NEXUS Gains: Webinar podcast series

Water in a heated world

Nexus Gains Talk 29: December 2024

With rising global temperatures, the hydrological cycle is accelerating, increasingly threatening the availability and quality of freshwater. In 2023, many regions globally experienced severe water scarcity due to prolonged droughts and shifting patterns of precipitation, while others had to contend with devastating floods that destroyed homes and livelihoods. We can no longer rely on the weather patterns of the past; we have to rethink how we manage water. This webinar examines the impacts of climate change on the water cycle and discusses why nexus approaches are central to technical and policy approaches for climate resilience and adaptation.

With: Matthew McCartney, IWMI; Stefan Uhlenbrook, World Meteorological Organization; John Matthews, Alliance for Global Water Adaptation; Darshini Ravindranath, IWMI; Xianfu Lu, Independent Advisor on Adaptation and Climate Resilience; Claudia Ringler, IFPRI.

Crafting combinations to govern groundwater: Knowledge, motivation, and agency

NEXUS Gains Talk 28: November 2024

Groundwater is an increasingly vital common pool resource for water supply, irrigation, and ecosystems, but difficult to govern. While there are many institutional tools for governing groundwater, there are no panaceas, and successes are rare. Effective groundwater governance requires that key stakeholders have combinations of knowledge, motivation, and agency to act together effectively. This webinar will share results from research on groundwater governance, including findings from a recent special issue.

With: Ruth Meinzen-Dick, IFPRI; Richu Sanil, Foundation for Ecological Security; Margreet Zwarteveen, IHE-Delft Institute for Water Education; Bryan Bruns, Independent Researcher and Consultant; Hagar ElDidi, IFPRI; Alvar Closas, International Consultant, Bogotá, Colombia.

How to design a transboundary multistakeholder platform (MSP): The Incomati experience in Southern Africa

NEXUS Gains Talk 27: November 2024

While multistakeholder platforms (MSPs) are proliferating in shared waters, there is a diversity of approaches with little comparison or shared learning between them. This webinar will review experiences in transboundary MSPs, present a proposed design for a new transboundary MSP in the Incomati Basin, and facilitate discussion on the suitability of that design. The webinar will include a roundtable discussion of notable MSP practitioners to offer relevant lessons for MSP development in other shared watercourses, including the Incomati Basin.

With: Jonathan Lautze, IWMI; Ryan Nehring, IFPRI; Dominic Joaquim, IFPRI; Sylvester Matemu, Nile Basin Discourse; Leonissah Munjoma, Zambezi Watercourse Commission (ZAMCOM); Loreen Katiyo (Global Water Partnership Southern Africa); Buyani Fakudze, Incomati and Maputo Watercourse Commission (INMACOM).

The future of global river health monitoring

NEXUS Gains Talk 26: September 2024

River health is declining globally, but there is no reliable monitoring system for tracking global trends. NEXUS Gains therefore reviewed national and regional approaches for river health monitoring to develop a comprehensive set of scalable indicators. This webinar evaluated the readiness of these indicators and presented recommendations for coordinated action and investment to implement a framework to support conservation and restoration of river health globally.

With: Chris Dickens, IWMI; David Tickner, WWF; Lauren Kuehne, Omfishient Consulting; Abby Lynch, United States Geological Survey; Mpho Sadiki, Digital Earth Africa.

Reversing groundwater depletion in Northwest India: Insights from agronomic interventions and potential opportunities

NEXUS Gains Talk 25: August 2024

The groundwater table in Northwest India is depleting, largely attributed to irrigation led by intensified paddy cultivation. This webinar presented the findings of research on farmers’ water application and productivity under both direct-seeded rice and puddled transplanted rice across four districts in Haryana, as well as a case study on the co-benefits of crop diversification. The results show how water savings can be achieved and can contribute to groundwater rejuvenation.

With: Proloy Deb, IRRI; Swatantra Kumar Dubey, IRRI; Meenakshi Sangwan, Agricultural Research Center, Haryana; Sandeep Rawal, Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) Knowledge Network; Matthew McCartney, IWMI.

