Water security demands guaranteeing economic, social and environmental sustainability and simultaneously addressing the diversity of risks and threats related to water. Various frameworks have been suggested to support water security assessment. They are typically based on indexes enabling national comparisons; these may, however, oversimplify complex and often contested water issues. We developed a structured and systemic way to assess water security and its future trends via a participatory process. The framework establishes a criteria hierarchy for water security, consisting of four main themes: the state of the water environment; human health and well-being; the sustainability of livelihoods; and the stability, functions and responsibility of society. The framework further enables the analysis of relationships between the water security criteria as well as between water, energy and food security. The framework was applied to a national water security assessment of Finland in 2018 and 2030. Our experience indicates that using the framework collaboratively with stakeholders provides a meaningful way to improve understanding and to facilitate discussion about the state of water security and the actions needed for its improvement.

2024

Makean veden kulutuksesta on tullut tärkeä kestävyyden ulottuvuus mitattaessa kulutuksen ja tuotannon kestävyyttä. Tämä kirjallisuuteen perustuva katsaus käsittelee elintarviketuotteiden makean veden kulutuksen ja sen vaikutusten mittaamista. Monitahoinen vesikriisi koettelee elintarvikesektoria: ilmastonmuutos vähentää alueellisesti veden saatavuutta, toisaalta kastelun lisääminen kasvattaa energiankulutusta ja sitä kautta ilmakehän hiilidioksidipäästöjä. Kriisin merkkejä ovat myös veden niukkuudesta aiheutuva ekosysteemien köyhtyminen sekä kilpailu vesivaroista maatalouden ja muiden toimijoiden sekä ruuantuotannon ja non-food-tuotannon välillä. Kansainvälinen vesitilastoinnin suositus IRWS (International Recommendations for Water Statistics) pyrkii harmonisoimaan vesitilastointia mm. kansantalouden tilinpidon kehittämiseksi. Vesitilastointi tarjoaa globaalisti suhteellisen kattavan tietolähteen vedenkulutuksen arvioimiseen. Kansalliset vesitilastot eivät kuitenkaan yleensä huomioi piiloveden tuontia maan ulkopuolelta eivätkä kasvien haihduttamaa vettä. Hoekstran ja Hungin vuonna 2002 esittelemä vesijalanjälkikonsepti pohjautuu virtuaali- eli piiloveden käsitteeseen, laajentaen ja syventäen sitä makean veden kulutuksen globaaliksi mittariksi. Kansainvälinen verkosto Water Footprint Network (WFN) tukee konseptia, joka erottelee sinisen eli ns. teknisen ihmisen käyttöönsä ottaman veden, vihreän eli kasvien käyttöönsä ottaman maaperän veden sekä harmaan veden, jolla tarkoitetaan sen laimennusveden määrää, jolla pilaantunut vesi saataisiin laimennettua referenssitasolle. Elintarvikkeiden vesijalanjäljestä merkittävin osa on yleensä peräisin elinkaaren alkuvaiheesta, kasvintuotannosta. Vesijalanjälkikonseptin on todettu soveltuvan hyvin yrityksen riskien tunnistamiseen ja strategiseen suunnitteluun. Konseptin vahvuutena on pidetty sinisen ja vihreän veden erottelua erityisesti maatalouteen perustuvilla tuotannonaloilla. World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD) ja UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative ovat olleet aloitteellisia menetelmäkehityksessä vedenkulutuksen arvioimiseksi osana elinkaariarviointia. ISO on puolestaan aloittanut työn standardin tuottamiseksi vesijalanjäljen laskennasta. Elinkaariarvioinnissa vedenkulutus suhteutetaan useimmiten alueelliseen niukkuuteen. UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative esittää vaikutusarvioinnin viitekehyksessään mm. että veden kulumista resurssina voidaan käyttää indikaattorina (ns. keskipiste), kun taas vaikutukset ihmisen terveyteen ja ekosysteemiin ovat lopullisia tarkasteltavia haittoja (loppupisteitä). Näihin haittoihin päästään kiinni ns. vaikutusketjumalleilla, joilla hahmotetaan veden kulutuksen syy-seuraus-suhteet. Elinkaariarviointia pidetään tieteellisesti kehittyneenä menetelmänä, joka soveltuu hyvin vertaamaan makean veden käyttöä vaikutuksineen koko tuotteen elinkaaren ja toisaalta laajojen alueiden välillä. Hankaluutena pidetään sitä, että mitkään LCA-menetelmät eivät ole vielä laajasti hyväksyttyjä ja toisaalta arviointitulosten viestimistä pidetään vaativana teknisen monimutkaisuuden vuoksi. Vedenkulutusta on tarkasteltu myös osana talouden materiaalivirtoja ja panos-tuotos-malleja, kuten Mäenpää kehittämässään Suomen kansantalouden mallissa. Suomalaisen elintarviketuotannon näkökulmasta haasteita elintarvikkeen vesijalanjäljen arvioimiseksi riittää sekä datan hankinnan että menetelmäkehityksen puolella. Globaali vesikriisi kuitenkin haastaa yritykset luomaan