Rethinking the Approach to Groundwater and Food Security

Rethinking the Approach to Groundwater and Food Security

Author: Marcus Moench

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 68

ISBN-13: 9789251049044

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This study attempts to re-frame the current thinking on groundwater development and the implications for food security. Groundwater is important in agriculture as it provides a reliable fallback when rainfeeding fails. It is therefore instrumental in managing risk and optimizing food production. However accessing groundwater has become habit and turned to dependency. Resources limits on many key aquifers have been exceeded and competition for groundwater has become intense. This study highlights the role of adaptive strategies in dealing with aquifer management and indicates directions of research and management.


Book Synopsis Rethinking the Approach to Groundwater and Food Security by : Marcus Moench

Download or read book Rethinking the Approach to Groundwater and Food Security written by Marcus Moench and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2003 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study attempts to re-frame the current thinking on groundwater development and the implications for food security. Groundwater is important in agriculture as it provides a reliable fallback when rainfeeding fails. It is therefore instrumental in managing risk and optimizing food production. However accessing groundwater has become habit and turned to dependency. Resources limits on many key aquifers have been exceeded and competition for groundwater has become intense. This study highlights the role of adaptive strategies in dealing with aquifer management and indicates directions of research and management.


Re-thinking Water and Food Security

Re-thinking Water and Food Security

Author: Luis Martinez-Cortina

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2010-09-30

Total Pages: 400

ISBN-13: 0203829824

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This book provides an overview, by leading world experts, on key issues in global water and food security. The book is divided in a series of over-arching themes and sections. The first part of the book provides an overview of water and food security. The second and third sections look at global trade and virtual water trade, and provide some


Book Synopsis Re-thinking Water and Food Security by : Luis Martinez-Cortina

Download or read book Re-thinking Water and Food Security written by Luis Martinez-Cortina and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2010-09-30 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides an overview, by leading world experts, on key issues in global water and food security. The book is divided in a series of over-arching themes and sections. The first part of the book provides an overview of water and food security. The second and third sections look at global trade and virtual water trade, and provide some


Rethinking Water Management

Rethinking Water Management

Author: Caroline Figueres

Publisher: Earthscan

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 1849772401

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If water resources are to be distributed efficiently, equitably and cost-effectively in this rapidly changing world, then it is clear that current water management practices are no longer feasible. Innovative approaches are required to meet the increasing water demands of a growing world population and economy and the needs of the ecosystems supporting them. New approaches have to be employed at global, national and local levels. In Rethinking Water Management, a new generation of water experts from around the world examine the critical challenges confronting the water profession, including rainwater and groundwater management, recycling and reuse, water rights, transboundary access to water and financing of water. They offer important new perspectives on the use, management and conservation of fresh water, in terms of both quantity and quality, for the domestic, agricultural and industrial sectors, and show how a new set of paradigms can be applied to successfully manage water for the future. Caroline Figueres is Head of the Urban Infrastructure Department at UNESCO-IHE Water Education Institute in The Netherlands.Cecilia Tortajada is Vice President of the Third World Centre for Water Management in Mexico and Vice President-elect of the International Water Resources Association. Johan Rockstr'm is Water Resources Expert at UNESCO-IHE.


Book Synopsis Rethinking Water Management by : Caroline Figueres

Download or read book Rethinking Water Management written by Caroline Figueres and published by Earthscan. This book was released on 2012 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If water resources are to be distributed efficiently, equitably and cost-effectively in this rapidly changing world, then it is clear that current water management practices are no longer feasible. Innovative approaches are required to meet the increasing water demands of a growing world population and economy and the needs of the ecosystems supporting them. New approaches have to be employed at global, national and local levels. In Rethinking Water Management, a new generation of water experts from around the world examine the critical challenges confronting the water profession, including rainwater and groundwater management, recycling and reuse, water rights, transboundary access to water and financing of water. They offer important new perspectives on the use, management and conservation of fresh water, in terms of both quantity and quality, for the domestic, agricultural and industrial sectors, and show how a new set of paradigms can be applied to successfully manage water for the future. Caroline Figueres is Head of the Urban Infrastructure Department at UNESCO-IHE Water Education Institute in The Netherlands.Cecilia Tortajada is Vice President of the Third World Centre for Water Management in Mexico and Vice President-elect of the International Water Resources Association. Johan Rockstr'm is Water Resources Expert at UNESCO-IHE.


