Alain Vidal

Pope Francis' 'Laudato Si' encyclical has gained a considerable amount of attention over the past few weeks. Not a single international conference on climate change or development has gone without referencing the Pope’s landmark piece

in 2009, CPWF redefined its objective “to increase the resilience of social and ecological systems through better water management for food production.” Why did it matter at that time, and why does it still matter today for water, food and ecosystems?

At a recent meeting it was suggested that water markets could be the next big investment opportunity. I suggested the reality is much more complicated.

After months of planning, the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE) is taking its first step toward an integrated approach for research and development. At the end of May, WLE will hold the Volta and Niger Basins Consultation and Design Workshop...

This week we are publishing thirteen CPWF outcome stories. Just a few days after the groundbreaking ceremony of the CGIAR Headquarters in Montpellier, where French authorities were told how the new CGIAR was “big, bold and beautiful”, these outcome stories may look small, even tiny. “Islands of success”in the middle of an ambitious “ocean of change”.

A good introduction to World Wetlands Day in Rotterdam was paying 10€ to park in the open space of a former industrial plant, which has been converted into a “green” conference center. Here ecosystems, especially wetlands, are business.

Alain Vidal, Director of the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food