WLI – CRP/ DS Regional Knowledge Exchange Workshop on
Water Resources and Livelihoods in the Dry Areas Considering Climate Uncertainty
25-26 September, 2014, Hammamat, Tunisia
Contents
Executive Summary 4
Introduction 5
Policy Implications of Understanding and Adapting to Climate Change in Tunisia 6
WLI & CRP Potential Synergies 6
Panel Session: Water Resources and Implications on Rural Dry-land Livelihoods of Tunisia 6
Session 2: Technical Capacities of Partner Organizations to Address Climate Change and Water scarcity; Water Management in the rain-fed agro-ecosystems of Tunisia 7
Example of Sidi Bouzid: 7
Session 3: Addressing Climate Change Scenarios in the Irrigated Production Areas of Tunisia 8
Citrus in Cap Bon 8
Realities of Tunisian Agricultural Production While Facing Increasing Water Scarcity in Tunisia 8
Introduction to CRP Dry-land Systems Water Saving Technology by Household Grey Water Treatment 8
Session 4: Rangeland Ecosystems Ability to Support Carrying Capacity of Agricultural Practices in Central and Southern Tunisia 9
Economic Realities of Rangeland Management in Tunisia 9
Water Footprint Assessment of Sheep and Goat in Different production Systems along with the CRP DS Action Site BeniKedache- SidiBouzid (Tunisia) 9
Closing Session and Closing Remarks 10
Appendix 1: Agenda 11
Appendix 2: List of participants of the workshop 15
Executive Summary
The goal of The Water and Livelihoods Initiative (WLI) in Morocco, working on three sites along a North-South water scarcity transect is to improve rural livelihoods through improved water management and agricultural production systems by pilot testing and out-scaling proven climate change adaptation strategies and assessing the costs and benefits of improved interventions.
The goal of the Dryland Systems (CRP-DS) program, which combines several research disciplines, including crop selection and rotations, natural resource management, and socio-economics to identify and develop resilient, diversified and more productive combinations of crop, livestock, rangeland, aquatic and agroforestry systems, is to increase productivity, reduce hunger and malnutrition, and improve quality of life for the rural poor.
Both programs are working in parallel to achieve one mutual goal; improving quality of life for the rural livelihoods. In recent years Tunisia has been witnessing a remarkable climate change that negatively influenced livelihoods and agricultural productivity. The Tunisian Government is well aware of this climate change, and has set priorities tailored towards rural economic development. For those priorities to be addressed properly, future efforts by the two ICARDA programs should be made to jointly achieve program outputs related to Tunisian Government priorities.
The workshop created a platform for both programs as well as the Tunisian Government to share their experiences, capacities and interim results. It also served as a venue for national policy makers, provincial development institutions, international organizations and national research institutions focused on Tunisian research on water resources for rural development to share priorities and challenges of implementing these priorities.
The two-day workshop was attended by Prof Hammadi Habeib; on behalf of the President of Institution for Agricultural Research and Higher Education (IRESA), Dr. Mohamed El Mourid; ICARDA North Africa Regional Program Coordinator, Dr. Theib Oweis; Director of Integrated Water and Land Management Program at ICARDA, Mr. Kristofer Dodge, Head of the WLI and Dr. Ali Nefzaoui, Head of the CRP – Dryland Systems Program for the North Africa Region. A number of Professors, researchers, Engineers and PhD Students have also attended the workshop and contributed heavily to the objective of this workshop through prepared scientific posters and presentations.
The two-day workshop was also very useful in identifying common strength, gaps, and challenges that need further research and recommendations including Out-scaling CRP-DS technologies for intensification, benefiting from the both projects’ linkages with national and international stakeholders, Producing extension materials, and Training of extension services of CRDA. Concluding remarks from IRESA mentioned the importance of ICARDA implemented programs to carefully coordinate within the national research and development authorities of Tunisia to make a true impact in rural communities. The event was successful in bringing together partners with the common goal of stimulating rural development in the face of real uncertainty with regards to their natural resources.