omat vesistrategiansa sekä vastuullisen hankinnan periaatteensa, joissa veden kulutus ja sen vaikutukset ovat mukana. | Fresh water consumption has become an important dimension of sustainability assessing sustainability of consumption and production. This literature based review deals with measuring the consumption of fresh water and its impacts in production. Water crisis is a complex phenomenom, which strains the food sector: climate change decreases the availability of water regionally, on the other hand irrigation increases energy consumption and CO2 -emissions in the atmosphere. Also ecosystem degradation due to water scarcity and completion over water resources between agriculture and other sector and between food production and non-food production are signs of the crisis. International Recommendations for Water Statistics (IRWS) is aiming to harmonize water statistics for National Accounts among the other things. Water statistics provide globally relatively comprehensive data source for assessing water consumption. However the national water statistics do not normally take the import of virtual water or water evapotranspiration from crop production into account. Water footprint concept presented by Hoekstra and Hung in 2002 is based on virtual (embedded) water extended to a global index of fresh water consumption. International Water Footprint Network (WFN) supports the concept. In the concept the three different types of water use are distinguished: blue water is water technically put into operation by humans, green water is soil water used by plants and grey water is the theoretical amount of dilution water needed to dilute the low-quality water to the reference level. The significant proportion of water footprint of food stuffs is normally derived from the beginning of lice cycle, agriculture. The concept of water footprint is found to be suitable for identifying the risks and strategic planning in companies. The strength of the concept especially in agriculture is the separation of blue and green water. World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative have taken the initiative in methodology development to assess the water consumption as a part of life cycle assessment. ISO has launched a work to produce a standard of water footprint assessment. In life cycle assessment the consumption of water is normally put in proportion with regional scarcity. UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative propose in their framework of impact assessment of LCA that water consumption (water as a resource) could be used as an indicator (so called middle point), and impacts on human health and ecosystem are final areas of protection (endpoints).These areas of protection are approached by so called impact-pathways, which are used to conceive the cause and effect relations of water consumption. Life cycle assessment is kept as scientifically advanced method, which is suitable for comparing fresh water use and its impacts in a product level and between wide areas. A difficulty is that none of the LCA methods are widely accepted and on the other hand communicating the results is challenging due their technical complexity. Water consumption is studied also as a part of material flows of national economy and input-output-models as Mäenpää in Finnish national economy model. In the perspective of Finnish food production there are lots of challenges in assessing water footprint of food stuffs. Both data acquisition and methodology development are difficult tasks. However the global water crisis is challenging companies to develop their own water strategies and include the water consumption and its impacts into their principles of responsible purchasing. | v | ok

Highlights • Biodiversity underpins the climate, food, water, energy, transport and health nexus. • Negative impact studies on biodiversity outnumber positive impact studies. • Biodiversity has mostly positive impacts on the nexus, but more evidence is needed. • Nexus studies inform the development of holistic policy and management options. • Biodiversity nexus is context-dependent, and evidence needs to be contextualized. Abstract Biodiversity underpins the functioning of ecosystems and the diverse benefits that nature provides to people, yet is being lost at an unprecedented rate. To halt or reverse biodiversity loss, it is critical to understand the complex interdependencies between biodiversity and key drivers and sectors to inform the development of holistic policies and actions. We conducted a literature review on the interlinkages between biodiversity and climate change, food, water, energy, transport and health (“the biodiversity nexus”). Evidence extracted from 194 peer-reviewed articles was analysed to assess how biodiversity is