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Strengthening water governance to support food security and prevent water scarcity

Year of publication 2019

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 2p.

Author FAO

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Project

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) The capacity of countries to adapt their agricultural production and food systems to times of water scarcity and increased competition for water resources, as well as changing climatic conditions, is an issue of global concern. According to the World Water Development Report (2012), 1.8 billion people will be living in regions that face “absolute water scarcity” by 2025. However, water scarcity is not only a question of demand being greater than supply; the failure of institutions to ensure secure and equitable water access can contribute equally to the problem. Importantly, water scarcity is linked to inadequate infrastructure that arises from financial, technical and other constraints. In order to address this concern, a strengthened focus on water governance for agriculture and food security needs to be adopted at both the national and global level.

Language English

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    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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    Coping with Water Scarcity in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon - GCP/INT/124/ITA 2020
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    Modern agriculture uses 70 percent of all freshwater withdrawals globally, and up to 95 percent in some developing countries, in order to meet current food demand. In addition, to keep up with growing food demand and shifting diets within the next 30 years, it has been estimated that the effective irrigated area will need to increase by 34 percent in developing countries, and that an extra 14 percent of water will need to be withdrawn for agricultural purposes. In arid and semi-arid regions, increasing numbers of the rural poor have begun to see that entitlement and access to water for food production, livestock and domestic purposes are as critical as access to primary health care and education, while at the same time reverting to a massive use of groundwater resources for irrigation. The current project followed two previous phases of a programme aimed at assisting the agriculture sector to cope with water scarcity and was designed to strengthen national capacities in this sector in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon.
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