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Regional Water Scarcity Initiative: Towards a Collaborative Strategy







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    Book (stand-alone)
    Technical book
    Operationalizing the Regional Collaborative Platform of the Water Scarcity Initiative to address water consumption, water productivity and drought management in Agriculture 2017
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    This report presents the proceedings of the Regional Collaborate Platform workshop of the Water Scarcity Initiative. It provides a summary of discussions by thematic area covering the 3 key topics of water consumption, crop water productivity, and drought management. One of the main objectives of the workshop was to develop an Operational Work Plan based on the main recommendations made by each country following the discussions addressing the 3 key topics. In this report, the recommendations are made for each country based on their priorities and needs, and constitute the basis for consultations between the relevant institutions on the country level towards the elaboration of a comprehensive national work plan to be implemented into specific actions.
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    Factsheet
    Support to The Regional Collaboration Platform of the Water Scarcity Initiative to Increase Water Productivity - TCP/RAB/3602 2020
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    The Near East and North Africa (NENA) region is among the areas worst affected by chronic water shortages and, in coming decades, is likely to be faced by the most severe intensification of water scarcity in history. Per capita fresh water availability has decreased by two-thirds over the last forty years and is forecast to decrease by a further 50 percent by 2050. Demographic growth, a tendency to increase food self-sufficiency to reduce vulnerability to imports, price volatility, expanding urbanization, energy demands and overall socio-economic development, exacerbated by the negative impact of climate change and the degradation of water quality, are the main causes behind this intensification of scarcity. Agriculture, which consumes over 85 percent of available fresh water resources in the region, will most likely have to absorb the bulk of this shock, with major consequences for food security and the rural economy. Countries in the region thus need to plan their water resources allocation strategically and to review their water policies to ensure that the best use is made of the water available. To this end, it is essential to quantify the productivity of water use in agriculture. In response to the growing needs of member countries and to help them cope with this enormous challenge, FAO and partners launched in 2013 the Regional Water Scarcity Initiative in the Near East and North Africa. The first output of the Initiative was a Regional Collaborative Strategy (RCS) on Sustainable Agricultural Water Management. This represents a framework to assist countries in identifying and streamlining policies, governance and practice that can sustainably improve agricultural productivity and food security in the region. The overall aim of the project was to support the RCS by enhancing information and experience exchange in the region, by strengthening countries’ capacities to increase water productivity in selected farming systems, and by establishing the capacity to monitor water productivity via remote sensing (RS). The immediate objectives of the project included an updated architecture of RS-based monitoring systems in the project countries, and a standardized assessment of the water productivity of the major crop systems in each country, followed by an identification of good practices and affordable technologies for the increase of water productivity at farm level.
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    Project
    Factsheet
    Support to the Regional Collaboration Platform of the Water Scarcity Initiative to Increase Water Productivity - TCP/RAB/3602 2020
    Also available in:
    No results found.

    The Near East and North Africa (NENA) region is among the areas worst affected by chronic water shortages and, in coming decades, is likely to be faced by the most severe intensification of water scarcity in history. Per capita fresh water availability has decreased by two-thirds over the last forty years and is forecast to decrease by a further 50 percent by 2050. Demographic growth, a tendency to increase food self-sufficiency to reduce vulnerability to imports, price volatility, expanding urbanization, energy demands and overall socio-economic development, exacerbated by the negative impact of climate change and the degradation of water quality, are the main causes behind this intensification of scarcity. Agriculture, which consumes over 85 percent of available fresh water resources in the region, will most likely have to absorb the bulk of this shock, with major consequences for food security and the rural economy. Countries in the region thus need to plan their water resources allocation strategically and to review their water policies to ensure that the best use is made of the water available. To this end, it is essential to quantify the productivity of water use in agriculture. In response to the growing needs of member countries and to help them cope with this enormous challenge, FAO and partners launched in 2013 the Regional Water Scarcity Initiative in the Near East and North Africa. The first output of the Initiative was a Regional Collaborative Strategy (RCS) on Sustainable Agricultural Water Management. This represents a framework to assist countries

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    State of knowledge of soil biodiversity - Status, challenges and potentialities
    Report 2020
    2020
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    There is increasing attention to the importance of biodiversity for food security and nutrition, especially above-ground biodiversity such as plants and animals. However, less attention is being paid to the biodiversity beneath our feet, soil biodiversity, which drives many processes that produce food or purify soil and water. This report is the result of an inclusive process involving more than 300 scientists from around the world under the auspices of the FAO’s Global Soil Partnership and its Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative, and the European Commission. It presents concisely the state of knowledge on soil biodiversity, the threats to it, and the solutions that soil biodiversity can provide to problems in different fields. It also represents a valuable contribution to raising awareness of the importance of soil biodiversity and highlighting its role in finding solutions to today's global threats.
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    Flagship
    The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2020
    Transforming food systems for affordable healthy diets
    2020
    Updates for many countries have made it possible to estimate hunger in the world with greater accuracy this year. In particular, newly accessible data enabled the revision of the entire series of undernourishment estimates for China back to 2000, resulting in a substantial downward shift of the series of the number of undernourished in the world. Nevertheless, the revision confirms the trend reported in past editions: the number of people affected by hunger globally has been slowly on the rise since 2014. The report also shows that the burden of malnutrition in all its forms continues to be a challenge. There has been some progress for child stunting, low birthweight and exclusive breastfeeding, but at a pace that is still too slow. Childhood overweight is not improving and adult obesity is on the rise in all regions.The report complements the usual assessment of food security and nutrition with projections of what the world may look like in 2030, if trends of the last decade continue. Projections show that the world is not on track to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030 and, despite some progress, most indicators are also not on track to meet global nutrition targets. The food security and nutritional status of the most vulnerable population groups is likely to deteriorate further due to the health and socio economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.The report puts a spotlight on diet quality as a critical link between food security and nutrition. Meeting SDG 2 targets will only be possible if people have enough food to eat and if what they are eating is nutritious and affordable. The report also introduces new analysis of the cost and affordability of healthy diets around the world, by region and in different development contexts. It presents valuations of the health and climate-change costs associated with current food consumption patterns, as well as the potential cost savings if food consumption patterns were to shift towards healthy diets that include sustainability considerations. The report then concludes with a discussion of the policies and strategies to transform food systems to ensure affordable healthy diets, as part of the required efforts to end both hunger and all forms of malnutrition.
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    Book (stand-alone)
    Corporate general interest
    Pulses: nutritious seeds for a sustainable future 2016

    The aim of raising global awareness on the multitude of benefits of pulses was integral to the International Year of Pulses. This coffee table book is part guide and part cookbook— informative without being technical. The book begins by giving an overview of pulses, and explains why they are an important food for the future. It also has more than 30 recipes prepared by some of the most prestigious chefs in the world and is peppered with infographics. Part I gives an overview of pulses and giv es a brief guide to the main varieties in the world. Part II explains step-by-step how to cook them, what to keep in mind and what condiments and instruments to use. Part III underscores the five messages that FAO conveys to the world about the impact pulses have on nutrition, health, climate change, biodiversity and food security. Part IV illustrates how pulses can be grown in a garden patch with easy gardening instructions and how they are grown in the world, highlighting major world producers , importers and exporters. Part V takes the reader on a journey around the world showing how pulses fit a region’s history and culture and visits 10 internationally acclaimed chefs as they go the market to buy pulses. Back at their restaurant or home, each chef prepares easy dishes and gives their best kept secrets. Each chef provides 3 recipes that are beautifully illustrated.

    Purchase a print copy.