Water, Growth & Inclusion

Water security is essential to all forms of economic activity, from farming to manufacturing, energy production, transport and other service industries including tourism. An absence of water in the right quantity and of the right quality, or an overabundance in the form of flooding, directly threatens economies and the livelihood security of key communities. In conditions of scarcity, allocation between rural agriculture and urban consumers, or between industrial uses and environmental flows, can have immediate or long-term impacts on economic growth but also on the future well-being of societies. Large numbers of people migrate to and from regions and countries where changes in water access and use can have significant impacts on rural development. Research on these challenges helps in not only identifying the institutions, policies and governance processes required to build more robust and water-secure economies, but also to reduce poverty and ensure more gender-equitable and inclusive societies. 

Our approach

IWMI is the only transdisciplinary, internationally located water research institute working at the nexus of food systems, climate and growth. This provides us with unique opportunities to generate insights that will transform sectors and sector decision-making, helping to support future food security, long-term sustainable resource governance and economic growth with equity. Our work on growth and water brings together theoretical and methodological advances in understanding with practical implementation of solutions on the ground, driven through partnerships with governments, civil society and the private sector. Our Governance and Inclusion team has deep knowledge of systemic resource governance challenges across Asia and Africa, complementing our work under the Circular Economy and Water Pollution team, who are driving forward solutions to waste recycling, recovery and reuse. Our work in economics across a range of country contexts ensures that we bring academic rigor and broad experience to assessing the impacts of different interventions on economies and societies 

Our research on Water, Growth and Inclusion

  • Analyzes the dynamics of power, interests and incentives and their impact on decision-making.
  • Supports cooperation in transboundary water management across a range of globally important river basins.
  • Understands the gender dimensions of new technologies and water governance, strengthening the inclusion of women, youth and marginalized people.
  • Strengthens women’s access to decision-making through tackling institutional barriers.
  • Identifies inclusive and sustainable ways of adopting and scaling up water-related technologies.
  • Assesses the costs and benefits of water risk management at different scales.
  • Undertakes ecosystem service valuations in decisions on water allocation and infrastructure investments.
  • Applies cost-benefit and impact evaluation to strengthen policy analysis.
  • Provides enhanced capabilities in hydro-economic modeling to support future decision-making.

Contact

Inga Jacobs-Mata

Inga Jacobs-Mata

Director of Water, Growth and Inclusion

Latest news on this topic

Latest publications on this topic

Assessing the investment climate to promote a circular bioeconomy: a comparison of 15 countries in the Global South (08/31/2024)
Assessing the investment climate to promote a circular bioeconomy: a comparison of 15 countries in the Global South.
2024
More... [DOI] | Fulltext (16.8 MB)
Scaling circular bio-economy solutions in refugee settings: a peer-to-peer capacity building approach (04/30/2024)
Scaling circular bio-economy solutions in refugee settings: a peer-to-peer capacity building approach.
2024
More... | Fulltext (10.8 MB)
Changing gendered roles in agricultural production in northwestern Ghana. [Policy Brief of the Resilience Against Climate Change - Social Transformation Research and Policy Advocacy (REACH-STR) project] (10/30/2024)
Changing gendered roles in agricultural production in northwestern Ghana. [Policy Brief of the Resilience Against Climate Change - Social Transformation Research and Policy Advocacy (REACH-STR) project].
2024
More... | Fulltext (4.88 MB)
Building climate resilience by national and subnational structures in Ghana: sources of financing and collaborative efforts. [Policy Brief of the Resilience Against Climate Change - Social Transformation Research and Policy Advocacy (REACH-STR) project] (05/31/2024)
Building climate resilience by national and subnational structures in Ghana: sources of financing and collaborative efforts. [Policy Brief of the Resilience Against Climate Change - Social Transformation Research and Policy Advocacy (REACH-STR) project].
2024
More... | Fulltext (8.97 MB)