Ponds as an asset for agriculture: how to keep them full
Marijn van der Meer (MetaMeta), Femke van Woesik (MetaMeta), Nitesh Dhiman (PRADAN), Shubham Jain (MetaMeta), Lalit Kumar Nirmalkar (PRADAN), Laxmi … Continued
The WaterBlog
Bridging the Gap: Where and How to Finance Drinking Water Systems in Nepal
by Long Hoang, Rewati Dhakal, Atikah Eria Putri, Saroj Yakami, Lucia Moreno Spiegelberg, Abhishek Bhandari, Sunil Sha Access to clean and safe drinking water is essential for public health and economic growth. While progress has been made in expanding water supply systems in Nepal, significant challenges remain, particularly in financing these infrastructures at scale. As the country grapples with diverse geography and socioeconomic disparities, addressing the financing gaps in the water sector becomes crucial to ensure every citizen has access to clean water. By reflecting on the current state of the drinking water supply in Nepal and zooming in on the financing gaps, we elaborate on suitable financing mechanisms and concrete project concepts that can drive change. 1. Nepal Needs to Step Up on Drinking Water Supply Systems Nepal’s complex geography - spanning from the high-altitude Himalayas to the lowland Terai plains - poses unique challenges for water supply infrastructure. Currently, approximately 57.8% of the population in Nepal is using basic water… Continued
Previous posts
(Podcast) Understanding Pakistan Floods
More than a third of Pakistan is under water since mid-June. The floods have left 1500 dead; more than 13,000 … Continued
Floods are about rain, floods are also about drainage
by Mohammed Chandio Floods triggered by unusually heavy rain – more than 5 times average – have inundated Sindh Province … Continued
Hill Torrent Floods Impacting the Southern Punjab Pakistan
Blog by Khurram Mubeen1, edited by Reinier Veldman2 1Assistant Professor (Agronomy), Muhammad Nawaz Shareef University of Agriculture Multan-Pakistan 2Coordinator FBLN … Continued
Urgent!! Salvaging the rabi crop in the spate irrigated areas of Pakistan.
By Frank van Steenbergen The incessant and extraordinary rains in Pakistan’s western mountain catchment have created havoc in one-third of … Continued
What to do when “the sun burns the earth”?
Drought and dry season grazing management strategies of Maasai herders By Esmee Mulder, MetaMeta The key to rangeland sustainability? Collaborate … Continued
Pakistan: Flooded Once Again
Ashfaque Soomro and Frank van Steenbergen Pakistan, a land of multiple geographies and cultural mosaic after a decade (12 years) … Continued
Establishing Ecological Based Rodent Management in Ethiopia – Part 3: Collective implementation and ways forward
By Tadesse Tilahun, Getachew Engdayehu, Bantamlak Wondmnow, and Luwieke Bosma This is the third in a series of blog posts describing the development and implementation … Continued
Establishing Ecological Based Rodent Management in Ethiopia – Part 2: Developing and testing a biological rodenticide
By Tadesse Tilahun, Getachew Engdayehu, Bantamlak Wondmnow, and Luwieke Bosma This is the second in a series of blog posts describing the development and implementation … Continued
Establishing Ecological Based Rodent Management in Ethiopia – Part 1: The potential of Farmer’s Indigenous Knowledge
By Tadesse Tilahun, Getachew Engdayehu, Bantamlak Wondmnow, and Luwieke Bosma This is the first in a series of blog posts describing the development and implementation … Continued
Getting a head-start: improved seeds and fertilizers in Oromia
by Guta Eshetu Gemechu, Girma Senbeta, Jean Marc Pace Ricci Seed is life. Seed is the starter for agricultural development. There … Continued
Innovative Feed Solutions: Prosopis based livestock feed option for the pastoral/agro-pastoral communities
by Beruk Yemane (EthioFeed) and Frank van Steenbergen (MetaMeta) It is a major scourge, a destabilizer of pastoralist lives: the … Continued
Responding to the Fertilizer Crisis
by Getachew Engdayehu, Frank van Steenbergen and Girma Senbeta The Ethiopian synthetic fertilizer system has been under much pressure with … Continued
Stock water in saline settings
by Frank van Steenbergen In many coastal areas access to fresh water is a huge challenge. Groundwater maybe saline or … Continued
The beauty and the pest
by Frank van Steenbergen Postcard from Krabbendijke, the Netherlands. Beautiful flower strips adorn onion and potato fields. It is beauty … Continued
Nile Diplomacy: Breaking the Nation-Trap
The iconic Nile river flows through several countries who often stake competing claims to its waters. The key to resolving … Continued
Hedging Opportunities
by Frank van Steenbergen and Femke van Woezik In a landscape hedges make all the difference. This is the point … Continued
Cool it: how to change the local climate with hundreds of soil bunds
By Femke van Woesik (MetaMeta), Jackie Kemboi (Justdiggit), and Samwel Jakinda (Justdiggit). The monitoring setup was developed and implemented by … Continued
Pest Management through Water Management
by Kbd Serder M Ferdous and Frank van Steenbergen Water management is essential to avoid crop stress and hence ensure … Continued
How an army of women is saving an endangered bird
In Assam, located in the northeast of India, one biologist named Dr. Purnima Barman Devi is putting together an army … Continued