The Challenge of Integrated Water Resource Management for Improved Rural Livelihoods:

Managing Risk, Mitigating Drought and Improving Water Productivity in the Water Scarce Limpopo

Basin: Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is a systems approach to water

management, based on the principle of managing the full water cycle. It is required, not only to

balance water for food and nature, but also to unlock paths to sustainable development. A global

hotspot area in terms of water for food and improved livelihoods is in the poverty stricken rural

Pour leur appropriation et l’e?mergence de nouveaux territoires de l’eau, la cre?ation des CLE devrait e?tre l’aboutissement d’un processus de territorialisation sur des espaces socialement construits et non des zones de compe?tence de?limite?es de fac?on technocratique.

Majority of the populace in the Upper West Region of Ghana are small-scale farmers who depend mainly on rain-fed agriculture. However, rainfall pattern is uni-modal (April – September) and variable thus making agriculture quite challenging. This has resulted in poverty and food insecurity with migration down south being on the ascendency especially during the dry season.

IWRM-Ferghana Project Handbook