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Book (stand-alone)On-farm practices for the safe use of wastewater in urban and peri-urban horticulture
A training handbook for Farmer Field Schools in Sub-Saharan Africa
2019Also available in:
No results found.The world’s population is growing rapidly and concentrating in urban centres. This trend is particularly intense in developing countries, where an additional 2.1 billion people are expected to be living in cities by 2030. However, sanitation coverage (collection and treatment) is not keeping pace with urban growth and as a result most wastewater enters water courses untreated. Many farmers in developing countries grow crops, especially vegetables, in urban and peri-urban environments using this wastewater, raw or diluted, to irrigate their crops. Such wastewater is often heavily contaminated with disease- causing organisms and chemical agents that can seriously harm the health of the farmers, the traders who handle crops and the people who consume them. It is therefore very important for urban and peri-urban vegetable farmers to be aware of the health-risks associated with using wastewater for their irrigating crops and to know how to use wastewater safely at farm level to reduce those health risks. Safe irrigation methods are essential when using wastewater for irrigation, but they need to be complemented with other practices from farm to fork to ensure the safety of others involved in the value chain. In 2006, the World Health Organization (WHO), together with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), adopted a multiple-barrier approach to reduce the health risks to farmers and consumers posed by using wastewater in agriculture. This approach opened the door to targeting a variety of entry points where health risks occur or can be mitigated before the food is consumed. This handbook focuses on low-cost and low-tech on-farm wastewater treatment and safe irrigation practices that farmers can adopt to grow safer products. When using the pronoun ‘you’, the handbook addresses extension officers, trainers of farmers, and farmers interested to apply and share new knowledge. -
Book (series)Negotiated territorial development in a multi-stakeholders participatory Resource Planning approach: an initial sustainable framework for the Near east Region 2016
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No results found.Throughout the Near East, land and water shortages, land degradation, out of date land tenure systems and food insecurity are compounded by asymmetries in gender roles and power, by severe imbalances in the political-military structures within and between countries, by flagrant deficiencies in land and water management and control systems, and by the incessant increases in demand driven by high rates of population growth and urbanization. This interplay of forces and dynamics form a complex hydr o socio-political web that governs the allocation land and water and who benefits from their availability and their ultimate sustainability. The current allocation arrangements of the region's three major river basins - the Nile, the Euphrates-Tigris and the Jordan - are nascent sources of tension, and potential sources of conflict and violence. Political instability that characterizes the Near East continues to intensify scarcity, suppresses growth and engenders poverty and is being increasingl y exacerbated by the impending consequences of climate change. The Middle East is one of the most water poor and water stressed regions of the globe. While the region is home to 5.1% of the people of the world, it has about only 1% of the world renewable fresh water. Today's annual per capita availability of fresh water in the region is only one seventh of its 1960 level, falling from 3,300 cubic metres per person in 1960 to less than 500 cubic metres in 2015. This is the lowest per capita wat er availability in the world. The current land tenure systems are failing to address long-standing problems that include smallholder farmers, landless households and most marginalized groups such as women continue to compete for shrinking natural recourses, while pastoralists are losing control of their traditional grazing areas. Use, management and access to land and water are becoming extremely sensitive matters as the number of users grows. Governments and local actors have often perceived these major issues differently. This requires effort to be made to ensure a participatory approach to decision-making that effectively involves all the local actors concerned in an equitable and balanced manner. About 90% of the land area in this Region is subject to land degradation in different forms and over 45% of land suitable to farming is exposed to various types of land degradation which include soil nutrient depletion, salinity and wind and water erosion. Per capita arable land availa bility in the region is among the lowest in the world where many countries in the region show levels that are exceptionally low (on average less than 0.123 hectares per person) and the range varies between 0.01 hectares per person (Oman, Qatar, Palestine, Kuwait and Bahrain) to 0.34 hectares in the Sudan in 2015. Arable land as a percentage of land area in the region is very low ranging between 0.1% in Oman to 18.4% in Tunisia in 2013. Most of the countries in the region show shares below 10%. O nly Morocco, Tunisia, and Iraq sow percentages above 10%. Irrigated land areas in the region also represent a small share of total arable land areas. In many of the countries in the region these shares are way below the world average. Only