Comprehensive Assessment Of Water Management Research Articles

Review of River Basin Trajectories: Societies, Environments and Development by François Molle and Philippus WesterRiver Basin Trajectories: Societies, Environments and DevelopmentCABI978-1-84593-538-2$161.50

This book is volume 8 in the Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture series, but its scope is in no way limited to agriculture. The series editor, David Molden, sets the tone for this volume by reminding readers of water’s role in the UN’s Millennium Development Goals MDGs . The MDGs were designed to eliminate income poverty, hunger, maternal and child mortality, disease, inadequate shelter, gender inequality, and environmental degradation, and to improve global partnership http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/ . The goals were adopted in 2000 and are set to be achieved in 2015, i.e., only five years from now http://www.undp.org/mdg/basics.shtml . It is almost certain that none of these goals can be achieved by the deadline, and it is highly unlikely that they will be achieved in the near future. Nevertheless, it is good to keep them in front of us and to keep working toward their accomplishment. Of course water is intrinsic to a number of these goals. Thus, managing water in order to provide access to the billions of people who still live without a safe source of this precious resource is crucial. River Basin Trajectories, edited by F. Molle and P. Wester, comprises 12 chapters. The editors have assembled a cluster of experts 27, including themselves who are known for their contributions in the water resources subject area to write the chapters. In chapter 1, the editors highlight human influence on watersheds. They argue that the hydrological cycle is not an independent entity; it is intertwined with the socioeconomic cycle, thus creating a hydro-social cycle. The human relationship with water, and vice versa, has not always been positive. Humans have had to deal, for example, with extreme events, such as droughts, floods, and water quality degradation. On the other hand, water resources have not always been developed and managed well. Indeed abuse and misuse of water resources is widespread throughout the world. The unambiguous link to and dependency on water have directly influenced society and have prompted an ongoing set of institutional changes. From the perspective of integrated water resources management, the watershed is the geographical unit from which everything else branches out. This ranges from surface and groundwater interaction to water quantity and quality manage-

Investing in water for food, ecosystems, and livelihoods: An overview of the comprehensive assessment of water management in agriculture

The authors of the recently completed Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture (CA) concluded that there are sufficient water resources to produce food for a growing population but that trends in consumption, production and environmental patterns, if continued, will lead to water crises in many parts of the world. Only if we act to improve water use will we meet the acute fresh water challenge. Recent spikes in food prices, partially caused by the increasing demand for agricultural products in non-food uses, underline the urgent need to invest in agricultural production, of which water management is a crucial part. The world experienced similar pressure on per capita food supplies and food prices in the 1960s and 1970s, but the challenges now are different than those we experienced 50 years ago. The world's population is substantially larger, there are many more people living in poverty, and the costs of many agricultural inputs are much higher. The current situation and the long-term outlook require a fresh look at approaches that combine different elements such as the importance of access to water for the poor, providing multiple ecosystem services, rainwater management, adapting irrigation to new needs, enhancing water productivity, and promoting the use of low-quality water in agriculture. This special issue highlights the analysis behind a number of policy options identified by the CA, a five-year multi-disciplinary research program involving 700 scientists. This introductory article sets the background and context of this special issue, introduces the key recommendations from the CA and summarizes the papers in this issue.

Present and future water requirements for feeding humanity

The Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture recommended that future food production should be concentrated on existing agricultural land in order to avoid further loss of ecosystem functions from terrestrial lands. This paper is a green-blue water analysis of water constraints and opportunities for global food production on current croplands (including permanent pasture). It assesses, for the target year 2050, (1) how far improved land and water management would go towards achieving global food security, (2) the water deficits that would remain in water scarce regions aiming at food self-sufficiency, (3) how those water deficits may be met by food imports, (4) the cropland expansion required in low income countries without the needed purchasing power for such imports, and (5) the proportion of that expansion pressure which will remain unresolved due to potential lack of accessible land. The water surplus remaining on current cropland is compared with water requirements for biofuel production as a competing activity.

Livestock and water: understanding the context based on the 'Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture'

The recently completed ‘Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture’ (CA) assessed the benefits, costs and impacts of the past 50 years of water development. It highlighted important trends that frame the challenges in water resources management of today and into the future, and critically evaluated solutions that people have developed to cope with these challenges. Important past trends include increases in food production that have outpaced population growth, much of this due to a doubling of the global irrigated area between 1961 and 2003, and accompanying declines in the health of aquatic ecosystems resulting from demands for, and impacts of, water use in agriculture. The future will bring new pressures on water resources and ecosystems as demands from sectors other than agriculture increase (including water for biofuel production), populations rise and become more wealthy, which leads to demand for foods that are more water intensive to produce, and climate change increases uncertainty and risk in our agricultural systems. Modelling predictions and analysis of scenarios show that water demand may rise from between only 20 up to 90% over the next 50 years, depending on how we choose to manage water in agricultural systems in the future. Owing to the importance of meat in changing diets and the role of livestock in managing land degradation, livestock is central to many of the issues that will determine whether or not optimistic scenarios (minimised increased demand for agricultural water in the future) can be achieved. This paper briefly summarises the insights and results of the CA, and highlights the areas where livestock management is most closely related to major water challenges and global recommendations of the CA. The purpose of this introductory paper is to set the context within which the importance of enhancing livestock water productivity in mixed farming systems can be appreciated.

