Evidence review: Water

Global water resources are severely affected by the changing climate. However, our understanding of the impact of key interventions, particularly in coastal zones and certain types of terrestrial water projects, is limited. This evidence review systematically assesses the effectiveness of coastal and terrestrial water-sector interventions at different scales in developing countries. The protocol presents the overall approach for the systematic review with a particular focus on data collection and analysis.

The evidence gap map shows the landscape of studies across intervention and outcome areas. The final number of included studies was 172, made up of 171 unique studies and one linked study.

This paper presents a systematic review of water sector interventions in achieving desired outcomes at various scales in developing countries. The synthesis is based on 40 studies assessing the impact of the six interventions included in the review. These cover four domains: built infrastructure, nature-based options, institutional interventions and financial/market mechanisms. The outcome area is adaptive capacity.

Based on a rigorous protocol and companion evidence gap map, our systematic review conducts meta-analyses of water sector interventions in four areas: built infrastructure, nature-based options, institutional interventions, and financial/market mechanisms. The results suggest that water-efficient irrigation systems and ecosystem-based watershed management stand out as valuable tools for enhancing adaptive capacity, warranting specific attention.