This sourcebook entitled “Addressing water,food and poverty problems together: Methods,tools and lessons” is part of a wider process to capitalize on results from the Phase 1 of CPWF (2004-2008). Phase 1 of CPWF cast its net widely. Sixty-eight individual research projects were carried out in ten river basins around the world. The learning was immense. Unfortunately, many Phase 1 lessons and experiences are locked away in people’s minds or hidden in long technical and scientific reports that are difficult to access, particularly for non-researchers. The articles in the sourcebook provide development professionals and the wider research for development community with concise information on methodologies, approaches and lessons learned on agriculture water management. The articles are not intended to provide comprehensive information on the project nor are they intended to serve as project summaries. Typically, one or more aspects of the research, usually an approach, have been highlighted in the source book article. There are some limitations to the articles themselves as the reports and journal articles are often from research that took place three to four years ago and has not been updated. The sourcebook is divided into 12 chapters. Chapter 1 provides a short overview of the CPWF project, based on its strategic and medium term plans. Chapter 2 discusses water in the context of food production and security, information that is based on CPWF’s Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management for Agriculture (2007). Chapter 3 has three articles all based on Basin Focal Point (BFP) project outputs previously published in Water International (Issues 35 and 36). As such, Chapter 3 provides an overview of river basin issues and discusses in some detail the connection between poverty, water and food. Chapters 4 to 12 are drawn from CPWF project level engagement in the various river basins. These chapters focus on innovative frameworks, methods, approaches and tools. Each chapter consists of a cluster of articles, each standing on its own. Sourcebook articles were repackaged from previously written material. This means that secondary materials - primarily project reports and peer-reviewed journal articles – were used as the basis for creating these articles. Professional writers and artists were employed as part of this effort and an initial workshop was held with CPWF partners to get feedback on the initial drafts. After improvements, project leaders and external reviewers commented and approved the repackaged articles.

The world economy is under pressure for greater, more efficient and more sustainable use of natural resources to meet complementary and competing objectives in the food, water and energy sectors. Interactions between these three sectors have become increasingly affected by the bioeconomy—a concept that encompasses economic growth driven by the development of renewable biological resources and biotechnologies to produce sustainable products, employment and income. This article explores how water and the bioeconomy are interlinked, including how the constraints from growing water scarcity—in part caused by development of the bioeconomy—may influence bioeconomic growth. The article describes the impact of biofuel production on water quantity and quality and examines the potential for improved water use through the development of crop biotechnology and improved crop management. Then alternative scenarios for water in the bioeconomy are assessed, and policy conclusions are presented.

PR | IFPRI3; ISI; CRP5 | EPTD; MTID | CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE)

CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE) | Rosegrant Mark W. et al., 'Water and food in the bioeconomy: challenges and opportunities for development', Agricultural Economics 44, IFPRI, 2013

Assessing future water requirements for feeding the growing population of Central Asia can improve understanding of the projected water supply scenarios in the region. Future water requirements will be partially determined by the dietary habits of the populations, and are thus responsive to significant variation of income levels. Using Uzbekistan as an example, this study projects the water footprints of income driven changes on the population's diet in Central Asia. To reveal the influence of large income changes on dietary habits a Normalized Quadratic-Quadratic Expenditure System was calibrated and applied to data from 2009. The national water footprints of food consumption in Uzbekistan were projected until 2034 by applying the parameterized demand system to estimate the respective water footprint values. The results showed that for Uzbekistan the projected increase in the food consumption water footprint would be primarily linked to income growth rather than population growth. Due to the high water footprint of common food products, the composition of the population’s diet, and responsiveness to income, economic growth is expected to put greater pressure on water resources in Uzbekistan unless proper measures are undertaken.

The world economy is under pressure for greater, more efficient and more sustainable use of natural resources to meet complementary and competing objectives in the food, water and energy sectors. Interactions between these three sectors have become increasingly affected by the bioeconomy—a concept that encompasses economic growth driven by the development of renewable biological resources and biotechnologies to produce sustainable products, employment and income. This article explores how water and the bioeconomy are interlinked, including how the constraints from growing water scarcity—in part caused by development of the bioeconomy—may influence bioeconomic growth. The article describes the impact of biofuel production on water quantity and quality and examines the potential for improved water use through the development of crop biotechnology and improved crop management. Then alternative scenarios for water in the bioeconomy are assessed, and policy conclusions are presented.

Inorganic arsenic (iAs) in drinking water and food items has been associated with lung and bladder cancers in several countries including Pakistan. In present study water, food items were collected from Arsenic (As) endemic areas (southern part of Pakistan) during 2008–2012, to evaluate its impact on the health of local population. Exposure of As was checked by analyzing biological samples (blood and scalp hairs) of male lung and bladder cancer patients (smokers and non-smokers). For comparative purpose the healthy subjects of same age group and residential area as exposed referents (EXR) and from non-contaminated area (Hyderabad, Pakistan) as non-exposed referents (NER) were also selected. As concentration in drinking water, food and biological samples were analyzed using electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. The validation of technique was done by the analysis of certified reference material (CRM) of blood and hair samples. The As contents in drinking water and food were found 3–15-folds elevated than permissible limits, where as in biological samples; EXR have 2–3-folds higher than NER and cancer patients have 5–9-folds higher than NER. The significant difference was observed in smokers (P < 0.01). The outcomes of the study revealed that As levels were elevated in blood and scalp hair samples of both types of cancer subjects as compared to referents (P < 0.001). It was observed that the lung cancer patients (LCP) have 20–35% higher levels of As in both biological samples as compared to bladder cancer patients (BCP) due to smoking habit. This study has proved the correlation among As contaminated water, food and cigarette smoking between different types of cancer risks.

Lance Heath et al., 'Climate and Security in Asia and the Pacific (Food, Water and Energy)', Advances in Global Change Research, pp.129-198, Springer Netherlands, 2013 | The impacts of increasing natural climate disasters are threatening food security in the Asia-Pacific region. Rice is Asia�??s most important staple food. Climate variability and change directly impact rice production, through changes in rainfall, temperature and CO2 concentrations. The key for sustainable rice crop is water management. Adaptation can occur through shifts of cropping to higher latitudes and can profit from river systems (via irrigation) so far not considered. New opportunities arise to produce more than one crop per year in cooler areas. Asian wheat production in 2005 represents about 43 % of the global total. Changes in agronomic practices, such as earlier plant dates and cultivar substitution will be required. Fisheries play a crucial role in providing food security with the contribution of fish to dietary animal protein being very high in the region �?? up to 90 % in small island developing states (SIDS). With the warming of the Pacific and Indian Oceans and increased acidification, marine ecosystems are presently under stress. Despite these trends, maintaining or enhancing food production from the sea is critical. However, future sustainability must be maintained whilst also securing biodiversity conservation. Improved fisheries management to address the existing non-climate threats remains paramount in the Indian and Pacific Oceans with sustainable management regimes being established. Climate-related impacts are expected to increase in magnitude over the coming decades, thus preliminary adaptation to climate change is valuable