World Soil Resources and Food Security

World Soil Resources and Food Security

Author: Rattan Lal

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2011-09-13

Total Pages: 576

ISBN-13: 143984450X

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Soil—The Basis of All Terrestrial Life Ancient civilizations and cultures—Mayan, Aztec, Mesopotamian, Indus, and Yangtze—were built on good soils, surviving only as long as soils had the capacity to support them. In the twenty-first century, productive soil is still the engine of economic development and essential to human well-being. The quality of our soil resources, however, is threatened by human-induced and natural perturbations. World Soil Resources and Food Security takes an in-depth look at the availability and status of soil resources in the context of the growing demands of an increasing world population and rising expectations of living standards. This timely reference presents current information on the soil resources available for food production. Presenting innovative strategies for soil and water management, it discusses how to maintain or improve the world’s soil resources in order to increase food production. With the majority of the world’s 1.02 billion food-insecure people concentrated in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, several chapters focus on soil resources in these regions. Contributions from renowned scientists deal with topics including: Global food situations World soil resources Soil resources of humid Asia and their acidification Soil resources of South Asia Properties and management of Vertisols Use of radioisotopic techniques in soil management The potential of rain-fed agriculture in the semiarid tropics The status of land degradation Nutrient balance in sub-Saharan Africa The book concludes by outlining the need for further research to generate credible data on soil resources and degradation. This volume is a useful resource for those interested in the state of the soils of the world in relation to food security and environmental quality.


Book Synopsis World Soil Resources and Food Security by : Rattan Lal

Download or read book World Soil Resources and Food Security written by Rattan Lal and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2011-09-13 with total page 576 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Soil—The Basis of All Terrestrial Life Ancient civilizations and cultures—Mayan, Aztec, Mesopotamian, Indus, and Yangtze—were built on good soils, surviving only as long as soils had the capacity to support them. In the twenty-first century, productive soil is still the engine of economic development and essential to human well-being. The quality of our soil resources, however, is threatened by human-induced and natural perturbations. World Soil Resources and Food Security takes an in-depth look at the availability and status of soil resources in the context of the growing demands of an increasing world population and rising expectations of living standards. This timely reference presents current information on the soil resources available for food production. Presenting innovative strategies for soil and water management, it discusses how to maintain or improve the world’s soil resources in order to increase food production. With the majority of the world’s 1.02 billion food-insecure people concentrated in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, several chapters focus on soil resources in these regions. Contributions from renowned scientists deal with topics including: Global food situations World soil resources Soil resources of humid Asia and their acidification Soil resources of South Asia Properties and management of Vertisols Use of radioisotopic techniques in soil management The potential of rain-fed agriculture in the semiarid tropics The status of land degradation Nutrient balance in sub-Saharan Africa The book concludes by outlining the need for further research to generate credible data on soil resources and degradation. This volume is a useful resource for those interested in the state of the soils of the world in relation to food security and environmental quality.