being influenced by and is influencing the other nexus elements. Out of the 354 interlinkages between biodiversity and the other nexus elements, 53 % were negative, 29 % were positive and 18 % contained both positive and negative influences. The majority of studies provide evidence of the negative influence of other nexus elements on biodiversity, highlighting the substantial damage being inflicted on nature from human activities. The main types of negative impacts were land or water use/change, land or water degradation, climate change, and direct species fatalities through collisions with infrastructure. Alternatively, evidence of biodiversity having a negative influence on the other nexus elements was limited to the effects of invasive alien species and vector-borne diseases. Furthermore, a range of studies provided evidence of how biodiversity and the other nexus elements can have positive influences on each other through practices that promote co-benefits. These included biodiversity-friendly management in relevant sectors, protection and restoration of ecosystems and species that provide essential ecosystem services, green and blue infrastructure including nature-based solutions, and sustainable and healthy diets that mitigate climate change. The review highlighted the complexity and context-dependency of interlinkages within the biodiversity nexus, but clearly demonstrates the importance of biodiversity in underpinning resilient ecosystems and human well-being in ensuring a sustainable future for people and the planet.

An increasing number of people faces chronic water shortage, and 17% of watersheds suffer from overconsumption. Agriculture is the main water consumer globally, and irrigation comprises most of the agricultural water consumption. Irrigation more than doubled between 1960 and 2000. In many cases, water-intensive goods are produced in water-scarce countries, and virtual (irrigation) water is traded by agribusinesses. Food products potentially have an impact on local water resources in the production area. The water scarcity footprint of products can be calculated by applying the AWARE method within the life cycle assessment (LCA). AWARE is a relatively new method but is already recommended by several influential organisations (e.g. the European Commission), and it will probably therefore be applied widely in the coming years. The goal of this thesis was to study how the AWARE method compares to other water scarcity footprint methods in LCA for food products, study the water scarcity footprint of three common food products in Finland and the hotspots of the food products, and identify further LCA research needs for improving the performance of the chain and for harmonised LCA. Three food case studies were selected to assist in answering the research questions: milk (Article I), coffee (Article II), and broiler meat (Article III) produced for the Finnish market. Basic knowledge of the suitability of the AWARE method for a food product was produced in the milk case study. The water scarcity footprint of all three foodstuffs was assessed, and hotspots were identified. The interpretation of the results was supported by a detailed analysis of the challenges especially in the life cycle inventory phase and some further sensitivity analyses. Finally, recommendations for compiling good-quality life cycle inventory (LCI) data in water scarcity assessment to support the achievement of the LCA study’s goal were made. To support the analysis, the new terms ‘internal development LCA’ and ‘external harmonised LCA’ were proposed. An internal development life cycle assessment refers to a life cycle assessment that aims to evaluate the environmental effects of a specific product or service to support the development of the environmental performance of the product. External harmonised LCA is needed when comparisons, benchmarking, or public propositions are executed. In contrast with internal development LCA, the methods or their application cannot be selected freely according to the goal of the study in external harmonised LCA, but specific rules for LCA, Environmental Declaration Criteria, or Product Category Rules are followed. The LCIs in the case studies were analysed, and observations were made especially concerning the following aspects: identifying relevant processes and elementary waterflows; data collection methods; assumptions due to missing data or default origins; raw data modification methods; allocation methods and the link between inventory and impact assessment. A commonly observed challenge was the lack of knowledge of the origins of the inputs. A general conclusion about the AWARE method is that the water scarcity footprint result reflected both water consumption and the characteristics of the