The work that lies behind this Working Paper began, for Professor Mati, long before she began working with IWMI.But for IWMI, it also has a history of several years.During the years 2000-2001, as we built up our program and staff in Africa, we spent quite some time trying to identify what should be our main priorities in sub-Saharan Africa.By 2002 we realized that one very important focus for IWMI's work ought to be on water and land management in "rain-fed" as well as "irrigated" agriculture; we called our incipient effort "intensifying rain-fed agriculture," and focused on such topics as rainwater harvesting, small individualized technologies such as bucket and drum drip kits and pedal pumps, and low-cost water storage.As part of our effort to understand what is already happening in this arena, we asked Professor Mati to work with us on this topic and among other things to provide an overview of experiences in East Africa based on her ongoing and past experiences.The first draft of this paper was produced in 2003.She continued to work on it, adding examples, illustrations, data from more recent experiences, and for the final version, added a section on participatory approaches to implementation and scaling up.She has patiently answered questions from nonspecialists like me, and worked hard to finalize this document for wider dissemination.I am sure that many people will find this overview a useful guide and menu.It is aimed at government officials, NGOs, and donors who are supporting the implementation of improved lowcost water and land management practices by and with poor farmers.I want, therefore, to thank Professor Mati for her work.I share Professor Mati's belief that helping farmers adapt and make good use of better but low-cost water and land management practices and technologies can have a high impact on poverty and food security in Africa.As will be seen from her acknowledgments, many people have participated in various ways to make this Working Paper a reality.

The study was carried out to reveal characteristics of the ice regime of poorly explored water area of the Khatanga Bay in the South-Western part of the Laptev Sea. Actuality of the research is due to the high potential of hydrocarbon reserves in the license area «Khatangsky» of the PAO «NK «Rosneft Currently available methods of monitoring ice cover and hydrometeorological conditions throughout the year were used. The main features of the hydrological regime of the region in the ice-free period, reflected in the spatial distribution of thermohaline characteristics and sea level fluctuations, are shown. The area under investigation has specific features of the conditions for the formation of ice cover: the entire area is covered with the fast ice; the winter fresh water infl w from Khatanga and Anabar rivers results in the desalination of sea water, and this promotes formation of ice cover, which differs in crystal structure and texture from both fresh and sea ices. These factors do influence on the mechanical properties of ice, including its strength. It was found that the average and maximum values of strength of the smooth and deformed ice of the Khatanga Gulf are approximately twice as high as the similar values of the sea ice strength in the southern part of the Laptev Sea. The basic features of the spatial distribution of different types of deformations of the ice cover such as lines of ice hummocks, zones of homogeneous ice hummocking, and  stamukhas  had been determined.

The study was carried out to reveal characteristics of the ice regime of poorly explored water area of the Khatanga Bay in the South-Western part of the Laptev Sea. Actuality of the research is due to the high potential of hydrocarbon reserves in the license area «Khatangsky» of the PAO «NK «Rosneft Currently available methods of monitoring ice cover and hydrometeorological conditions throughout the year were used. The main features of the hydrological regime of the region in the ice-free period, reflected in the spatial distribution of thermohaline characteristics and sea level fluctuations, are shown. The area under investigation has specific features of the conditions for the formation of ice cover: the entire area is covered with the fast ice; the winter fresh water infl w from Khatanga and Anabar rivers results in the desalination of sea water, and this promotes formation of ice cover, which differs in crystal structure and texture from both fresh and sea ices. These factors do influence on the mechanical properties of ice, including its strength. It was found that the average and maximum values of strength of the smooth and deformed ice of the Khatanga Gulf are approximately twice as high as the similar values of the sea ice strength in the southern part of the Laptev Sea. The basic features of the spatial distribution of different types of deformations of the ice cover such as lines of ice hummocks, zones of homogeneous ice hummocking, and stamukhas had been determined.