Funding: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), $88,000
Researchers/Investigators: Dr Michael Mitchell, Dr Ed Barrett-Lennard (Murdoch University), Associate Professor Catherine Allan, Dr Jay Punthakey (Adjunct)
Sustainable Development (International)
Salt is historically part of the landscape of Pakistan. Modifications to the landscape and increased water use for agriculture is adding over 14.4 million tonnes of extra salt every year to the Indus Basin’s soil profile. The area being impacted is increasing annually by an estimated 20,000 to 40,000 ha. Salinisation and sodification of surface soils and waterlogging threaten agricultural production, resulting in higher rates of impoverishment for communities living in salinity affected areas in the Indus Basin.
This project built on the previous work (including the creation of a well-regarded network of experts) done for the initial scoping project Improving salinity and agricultural water management in the Indus Basin of Pakistan conducted in 2017 as well as three related activities that further informed the project’s re-development. These were to observe and learn from the mid-term reviews of two related projects in Bangladesh; a workshop in Faisalabad in September 2018 which coincided with the annual planning meeting of all ACIAR projects in Pakistan; and a series of meetings in October 2018 at ACIAR with other Australian-based researchers.
This second scoping project developed a proposal for a series of projects to be delivered over a 10 year time frame.
Key activities were:
These activities have ensured those Pakistan partners who are championing the proposed project have a high level of ownership of, and contribution to, its design. Key individuals had the opportunity to engage with internationally renowned experts in complexity and
transdisciplinary action, and to collaboratively consider best strategies to apply this experiential knowledge to project design.
Collaborating partners were:
In-country collaborating partners were:
Mitchell, M., Allan, C., Punthakey, J., Barrett-Lennard, E., Heaney-Mustafa, S., Lashari, B., Baig, I. & Hussain, I. (2020) Living with Salinity in the Indus Basin: SRA 2 Final Report. Prepared for Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. PDF
The outcomes of this project were:
Contact
Dr Michael Mitchell,
Albury-Wodonga Campus
Email
July 2021