Productivity and Efficiency

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, water efficiency is the smart use of our water resources through water-saving technologies and simple steps. Using water efficiently will help ensure reliable water supplies today and for future generations. Topics addressed in this theme provide insights, lessons, and guidance on how diverse stakeholders are working to improve water management and reduce water use.

Productivity and Efficiency Resources

Sector Environmental Guideline: Dry land Agriculture

Published: 
March 18, 2014
U.S. Agency for International Development
The purpose of this document and the Sector Environmental Guidelines overall is to support environmentally sound design and management (ESDM) of common USAID sectorial development activities by providing concise, plain-language information. This guideline details how conservation agriculture, rain...Read more
Regional focus: 
Sub-Saharan Africa

Final Report, June 1988 to May 1991: The Importance of Mangroves in Sustaining Fisheries and Controlling Water Quality in Coastal Ecosystems

U.S. Agency for International Development
This final report describes an ecosystem analysis of Guayas River estuary, Ecuador, along with ecological studies in Terminos Lagoon, Mexico, to quantify the function of mangroves in different environmental settings. Mangroves may provide food and habitat to a variety of trophic levels, as well as...Read more
Regional focus: 
EcuadorLatin America and the Caribbean

Neglected Opportunities in Irrigation

U.S. Agency for International Development
This article considers two different programs which attempt to improve water use and management in eastern India. One concerns the Hirukud project, which irrigates 282,000 acres in the Sambalpur district of Orissa; the other is in the Raipur district, just west of Sambalpur in Madhaya Pradesh. Both...Read more
Regional focus: 
IndiaSouth East Asia

Securing Water for Food: A Grand Challenge for Development

U.S. Agency for International Development
This resource is the homepage of Securing Water for Food: A Grand Challenge for Development. Launched at the 2013 World Water Week in Stockholm, Securing Water for Food: A Grand Challenge for Development is supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Swedish...Read more

USGS and USAID Partner to Conserve Forests, Water in Africa

U.S. Geological SurveyU.S. Agency for International Development
This resource offers an overview of the partnership between USAID and USGS working to conserve forests in Guinea. One of the many reasons that this project is critical is that Guinea's forest reserves replenish many of West Africa's life-sustaining waterways.Read more
Regional focus: 
Sub-Saharan Africa

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