Can we expect food security, good nutrition and health in an increasingly water stressed world?

Ph

oto

: Dav

id B

razi

er/I

WM

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www.iwmi.org

Water for a food-secure world

Can we Expect Food Security, Good

Nutrition and Health in an increasingly

Water Stressed World?

Colin Chartres and Pay Drechsel

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• This presentation will illustrate four key

areas which directly or indirectly support

Food Security, Nutrition and Human

health under Water Stress:

– Smart water allocation

– Well managed storage

– Safe wastewater reuse

– Increased water productivity.

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1. Smart water allocation between different

uses

1970s

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• Can We Expect Food Security, Good

Nutrition and Health in an Increasingly

Water-stressed World? Can WeCan We Expect Food Security, Good Nutrition and Health in an Increasingly Water-stressed World? Expect Food SecCan We Expect Food Security, Good Nutrition and Health in an Increasingly Water-stressed World?urity, Good Nutrition and Health in an Increasingly Water-stressed World?

Can We Expect Food Security, Good Nutrition and Health in an Increasingly Water-stressed World?


2020

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How is allocation related to health? In dry environments:

• we have to capture and store as much water as is possible

• reuse as much as possible,

• allocate very smartly between different usages/users, and

• have a best crop per drop efficiency as each drop counts.

The critical point is that far too often water is managed sectorally,

with no national/regional policy that balances out needs and

risks

There is a water-energy-food- health-

environment nexus

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• Can We Expect Food Security, Good

Nutrition and Health in an Increasingly

Water-stressed World?



Example 2. The pros and cons of storage

• A key prevention measure to address water scarcity, and adapt to

climate change is Water Storage.

• Many IWMI & CPWF projects worked on improving storage from

institutional, hydrological and health perspectives.

• Storage is a very sensitive options closely related to a variety of

possible health challenges, which can, however, be mitigated.

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• Can We Expect Food Security,

Good Nutrition and Health in an

Increasingly Water-stressed

World?

Technology and Investment – investing in

water storage

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Low per capita storage (m3/capita)

World Bank (2003)

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Water storage • Focus on water for agriculture, incl. livestock;

• Integrated into most water systems

• Save water over time for access at critical periods

• Diverted from rivers, rainwater harvesting, aquifers

• High variety

– Tanks, reservoirs

– Groundwater

– Large / small

– Open / closed

– Man-made / natural

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Health risks of open water

• Risk of drowning,

• Water quality issues,

• Vector-borne diseases, like increased malaria

transmission associated with:

– Small reservoirs

– Surface irrigation (estates & small-scale)

– Rainwater harvesting ponds

– Livestock watering

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Case Ethiopia

Koka reservoir in a relatively low- risk malaria zone

(Source: MoH & WHO 2007)

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Koka

• Reservoir crucial for livestock watering

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y = -27.51ln(x) + 62.462R² = 0.9149

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Observed Predicted Water level change

Koka • Malaria cases correlate

with

– Distance from reservoirs

– Water level fluctuations

(Source: Kibret et al. 2009)

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(Source: Lautze 2008)

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Micro-scale analysis

• Adult Anopheles more abundant closer to reservoir

• More breeding sites near shore line, mainly in livestock hoof prints

(Source: Lautze 2008)

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Malaria at Koka Lake, Rift Valley • Increased transmission near lake related to water management

• Research result: Decision support for dam operation based on larval control via water level fluctuation is possible and grazing access needs to be controlled

• However, nothing was done because the government decided that the need for electricity was paramount

• Subsequent analysis has shown that there would be minimal impact on power generation by implementation of a water management regime to reduce malaria risk

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Malaria Risk mapping at basin and national

scale

no cases reported

1 - 5

6 - 50

51 - 100

101 - 200

201- 500

>500

Tanks/rivers

Major roads

Malaria cases

per 1000 inhabitants

Example

Sri Lanka

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Annual cost of malaria control

per individual protected

US$

Insecticide spraying 2.75

Impregnated bed nets 1.02

Larviciding 0.53

Water management 0.26

Konradsen et al. (1999)

Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 77: 301-309

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Wastewater generation

Farm worker Traders Kitchen staff Consumer

Wastewat treatment

Safe Irrigation Praices

Hygienic Handling Practices

Safe food washing and preparation

Awareness creation to create

demand for safe produce

Non- or post-treatment options for health risk reduction

1989 WHO Guidelines Example 3: The need for water reuse

Key question: How to reuse wastewater safely where there are no sewers and treatment plants e.g. due to water scarcity?

