Your search found 3 records
1 Hanjra, M. A.; Blackwell, J.; Carr, G.; Zhang, F.; Jackson, T. M.. 2012. Wastewater irrigation and environmental health: implications for water governance and public policy. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, 215(3):255-269. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2011.10.003]
Wastewater irrigation ; Risks ; Environmental health ; Water governance ; Public policy ; Water demand ; Climate change ; Carbon ; Urbanization ; Poverty ; Crop production ; Nutrients ; Public health ; Economic analysis ; Social aspects ; Soil salinity ; Aquaculture
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H045598)
(0.24 MB)
Climate change is a large-scale and emerging environmental risk. It challenges environmental health and the sustainability of global development. Wastewater irrigation can make a sterling contribution to reducing water demand, recycling nutrients, improving soil health and cutting the amount of pollutants discharged into the waterways. However, the resource must be carefully managed to protect the environment and public health. Actions promoting wastewater reuse are every where, yet the frameworks for the protection of human health and the environment are lacking in most developing countries. Global change drivers including climate change, population growth, urbanization, income growth, improvements in living standard, industrialization, and energy intensive lifestyle will all heighten water management challenges. Slowing productivity growth, falling investment in irrigation, loss of biodiversity, risks to public health, environmental health issues such as soil salinity, land degradation, land cover change and water quality issues add an additional layer of complexity. Against this backdrop, the potential for wastewater irrigation and its benefits and risks are examined. These include crop productivity, aquaculture, soil health, groundwater quality, environmental health, public health, infrastructure constraints, social concerns and risks, property values, social equity, and poverty reduction. It is argued that, wastewater reuse and nutrient capture can contribute towards climate change adaptation and mitigation. Benefits such as avoided freshwater pumping and energy savings, fertilizer savings, phosphorous capture and prevention of mineral fertilizer extraction from mines can reduce carbon footprint and earn carbon credits. Wastewater reuse in agriculture reduces the water footprint of food production on the environment; it also entails activities such as higher crop yields and changes in cropping patterns, which also reduce carbon footprint. However, there is a need to better integrate water reuse into core water governance frameworks in order to effectively address the challenges and harness the potential of this vital resource for environmental health protection. The paper also presents a blueprint for future water governance and public policies for the protection of environmental health.
2 Jackson, T. M.; Hanjra, M. A.; Khan, C.; Hafeez, M. M. 2011. Building a climate resilient farm: a risk based approach for understanding water, energy and emissions in irrigated agriculture. Agricultural Systems, 104(9):729-745.
Climate change ; Uncertainty ; Sensitivity analysis ; Irrigation methods ; Irrigation requirements ; Emission ; Irrigated farming ; Risks ; Groundwater irrigation ; Models ; Carbon ; Energy consumption ; Water management ; Surface water ; Crop production / Australia
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H045612)
(0.63 MB)
The links between water application, energy consumption and emissions are complex in irrigated agriculture. There is a need to ensure that water and energy use is closely considered in future industry planning and development to provide practical options for adaptation and to build resilience at the farm level. There is currently limited data available regarding the uncertainty and sensitivity associated with water application and energy consumption in irrigated crop production in Australia. This paper examines water application and energy consumption relationships for different irrigation systems, and the ways in which the uncertainty of different parameters impacts on these relationships and associated emissions for actual farms. This analysis was undertaken by examining the current water and energy patterns of crop production at actual farms in two irrigated areas of Australia (one using surface water and the other groundwater), and then modelling the risk/uncertainty and sensitivity associated with the link between water and energy consumption at the farm scale. Results showed that conversions from gravity to pressurised irrigation methods reduced water application, but there was a simultaneous increase in energy consumption in surface irrigation areas. In groundwater irrigated areas, the opposite is true; the use of pressurised irrigation methods can reduce water application and energy consumption by enhancing water use efficiency. Risk and uncertainty analysis quantified the range of water and energy use that might be expected for a given irrigation method for each farm. Sensitivity analysis revealed the contribution of climatic (evapotranspiration and rainfall) and technical factors (irrigation system efficiency, pump efficiency, suction and discharge head) impacting the uncertainty and the model output and waterenergy system performance in general. Flood irrigation systems were generally associated with greater uncertainty than pressurised systems. To enhance resilience at the farm level, the optimum situation envisaged an irrigation system that minimises water and energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Where surface water is used, well designed and managed flood irrigation systems will minimise the operating energy and carbon equivalent emissions. Where groundwater is the dominant use, the optimum system is a well designed and managed pressurised system operating at the lowest discharge pressure possible that will still allow for efficient irrigation. The findings might be useful for farm level risk mitigation strategies in surface and groundwater systems, and for aiding adaptation to climate change.
3 Hanjra, Munir A.; Ferede, T.; Blackwell, J.; Jackson, T. M.; Abbas, A. 2013. Global food security: facts, issues, interventions and public policy implications. In Hanjra, Munir A. (Ed.). Global food security: emerging issues and economic implications. New York, NY, USA: Nova Science Publishers. pp.1-35. (Global Agriculture Developments)
Food security ; Food production ; Public policy ; Poverty ; Hunger ; Ecosystem services ; Information systems ; Gender ; Social aspects ; Income ; Population growth ; Water management ; Water scarcity
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H046150)
(11.63 MB)
The global food security situation and outlook remains delicately imbalanced amid surplus food production and the prevalence of hunger, due to the complex interplay of social, economic, and ecological factors that mediate food security outcomes at various human and institutional scales. A growing population and rising incomes with the resultant nutritional transition of millions more people entering into the middle class are some of the unprecedented challenges that mankind has never handled before. Food production outpaced food demand over the past 50 years due to expansion in crop area and irrigation, as well as supportive policy and institutional interventions that led to the fast and sustained growth in agricultural productivity and improved food security in many parts of the world. However, future predictions point to a slow-down in agricultural productivity and a food-gap mainly in areas across Africa and Asia which are having ongoing food security issues. The problem of food insecurity is expected to worsen due to, among others, rapid population growth and other emerging challenges such as climate change and rising demand for biofuels. Climate change poses complex challenges in terms of increased variability and risk for food producers and the energy and water sectors. The major existing and emerging challenges to global food security are discussed in this chapter, giving relevant examples from around the world. Strategic research priorities are outlined for a range of sectors that underpin global food security, including: agriculture, ecosystem services from agriculture, climate change, international trade, water management solutions, the water-energy-food security nexus, service delivery to smallholders and women farmers, and better governance models and regional priority setting. There is a need to look beyond agriculture and invest in affordable and suitable farm technologies if the problem of food insecurity is to be addressed in a sustainable manner. This requires both revisiting the current approach of agricultural intervention and reorienting the existing agricultural research institutions and policy framework. Proactive interventions and policies for tackling food security are discussed which include issues such as agriculture for development, ecosystem services from agriculture, and gender mainstreaming, to extend the focus on food security within and beyond the agriculture sector, by incorporating cross-cutting issues such as energy security, resource reuse and recovery, social protection programs, and involving civil society in food policy making processes by promoting food sovereignty.
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