South Asia

South Asia is home to over 1.8 billion people, many of whom depend heavily on agriculture for their livelihoods. The region is highly vulnerable to climate change, with increasing occurrences of extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts, and heatwaves, directly impacting food security, water resources, and livelihoods.

Approximately 70% of the region’s population relies on agriculture, which accounts for a significant portion of the economy, yet the sector is increasingly threatened by water scarcity, land degradation, and rising climate impacts. Transboundary water systems, such as the Ganges-Brahmaputra and Indus basins, are central to the region’s agricultural productivity, yet tensions around water rights and equitable distribution persist. With climate-induced shocks, South Asia faces a critical need for capacity building and sustainable water management to ensure food and water security in the coming decades.

IWMI in South Asia

IWMI is carrying out work to strengthen climate resilience and promote sustainable water management across the region. Through the South Asia Water Security Initiative (SAWASI) in Pakistan, IWMI is addressing critical water security challenges, while the Transboundary Rivers of South Asia (TROSA) project works to enhance river governance and resilience across multiple countries by focusing on rights, access, and environmental sustainability.

IWMI researchers also collaborate on improving climate adaptation strategies in agriculture, providing capacity building to enhance data-driven insights and strategic responses to agrifood system crises in Nepal. IWMI’s work supports smallholder farmers by promoting sustainable and inclusive irrigation development, which is key to increasing resilience against economic shocks and climate variability. By tackling transboundary water issues, strengthening water storage capacities, and fostering climate-smart agricultural practices, IWMI strives to build a more resilient, water-secure South Asia.

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Latest South Asia publications

Displaying 4 publications

Water productivity in South Asia: spatial and temporal variations
2025
More... [DOI] | Fulltext (1.67 MB)

This chapter assesses the variations and options for improving water productivity to address water risks and insecurity in South Asian countries. The water productivity indicators of focus are physical water productivity (PWP)—the production per unit of water use, and economic water productivity (EWP), the value of production per unit of water use. A significant potential exists to increase PWP in many South Asian countries and regions with no water scarcity. These regions require increased access to water. However, increasing EWP should take precedence under water-scarce conditions. The latter may require reducing water-intensive crop areas and diversifying to less water-intensive crops.

Water use / Vulnerability / Mixed farming / Rainfall patterns / Water scarcity / Climate change / Water productivity
Record No:H053748

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Gender policy analysis in South Asia
2024
More... | Fulltext (341.46 KB)

This methodology brief, developed within the CGIAR initiative on National Policies and Strategies, tackles essential questions about how gender is woven (or not) into the fabric of a policy document – and how to interpret and understand the results. This tool, centered around a list of questions to use systematically whilst interrogating policy documents, is primarily designed for policy researchers, but the questions can also act as a guide during policy design for policy makers.

Governance / Political aspects / Analysis / Policies / Social inclusion / Women / Gender equality
Record No:H052800

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South Asia drought outlook - Issue 1
South Asia Drought Monitoring System (SADMS) Bulletin, 2023
More... | Fulltext (4.01 MB)

Maps / Satellite observation / Reservoirs / Discharge / Rivers / Normalized difference vegetation index / Dry spells / Rainfall / Precipitation / Climate prediction / Weather forecasting / Drought
Record No:H052178

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South Asian agriculture increasingly dependent on meltwater and groundwater
Nature Climate Change, 2022
More... [DOI]

Irrigated agriculture in South Asia depends on meltwater, monsoon rains and groundwater. Climate change alters the hydrology and causes shifts in the timing, composition and magnitude of these sources of water supply. Simultaneously, socio-economic growth increases water demand. Here we use a high-resolution cryosphere–hydrology–crop model forced with an ensemble of climate and socio-economic projections to assess how the sources of irrigation water supply may shift during the twenty-first century. We find increases in the importance of meltwater and groundwater for irrigated agriculture. An earlier melt peak increases meltwater withdrawal at the onset of the cropping season in May and June in the Indus, whereas increasing peak irrigation water demand during July and August aggravates non-renewable groundwater pumping in the Indus and Ganges despite runoff increases. Increasing inter-annual variability in rainfall runoff increases the need for meltwater and groundwater to complement rainfall runoff during future dry years.

Crops / Monsoon climate / River basins / Glaciers / Runoff / Rain / Water extraction / Irrigation water / Water demand / Water supply / Water availability / Socioeconomic aspects / Hydrological modelling / Forecasting / Climate change / Irrigated farming / Agriculture / Groundwater / Meltwater
Record No:H051247

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