Establishing a Portal for Water Accounting Information - MTF/GLO/231/ASB

Abstract

Seventy percent of water withdrawals are made for agricultural purposes, making it the sector that consumes the most water globally. Demands for water are expected to grow further in the near future, as it is estimated that agricultural production needs will rise by nearly 50 percent by 2050. At the same time, the issue of water scarcity is estimated to affect nearly half of the global population for at least one month per year. This situation is also expected to worsen, with a possible 4.8–5.7 billion people periodically not having access to water by 2050. For these reasons, sustainable water management is of crucial importance to the sector. A way to mitigate both issues is through water accounting. Water accounting is defined as the systematic study of the status of and trends in water supply, demand, accessibility and use in targeted areas. The information gathered through water accounting supports effective decision-making with regards to water management and leads to increased water productivity, which is critical to achieving food and water security as global needs grow. This project was formulated to develop a Portal for Water Accounting within FAO’s Global Information System on Water and Agriculture (AQUASTAT). The Portal was designed to be fully compatible with both AQUASTAT and the Water Productivity Open-access Portal (WaPOR), as well as FAO’s corporate Geospatial Information System that was developed through the Hand-in-Hand Initiative. These tools can assist stakeholders in making evidence-based decisions with regards to water management as a means of increasing water productivity worldwide.