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

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

areas of water scarce semi-arid tropics, such as in the Limpopo basin. The improvement in

resilience that the IWRM approach can impart to rural livelihood systems has been shown by a

series of case studies in the Limpopo Basin.