Food Insecurity & Hydroclimate in Greater Horn of Africa

Food Insecurity & Hydroclimate in Greater Horn of Africa

Author: Joseph Awange

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2022-01-25

Total Pages: 431

ISBN-13: 3030910024

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This book will benefit users in food security, agriculture, water management, and environmental sectors. It provides the first comprehensive analysis of Greater Horn of Africa (GHA)’s food insecurity and hydroclimate using the state-of-the-art Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and its Follow-on (GRACE-FO)’s, centennial precipitation, hydrological models’ and reanalysis’ products. It is here opined that GHA is endowed with freshwater (surface and groundwater) being home to the world's second largest freshwater body (Lake Victoria) and the greatest continental water towers (Ethiopian Highlands) that if properly tapped in a sustainable way, will support its irrigated agriculture as well as pastoralism. First, however, the obsolete Nile treaties that hamper the use of Lake Victoria (White Nile) and Ethiopian Highland (Blue Nile) have to be unlocked. Moreover, GHA is bedevilled by poor governance and the ``donor-assistance” syndrome; and in 2020-2021 faced the so-called ``triple threats’’ of desert locust infestation, climate variability/change impacts and COVID-19 pandemic. Besides, climate extremes influence its meagre waters leading to perennial food insecurity. Coupled with frequent regional and local conflicts, high population growth rate, low crop yield, invasion of migratory pests, contagious human and livestock diseases (such as HIV/AIDs, COVID-19 & Rift Valley fever) and poverty, life for more than 310 million of its inhabitants simply becomes unbearable. Alarming also is the fact that drought-like humanitarian crises are increasing in GHA despite recent progress in its monitoring and prediction efforts. Notwithstanding these efforts, there remain challenges stemming from uncertainty in its prediction, and the inflexibility and limited buffering capacity of the recurrent impacted systems. To achieve greater food security, therefore, in addition to boosting GHA's agricultural output, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs suggest that its “inhabitants must create more diverse and stable means of livelihood to insulate themselves and their households from external shocks”. This is a task that they acknowledge will not be easy as the path ahead is “strewn with obstacles namely; natural hazards and armed conflicts”. Understanding GHA’s food insecurity and its hydroclimate as presented in this book is a good starting point towards managing the impacts of the natural hazards on the one hand while understanding the impacts associated with extreme climate on GHA's available water and assessing the potential of its surface and groundwater to support its irrigated agriculture and pastoralism would be the first step towards “coping with drought” on the other hand. The book represents a significant effort by Prof Awange in trying to offer a comprehensive overview of the hydroclimate in the Greater Horn of Africa (GHA). Prof Eric F. Wood, NAE (USA); FRSC (Canada); Foreign member, ATSE (Australia).


Book Synopsis Food Insecurity & Hydroclimate in Greater Horn of Africa by : Joseph Awange

Download or read book Food Insecurity & Hydroclimate in Greater Horn of Africa written by Joseph Awange and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-01-25 with total page 431 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book will benefit users in food security, agriculture, water management, and environmental sectors. It provides the first comprehensive analysis of Greater Horn of Africa (GHA)’s food insecurity and hydroclimate using the state-of-the-art Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and its Follow-on (GRACE-FO)’s, centennial precipitation, hydrological models’ and reanalysis’ products. It is here opined that GHA is endowed with freshwater (surface and groundwater) being home to the world's second largest freshwater body (Lake Victoria) and the greatest continental water towers (Ethiopian Highlands) that if properly tapped in a sustainable way, will support its irrigated agriculture as well as pastoralism. First, however, the obsolete Nile treaties that hamper the use of Lake Victoria (White Nile) and Ethiopian Highland (Blue Nile) have to be unlocked. Moreover, GHA is bedevilled by poor governance and the ``donor-assistance” syndrome; and in 2020-2021 faced the so-called ``triple threats’’ of desert locust infestation, climate variability/change impacts and COVID-19 pandemic. Besides, climate extremes influence its meagre waters leading to perennial food insecurity. Coupled with frequent regional and local conflicts, high population growth rate, low crop yield, invasion of migratory pests, contagious human and livestock diseases (such as HIV/AIDs, COVID-19 & Rift Valley fever) and poverty, life for more than 310 million of its inhabitants simply becomes unbearable. Alarming also is the fact that drought-like humanitarian crises are increasing in GHA despite recent progress in its monitoring and prediction efforts. Notwithstanding these efforts, there remain challenges stemming from uncertainty in its prediction, and the inflexibility and limited buffering capacity of the recurrent impacted systems. To achieve greater food security, therefore, in addition to boosting GHA's agricultural output, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs suggest that its “inhabitants must create more diverse and stable means of livelihood to insulate themselves and their households from external shocks”. This is a task that they acknowledge will not be easy as the path ahead is “strewn with obstacles namely; natural hazards and armed conflicts”. Understanding GHA’s food insecurity and its hydroclimate as presented in this book is a good starting point towards managing the impacts of the natural hazards on the one hand while understanding the impacts associated with extreme climate on GHA's available water and assessing the potential of its surface and groundwater to support its irrigated agriculture and pastoralism would be the first step towards “coping with drought” on the other hand. The book represents a significant effort by Prof Awange in trying to offer a comprehensive overview of the hydroclimate in the Greater Horn of Africa (GHA). Prof Eric F. Wood, NAE (USA); FRSC (Canada); Foreign member, ATSE (Australia).


