A Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture
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The report ''A Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture'' was published in 2007 by
International Water Management Institute The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) is a non-profit international water management research organisation under the CGIAR with its headquarters in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and offices across Africa and Asia. Research at the Institute foc ...
and
Earthscan Earthscan is an English-language publisher of books and journals on climate change, sustainable development and environmental technology for academic, professional and general readers. History The Earthscan Publications imprint was founded by th ...
in an attempt to answer the question: how can
water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as ...
in
agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...
be developed and managed to help end
poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse
and
hunger In politics, humanitarian aid, and the social sciences, hunger is defined as a condition in which a person does not have the physical or financial capability to eat sufficient food to meet basic Human nutrition, nutritional needs for a sustaine ...
, ensure environmentally sustainable practices, and find the right balance between food and environmental security?


History

Compiled after consultation with more than 700 individuals, numerous organisations and networks, it was the first critical evaluation of: * the benefits, costs and impacts of the past 50 years of water development *
water management Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially useful for humans, for example as a source of drinking water supply or irrigation water. 97% of the water on the Earth is salt water and only three percent is fresh water; sl ...
challenges facing communities today * successful methods of managing water in farming around the world. The assessment confirmed that
agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...
consumes more water resources than any other sector. A key finding was that a third of the world's population live in water-scarce areas. More than 1.2 billion live in areas of physical water scarcity, lacking water resources. Parts of
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
and the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
suffer in this way. A further 1.6 billion people live in areas of economic water scarcity, where there is insufficient human capacity or financial resources for people to effectively make use of water that is available. Here,
sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...
is a good example; there is water in the rivers but no dams or pumps to enable people to use it.


Trends affecting demands for water

The report's authors forecast that the need for water would double within 50 years, due to global population rise, more people choosing to eat a diet of
meat Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chic ...
and vegetables rather than primarily consuming cereals, and
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
. Generally, about one litre of liquid water gets converted to water vapour to produce one
calorie The calorie is a unit of energy. For historical reasons, two main definitions of "calorie" are in wide use. The large calorie, food calorie, or kilogram calorie was originally defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of o ...
of food. We each consume between 2,000 and 5,000 liters of water every day, depending on our diet and how the
food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is in ...
is produced. This is far more than the two to five litres we drink every day. A heavy meat diet requires much more than a vegetarian diet, because water is used to grow food for the animals as well as being used directly to support the livestock.
Economic growth Economic growth can be defined as the increase or improvement in the inflation-adjusted market value of the goods and services produced by an economy in a financial year. Statisticians conventionally measure such growth as the percent rate o ...
fuels changes in diets; for example, per capita meat demand in China has quadrupled over the last 30 years, and milk and egg products are becoming increasingly popular in India. Growing cities, expanding industry and
biofuel Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels, such as oil. According to the United States Energy Information Administration ...
s are increasingly competing for water with an expanding agriculture.


How feeding the future world will be possible

The conclusion made by the report's authors was that only by changing the way we use water within agriculture would we be able to meet the acute water, environment and poverty challenges facing us over the next 50 years. They suggested that with wise policies and investments in irrigation, upgrading rainfed agriculture, and trade it would be possible to limit future growth in water withdrawals to 13% and the expansion of cultivated land to 9%. However, the effects of
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
and the increased use of
biofuels Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels, such as oil. According to the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA ...
would complicate matters, making actions necessary to address these. The Assessment found the greatest potential lay in rainfed areas of the world housing the highest number of poor people. Upgrading these rainfed lands through better water management held the greatest potential to increase productivity and decrease poverty. The technology would not necessarily need to be complex; simple measures such as catching water in huge tubular plastic bags and storing roof and road run-off could double or even triple food production in sub-Saharan Africa and south-east Asia, effectively increasing productivity from each raindrop by that amount.Andy Coughlan
Catch every drop to fight world hunger
''New Scientist'', August 26, 2006


Shaping future water policy

The report recommended eight policy actions: * Change the way we think about water and agriculture.
Rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...
should be viewed as the ultimate source of water to be managed, and agriculture as part of an agro-ecosystem that provides food but also delivers other environmental services, such as maintaining
soil fertility Soil fertility refers to the ability of soil to sustain agricultural plant growth, i.e. to provide plant habitat and result in sustained and consistent yields of high quality.
. * Fight poverty by improving access to agricultural water and its use. This would be achieved by promoting livelihood gains by
smallholder A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technology ...
farmers, for example by securing water access through rights and developing multiple-use water supply systems. * Manage agriculture to enhance
ecosystem services Ecosystem services are the many and varied benefits to humans provided by the natural environment and healthy ecosystems. Such ecosystems include, for example, agroecosystems, forest ecosystem, grassland ecosystems, and aquatic ecosystems. ...
. This would involve using good agricultural practices to enhance other ecosystem services. * Increase the productivity of water. The outcome would be higher yields and value from smaller volumes of water, thus reducing demand and environmental impacts. * Upgrade rainfed agriculture by improving soil moisture and using supplemental
irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...
. This holds the greatest potential for lifting people out of poverty and increasing water productivity, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. * Adapt yesterday's irrigation for tomorrow's needs. Modernisation would require a mix of technological and management upgrades. * Reform the reform process, targeting state institutions. Water managements investments should embrace irrigated and rainfed agriculture, plus
fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, ...
and livestock practices. * Deal with trade-offs and make difficult choices. Informed multi-stakeholder negotiations would be essential.


References

{{Reflist, 2


External links


International Water Management Institute
Agriculture and the environment Water and the environment Environmental non-fiction books 2007 non-fiction books 2007 in the environment