region in the form of a characterisation factor. This dissertation work’s results support the claim that the indicator has a clear and understandable physical meaning. Food product chain hotspots were recognised. If irrigation was applied, it dominated the water scarcity results. Irrigation dominated the water scarcity results of primary production, but even without irrigation, the magnitude of primary production was remarkable. The consumption stage may also be important for the water scarcity footprint. Water scarcity footprints have a strong spatial nature. The effect of geographical location on water scarcity footprint is especially important. Because of the regional character of water scarcity footprint, it seems it is generally impossible to define any normal or typical level of water scarcity footprint result of a certain food product, but products from different origins will have different water scarcity footprints. However, with stronger evidence in the scientific literature, it is likely that the typical water scarcity footprints of certain food items produced in certain regions can be defined in the future. According to the results of this thesis, improved primary data production and traceability to determine the origins of the inputs is needed in many cases to improve the results’ accuracy. The spatial nature of the water scarcity footprint considerably increases the need for regionalised (spatially differentiated) data. The production of geographically representative datasets is time- and resource-consuming work, but it is necessary for improving the accuracy of LCA studies applying AWARE. All data should be compatible with the definition of consumptive water in ISO 14046. Using theoretically modelled data instead of primary data may result in inaccuracy. This is an important question, especially with the volume of irrigation water, because the relative share of water for irrigation may be remarkable if included in the production chain. In harmonised LCA, the calculation rules should guarantee the harmonisation, at least at a reasonable level, but product category rules (PCRs) do not necessarily instruct the use of AWARE at a detailed level. Regarding the water scarcity effect, the PCR should list when primary data must be produced about the input, and when information about the origin of the input is mandatory, even if there is no other basic information about the product. In particular, the evaluation of irrigation water must be instructed. | Kasvava osa maailman väestöstä kärsii kroonisesta vesiniukkuudesta ja 17 % vesistöalueista kärsii liiallisesta vedenkulutuksesta. Maailmanlaajuisesti maatalous on merkittävin vedenkuluttaja, ja suurin osa maatalouden vedenkulutuksesta johtuu kasteluveden käytöstä. Vesi-intensiivisiä tuotteita tuotetaan usein vesiniukoissa maissa ja virtuaalista (kastelu)vettä ostetaan ja myydään maataloustuotteiden myötä. Tuotteiden vesiniukkuusvaikutuksia voidaan mitata elinkaariarvioinnissa (LCA) AWARE-vaikutustenarviointimenetelmällä. AWARE on suhteellisen uusi menetelmä, mutta useat vaikutusvaltaiset organisaatiot (esim. Euroopan komissio) suosittelevat sitä jo, ja siksi menetelmää tultaneen todennäköisesti soveltamaan laajalti tulevina vuosina. Tämän väitöskirjatyön tavoitteena oli tutkia, miten AWARE-menetelmä vertautuu muihin vesiniukkuuden arviointimenetelmiin elintarvikkeiden elinkaariarvioinnissa, tutkia kolmen Suomessa yleisen elintarvikkeen eli maidon, kahvin ja broilerinlihan vesiniukkuusvaikutusta ja niiden ongelmakohtia, sekä tunnistaa lisätutkimustarpeita ketjun ympäristösuorituskyvyn parantamiseksi ja harmonisoidun elinkaariarvioinnin tekemiseksi. Kaikkien kolmen elintarvikkeen vesiniukkuusvaikutukset arvioitiin ja vesiniukkuuden kannalta oleelliset tuotantovaiheet tunnistettiin. Tulokset osoittavat, että jos kastelua käytettiin, se hallitsi vesiniukkuusvaikutustuloksia, mutta ilman kasteluakin alkutuotannon merkitys oli huomattava. Myös kulutusvaihe voi olla tärkeä vesiniukkuusvaikutuksen kannalta. Maantieteellisen sijainnin vaikutus veden niukkuuteen on erityisen tärkeä. Vesiniukkuusvaikutusten arviointi on mahdollista elintarvikkeille, mutta vesiniukkuuden alueellisen luonteen vuoksi on erittäin haastavaa määritellä yleisesti tietyn ruoka-aineen normaalia tai tyypillistä vesiniukkuusvaikutuksen tasoa, jos sitä tuotetaan eri puolilla maailmaa. Monissa tapauksissa tarvitaan enemmän primääritiedon tuotantoa ja syötteiden alkuperän jäljitettävyyttä, jotta tulosten tarkkuus paranee. Vesiniukkuusvaikutuksen alueellinen luonne lisää huomattavasti alueellisesti eriytetyn tiedon tarvetta. Maantieteellisesti edustavien aineistojen tuottaminen on aikaa ja resursseja vievää työtä, mutta se on välttämätöntä, jotta ymmärrys ruuan vaikutuksesta veden niukkuuteen lisääntyy.

