ISPC Commentary on proposal CRP 5: Water, Land and Ecosystems

CRP5 focuses on three critical issues: water scarcity, land degradation and ecosystem services. It seeks to differentiate itself from cropand systems-based CRPs by addressing natural resource constraints at a river basin and landscape scale rather than the field to farm level. Underpinning this CRP is the understanding that sustainable natural resource management is a prerequisite for poverty alleviation and food security over the long term. To achieve its goal, CRP5 has a broad vision and an ambitious agenda that includes research components spread across a wide spectrum of disciplines, scales and geographic contexts. It involves an impressive number of partnerships involving CGIAR Centers, other CRPs, NARES, NGOs, universities and government and international agencies.