has adopted a distinctive approach to support demand-driven, innovative, low cost and community-based water resource management for food security. Experiences from CWI show that a comprehensive, locally adapted approach that integrates water resources management, poverty reduction, climate adaptation and community empowerment provides a good model for sustainable development in poor rural areas.