Commercially processed food, drinking-water sources and effluent waters discharged into bodies of water from wastewater treatment plants are putative but yet poorly delineated sources of human exposure to chemical mutagens and oestrogen-like chemicals globally. To this end, this study was aimed at determining the current situation for a possible comparison between a European country (Finland) and an African country (Nigeria). A total of 116 commercially processed food items and ready-to-eat snacks (three lots each) were obtained from Finland (60) and Nigeria (36) for initial screening, as well as sachet-pure water (16 different brands) from Nigeria, bottled still and mineral waters (10 brands each), tap water (hot and cold collected over a 3-month period) and influent and effluent water samples from both a drinking-water treatment plant (collected over a 3-month period) and a wastewater treatment plant (collected over a 2-year period) in Finland. All samples were collected in their respective countries and extracted by established methods. The mutagenic potential of the food extracts was first determined by the standard plate incorporation assay (Ames test), using two strains of Salmonella enterica sv. Typhimurium (TA 100 and TA 98) in the presence and absence of metabolic activation (S9 mix), and subsequently by a methylcellulose overlay, as well as treat-and-wash assays, while the oestrogenicity of the water and food samples, as well as food packaging materials, was determined by a yeast bioluminescent assay, using two recombinant yeast strains (Saccharomyces cerevisiae BMAEREluc/ERα and S. cerevisiae BMA64/luc). The cytotoxicity of the food extracts was measured by the trypan blue and lactate dehydrogenase tests, using the HepG2 cell line, as well as by the boar sperm motility assay, while possible DNA damage was assessed by the comet assay. The mutagenicity of commercially processed food items in Finland was generally low: 60% or 73% were non-mutagenic in S. Typhimurium strains TA 100 and TA 98, respectively. While the majority of the initially positive samples proved negative in the complementary assays, cold cuts of cold-smoked beef, grilled turkey and smoked chicken (a single batch of each) were also mutagenic in all three assays with the TA 100 strain, with and without metabolic activation, indicating that the mutagenic effect was not secondary to histidine release from the food products. The low mutagenicity outcome of the Finnish food items was further confirmed by independent chemical analyses of similar food products for four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. In contrast to the outcome in Finland, the majority of food items from Nigeria (75%) were mutagenic in the Ames test, either in the presence or absence of the S9 mix and in either of the strains. Chin-chin, hamburger, suya and bean cake were mutagenic in all three assays with the Salmonella TA 100 strain, either in the presence or absence of the S9 mix. However, none of the food samples caused DNA damage in the comet assay. They were also not cytotoxic in any of the three assays measuring this aspect. In all, 31% of the sachet-packed water samples in Nigeria were oestrogenic, with concentrations ranging from 0.79 to 44.0 ng/l oestradiol equivalent concentrations (EEQs), while the tap and bottled water samples from Finland showed no signs of oestrogenicity in the in vitro test. Similarly, the oestrogenic activity of the influent samples from the wastewater treatment plant in Helsinki were generally low (from below the limit of detection to 0.7 ng/l EEQ), except in March and August 2011, when relatively high levels (14.0 and 7.8 ng/l EEQ, respectively) were obtained. No oestrogenic activity was recorded in any of the treated effluent samples from the wastewater treatment plant, nor was any in the influent and effluent samples from the drinking-water plant. The outcome of this study implies that Nigerian food items and drinking-water sources are more likely to contain mutagenic and oestrogenic chemicals than their Finnish counterparts, and efforts should be made to reduce the level of human exposure to these chemicals in the diet. | No Finnish translation of my abstract