Groundwater of South Asia

Groundwater of South Asia

Author: Abhijit Mukherjee

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-06-01

Total Pages: 799

ISBN-13: 9811038899

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This book presents recent findings from the South Asian region (SA), broadly including groundwater studies on (a) quantity, (b) exploration, (c) quality and pollution, (d) economics, management and policies, (e) groundwater and society, and (f) sustainable sources. It offers a compilation of compelling, authentic insights into groundwater scenarios throughout the water-stressed South Asia region. Comprising Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, it is the most densely populated region in the world: It occupies approximately 4% of the global land area but supports more than 25% of the global population. The SA region now faces an acute shortage of fresh water due to a rapid rise in water demand and changes in societal water-use patterns. Combining essential advances and perspectives, this book offers a valuable resource for all scientists, planners and policymakers who are interested in understanding and developing the SA and other related areas.


Book Synopsis Groundwater of South Asia by : Abhijit Mukherjee

Download or read book Groundwater of South Asia written by Abhijit Mukherjee and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-06-01 with total page 799 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents recent findings from the South Asian region (SA), broadly including groundwater studies on (a) quantity, (b) exploration, (c) quality and pollution, (d) economics, management and policies, (e) groundwater and society, and (f) sustainable sources. It offers a compilation of compelling, authentic insights into groundwater scenarios throughout the water-stressed South Asia region. Comprising Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, it is the most densely populated region in the world: It occupies approximately 4% of the global land area but supports more than 25% of the global population. The SA region now faces an acute shortage of fresh water due to a rapid rise in water demand and changes in societal water-use patterns. Combining essential advances and perspectives, this book offers a valuable resource for all scientists, planners and policymakers who are interested in understanding and developing the SA and other related areas.


More Crop Per Drop

More Crop Per Drop

Author: Meredith Giordano

Publisher: IWA Publishing

Published: 2007-01-01

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 1843391120

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This volume is an analytical summary and a critical synthesis of research at the International Water Management Institute over the past decade under its evolving research paradigm known popularly as 'more crop per drop'. The research synthesized here covers the full range of issues falling in the larger canvas of water-food-health-environment interface. Besides its immediate role in sharing knowledge with the research, donor, and policy communities, this volume also has a larger purpose of promoting a new way of looking at the water issues within the broader development context of food, livelihood, health and environmental challenges. More crop per drop: Revisiting a research paradigm contrasts the acquired wisdom and fresh thinking on some of the most challenging water issues of our times. It describes new tools, approaches, and methodologies and also illustrates them with practical application both from a global perspective and within the local and regional contexts of Asia and Africa. Since this volume brings together all major research works of IWMI, including an almost exhaustive list of citations, in one single set of pages, it is very valuable not only as a reference material for researchers and students but also as a policy tool for decision-makers and development agencies.


