The shortage of water resources has become a notable bottleneck, restricting the economic development of many countries and areas around the word, especially that of North-west China. The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Shaanxi Province are important energy bases and food production areas in North-west China. However, the region is suffering from perennial drought and water shortage, which has become the most significant shortcoming for energy and food production. Guiding the decoupling between regional economic development and water consumption is a critical way to achieve sustainable development. Based on the analysis of the food and energy production value and their water consumption in North-west China from 2009 to 2019, this paper uses the Tapio model to analyze the decoupling relationship between food, energy production, and water consumption, and uses the Logarithmic Mean Divisional Index (LMDI) model to analyze the driving factors affecting decoupling. The results show that most water consumption for food and energy production in North-west China is out of the ideal strong decoupling, the decoupling status is unstable, and re-coupling occurs frequently. The increase in water intensity and the change in industrial structure are the promoting factors of decoupling between production value and water consumption in food and energy in North-west China, while the increase in production value and population size are the main restraining factors. Therefore, in pursuit of strong decoupling, the government should guide the food and energy industry to move toward implementing in water saving measures through policies and promote the enthusiasm and efficiency of the labor force through financial support and other ways. Moreover, ecological protective measures are needed to be strengthened, such as water source protection, and sewage treatment.

Introduction: Iodine deficiency during pregnancy can cause hypothyroidism and goiter; in schoolchildren, it can cause reduced intelligence quotient. In excess, iodine can cause thyroiditis, goiter, and Hashimoto's hypothyroidism. Currently, schoolchildren and pregnant women are classified as risk groups for excessive iodine intake and iodine deficiency, respectively. Thus, determining iodine from all sources of consumption is important for intervention planning.Objective: To construct a theoretical model for the iodine intake of schoolchildren and pregnant women of a city in the Zona da Mata Mineira region, considering a healthy diet, salt consumption and water intake.Methodology: The dietary iodine intake of pregnant women was analyzed based on a dietary iodine table compiled from an international database. A dietary plan was prepared following the Brazilian Food Guide. Iodine concentration of different salt brands sold in local establishments was checked, and drinking water samples from healthcare facilities were analyzed. A descriptive and exploratory statistical analysis was performed and the results were presented in absolute and relative frequencies, and measures of central tendency and dispersion.Results: According to the proposed diet, pregnant women and schoolchildren would have a daily intake of 71.6 μg and 71 μg, respectively. Thirteen salt brands were evaluated, 69.2% complied with the legislation and the mean iodine content was 29.88 mg. The mean concentration of iodine in water was 25 μg iodine/liter and 14 μg iodine/liter, respectively, in summer and autumn. Considering the intake of food, salt, and drinking water according to the proposed dietary plan, the daily intake for pregnant women would be 279.5 and 253.5 μg for schoolchildren.Conclusion: The daily iodine intake of schoolchildren and pregnant women according to this theoretical model was excessive, considering a healthy dietary pattern. This theoretical model can guide actions and public policies aimed at targeting all forms of iodine intake.

An investigation was carried out in Bankey Bazar block of Gaya and Rajauli block of Nawada districts in Bihar to assess the fluoride-contamination magnitude in groundwater and cultivated crops. The toxicological risk of fluoride exposure on three different age groups of the local populations has been measured. The groundwater was highly contaminated with fluoride (mean: 2.64 ± 1.8 mg/l) and alkaline in character (mean pH: 7.8 ± 0.38). About, 48.1 and 91% of the groundwater samples from Bankey Bazar (mean: 2.15 ± 1.78 mg/l) and Rajauli (mean: 3.2 ± 1.64 mg/l), respectively, cross the permissible limit of fluoride in drinking water. The major presence of fluoride in Bankey Bazar and Rajauli was confined at a depth range of 12.2–18.3 m (<0.5->8.0 mg/l) and 33.5–35.1 m (>1.5–8.0 mg/l), respectively and expected to be the hotspot territory in the regions. Mean fluoride concentrations in locally grown rice and wheat grain were found as 1.15 ± 0.81, 1.374 ± 0.667 mg/kg and 0.855 ± 0.226, 0.84 ± 0.186 mg/kg, respectively. Mean urinary fluoride concentrations of the studied populations were 10.4 ± 4.72 and 3.004 ± 1.97 mg/l, respectively. The cumulative EDI value for CTE and RME of the studied children was higher as compared to teenagers and adults. The hazard index (HI) for all the age groups residing in Bhaktuari of Bankey Bazar and Bhaunr, Phulwariya and Kachhariadih of Rajauli block was found much higher than the permissible limit (HI < 1). A good number of populations were suffering from dental and skeletal fluorosis. The life time non-cancerous risk (HILTNR) and probabilistic risk assessment based on fluoride exposure showed the potential threat among the residing populations.

