Over the next few years, Tunisia will face a growing scarcity of water. The concept of a food consumption water footprint has been recently applied to expand knowledge about water management and to respond to problems of food insecurity. In this study, following the Water Footprint Network (WFN) method, we assessed and analysed the food consumption water footprint of Tunisian households by geographical location and by group of food products. We used results from national food surveys to collect the quantities of food consumed and the WFN database containing water footprints of food products specific to Tunisia. We found that the average water footprint for the main consumed food groups has increased by 31% during recent decades, from 1208 m³/capita/year in 1985 to 1586 m³/capita/year in 2010. Despite the decline in cereal consumption in Tunisia, the food water footprint has continued to rise as a result of increased consumption of animal source products. This increase is associated with regional variations in food choices that imply large differences in water footprints. Urban diets present higher water footprints than rural diets proportionally to higher standards of living. This study provides a new perspective on the water footprint of food consumption in Tunisia by using dietary data at the household level and demonstrated significant variability in water footprints due to different food consumption modes, and socio-economic and geographic characteristics. Future food consumption trends will likely create more pressure on water resources, especially in Tunis city and coastal areas of Tunisia. Special measures related to price policies, sensitization of consumers, and changes in production systems may have to be taken by policy makers to reduce the water footprint in order to improve food security strategies and water management in Tunisia.

Identifying the critical socioeconomic drivers of food-related scarce water uses at the provincial level is conducive to the formulation of region-specific policies. However, existing studies have not quantified the effects of regional socioeconomic factors on food-related scarce water uses in China. This study used the environmentally extended multi-regional input-output analysis and structural decomposition analysis to explore the socioeconomic determinants for the changing food-related scarce water uses in Chinese regions during 2007–2012. The results showed that the decrease of scarce water use intensity in the North Coast and Northwest (e.g., Hebei and Xinjiang) is the most effective way to reduce scarce water uses, contributing 11.5 and 11.4 billion tons of scarce water use reductions, respectively. It is also critical for Hebei, Shandong, Henan, and Xinjiang to focus on the improvement of local production structures. Moreover, reducing excessive food consumption and optimizing dietary patterns in developed coastal regions (e.g., Guangdong and Shanghai) can effectively reduce national water scarcity. For example, 4% reduction of the food consumption level in Guangdong would lead to 11% reduction of induced scarce water uses. Furthermore, it is essential to consider the interprovincial trade in food-water-related policy-making. The strengthening of interregional cooperation is also highlighted for sustainable food and water resource management in China.

This paper critically analyses the potentials and frontiers of an agribusiness model developed along the arid coastal area of Peru. To make this model work, water from Andean rivers and lakes have been dammed and transferred to the coastal area through sophisticated and highly expensive hydraulic infrastructures. Although this ‘water transfer-agribusiness’ (WATA) model has attained its objectives to let the desert bloom and increase agro-exports from Peru, it does so at the cost of local environmental degradation, social unrest and gender disparities. These unintended consequences arose, in part, because the WATA model is anchored in ideologies of domination of nature and colonization of empty territories. The construction of water infrastructure, namely ‘Large Scale Irrigation’ (LSI) left aside the sociocultural, gender and environmental aspects that these kinds of interventions should include. Based on studies of water transfer from the Colca River to the ‘Pampas de Majes’ in the Arequipa region in the south-west of Peru, this paper analyses, from an interdisciplinary perspective, the consequences of such interventions on the food/water security and environmental health of the affected population.

This book with 33 chapters divided into five parts is a compendium of selected papers from the conference that can be broadly categorized as land and water management, fisheries and aquaculture and rice-based agriculture systems. Intensification of aquaculture and rice-based agriculture frequently produces negative effects that range from environmental degradation to social conflict; managing these impacts in a sustainable manner is imperative to protect the social and ecological foundations of tropical deltaic systems. New approaches to the intensification and diversification of rice-based production systems are presented in this book, which could impact positively on the livelihoods of millions who inhabit the deltaic areas of South, South East and East Asia if implemented on a large scale. More importantly, these innovations could begin to reverse man's current exploitive behaviour and ensure the preservation of critical ecosystems. A significant section of the compendium is devoted to the intensification of marine shrimp aquaculture production. Negative impacts associated with shrimp production are well recognized, and several innovative approaches to waste management are presented. Further critical questions are raised over the introduction of exotic shrimp species and the long-term impact this could have on native species, which suggests a cautionary approach to future development. A clear consensus emerged from the conference that highlighted the importance of social mobilization and the role of communities in decision making.

