CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE) | Mehta Lyla et al., 'Water for Food Security, Nutrition and Social Justice', , IFPRI, 2019

Afghanistan is a headwater state that contributes supplies to several countries in Central and South Asia. However, despite being a water source, it faces the challenge of establishing its own storage infrastructure and water-sharing methods to protect its food security. This article investigates impacts on the Afghan agricultural sector resulting from enhanced reservoir storage capacity and better-performing water-sharing methods. An integrated systems analysis is formulated to analyze the economic performance of both interventions. Results reveal that both interventions show the highest capacity to improve food security in conditions where water supply shows the greatest natural fluctuations.

1. Introduction 2. Linking Water and Food Security and Nutrition (FSN) 3. Agricultural Water Management 4. Water Governance for FSN 5. Water, FSN and Social Justice Index | Non-PR | IFPRI5; CRP5; 1 Fostering Climate-Resilient and Sustainable Food Supply; G Cross-cutting gender theme | EPTD | CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE)

Programmeringsstudie Smart Technology in Agro-Horti-Water-Food.

In many slums and informal settlements in the global South, the quality of water accessed by poor people is so bad that it adversely affects health and nutrition, especially of children and babies. Moreover, many of these settlements lack adequate sanitation, which contributes to disease, such as diarrhoea, which further contributes to poor nutritional outcomes. Safe drinking water and sanitation are fundamental to the nutrition, health and dignity of all. Despite the progress made in achieving global targets around water and sanitation, about 3 in 10 people, or 2.1 billion lack access to safe, readily available water at home, and 6 in 10, or 4.5 billion, lack safely managed sanitation. Growing water scarcity and variability will increase the competition for water resources across sectors, with water often being taken away from the agricultural sector to drive greater economic value per unit of water in other sectors. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.

The unprecedented surge in urbanization and population growth rates is generating multiple impacts, affecting food, energy and water (FEW hereafter) demands. Moreover, the adverse effects are extending to climate, as well as to human and ecosystem health. Coordinated efforts are often deemed critical to minimize the trade-offs while maximizing the synergies in the use and the effective analysis of the interlinkages among food, energy, and water within urban ecosystems. Data are collected and transformed into useful information through different indicators, which are often applied to guide several policies in the urban domain. However, their different nature now asks for a critical reanalysis to collate them into different groups, understanding their guiding principles and identifying possible gaps for further policy- and design-oriented studies. This paper reviews the state-of-the-art on existing urban FEW nexus indicators. Indicators were found to belong to four main distinct groups, measuring resource fluxes (52%); quantifying environmental impacts (13%), and efficiency aspects (29%). Results highlight a need to develop new indicators, considering the inclusion of all involved factors within new integrated metrics. However, prior to developing an overall sustainability indicator system is presented, it would be vital to incorporate as many flows as possible to represent the entire urban systems.

The 2017 Texas Water Development Board's State Water Plan predicts a 41% gap between water demand and existing supply by 2070. This reflects an overall projection, but the challenge will affect various regions of the state differently. Texas has 16 regional water planning zones characterized by distinct populations, water demands, and existing water supplies. Each is expected to face variations of pressures, such as increased agricultural and energy development (particularly hydraulic fracturing) and urban growth that do not necessarily follow the region's water plan. Great variability in resource distribution and competing resource demands across Texas will result in the emergence of distinct hotspots, each with unique characteristics that require multiple, localized, interventions to bridge the statewide water gap. This study explores three such hotspots: 1) water-food competition in Lubbock and the potential of producing 3 billion gallons of treated municipal waste water and encouraging dryland agriculture; 2) implementing Low Impact Developments (LIDs) for agriculture in the City of San Antonio, potentially adding 47 billion gallons of water supply, but carrying a potentially high financial cost; and 3) water-energy interrelations in the Eagle Ford Shale in light of well counts, climate dynamics, and population growth. The growing water gap is a state wide problem that requires holistic assessments that capture the impact on the tightly interconnected water, energy, and food systems. Better understanding the trade-offs associated with each 'solution’ and enabling informed dialogue between stakeholders, offers a basis for formulating localized policy recommendations specific to each hotspot. © 2018 Elsevier B.V.