Ourplanetisthirsty—thirstybecauseitishungry.Ittakesonethousandtimesmorewatertofeedthehumanpopulationthanitdoestosatisfyitsthirst.
Waterliesatthecoreofsustainabledevelopmentconcerns,anditsrationalandequitablemanagementiscrucialforhumansurvival.ThatwasoneofthekeymessagestoarisefromtheWorldSummitonSustainableDevelopment2thatwasheldinJohannesburgthissummer.Nextyear'sThirdWorldWaterForuminJapanwilladdressthisissueingreaterdepth.
Itisthereforefittingthatthisyear'sWorldFoodDayspotlightstheroleofwaterinfoodsecurity.Withoutwater,therecanbenofoodproduction.Infact,theagriculturalsectoristheuserof70percentoftheplanet'swatersupply.Inaworldinwhichpercapitawateravailabilityisdeclining,weneedtofocusonappropriatewatermanagementifwearetosufficientlyincreasefoodproduction,withaviewtoreducehungerandmalnutrition,andfeedapopulationexpectedtoriseto8billionin30years'time.
Shortageofwaterthreatensextensiveagriculturalregionsindevelopingcountriesandfanstheprospectoffoodcrises.Atpresent,twentycountriesdonothaveenoughwatertoproducethefoodtheirpopulationsneed.Insomecases,theoverexploitationofwaterresourcesunderminesfutureagriculturalproduction,whileinothers,theirunderexploitationinhibitsdevelopment.
Thecombinedviciousimpactofpoverty,risingdemandforfoodandinsufficientavailabilityofwaterthereforeposesaseriouschallengeforworldfoodsecurityanduniversalaccesstocleanwater.Onebillionpeoplearedeprivedofcleanwater,andmostofthesepeoplearealsohungry.Theyliveinruralareasandagricultureistheirmainsourceofincome.
Howarewetoensurewateravailabilityandfoodsecurity,whilesafeguardingtheenvironment?Atpresent,morethanone-thirdoftheworld'sfoodproductioncomesfromtheirrigatedareasthatmakeup16percentoftheplanet'sarableland.Irrigatedfarmingisatleasttwiceasproductiveasrainfedfarming3,andduringthenext30yearssome70percentofadditionalfoodproductionindevelopingcountriesshouldcomefromirrigatedland.
Itisurgenttoavoidpoorirrigationpracticesthathaveoftenledtodiminishingwatersupplies,landdegradationandspreadofdisease.Fartoooften,morewaterisbeingpumpedthancanpossiblyberecharged.Also,toomuchwaterisbeinglostalongcanals,becauseofleakage,wastage,seepageorevaporation.Toomanyschemesarelosingproductivitybecauseofinappropriatedrainage,waterloggingandabuild-upofsaltsinthesoil.
Wethushavetoturnincreasinglytoadoptintegratedwatershedmanagement,curbtheupstreamdeforestationthatgeneratesfloodinganderosion,andsignificantlyincreaseinvestmentinwatercontrolinfrastructure.Finally,waterusewillbesustainableonlyifitisdoneinasociallyequitablemanner.
Newwaterpolicy,andinstitutionsandlawswillfacilitatetheintegratedmanagementofriverbasinsandwaterresourcesbyallstakeholders,inaclimateoftransparency,accountabilityandsocialjustice.
Thecooperationofalldevelopmentpartners,thepublic,privateandnon-profitsectorsatnationalandinternationallevel,willbeindispensabletoresolveconflictsofinterest,mobilizesubstantialfinancialresourcesandcreateconditionsforafairerdistributionoffoodandwater.
ThecountriesofAfrica,theMiddleEastandsouthernAsiathatarealreadyfacingseriouswatershortageswillseetheirsituationrapidlyworsenunlessthereisstrongersolidaritybetweentheregionsofabundanceandtheregionsofscarcity.Suchsolidarityisnecessaryifwearetoavoidaproliferationandaggravationoftensionsrelatingtowater.
