Policymakers and planners have tended to overlook artisanal fisheries?despite the fact that in rural areas, fisheries often contribute significantly to incomes and diets. An estimated 50 million people in developing countries derive income and food from inland fisheries. In locations as diverse as the Mekong, Amazon and Lake Chad basins, researchers found that rural households typically obtain 10 to 30 percent of their total income from inland fishing. And, particularly for poor households, fish is often the primary source of protein.

This study reviewed trends, issues and constraints affecting investments in agricultural water management in Cambodia. Informed by a review of current programs and the literature, workshops were convened in March 2013 to explore four keys areas: investments in irrigation, local institutions for managing irrigation, use of groundwater for irrigation and impacts of intensification on rice-field fisheries. We present some conclusions and unresolved questions here to promote a more broadly based debate around irrigation policy and investment in Cambodia.

This paper discusses methodologies applied in the Deduru Oya river basin, the basin selected from Sri Lanka for the regional study on the development of effective water management institutions. The study was funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to assist the five countries, Indonesia, the Philippines, Nepal, China and Sri Lanka to work out methodologies and develop effective water management institutions (ADB-RETA 5812). The Deduru Oya basin in which the empirical studies were carried out is located in the northwestern province of Sri Lanka.