Introduction
The Water and Livelihood Initiative (WLI) and The Dryland Systems (CRP-DS) program organized the workshop in order to exchange knowledge and bridge the gaps between ICARDA’s existing programs and Tunisian national priorities of adapting to uncertainties of raising temperatures, more erratic precipitation and higher evapotranspiration and its influence on livelihoods and agricultural productivity. Specifically the objectives included:
- Study policy implications of understanding and adapting to climate change in Tunisia
- Discuss water resources and implications on rural dryland livelihoods of Tunisia
- Identify the technical capacities of partner organizations to address climate change and water scarcity in Tunisia
- Addressing climate change scenarios in the irrigated production areas of Tunisia
- Evaluating rangeland ecosystems ability to support carrying capacity of agricultural practices in central and southern Tunisia
- Responding to policy level discussion by tackling strengths and gaps of WLI and CRP-DS programs
Discussions mainly focused on the importance of ICARDA implemented programs to carefully coordinate within the national research and development authorities of Tunisia to make a true impact in rural communities.
The workshop began with opening statements from Prof Hammadi Habeib; on behalf of the President of Institution for Agricultural Research and Higher Education (IRESA), Dr. Mohamed El Mourid; ICARDA North Africa Regional Program Coordinator, and Dr. Theib Oweis; Director of Integrated Water and Land Management Program at ICARDA. An introduction of the Water and Livelihoods Initiative (WLI) and the CRP- Dryland Systems was made by Mr. Kristofer Dodge, Head of the WLI and Dr. Ali Nefzaoui, Head of the CRP – Dryland Systems Program for the North Africa Region.
The event was successful in bringing together partners with the common goal of stimulating rural development in the face of real uncertainty with regards to their natural resources.
Policy Implications of Understanding and Adapting to Climate Change in Tunisia
Discussions on policy implications of understanding and adapting to climate change in Tunisia were initiated by welcoming remarks and introductions revolved around the following points:
- ICARDA is going through an organisational restructuring phase
- WLI received a no-cost extension till September 2015
- High interest for building a strategic partnership and synergies between WLI and CRP through avoiding duplications, encouraging complementary activities, conducting annual planning meeting, and effective coordination with IRESA
- Strong commitment from the Tunisian Institutions to continue the support to WLI and CRP
- Need to have an integrated approach dealing with the main challenges based on a holistic approach rather than working on different components of the system
- Need to have a coherence between the priorities of WLI, CRP and Tunisia Government
- Building a strategic partnership between Tunisian and US Researchers
- Continuous interest and implementation of the Integrated Water and Land Management Program in North Africa, particularly in Tunisia
- The workshop is expected to generate new ideas for the future
WLI & CRP Potential Synergies
- Operating on the same sites with the same people
- Three levels of synergies:
o Themes/Actors
o Geographical/Eco-zones
o Scale (Up/Out-scaling)
Panel Session: Water Resources and Implications on Rural Dry-land Livelihoods of Tunisia
- Yearly loss of 10.000 to 30.000 hectares because of erosion
- 76% of water is used for agriculture
- 7% of the agricultural surface is used through irrigation => Production of 40% of the total national production
- 93% of the agricultural surface is used through rain-fed => Production of 60% of the total national production
- Heterogeneity in the use of water resources
- Need to take into consideration the socio-economic dimension when dealing with water resources
- Water resources are decreasing and needs for water are increasing!
- How to manage water allocation through a global approach?
- Uncertainties: Climate change – Water resources – Political situation (national and international level) – Socio-economic – etc…
- Through CRP, there is a will to improve the resilience to face the different uncertainties
- In Tunisia, the focus is more on improving the resilience rather than increasing the productivity. In order to improve food security, both focuses are important
- Water scarcity vs granting irrigation installation!
- What is the impact of Research results to improve the system?
Session 2: Technical Capacities of Partner Organizations to Address Climate Change and Water scarcity; Water Management in the rain-fed agro-ecosystems of Tunisia
Example of Sidi Bouzid:
- Agriculture mainly focused on irrigation
- Excessive use of some of the hydric aquifers (cost and efficiency reasons) compared to the low used aquifers => Risky for the future
- What measures to take in order to face the current situation in Sidi Bouzid?
- Water harvesting techniques can be useful to cope with climate variability in the dry areas. However, there is a constraint of economic profitability and need for technical adaptation.
- Different experiments were conducted in various sites – Overview of conducted works + WLI and CRP DS findings
- Conservation agriculture can be an alternative to conventional agriculture to face CC consequences. The project is in its consolidation phase.
