Agricultural water cannot be managed independently of the territories through which it flows and to which it gives life.
COSTEA promotes governance models that involve various stakeholders, take into account the diversity of resources and uses, and foster collective, equitable, and sustainable decisions for the benefit of local territories.
Participatory and inclusive approaches at the territorial level require addressing a wide range of interconnected topics and challenges: land tenure, agricultural models, water economics, and development projects. To this end, COSTEA develops thematic studies as well as consultation methods informed by research and the operational experience of its members.
Why Irrigated Land Tenure?
Investments in irrigation lead, de facto, to an increase in land value, which can trigger a rush for agricultural land to the detriment of smallholder family farmers who depend on this land for their livelihoods and other economic activities. Investments in the rehabilitation or construction of new irrigation infrastructure are also often accompanied by population displacements that must be fairly compensated—both for losses during the construction phase and sustainably once the infrastructure is operational. Various irrigation stakeholders have designed and implemented diverse rules for the compensation, allocation, and management of irrigated land, which must be studied and evaluated from a perspective of social, economic, and environmental sustainability.
Our areas of action and reflection are Southeast Asia (Cambodia and Myanmar) and the Maghreb (Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria).
The Southeast Asia project, launched in November 2019, was carried out in collaboration with independent experts and was completed in December 2022.
The Maghreb project, launched in August 2021, was entrusted to the Agro Concept consulting firm and three pairs of national experts; it is currently being finalized.
Why Develop Territorial Approaches?
The development of irrigation and water management infrastructure must be part of a territorial vision of the challenges, specifically taking into account the different uses of resources and the agricultural and economic development trajectories of the territory. The concept of sustainability is increasingly taken into account. It is important to design and implement renewed, more territorialized, and participatory approaches—meaning those involving users and different levels of responsibility.
What Do We Do?
We have established a working group that developed a policy brief based on the experiences of its members in various countries (Brazil, Maghreb, West Africa). A research group was also formed to produce a thematic issue in the scientific journal Cahiers Agricultures, as well as a policy paper, both of which are currently being finalized.
Why Groundwater Management?
Groundwater is currently used to irrigate over 100 million hectares, representing one-third of the world’s irrigated areas. It has enabled the economic development of many territories but is often overexploited, which raises questions about the sustainability of agricultural systems and the populations that depend on them.
What Do We Do?
A group of experts (administrative officials from COSTEA partner country ministries, researchers, experts, and doctoral students) was formed to share their knowledge and experience on groundwater management. They produced a Policy Brief and a Policy Paper on this subject, which you can find in the “Our Main Productions” section.
A group of experts (administrative officials from COSTEA partner country ministries, researchers, experts, and doctoral students) was formed to share their knowledge and experience on groundwater management. They produced a Policy Brief and a Policy Paper on this subject, which you can find in the “Our Main Productions” section.
This video illustrates how to initiate a local participatory approach to groundwater. In Aousja, in the Bizerte governorate of Tunisia, local stakeholders worked together to model the past, current, and future governance of this resource. Following individual interviews, two workshops based on visioning and the “futures triangle” allowed approximately forty participants to identify action levers for more sustainable and equitable groundwater management.
Why Economic Analyses of Irrigation Projects?
Our commitment to this theme stems from two main observations:
What Do We Do?
One of our working groups has taken up economic questions related to irrigation, specifically focusing its reflections on the roles and methods of conducting economic analyses for irrigation projects. A study is currently underway on capitalization and practical recommendations for conducting ex-ante economic analyses adapted to the typology of hydro-agricultural projects.