Waterways
...n, 2001, cited in UNEP, 2002, 159) As a consequence of global warming, natural disasters such as floods and droughts will increase- both affecting freshwater and food security. For Africa, rainfall has been decreasing each year. (dawn till dusk, 2003) In Africa, the average annual rainfall varies from 935km³ as in the Democratic Republic of Congo to 0.4km³ in Mauritania. (UNDP, UNEP, World Bank and WRI, 2000 cited in UNEP, 2002, 159) In the mid 1990’s, 40% of the world’s population were encountering severe water shortages. (CSD, 1997: cited in UNEP, 2002, 150) 13 African countries are suffering from water stress or scarcity, (less than 1,700m³/per capita/year and 1,000m³/per capita/year) (PAI, 1995, cited in UNEP, 2002, 159) The only area that is safe at the moment from drought is the humid tropical belt of Central and West Africa. In less than 30 years even these countries will become vulnerable to the changing weather conditions. (From dawn till dusk, 2003) (See Figure 1.) Between the early 1960’s and the late 1990’s the world’s population almost doubled. (UN/WWAP, 2003, 194) The exponential growth in population had Neo-Malthusians in the 1960’s reiterating the concerns made by Rev. T.R. Malthus from the 18th Century that the world would not be able to feed the growing number of people. They believed that while the population is increasing exponentially, agricultural production would only increase arithmetically. (Peacock, 1953, 68-70) The industrialization of agriculture from the late 19th century till the late 20th century maximised the productive potential of global agriculture and the production of food has been sufficient to demand. (UN/WWAP, 2003, 194) There were 3 sources of the growth in this crop production; first, there was a 12% expansion of arable land worldwide. However, due to the population increase and degradation of existing arable land, the per capita ratio of land decreased from 0.43ha to 0.26ha. (UN/WWAP, 2003, 201) Second, there was an increase in cropping intensities and thirdly there was an increase in yield growth. The last two points were realised by the occurrence of the ‘green revolution.’ In the 1950’s, a group of US agricultural scientists set up a research project to develop different seed varieties into producing higher yielding crops. (Knox and Marston, 2004, 316) To produce maximum crop yield, the soil required a variety of inputs including the seeds, water, fertilizers and pesticides. (Knox and Marston, 2004, 316) If produced correctly (with all the inputs) farmers would harvest crops twice the size. (Knox and Marston, 2004, 316) Also, the new seed varieties were designed to produce faster maturing crops, so farmers had the opportunity to harvest crops more than once a year, increasing the farmers’ individual wealth. (Knox and Marston, 2004, 316) The ‘green revolution’ was heavily dependent on water to maximise crop production. High priority was given to irrigation investment that made water available to farmers (UN/WWAP, 2003, 216.) While crop production has doubled, water dependency has increased threefold. (Pearce, 2004, 36) A positive link has been identified between irrigation, the alleviation of poverty and food security; irrigation can transform a landscape and can mean the difference between poverty and being able to supply the household with food and economic gains from surpluses. (UN/WWAP, 2003, 213) In India, for example 69% of farmers are poor in non-irrigated areas contrasting to only 26% poor in irrigated areas. (UN/WWAP, 2003, 213) Agriculture now uses 70% of all freshwater resources with most of this being used on irrigation. (FAO, n.d., 1) Irrigation provides farmers with increased production and consequentially, a stable income. During the green revolution, there were high levels of investment in irrigation to make the water needed to produce good crops available. Much of the resulting irrigation technology was poorly designed and has lead to high water wastage with poor drainage intensifying soil degradation. (UN/WWAP, 2003, 216) In South Africa up to 50 per cent of irrigation water is lost due to leakages. (Global water Partnership, 2000 cited in UNEP, 2002, 159) In some regions the lack of constancy in rainfall has lead to farmers heavily relying on groundwater resources for their irrigation. Unlike surface water reserves, groundwater provides distributive equity to farmers and has lead to many farmers investing in groundwater technology. (UN/WWAP, 2003, 209) Groundwater takes about 1,400 years to replace and in many countries it is being drained faster than the natural rate of recharge. (FAO, 1998, cited in Mwakabwale et al, 2000, 1) Groundwater contributes to 15% of Africa’s water consumption. (UNEP, 2002, 159) Abstraction of ground water may raise food production, indicating greater food security; however, the depletion of the natural resource base that these commodities depend on is not factored into the cost. When Farmers draw water from an aquifer they are not accounting for the costs that are associated with the lowering of the water table that will be costly to fix and will affect their production in the future. Many times the actual cost of agriculture exceeds the market price of the produce. (Dasgupta , 2000, 128-129) Depleting ground water supplies accounts for the production of 10% of global harvest (Mwakabwale et al, 2000, 3.) The World Bank is predicting that by 2025, water scarcity, derived from the depletion of groundwater will cut the global food production by 350million tonnes a year. (Pearce, 2004, 37) The success of the green revolution did not spread to all areas of the globe, one reason being that the crops researched, wheat, rice and maize, are unsuitable to many climates. Research on more drought tolerant crops, like sorghum and millet, has not taken off. (Knox and Marston, 2004, 317) The difficulty in developing these crops is that drought resistance is associated with low yields. (UN/WWAP, 2003, 204) Poor soil quality and low water resources left much of Africa without the benefits of increased food production that Asia, North America and Europe experienced. Only 4% of arable land in Sub-Saharan Africa is irrigated. (FAO, n.d., 1) Irrigation schemes in the area are some of the most expensive and without investment in irrigation, farmers can not afford to irrigate their crops. (UN/WWAP, 2003, 204) Without adequate water, farmers are less likely to invest in quality seeds or inputs. (FAO, n.d., 2) As large scale irrigation plans have high social, environmental and financial costs, farmers are choosing not to invest in them. (FAO, n.d., 2) Studies of a few small scale irrigation projects in Burkina Faso and The United Republic of Tanzania show that small dams, wells and canals built in the villages has generated income through increased agricultural productivity. There were many other benefits associated with these projects; including giving women time to start market gardens to raise some extra cash. (FAO, n.d., 1.) The increased demand for water has resulted from a growing population and the inevitable increase in food production to supply the population. However, it is not just the sheer demand for water that is posing the biggest threat to freshwater resources and food security; the mismanagement of land and water resources has lead to widespread land degradation and a steep decline in water quality. Efforts to intensify agriculture have lead to soil degradation through erosion, chemical deterioration, loss of texture, waterlogging, and salinity. (Bowonder, 1981, cited in Saeed, 20...