Climate-stressed groundwater resources present a growing challenge for protecting food security and economic sustainability, notably in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). These states are some of the most vulnerable to climate stress because of their large coastlines, vulnerability to rising sea levels, weak access to reliable surface water, and limited food production capacity for handling increased groundwater scarcity. Impacts of climate stressed groundwater resources brought on by irrigation and growing urban demand in SIDS continue to receive widespread attention by both scientists and policymakers. Policies that limit pumping to protect aquifer sustainability reduce short-term economic welfare by unknown amounts that would otherwise be secured by both urban and irrigation water users. Yet, little scholarly research has addressed economic impacts of climate-water stress for the special needs of SIDS for which urban and irrigation pumping compete hydrologically and economically over long time periods. The original contribution of this work is to address that gap by employing downscaled data on precipitation from Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) climate scenarios. Its novel contribution is to conceptualize, develop, apply, and interpret an integrated hydro-economic framework to understand interconnected physical and economic linkages from managing an unconfined regional aquifer system under each of three climate and two policy scenarios. The application is to Barbados, a SIDS, for which current and future irrigation and urban demands compete for water. The framework integrates groundwater hydrology, climate scenarios, economics, land use, and groundwater management, with the intent to mitigate impacts of climate stress on current economic values of water as well as protecting future aquifer sustainability. Results provide a framework to guide water management for SIDS vulnerable to climate stress for which water of the right quantity, quality, timing, location, and price are essential elements of economic development.

The present paper reports on the results of a long-term field study on the simultaneous influence of 2 environmental factors (temperature and food supply) on annual growth rates in the tellinid bivalve Macoma balthica. For >30y (1978–2009) we monitored twice-annually the weight changes of soft parts of individuals of known age at several permanent sampling stations located at Balgzand, an extensive (50km2) tidal flat area in the western Dutch Wadden Sea. Monthly data were available on mean water temperature and chlorophyll a (chl a) concentration from a nearby site in the main tidal inlet. Mean individual ash-free dry weights at ages of nearly 1 and of nearly 1.5y were assessed in February/March and in August, respectively. Such weights show a consistent annual pattern: they increase between late winter and early summer to decline for the remainder of the year. Annual multi-station means of the spring/summer individual weight gains were higher as chl a concentrations in the water had been higher and water temperatures had been lower for the growing season. These correlations proved to be stronger at sampling sites that were situated low in the intertidal zone close to the main tidal stream than at those high in the intertidal near the coast (where M. balthica obtain their food primarily by deposit feeding on benthic material). At the low off-shore sites, suspended algae are available for longer daily periods and their concentrations in flood water may be less depleted by grazers. The negative correlation between weight gain and water temperature may have been primarily based on the shortening of the M. balthica growing seasons in warm summers. We conclude that the present simultaneous trends of global warming and declining stocks of pelagic algae may affect M. balthica in the Wadden Sea in a similar, negative, way.