Iran (17.4%) and the UAE (12.5%) show high relative shares in the period 2011-2015. The Region’s critical shortage of water and cultivable land, including the increasing pressure on these resources and their degradation makes their efficient management a pa ramount task. It will be necessary in this regard to promote the engagement of all concerned stakeholders in planning and managing land, water and agrobiodiversity. Actual physical scarcity of land and water, even in the Middle East region, is not the only key issue. Conditions of economic scarcity seem to be equally pressing; there is perhaps enough land and water to meet society's need, but there are few incentives for wise, efficient and egalitarian use of these critical resources. Climate change will impinge on this region’s fragile water balances, suitable land for cultivation, grazing land and food production capacities and will exacerbate the problems and issues of food security. Measures, policies, strategies and institutional capacities to mitigate the impending catastrophic consequences of climate change and to improve the societies’ resilience and adaptation to its consequences are needed now. The sooner the regulatory and institutional setups are put in place the easier the task to deal with climate and other risks. It is necessary and vital to rise up to this challenge by enlisting the stakeholders in the initiatives to promote sustainability and efficiency of land and water use and the management of food security issues. An active engagement of concerned stakeholders in planning and managing water, land and agrobiodiversity necessitates first and foremost the engagement of and participation of particularly women and girls and marginalized groups in all wate r and food aspects as they constitute the main agricultural labour force and the most deprived segments of society. Gender and the water and land nexus in the Arab region is an area where there is still relative little information. There is little systematic knowledge about the many means by which women and men manage water and land in the region. Evidence shows that while women in Egypt have a significant role to play in water use in the process of food production by controlling and managi ng water flows in the fields and supervising workers during irrigation, they rarely own the land they cultivate. Rural women in Yemen spend huge amounts of time collecting and transporting water, often up and down steep slopes and coordinate water allocation and distribution for the various needs of the family and the household but they are rarely involved in decision making and management councils that govern land and water uses. Women everywhere in the Middle East evaluate water quantity and q uality and prioritize water for drinking and health and sanitation purposes but they rarely share equally in the benefits of their labor or in the ownership of the land and water resources. This is why an integrated water and land management system anchored on a genuine participation of stakeholders will be crucial in determining whether the Arab world achieves the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and aspirations for reducing poverty and enhancing shared prosperity. Water and land are the c ommon currency which links nearly every SDG, and it will be a critical determinant of success. Abundant water supplies and cultivable land are vital for the production of food and will be essential to attaining SDG 2 on food security; clean and safe drinking water and sanitation systems are necessary for health as called for in SDGs 3 and 6; and water is needed for powering industries and creating the new jobs identified in SDGs 7 and 8. None of this is achievable without adequate and safe water and sufficient suitable land to nourish the planet’s life-sustaining ecosystem services identified in SDGs 13, 14 and 15. -
Book (stand-alone)Wastewater Reuse in the Near East Region: Experience and Issues
Regional Symposium on Water Recycling in the Mediterranean Region
2002Also available in:
No results found.Wastewater in most countries of the Near East Region (NER) is being more and more recognized as of vital importance to be treated and made safe for reuse. It contributes considerably to the water budget in several countries, particularly those suffering from water scarcity. Treated wastewater is used directly in irrigation of farms or landscape green areas. Limited indirect use includes recharge of groundwater aquifers to control over-draft and salt intrusion in coastal areas. A large share of w astewater is still not treated and part of it is used in an uncontrolled manner, including for the production of uncooked food crops the consumption of which poses health risks. Expansion of treated wastewater reuse in the region is linked to a number of issues and constraints. The high cost of treatment and management of reclaimed wastewater is one of the major limitations facing the week economy of most countries. Unclear polices, institutional conflicts and lack of regulatory frameworks con stitute other important constraints that hinder implementation and proper operation of wastewater reuse projects. The manpower capacity is at varying levels between countries, but additional training and capacity strengthening are generally needed throughout the region. This paper gives an overview of the existing practices of wastewater reuse in the NER and of the constraints facing it. It concludes with recommendations and policy options that are likely to lift these constraints and to make a better use of the wastewater potential.
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