During the last decade, food, feed and environmental analysis using high-resolution mass spectrometry became increasingly popular. Recent accessibility and technological improvements of this system make it a potential tool for routine laboratory work. However, this kind of instrument is still often considered a research tool. The wide range of potential contaminants and residues that must be monitored, including pesticides, veterinary drugs and natural toxins, is steadily increasing. Thanks to full-scan analysis and the theoretically unlimited number of compounds that can be screened in a single analysis, high-resolution mass spectrometry is particularly well-suited for food, feed and water analysis. This review aims, through a series of relevant selected studies and developed methods dedicated to the different classes of contaminants and residues, to demonstrate that high-resolution mass spectrometry can reach detection levels in compliance with current legislation and is a versatile and appropriate tool for routine testing.

Irrigation water coming from freshwater bodies that suffer toxic cyanobacterial blooms causes adverse effects on crop productivity and quality and raises concerns regarding food contamination and human exposure to toxins. The common agricultural practice of spray irrigation is an important exposure route to cyanotoxins, yet its impact on crops has received little attention. In the present study we attempted an integrated approach at the macro- and microscopic level to investigate whether spray or drip irrigation with microcystins (MCs)-rich water differently affect spinach performance. Growth and functional features, structural characteristics of stomata, and toxin bioaccumulation were determined. Additionally, the impact of irrigation method and water type on the abundance of leaf-attached microorganisms was assessed. Drip irrigation with MCs-rich water had detrimental effects on growth and photosynthetic characteristics of spinach, while spray irrigation ameliorated to various extents the observed impairments. The stomatal characteristics were differently affected by the irrigation method. Drip-irrigated spinach leaves showed significantly lower stomatal density in the abaxial epidermis and smaller stomatal size in the adaxial side compared to spray-irrigation treatment. Nevertheless, the latter deteriorated traits related to fresh produce quality and safety for human consumption; both the abundance of leaf-attached microorganisms and the MCs bioaccumulation in edible tissues well exceeded the corresponding values of drip-irrigated spinach with MC-rich water. The results highlight the significance of both the use of MCs-contaminated water in vegetable production and the irrigation method in shaping plant responses as well as health risk due to human and livestock exposure to MCs.

The urban world population will increase from 3 to 8.5 thousand million in the 21st century. Cities become hot spots of both demand for water and global food and for disposed used water and nutrients. Sustainability requires that resource flows through our cities are co-managed and connected to agriculture. Reduced use of harmful chemicals in consumer products facilitates treatment to a quality that allows reuse/recycling of water and nutrients. A solid and liquid waste hierarchy can assist in ordering measures. A novel flexible water balance can guide city infrastructure and keep toilet water separate. New water-saving equipment can substantially reduce water use without losing personal comfort. The combination of these new approaches ascertains access to safe urban water, and that recovered nutrients from cities can substitute half of chemical fertilisers needed in food production. Now, thousands of new cities and suburbs provide unique opportunities to develop resource-smart and sustainable flows.

De acuerdo con el Índice Global del Hambre (GHI, por sus siglas en inglés) de 2012, el hambre a nivel mundial ha disminuido algo desde 1990 pero continúa siendo “serio”. El promedio global enmascara diferencias dramáticas entre regiones y países. A nivel regional, los mayores puntajes del GHI se encuentran en Asia meridional y en el África Subsahariana. Asia meridional redujo sus puntajes de GHI de forma significativa entre 1990 y 1996 —principalmente a través de una reducción en la proporción de niños con bajo peso— pero no pudo mantener este rápido progreso. Y aunque el África Subsahariana progresó menos que Asia meridional en la década de 1990, ha logrado reducir la brecha a partir del nuevo milenio, con un puntaje del GHI en 2012 apenas por debajo del obtenido por Asia meridional. | Non-PR | IFPRI2; GRP24 | COM; MTID; DGO; EPTD; PHND; WCAO

Expone sobre la situación del agua en el Perú en sus tres vertientes hidrográficas, mencionando la disponibilidad de los recursos hídricos, la demanda consuntiva a nivel nacional, el uso agrícola del agua y seguridad alimentaria y la brecha de infraestructura de riego en el Perú. Explica la importancia de la agricultura familiar relacionándola con los lineamientos de la ley de promoción y desarrollo de la agricultura familiar en materia de recursos hídricos. Finalmente, destaca la siembra y la cosecha de agua en el Perú como un aliado de la agricultura familiar.