Spatially explicit approaches at the food–biodiversity–climate nexus

NEXUS Gains Talk 24: July 2024

Achieving food, biodiversity, and climate goals in tandem requires managing land-use systems for multiple purposes. This webinar focused on using spatial datasets to guide and prioritize interventions on and off-farm to support food security, biodiversity conservation, and climate mitigation objectives.

With: Sarika Mittra, Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT; Federico Frank, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis and Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Argentina; Sarah Jones, Alliance.

Integrated water resources management for water, energy, and food security in the Eastern Nile Basin

NEXUS Gains Talk 23: June 2024

Over 500 million people, across 11 countries, reside in the Nile Basin. However, the basin’s water resources are under increasing pressure from a combination of social, political, and climatic threats. This webinar explored how nexus thinking can help address these growing threats, presenting results from the Eastern Nile Basin that can help policymakers develop more impactful and integrated water solutions in a climate crisis.

With: Mohammed Basheer, University of Toronto; Mekdelawit Messay, Florida International University; Yasir Mohamed, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education (UNESCO-IHE); Biniam Iyob, USAID Bureau for Food Security.

Water–energy–food–ecosystems dynamics in a climate crisis

NEXUS Gains Talk 22: May 2024

The all-encompassing nature of climate crisis means that it is deeply connected to the WEFE nexus. This webinar attempted to answer how decision makers can use these connections to their advantage to support climate mitigation and adaptation goals – as well as sustainable development initiatives – while addressing the urgent challenges brought about by a changing climate.

With: Sidra Khalid and Dr Mohsin Hafeez, IWMI Pakistan; Professor Walter Immerzeel, Utrecht University; Dipak Gyawali, Nepal Academy of Science and Technology; Dr Bimala Rai Paudyal, Agriculture and Forestry University.

The water–energy–food–ecosystems nexus and One Health: Opportunities for joint action?

NEXUS Gains Talk 21: April 2024

One Health advocates that human, environmental, and animal health are closely interlinked and that interventions should actively consider these interlinkages. This webinar presents two case studies where One Health and the WEFE nexus overlap: the first links built surface water storage systems with human health, while the second assesses the WEFE nexus of the rice–fisheries system.

With: Dr Jonathan Lautze and Dr Matthew McCartney, IWMI and NEXUS Gains; Vartika Singh, IFPRI-Delhi; Timmo Gaasbeek, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Alvin Lopez, Asian Development Bank.

Transformative leadership program for women professionals in the water–energy–food–ecosystems nexus

NEXUS Gains Talk 20: March 2024

NEXUS Gains’ WEFE Leadership Course launched in Nepal in June 2023, with the aim of creating WEFE nexus champions that can advance the uptake of people-centric WEFE approaches, while contributing to greater equality and social inclusion among professionals. In this webinar, facilitators and participants reflect on their experiences of the course.

With: Dr Manohara Khadka, Dr Marlène Buchy and Dr Sanju Koirala, IWMI-Nepal; Dr Bharat Pokharel and Dr Meeta Pradhan, GREAT International; Anjali Sai Chalise, Nepalese Youth for Climate Action; Jigyasha Rai Yangkhurung, Nepalese Department of Water Resources and Irrigation; Deepa Oli, Nepalese Ministry of Forests and the Environment.

Wetlands and human wellbeing: Perspectives from Asia and Africa

NEXUS Gains Talk 19: February 2024

Discover how community initiatives and government policies in Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka are fostering the wise use of wetlands – balancing the needs for human wellbeing and environmental protection of these precious ecosystems.

With: Dr Matthew McCartney, NEXUS Gains Lead; Dr Priyanie Amerasinghe, IWMI; Dr Thomas Marambanyika, Midlands State University, Zimbabwe; Dr Chaturangi Wickramaratne, IWMI; Chandana Kalupahana, Urban Development Authority, Sri Lanka; Zebedee Njisuh, Ramsar.