Current Projects:

The scoping projects have assisted AusAID and CSIRO to develop four longer term projects including:

Mekong Region Futures

The Alliance is assessing national and regional decision-making about complex issues in ‘the Mekong’ countries – the nexus of energy, water and food investments. The idea being investigated is around providing integrated, alternative scenarios of long-term future development to support the needs of Mekong Region decision-makers today who have to consider the interconnected domains of energy, waters and food security in the context of changes in climate, land use, technology, urbanisation and populations. The outcomes are also to help inform future development decisions.

Contact Alex.Smajgl@csiro.au

Climate Adaptation through Sustainable Urban Development

Collaborative urban case studies in Can Tho, Vietnam and Makassar, Indonesia will focus on integrated urban water management systems as a means of assessing the application of sustainable urban development principles.  These principles include climate change, population growth and rising demands on regional resources such as water and energy.  This project will explore how these factors can influence major urban infrastructure projects and integrated urban environmental management issues with policy makers, urban managers and researchers.
 
Contact Matthew.Inman@csiro.au

Climate Adaptation Strategies for Rural Livelihoods in Indonesia

Working with the Government of Indonesia and Indonesian scientists this project will assess vulnerabilities to climate change in the Indonesian Province of Nusa Tengarra Barat. Detailed local climate projections will help different sectors including agriculture and coastal fisheries develop adaptation strategies. The research will work at both the government and community scale, to work out how best to support people as they prepare to adapt to climate change impacts.

 Contact James.Butler@csiro.au

Bangladesh Integrated Water Resources Assessment

Bangladesh water demand will grow with the growing population and increasing economic development. Whereas surface water resources are well studied, there are significant knowledge gaps in groundwater resources, the joint use of surface and groundwater, management strategies that enhance the efficiency in the equitable allocation of scarce water resources and improve livelihoods, and the potential impacts of climate change. There is a real risk of reduced access to safe drinking and irrigation water in rural areas, and of induced contamination of groundwater by saline intrusion and ingress of polluted surface waters. This project will conduct an integrated water resources / socio-economic study to provide a national overview of the resource, the impacts of development and climate change, and the way the impacts will affect the poor and vulnerable.

Contact: Mac.Kirby@csiro.au

Food security through food system innovation

A more conceptual project, this research queswtions the best ways to facilitate innovations in food systems which will make more food available in markets and poor households  as well as increase the net income of poor men and women.  Using an action research approach this one year inception phase will investigate food security interventions, both current and prospective.  We will characterise how science and evidence-based approaches can lead to the effective development, implementation and evaluation of development support initiative.

Contact: Peter. Carberry@csiro.au