Food, energy and water are important resources for national development and human life, the conflicts among three have become more acute especially in coastal regions, but most existing studies focused on land. To investigate the effects of marine resources on relieving the pressure of the food–energy–water (FEW) nexus in the coastal regions of China and its state changes, the concept and computing method of marine equivalent food, energy, and water resources was proposed to quantify the supply of marine resources, meanwhile, this study constructed a pressure index model of food, energy, and water resources from the perspective of average possession of resources. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first FEW nexus study based on a marine resource perspective. The results shown that, during the study period, (1) Fujian had the most marine equivalent food production accounts for 44% of the terrestrial food yield; the marine equivalent energy made Shandong and Hainan to be a major province of energy; and marine equivalent virtual water was equivalent to 6% of the annual water consumption. (2) the food pressure in the south of the Yangtze River was much higher than that in the north; the water pressure was the opposite, and the energy pressure was high in all coastal regions of China. Considering the supply of marine resources, the FEW nexus pressure was alleviated by more than 10% in nearly half of the coastal provinces and cities. Moreover, valuable suggestions were propounded to each area targeted, which provide references and suggestions for alleviating the pressure of the FEW nexus not only in China's coastal region, but also have implications for resource flows in other regions. Also, the findings of this study contribute to a more comprehensive understanding and protection of the ocean, and promote regional sustainable development.

The bioaccumulation of heavy metals in two fish samples along with the water and sediment samples from the coastal waters of Kalpakkam, Southeast coast of India were investigated in this study. The concentration of the metals in the surface waters were in the order Fe (61.30 to 89.68 µg/L) > Zn (29.45 to 36.44 µg/L) > Pb (2.46 to 4.82 µg/L) > Cu (3.04 to 4.36 µg/L) > Cr (1.86 to 4.09 µg/L) > Mn (2.16 to 2.63 µg/L) > Cd (0.78 to 1.94 µg/L) > As (BDL), whereas the trend in the sediment was Fe (3067.40 to 4545.74 mg/Kg) > Zn (8.34 to 10.69 mg/Kg) > Cr (6.48 to 8.86 mg/Kg) > Pb (0.32 to 0.60 mg/Kg) > Cu (3.59 to 5.07 mg/Kg) > Mn (1.83 to 2.77 mg/Kg) > Cd (1.88 to 2.53 mg/Kg) > As (BDL). The bioaccumulation trend of heavy metals in the fish muscles were Fe (18.71–78.48 mg/Kg) > Zn (15.87–26.27 mg/Kg) > Cu (3.61–4.59 mg/Kg) > Mn (0.8–3.48 mg/Kg) > Cr (0.54–1.45 mg/Kg) > Pb (0.24–0.89 mg/Kg) > Cd (0.27–0.47 mg/Kg) > As (BDL). The Overall Metal Pollution Index and Pollution Load Index results suggest that the coast of Kalpakkam is slightly polluted by heavy metals, where KLP-2 station has higher MPI and PLI compared to other stations. But the Target Hazard Quotient, Bio-Accumulation Factor and Bio-Sediment Accumulation Factor suggest that the marine foods of Kalpakkam are free from heavy metal carcinogenic impacts to humans, despite that, THQ for Cd and Cr is high. It may pose a threat to humans if concentration rises in due time. Spatial and seasonal monitoring regularly is warranted to prevent the health risks of the populace along the coast of Kalpakkam.

The Milky stork is listed as an endangered species endemic to the Southeast Asia region. In Malaysia, the population is currently being reintroduced back into the wild. However, the increase of anthropogenic activity throughout the coastal area might expose the population to hazardous chemicals such as heavy metals. This study highlights the contamination of cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) in the Milky stork’s diet. Additionally, this is the first time an integrated exposure model being used to assess heavy metal exposure risk to the population. Lead level (5.5–7.98mgkg⁻¹) in particular was relatively high compared to Cd (0.08–0.33mgkg⁻¹). This was probably related to the different niches occupied by the species in the aquatic environment. The results further show that the predicted exposure doses (through intake of both food and water) for all metals are much lower than the Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) values. The total exposure dose for Cd was 0.11mgkg⁻¹d⁻¹ with TDI value of 0.54mgkg⁻¹d⁻¹ while Pb total exposure dose was 0.31mgkg⁻¹d⁻¹ with TDI value of 0.64mgkg⁻¹d⁻¹. Several possible factors that could lead to the observed pattern were discussed. In conclusion, there is an urgent need to improve the current habitat quality to protect the endangered species. The authors also emphasized on the protection of remaining Milky stork’s habitats i.e. mudflats and mangroves and the creation of buffer zone to mitigate the negative impacts that may arise from pollution activity.