Water use/consumption | TableDebates

Photo: Fooding around, Fruit Walla New Delhi, Flickr, Creative Commons License 2.0 generic.

The contribution of city-scale actions to the overall food system’s environmental impacts

This paper by FCRN member Dana Boyer examines how policy interventions at the city scale can affect three environmental outcomes of food production: greenhouse gas emissions, water use and land use. It uses India’s capital city Delhi as a case study. It sets out to assess the magnitude of city-scale food system actions as compared to certain actions which can be taken beyond the city boundary.

Photo: Chris Happel, irrigation at dawn, Flickr, Creative Commons License 2.0 generic.

Groundwater depletion embedded in international food trade

This research identifies the major crops and countries contributing to groundwater depletion. The authors found that 11 percent of unsustainable groundwater used for irrigation is embedded in international crop trade. They highlight the main exporters and importers of these crops, and the associated risks for local and global food and water security.

Photo credit: Neil Palmer, CIAT, Flickr, Creative Commons License 2.0

Green and blue water demand from large-scale land acquisitions in Africa

This study models the water demand of land acquisitions in Africa as a function of crop choice, local climate, and irrigation scenarios. Its authors distinguish between green and blue water, equating to water from rainfall and that provided to crops by irrigation respectively.

How Mars and WRI Developed Science-based Sustainability Targets for climate, land and water

This blog on the World Resources Institute’s (WRI) website discusses their collaboration with food multinational Mars in developing science-based sustainability targets for climate, land use, and water.

Photo credit: USDA (Flickr, creative commons licence 2.0).

Global challenges require cross-cutting solutions: bringing together water, energy, and food policy

This paper discusses the water-energy-food nexus from a UK perspective with a focus on competing land demands. The research, led by the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, suggests that current UK policies on water, energy and food are too fragmented to effectively tackle global challenges. The paper argues that there is a need for cross-sectoral policies and for new research to focus on the nexus between sectors, scales and timeframes to address this challenge.

Rainfall from a watering can falls on a garden. Photo by Markus Spiske via Unsplash.

Water footprint is the answer. Now what’s the question?

This piece is a follow up in our new series on water. This time, FCRN member Dr Tim Hess from Cranfield University continues where Brad Ridoutt left off in his post on An update on water footprints. Tim is an Associate Professor in Water Management at the School of Energy, Environment and Agrifood. He has over 30 years’ experience in research and consultancy in the application of hydrology in managed rural environments, particularly irrigated agriculture in the UK and overseas. This has been applied to sustainable food supply chains, working with national and international organisations and major UK retailers.

Climate Change and Agricultural Water Management in Developing Countries

The book provides an analysis of impacts of climate change on water for agriculture, and the adaptation strategies in water management to deal with these impacts.

An ocean wave. Photo by Matt Hardy via Unsplash.

An update on water footprints

The blog-post is the first in a two-part series on water. To read the follow up piece, where Dr Tim Hess from Cranfield University expands on the water stress footprint associated with different foods, read Post Two: Water footprint is the answer. Now what’s the question?This piece is written by FCRN member Brad Ridoutt who is a Principal Research Scientist with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia’s national science agency. He is an international leader in the field of life cycle assessment (LCA), which he applies to agricultural production, food systems and sustainable healthy diets. Dr Ridoutt is engaged in a variety of international initiatives related to sustainability assessment. This includes ISO (International Organization for Standardization) where he represents Australia on committees related to LCA and environmental labelling. He also leads a task force within the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative which is establishing global guidance for developers of footprint metrics.NB. For an overview on terminology and the differences between water footprint and LCA, see the boxes below this text where more details are provided.

A starchy problem: GHG emissions and water use differences between major starchy foods

In this article, researchers from Cranfield University, UK, examine the environmental burden associated with the production, manufacturing and distribution of potatoes, pasta and rice. The aim of the research is to highlight the difference that can be made to an individual’s environmental footprint (here focusing on water use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions) by making dietary changes within food groups, rather than between them.