Book Synopsis More Crop Per Drop by : Meredith Giordano

Download or read book More Crop Per Drop written by Meredith Giordano and published by IWA Publishing. This book was released on 2007-01-01 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume is an analytical summary and a critical synthesis of research at the International Water Management Institute over the past decade under its evolving research paradigm known popularly as 'more crop per drop'. The research synthesized here covers the full range of issues falling in the larger canvas of water-food-health-environment interface. Besides its immediate role in sharing knowledge with the research, donor, and policy communities, this volume also has a larger purpose of promoting a new way of looking at the water issues within the broader development context of food, livelihood, health and environmental challenges. More crop per drop: Revisiting a research paradigm contrasts the acquired wisdom and fresh thinking on some of the most challenging water issues of our times. It describes new tools, approaches, and methodologies and also illustrates them with practical application both from a global perspective and within the local and regional contexts of Asia and Africa. Since this volume brings together all major research works of IWMI, including an almost exhaustive list of citations, in one single set of pages, it is very valuable not only as a reference material for researchers and students but also as a policy tool for decision-makers and development agencies.


Integrated Assessment of Water Resources and Global Change

Integrated Assessment of Water Resources and Global Change

Author: Eric Craswell

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2007-04-05

Total Pages: 370

ISBN-13: 1402055919

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This book presents papers from an international conference, held in Bonn, Germany in February 2005, that dealt with integrated water resources management in industrialized and developing countries. The papers detail such emerging concepts as blue and green water, virtual water, the water footprints of nations, multi-agent modeling, linkages between water and biodiversity, and social learning and adaptive management.


Book Synopsis Integrated Assessment of Water Resources and Global Change by : Eric Craswell

Download or read book Integrated Assessment of Water Resources and Global Change written by Eric Craswell and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-04-05 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents papers from an international conference, held in Bonn, Germany in February 2005, that dealt with integrated water resources management in industrialized and developing countries. The papers detail such emerging concepts as blue and green water, virtual water, the water footprints of nations, multi-agent modeling, linkages between water and biodiversity, and social learning and adaptive management.


Arab Water Security

Arab Water Security

Author: Hussein A. Amery

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2015-07-02

Total Pages: 177

ISBN-13: 1107042291

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Exploring the national security implications of the Gulf states' reliance on desalination plants, this book provides the first systematic and comprehensive discussion of current and future threats to the supply of freshwater, effects of a potential disruption, and possible measures to increase resilience to these threats, for researchers and graduate students.


Book Synopsis Arab Water Security by : Hussein A. Amery

Download or read book Arab Water Security written by Hussein A. Amery and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2015-07-02 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Exploring the national security implications of the Gulf states' reliance on desalination plants, this book provides the first systematic and comprehensive discussion of current and future threats to the supply of freshwater, effects of a potential disruption, and possible measures to increase resilience to these threats, for researchers and graduate students.


Guidance on realizing real water savings with crop water productivity interventions

Guidance on realizing real water savings with crop water productivity interventions

Author: Van Opstal, J., Droogers, P., Kaune, A., Steduto, P., Perry, C.

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2021-03-18

Total Pages: 63

ISBN-13: 9251341362

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This technical document contains clear and practical guidelines on how to implement real water savings in agriculture through interventions for enhancing crop water productivity. A distinction is made between real water savings and “apparent” water savings. Apparent water savings record reductions in water withdrawals but do not account for changes in water consumption. Real water savings record reductions in water consumption and non-recoverable return flows (runoff or percolation). This guidance document emphasizes the paradox of water savings at field and basin scales, which usually do not translate into increased water availability for other users, as is commonly believed.


Book Synopsis Guidance on realizing real water savings with crop water productivity interventions by : Van Opstal, J., Droogers, P., Kaune, A., Steduto, P., Perry, C.

Download or read book Guidance on realizing real water savings with crop water productivity interventions written by Van Opstal, J., Droogers, P., Kaune, A., Steduto, P., Perry, C. and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2021-03-18 with total page 63 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This technical document contains clear and practical guidelines on how to implement real water savings in agriculture through interventions for enhancing crop water productivity. A distinction is made between real water savings and “apparent” water savings. Apparent water savings record reductions in water withdrawals but do not account for changes in water consumption. Real water savings record reductions in water consumption and non-recoverable return flows (runoff or percolation). This guidance document emphasizes the paradox of water savings at field and basin scales, which usually do not translate into increased water availability for other users, as is commonly believed.