This is the eighth instalment of the ‘Creating a Sustainable Food Future’ series and explores the potential to improve water management in rice production in order to reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions and save water. Through a series of case studies, the authors examine the opportunities and challenges of mitigating emissions through water management, and close with a series of recommendations for how to scale up adoption of improved water management techniques in rice production. The paper argues that one of the most promising techniques for reducing rice-related GHG emissions is to reduce or interrupt the periods of flooding. Also that there are several well-established water management techniques available to reduce flooding, reduce emissions and reduce agricultural water use at the field level, and usually maintain rice yields, sometimes increasing yields.