Workshop and training on Water Productivity Atlas and Decision Support System

As water scarcity intensifies, assessment indicators such as water productivity and water footprints form crucial tools for policy dialogues and informed decision-making. However, the lack of critical nuances – such as spatial and temporal variations of these indicators, and informed-irrigation scheduling – hinders the effective management of water resources. This makes water use less efficient than it could be and reduces the cross-sectoral benefits that could be derived from more efficient water use.

In India, the Central Ground Water Board estimates groundwater extraction at the district level and compares it with the extractable groundwater resources to assess the severity of overexploitation. This is the primary data available to decision-makers. However, there is a lack of detailed information on the contribution of groundwater irrigation of different crops to the water–energy nexus, or on the socio-economic and environmental costs and benefits they generate. The Water Productivity Atlas helps to fill this gap.

Developed by the International Water Management Institute in partnership with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research under the CGIAR Initiative on NEXUS Gains, the Water Productivity Atlas is a one-stop shop for visualizing water productivity of different crops, cropping patterns, and agricultural systems.

The objectives of this workshop are to:

1. Present the Water Productivity Atlas and Decision Support System to stakeholders and decision-makers to seek feedback on implementation plans.
2. Build capacity through hands-on training on the use of the Water Productivity Atlas and analysis for different scenarios and nexus.

This work is being carried out under the CGIAR Initiative on NEXUS Gains, which is grateful for the support of CGIAR Trust Fund contributors: www.cgiar.org/funders