Nature-Based Solutions for Agricultural Water Management and Food Security

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Nature-Based Solutions for Agricultural Water Management and Food Security

Observations and key messages on Nature-Based Solutions for agricultural water management and food security

With a rising demand for food, fodder, fiber and bio-energy the agricultural sector faces fierce competition with households and industry over increasingly scarce water resources. Moreover, for many countries, prospects on improving water availability under changing climatic conditions remain bleak as both droughts and flood hazards are expected to increase. Given the importance of water needs for the sustainable development of the agricultural sector and related food security, calls for a shift in water management paradigms are justified and merit greater attention.

Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) may offer a promising contribution to enhancing the availability and quality of water for productive purposes and human consumption, while simultaneously striving to preserve the integrity and intrinsic value of the ecosystem. Nature-based solutions use or mimic natural processes to enhance water availability and reduce risks associated with water-related disasters and climate change. By doing so, these solutions have the potential to move us beyond the business-as-usual approaches to tackling many of the planet’s water challenges, while simultaneously delivering additional benefits vital to all aspects of sustainable development.

Despite this, implementing successful NBS for water management is not an easy task, as many ecosystems are already severely degraded. Ecosystems are often large and complex systems and the impact of interventions can only be assessed and analyzed at a system-wide level. Furthermore, many stakeholders are involved as owners, users or caretakers, each with their own set of interests and values. As such is the case, simple market-based solutions such as partitioning the ecosystem, attributing property rights and applying the polluter-pays-principle are not the most viable strategies. This webinar will share perspectives from FAO, UN World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP, UNESCO programme) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on the potential for and use of NBS to sustainably improve the management of agricultural water.

Keywords: Agricultural sectors, Disaster risk reduction (DRR), Energy, Land, Water

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 

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