Livestock water productivity: implications for sub-Saharan Africa

Water is essential for agriculture including livestock. Given increasing global concern that access to agricultural water will constrain food production and that livestock production uses and degrades too much water, there is compelling need for better understanding of the nature of livestock–water interactions. Inappropriate animal management along with poor cropping practices often contributes to widespread and severe depletion, degradation and contamination of water. In developed countries, diverse environmental organisations increasingly voice concerns that animal production is a major cause of land and water degradation. Thus, they call for reduced animal production. Such views generally fail to consider their context, applicability and implications for developing countries. Two global research programs, the CGIAR ‘Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management and Agriculture’ and ‘Challenge Program on Water and Food’ have undertaken studies of the development, management and conservation of agricultural water in developing countries. Drawing on these programs, this paper describes a framework to systematically identify key livestock–water interactions and suggests strategies for improving livestock and water management especially in the mixed crop–livestock production systems of sub-Saharan Africa. In contrast to developed country experience, this research suggests that currently livestock water productivity compares favourably with crop water productivity in Africa. Yet, great opportunities remain to further reduce domestic animals’ use of water in the continent. Integrating livestock and water planning, development and management has the potential to help reduce poverty, increase food production and reduce pressure on the environment including scarce water resources. Four strategies involving technology, policy and institutional interventions can help achieve this. They are choosing feeds that require relatively little water, conserving water resources through better animal and land management, applying well known tools from the animal sciences to increase animal production, and strategic temporal and spatial provisioning of drinking water. Achieving integrated livestock–water development will require new ways of thinking about, and managing, water by water- and animal-science professionals.

“Water for Food, Water for Life: A Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture” David Molden (Ed.)

Le deuxieme Forum mondial de l’eau, qui s’etait tenu a La Haye en 2002, avait mis en evidence a la fois les impacts environnementaux occasionnes par l’agriculture et l’incomprehension qui separait les communautes professionnelles du developpement de celles œuvrant pour la preservation de l’environnement. Pour tenter de reduire cet antagonisme, un exercice de synthese et d’evaluation au niveau mondial a ete mis sur pied en 2002, avec le concours de l’International Water Management Institute et des autres centres de recherche du CGIAR (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research). Le Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture entendait faire le point sur la consommation et la gestion de l’eau en agriculture, en explicitant les relations entre les usages agricoles, domestiques et industriels, ainsi que les relations entre les utilisations de l’eau par les societes et ses fonctions environnementales. Il devait se pencher sur une equation simple, mais essentielle : comment nourrir une population toujours croissante et toujours plus urbaine tout en controlant les prelevements en eau, voire en restituant une partie de l’eau prelevee aux ecosystemes ? Cet exercice de synthese s’est deroule sur cinq ans et a beneficie de la contribution de plus de 700 chercheurs et professionnels du monde entier. La synthese est divisee en seize chapitres. Neuf d’entre eux sont des revues thematiques de sujets-cles : la gestion de l’eau en agriculture pluviale ; le role et l’avenir

Water for food, water for life a comprehensive assessment of water management in agriculture

Water for food, water for life a comprehensive assessment of water management in agriculture

Water for food, water for life: a comprehensive assessment of water management in agriculture

Water for food, water for life: a comprehensive assessment of water management in agriculture

Livestock and water in developing countries with an emphasis on Sub-Saharan Africa

Projected increased demand for food in developing countries over the next 30 years implies a correspondingly great need for additional agricultural water unless integrated research and development can achieve much higher water-use efficiencies. Without appropriate innovations in water management, poor access, quality and supply will continue to constrain food production. A global consortium recently completed the Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management and Agriculture (CA 2007) and identified many options for overcoming water-related constraints to sustainable food production in developing countries. Historically, research and development of water resources has neglected the potential benefits and impacts of livestock. Apart from drinking water, livestock professionals have not given adequate attention to the use of and impact of domestic animals on water and related environmental health. In the absence of good science, popular literature is often highly critical of livestock production because of its perceived excess depletion of vital water resources. The CA uniquely attempted to address this issue (Peden 2007). This paper summarizes the CA’s findings about livestock for the benefit of the British Society of Animal Science (BSAS) and the wider livestock research community.

Scientists call for immediate action to ease water scarcity

More than one third of the world's population currently faces water shortages, according to a report released 21 August as part of a broad assessment of 50 years of global water management practices.The report, “Water for Food, Water for Life: Insights from the Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture,” highlights the findings of The Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture, which includes contributions from more than 700 scientists and practitioners.

Water productivity in agriculture: limits and opportunities for improvement

<title>Abstract</title> This book presents a state of the art review of the limits and opportunities for improving water productivity in crop production, focusing on both irrigated and rain-fed agriculture. It provides concepts, methodologies, constraints and examples drawn from a wealth of experience from developing and developed countries. It demonstrates how efficiency of water use can be enhanced to maximize yields. The book represents the first in new series of volumes resulting from the Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture, a research programme conducted by the CGIAR's Future Harvest Centres, the FAO of the United Nations and partners worldwide. It will be of significant interest to those working in areas of soil and crop science, water management, irrigation and development studies.