Research is focusing on:

• Actual risk assessment and

• Low-cost risk mitigation sing the multiple barrier approach where conventional treatment is lacking

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Wastewater treatment

Safe Irrigation Practices

Hygienic Handling Practices

Safe food washing and preparation

Awareness creation to create

demand for safe produce

Non- or post-treatment options for health risk reduction

Irrigation water

quality thresholds


Wastewater treatment


1989 WHO Guidelines WHO-FAO-UNEP (2006)

Health-based

targets

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Wastewater and faecal sludge treatment

plants in Ghana

Operational Status

How many of them work ?

Source: Murray & Drechsel, 2011

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• Drip and furrow irrigation • Sedimentation ponds • Cessation of irrigation • Filter • Limited soil splash • Improved water fetching • Increased retention time • On-farm treatment ponds

Farm based options for risk

reduction

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• Supporting die-off • Display w/o recontamination • Safe washing & refreshing • Safe cutting practices, etc.

Market based

options

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Effective & safe vegetable washing

Street

food

sector

based

options

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Research is informed by field work across Asia and Africa

Ouagadougou

IWMI Offices 2010 Water Quality, Heath & Environment Other IWMI projects

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Research produced many options for health risk reduction

which supported efforts by WHO and FAO and fed into

international guidelines

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Source: IWMI, 2009

Risk assessment in

Ghana’s 5 biggest cities:

Daily risk is with

2,500- 3,000 farmers and traders of exotic vegetables 20,000-26,000 staff of street food restaurants, 600,000- 800,000 street food consumers

12,000 lost DALYs*/year

*DALYs: Disability Adjusted Life Years

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Hazard comparison for Accra, Ghana, via different exposure pathways

Flooding of main river passing city

Swimming at Accra's beaches

94 $/DALY

>500 $/DALY Children exposed to open drains

Failure of WWTP

Faecal sludge disposal exposure

Workers exposed at WWTPs

Contaminated drinking water pipes

Wastewater irrigated vegetables

*DALYs: Disability Adjusted Life Years , *WWTP: Waste Water Treatment Plant Sources: Labite et al., 2010; IWMI, 2009

Cost-effectiveness of interventions:

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Example 4. Increasing Water Productivity

In terms of health and water productivity there are two key challenges: • Feeding over 2 billion more people a nutritious diet • Dealing with overeating and waste

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Food for Thought

• Based on a 2500 cal/day diet water demand under

business as usual will increase to approximately 13,000

km3 by 2050 1

• Growing GDP is encouraging the increased consumption

of animal proteins, which require more water to produce

• Wastage of food due to on-farm losses and in the

supply/consumption chain is unacceptably high

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• 5

Nutritional intake in India

→ Share of calorie supply from grain will decrease

→ More than half the calorie supply will be from non-grain products by 2050

← Per capita calorie from food

grains is declining in the 1990’s

← Vegetables and animal products

consumption is increasing

Changing consumption patterns

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Changing consumption patterns

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Source: 1961-2001 data from FAOSTAT , IWMI RR 119

, IWMI RR 119

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How do we increase productivity?

• Doubling crop and water productivity in poorly performing systems in 20 years via:

– Coordinating supply and demand in water delivery in

irrigation

– Improving conjunctive use of surface and groundwater to minimize salinization

– Consider supplementary irrigation options in rainfed systems

– Improving fertilizer management

– Reforming governance and institutions

– Empowering farmers

– Developing multiple use water systems

– Ensuring access to finance and markets

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Productivity of Water at 40 Irrigation Systems:

There is ample scope for improvement.

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• Reduce waste and excessive consumption

Food waste, EU27: 179 kg/cap, year (2010)

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So can we expect food security, good nutrition

and health in a water stressed world

Yes if we:

• carefully balance the need for food production with other domestic

and ecosystem water demands

• reduce water loss through harvesting, storage and recycling

• increase water productivity in food production.

Harmonizing agricultural production with the

environment and learning to understand the

value of ecosystem services will be the

biggest challenge

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But this means:

• Throwing out business as usual approaches

• Focusing on better water governance and institutions to improve allocation processes

• Harmonizing agriculture and water management using basin/landscape approaches to support vital ecosystem services

• Proactively managing water to limit disease risks

• Recycling and reusing waste water and nutrients

• Reducing over consumption and food waste

Can we expect food security, good nutrition and health in an increasingly water stressed world?

Documents

water systems

food health

foodsecure world

water storage focus

smart water allocation

increased water productivity

water quality issues

environment nexus water