Introduction and background to the WHiRL project

Project background

• Focused on rural water supply and water resources– water resources issues are

increasingly impacting upon services for the poor

– the RWS sector is often poorly represented in water resources decision making

• A joint Indian, South African & European project supported by the UK DFID’s Knowledge and Research (KaR) programme

Who’s involved? Research team

India Accion Fraterna, Anantapur

Dr AJ JamesBAIF, Pune

South Africa Association for Water and Rural Development

(AWARD)

Europe Natural Resources Institute (NRI)Water Resources Management Ltd. University of LeedsIRC International Water

and Sanitation Center

Project objectives

Project purpose• Better … solutions for integrated

water resources management (IWRM)…that promote improved access of the poor to water supplies for basic and productive uses.

Outputs• Reviews, and analysis of policy and

institutional conditions• Findings from action research, pilots

and workshops• Tools and guidelines

Research approach

• Poverty focus• Multi-disciplinary• Multiple partnerships• Adding to existing initiatives• Focused on making information

widely accessible• South-south collaboration• River basin/ macro-watershed view• Research across scales from

household to state

The focus countries

• India - Watershed development

• South Africa - Catchment management

Website at http://www.nri.org/whirl