Food aid is a critical component of the global food system, particularly when emergency situations arise. For the first time, we evaluate the water footprint of food aid. To do this, we draw on food aid data from theWorld Food Programme and virtual water content estimates from WaterStat. We find that the total water footprint of food aid was 10 km3 in 2005, which represents approximately 0.5% of the water footprint of food trade and 2.0% of the water footprint of land grabbing (i.e., water appropriation associated with large agricultural land deals). The United States is by far the largest food aid donor and contributes 82% of the water footprint of food aid. The countries that receive the most water embodied in aid are Ethiopia, Sudan, North Korea, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Notably, we find that there is significant overlap between countries that receive food aid and those that have their land grabbed. Multivariate regression results indicate that donor water footprints are driven by political and environmental variables, whereas recipient water footprints are driven by land grabbing and food indicators.

This research study shows that ‘business-as-usual’ scenarios will have substantial production surpluses of rice, which dominates water use patterns in the country at present. However, the surpluses come at a considerable environmental cost, due to high levels of groundwater depletion. Bangladesh can mitigate potential groundwater crises by limiting rice production to meet the requirements of self-sufficiency. Increases in water productivity of both Aman (wet season) and Boro (dry season) rice production can help too. A carefully designed deficit irrigation regime for Boro rice can also increase transpiration, yield, water productivity and production, and reduce the pressure on scarce groundwater resources.

With the increasing population and accelerated urbanization, demands for water are rising for different sectors around the world, including in South Asia. Integrated water resource management (IWRM) offers a promising potential to address multifaceted water demands. This study therefore aimed to address this issue by (i) reviewing key issues related to water, land, and food in South Asian countries, (ii) exploring the prevalent irrigation management strategies in those countries, and (iii) examining the IWRM situation based on a Nepalese case study, and it proposes some options to support effective implementation of IWRM. South Asia, the home to 24% of the world's population with only 15% and 7% of the world's arable and permanent crop land and water resources, respectively, is the worst-affected region in the world from undernourishment. Surface irrigation is the dominant irrigation application method in the region, which incurs high water losses due to the lack of flexible water control structures in canal networks. The Nepalese case study revealed a lack of clear institutional arrangements to implement IWRM and disparate and conflicting views about IWRM. Creation and strengthening of basin-level water user organizations, technological improvements, and awareness-raising activities are some potential ways forward to implement IWRM.

This paper provides a review of the emerging literature on the water–energy–food (WEF) nexus and then analyses the nexus in the context of Bangladesh. Results suggest that the WEF nexus is not yet recognized in the policy documents of Bangladesh, while conflicts over these resources are growing. In order to reduce this contestation, ‘policy integration’ is recommended for implementing key policies in the WEF nexus.