FAO Calls for Better Water Management to Ease Scarcity Concerns

'Growing water scarcity is now one of the leading challenges for sustainable development, and that challenge is poised to intensify as the world's population continues to swell and climate change intensifies'

This was said by United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director-General José Graziano da Silva during the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture in Berlin, Germany.

Climate change is already altering hydrological regimes everywhere, he said, citing estimates that around 1 billion people in dry regions may face increasing water scarcity in the near future. These are regions with a high concentration of extreme poverty and hunger.

Agriculture is both a major cause and casualty of water scarcity. Farming accounts for around 70% of fresh water withdrawals in the world today, and also contributes to water pollution due to pesticides and chemicals.

FAO projects that irrigated food production will increase by more than 50% by 2050, but the amount of water withdrawn by agriculture can increase by only 10%, provided that irrigation practices are improved and yields increase.

It takes between one and three tonnes of water to grow one kg of cereal. A kilogram of beef takes up to 15 tonnes of water to produce. FAO estimates that between 2,000 and 5 000 liters of water are needed to produce a person's daily food.

To tackle these challenges, the international community created a standalone sustainable development goal (SDG) on water and wove better management of this key natural resource throughout the entire architecture of the SDGs, Graziano da Silva said. Improved water matter is particularly important to the SDGs related to extreme poverty, hunger and malnutrition, and climate change, he said.

Source: World Grain

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Taxonomy

• Irrigation
• Water Scarcity
• Water Footprint
• Water Resources
• Integrated Watershed Management
• Transboundary Water Resources Management
• Water