Messages and meaning - Water Scarcity, Livelihoods and Food Security - page 211

In the Volta, small reservoirs are central to intensification strategies using
high-value crops. Two-thirds of the rural population in the Volta live within 3
km of a small reservoir, which directly or indirectly affects their livelihoods.
The effects are both positive (food or income security) and negative
(waterborne diseases). The Volta team found it striking that young men are
least likely to migrate if they live near a small reservoir. Reservoirs directly or
indirectly provide employment opportunities and create de facto markets for
commodities produced in and around the reservoir.
Water infrastructure can benefit some groups but harm others. Hydropower
dams in the Mekong produce electricity that benefits urban areas throughout
Southeast Asia, but harms fishers and farmers living downstream—often far
downstream—from the dams.
Water infrastructure depends on adequate maintenance as well as good
design
Basin teams found that infrastructure is most effective in fostering intensi-
fication when it receives routine maintenance.
The Limpopo team observed that, “Small reservoirs typically fail for many
reasons but lack of regular maintenance is the most evident . . . [D]evelopment,
installation or rehabilitation of water infrastructure should be done with a
multiple-use approach.” The Volta team also found numerous problems with
small reservoir maintenance.
The Ganges team focused on water infrastructure maintenance as one of
several complementary factors. They found that livelihoods can be improved
through intensified farm systems but that intensification depends on better
water control, especially drainage. Drainage depends on improved mainte-
nance, which in turn depends on institutional and governance change.
[Deferred] maintenance of infrastructures is the Achilles heel of water
management in the poldered coastal zone. Maintenance is often deferred
due to lack of incentives and funds. These can be solved through a three-
tier strategy: a) Community level: Improving income of the water man-
agement organizations by increasing contributions from the community;
b) local government level: effective use of local government social safety
net funds in maintenance of infrastructure; and c) central government and
donors: creating a self-replenishing Trust Fund.
(CPWF, 2013)
Design of hydropower dams was a major issue in the Mekong because good
design can generate additional benefits for more groups. It can also make cost
sharing equitable while maintaining power generation. “Costs of hydropower
dams are unevenly distributed . . . [but] hydropower can be multi-purpose—
relatively simple strategies can achieve this.”