Research Themes

This research theme seeks to identify and test interventions for the rapidly growing sector of urban and peri-urban agriculture that take advantage of urban resources while protecting environmental and human health.

Enhancing the safe and productive use of wastewater in irrigated agriculture:
To make an asset out of wastewater through efficient and viable interventions along the contamination pathway to reduce health risks for farmers and consumers while maximizing its benefits for farm households and society.

Managing urban demands on agriculture and the environment:
To minimize negative impacts of city growth on agricultural water demand and the environment via water and nutrient recycling, enhanced natural processes, stakeholder involvement, capacity building and policy support.

Millions of poor farmers in the developing world depend on water of marginal quality for irrigation as they may have no better alternative or because wastewater may be the only affordable or reliable water and nutrient source. Often the supply of whole cities with rice or perishable vegetables depends on irrigation with polluted water. The degree of pollution can range from raw wastewater to polluted stream water. The common element is that the water is not safe according to international guidelines. This can lead to obvious health risks for farmers and consumers, which puts “wastewater” irrigation in the spotlight of authorities. In other circumstances, agricultural water becomes polluted due to mining wastes released into natural streams or return flows from irrigation channels. The conventional water, sanitation and health sector generally views polluted water one-dimensionally, focusing only on human and environmental health implications, and advocating technology-based water treatment solutions as prerequisites to reuse. IWMI accepts that the agricultural use of untreated wastewater is undesirable from a health and environmental viewpoint, but recognizes that it is a livelihood reality in many poor countries that cannot afford the investment and maintenance costs of treatment plants for most or all of their mostly domestic effluents. Thus IWMI takes a more balanced view of the agricultural use, especially of microbiologically polluted water in a developing country context, focusing on both costs and benefits in terms of the health, environmental, food-chain, and livelihoods implications of the practice. To safeguard public health, IWMI takes in this respect a broader view and aims at efficient and viable interventions along the whole contamination pathway from “farm to fork,” i.e. beyond the wastewater source itself.

Under the former IWMI research theme, Water, Health and Environment, IWMI made significant progress in assessing at the national and international scale the extent to which wastewater is used in urban and peri-urban agriculture. IWMI has also played an important role in highlighting the use of wastewater irrigation in urban and peri-urban settings as a means to inform and engage policy makers and health practitioners on the realities of this practice and its related health, environment and livelihood implications. One important outcome from this research was the Hyderabad Declaration of Wastewater Use in Agriculture. The Hyderabad Declaration resulted from an IWMI/International Development Research Centre (IDRC) workshop in 2002 and is now influencing key public health guidelines, such as those of the US Agency for International Development/US Environmental Protection Agency. IWMI research on heavy metals contamination in Southeast Asia has also played a critical role in raising public awareness and engaging policymakers in identifying and implementing remediation efforts.

IWMI’s new Research theme Agriculture, Water and Cities builds on the significant accomplishments of the former Water, Health and Environment Program and forms a specific research theme focused on the rural-urban interface. Expanding on IWMI’s past research on the risks and benefits of wastewater irrigation, one subtheme of this new research theme will identify practical policy and management options and interventions aimed at health risk mitigation. A key partner will be the World Health Organization. Complementing this overarching focus and the work of IWMI’s other research themes, the Agriculture, Water and Cities theme will also examine the linkages between agriculture, urban sanitation and the environment, by identifying in a second subtheme options to minimize negative impacts of city growth on agricultural water demand and the environment.

Governmental and municipal planners and agencies concerned with policies and practices.
for safe use of organic waste and wastewater in agriculture.
Farmer and farmer organizations using polluted water.
Civil society organizations concerned with public health.
Universities and Research Institutes.
International agencies and programs such as WHO, FAO, STREAMS of Knowledge,
WASH and WSSCC.