- Conservation agriculture experimental project showed:
o Increase in the humidity rate
o 20% Gain in time
o 16% Less in costs
o Minus 36 to 40 liters of gasoil / hectare
o Cost of equipment fits for a surface of 80 hectares and more
- What compromise between conservation agriculture and conventional agriculture?
- What is the required vision and strategic planning for the future in order to improve water efficiency and land management?
- How to direct national policies based on a global approach considering sustainability, resilience, and socio-economic aspects?
- What is the right balance to avoid distortions and to anticipate uncertainties?
Session 3: Addressing Climate Change Scenarios in the Irrigated Production Areas of Tunisia
Citrus in Cap Bon
- Initially, water from the North was used as a complementary source for irrigation. Today, the culture relies almost 100% on the mobilization of the water from the North of the country
- Continuous extension of citrus culture contrasting with water scarcity
- Focus should be more on improving productivity rather than area extension (Subsidy of €260 for each replacement of citrus tree)
- 30% of citrus area with trees aged more than 40 years => Low productivity
Realities of Tunisian Agricultural Production While Facing Increasing Water Scarcity in Tunisia
- Tunisia is an arid country where rainfall is the unique source of fresh water
- Agricultural production is closely linked to the precipitation level based on historical data
- Due to climate change, pluviometer variation is increasing and there is an increase in heat stress => Adaptation measures are required (Example: Dynamic planning of irrigation)
- Climate uncertainty is expected to cause additional pressure on irrigation water
- The available new technologies of delivery devices and monitoring tools can be very effective in upgrading our capacity of water resources management under climate uncertainty
Introduction to CRP Dry-land Systems Water Saving Technology by Household Grey Water Treatment
- Grey water treatment can be an innovative solution to water scarcity
- Properly treated grey water can be used potentially for irrigation, toilet flushing and various type of cleaning purpose
- Jordan case study – Efficient regulation
- Small grey water treatment unit cost $2000 to $3000
- Do we have the evidence of the benefits of GWT to disseminate the recommendations?
- How can we come with solid recommendations based on verified results to the policy decision makers?
- What would be the best tools to spread the GWT technology among the communities? How to get the adoption of the system by the community?
Session 4: Rangeland Ecosystems Ability to Support Carrying Capacity of Agricultural Practices in Central and Southern Tunisia
Economic Realities of Rangeland Management in Tunisia
- The drier central and southern regions are expected to be the most severely impacted by climate change (periodic droughts) and rangeland degradation
- Agricultural land is expected to be unsuitable for cereal cropping: The traditional barley-livestock system is expected be reduced by 80% in drought years (GIZ 2007).
- However, combined livestock and crop net revenue is more climate resilient in Africa (Seo, Mendelsohn et al., 2009)
- Decision makers need an evaluation of different adaptation options
- Irrigation, olive tree plantation and plantation of forage species
- Alternatives could give higher income for farmers but lower social benefits
- Thus, there is a need for public action to avoid negative externalities or increase public benefit
In conclusions;
§ Plantation of cactus in alley is the best alternative when integrated to sheep breeding.
§ In economic perspective, olive trees plantation in rain-fed area should not be conducted
§ Olive tree plantation in irrigated area is profitable at private and social perspective
§ This analysis confirms that integrated livestock, crop and forage net income is more climates resilient.
§ Irrigation constitutes the best adaptation alternative at farm perspective, but better information is needed to assess the cost of water degradation.
Water Footprint Assessment of Sheep and Goat in Different production Systems along with the CRP DS Action Site BeniKedache- SidiBouzid (Tunisia)
To Estimate the Water footprint of sheep and goat produced in Zoghmar community (Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia). The research raised several questions; does the water footprint differ between species? Is there a difference on Water Footprint of sheep and goat meat across seasons, in the action site Beni kedache-Sidi Bouzid? What can we do? There no knowledge so far on the water resource use for livestock production in Tunisia- basis for decision making.
In conclusion;
Ø Water Footprint Assessment is a simple & elegant concept which enables us to:
§ Understand the geographic allocation of water resources agriculture and domestic water supply.
§ Evaluate the efficiency of water use: consumption & pollution.