With the increasing population and accelerated urbanization, demands for water are rising for different sectors around the world, including in South Asia. Integrated water resource management (IWRM) offers a promising potential to address multifaceted water demands. This study therefore aimed to address this issue by (i) reviewing key issues related to water, land, and food in South Asian countries, (ii) exploring the prevalent irrigation management strategies in those countries, and (iii) examining the IWRM situation based on a Nepalese case study, and it proposes some options to support effective implementation of IWRM. South Asia, the home to 24% of the world's population with only 15% and 7% of the world's arable and permanent crop land and water resources, respectively, is the worst-affected region in the world from undernourishment. Surface irrigation is the dominant irrigation application method in the region, which incurs high water losses due to the lack of flexible water control structures in canal networks. The Nepalese case study revealed a lack of clear institutional arrangements to implement IWRM and disparate and conflicting views about IWRM. Creation and strengthening of basin-level water user organizations, technological improvements, and awareness-raising activities are some potential ways forward to implement IWRM.

As befits a CGIAR Challenge Program , the CPWF has welcomed a wide range of stake holders and partners in accord with their ability to achieve program goals. Decision on research investments (project selection) have been based on a competitive grants in which proposal quality was evaluated by an interdependent external panel. The usual weakness of a competitive grants approach - lack of coherence in research agenda has been address by Basin Focal Projects and synthesis research.

This reports summarizes and synthesizes activities and achievements of the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) through the end of 2007. The CPWF is an intiative of the CGIAR designed to take on the global challenge of water scarcity and food security. It is an international, multi-institutional researchfor- development initiative that brings together scientists, development specialists and river basin communities, and seeks to create and disseminate international public goods (IPGs) helpful in achieving food security, reducing poverty, improving livelihoods, reducing agriculture–related pollution, and enhancing environmental security. The CPWF conducts its research on water and food in nine ‘benchmark’ river basins, organized around five different themes. This work is being implemented through competitive-call projects, Basin Focal Projects (BFPs), small grant projects and synthesis research. This report is one example of the latter. Projects and outputs Part of the CPWF’s work has focused on increasing water productivity in rainfed environments. Achievements include the further development of conservation agriculture for no-till sowing into crop residues; “slash and mulch” to replace “slash and burn” practices in hillside agriculture; water harvesting systems for dryland locations; understanding livelihood vulnerability and farmers’ coping strategies; and developing and encouraging the distribution—through community ‘participatory’ varietal selection and seed schemes—of drought-tolerant sorghum, wheat, and other crops. Progress has also been made in increasing water productivity in irrigated and salt-affected environments, especially where water is scarce and there are opportunities to increase its productivity. Examples include the development and testing of salt-tolerant germplasm for rice and other crops to make more effective use of salt-affected areas; understanding how to use wastewater in irrigated peri-urban agriculture to produce safe and nutritious vegetables; and developing aerobic rice germplasm and management practices to produce more rice with less water.