With well documented and nationally discussed ongoing deterioration and imminent threat to New Zealand’s waterways from global change, triggering a wholesale of freshwater reforms, this study sought to develop a technique that would quantify in high resolution the effects of anthropocene-induced climate change on the hydrology of the Rangitata River basin and the interdependent economic sectors. The conceptual hydrologic and water management model, Water Evaluation and Planning Tool (WEAP) was chosen for the study. The model was calibrated and validated across an equally split 1980-2020 timespan. A Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency of 0.70 was obtained for calibration, and 0.60 for validation. The percent bias was 3% and 2.5%, respectivey, and the root mean squared error to observed standard deviation was 0.55 and 0.61. Dynamically downscaled General Climate Model (GCM) climate change data of daily precipitation and mean temperature were used as forcings in the hindcasting and forecasting of water budget dynamics in the catchment, and assessed in interdecadal time series spanning 1972 to 2100. Future climate change simulations were based on the 5th Climate Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) warmest emissions scenario of anticipated radiative forcings of 8.5 Watts/m2 (RCP8.5), also known as the ‘business-as-usual’ pathway. Climate change datasets from an ensemble of six out of over forty GCMs from the CMIP5 experiments were used to simulate climate change signals across the Food-Energy-Water nexus in the Rangitata basin. Intercomparison among the 6 models used revealed notable level of uncertainty with the projected signals leading to a communication of that uncertainty in the form of ranges of lowest to highest, and average among the 6 variables. Relative to the baseline historical period (1972-2005), and forecasting for the last 21st century decade of 2090s, the simulations reveal that the Rangitata River Upper Reach basin will experience an increase in temperature by 155%±51% during winters that are 15%±13% wetter. Summers will be moderately warmer with an increase of 31%±9%, but projected to be dryier by -3.5%±18.5%. Rangitata River discharge at abstraction point will be 1.5% higher in general, while winter and summer seasons discharge will increaseby 27%±12% and 7.5%±8.5%, respectively. This is due to warmer winters leading to faster snowmelt, coupled with projected more precipitation. Notwithstanding the forecast increase in precipitation in winter in the plains, the hydrologic model predicts an overall 6.5% increase in irrigation demand by the farmers. In winter the demand increases by 7%±4%, while summer needs will be higher by 10%±3%. Actual irrigation would on the whole rise by 7%±4% with winter and summer having 7%±4% and 8%±2% more water being used, respectively. The corresponding supply reliability remains unchanged for the two seasons. For these scenarios it is assumed that the current Rangitata River allocation framework and local production model remains in place for the rest of the 21st century. Under the same conditions, inflows to the Highbank hydropower station located at the end of the supply or delivery canal, which for the greater part of the year outside winter only gets unwanted or residual water, are projected to drop by 7% causing a proportionate reduction in power production. However, winters will have 10%±17% increase in inflows, while summer inflows may decline by -14%±22%. The hydroenergy sector in the RDR scheme would hence be able to produce less under climate change, assuming the current river water allocation framework stands into the future. In summary, the study findings confirm and unpack the likely impacts of climate change in the catchment and demonstrate how the water resource assessment and management tool WEAP can be useful to multisectoral decision makers in an alpine basin of New Zealand.

Securing the growing populations' demand for food energy and water whilst adapting to climate change is extremely challenging. In this regard, bioenergy coupled with carbon capture and storage or utilisation (BECCS/U) is an attractive solution for meeting both the population demand, and offsetting CO₂ emissions. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of BECCS/U pathways utilising CO₂ for agricultural enrichment in enhancing food systems and reducing GHG emissions within the energy, water and food nexus concept. The study bridges negative emissions with CO₂ fertilisation within an integrated system. It consists of a source of CO₂ represented by a biomass-based integrated gasification combined cycle with carbon capture, a CO₂ network for a sustainable CO₂ supply, and a CO₂ sink characterised by agricultural greenhouses. A techno-economic and environmental analysis of each of these subsystems is conducted, feeding to an overall performance analysis of the integrated BECCS/U pathway. Results reveal synergetic opportunities between the energy, water and food subsectors, whereby CO₂ is captured from an energy sub-system and is efficiently utilised to enhance food sub-systems by improving productivity and reducing crop water requirements. Thus, the proposed integrated BECCS/U system is able to improve food availability by enhancing the food system, increasing the yield by 13.8%, whilst reducing crop water requirements by 28%. System outputs resulted in a levelised cost of 0.35 $/kg of agricultural produce when the system is scaled-up, and an abatement of the related environmental burdens throughout the supply chain by achieving negative CO₂ emissions of 24.6 kg/m².year of cultivated land.