The Water, Energy and Food Security Nexus- is it really new?

Gerald Lacey Memorial Lecture

Jeremy Bird, IWMI12 May 2014

Ringler, Bhaduri and Lawford, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability , Science Direct,

2014 in press

Correlation of food and energy prices – and rising

Global Risks Report 2014, World Economic Forum

‘Water crisis’ is the third highest

global risk

..extreme weather, climate change and

biodiversity loss also very high

Nexus- why worry now?

Agricultural water productivity gains reduce water and

energy consumption

Energy efficiency measures can reduce

water footprint

Sectoral “nexus wins”

Subsidy on electricity for groundwater

pumping for irrigation

Shift to more water intensive energy mix,

e.g. fracking

Sectoral “nexus losers”

…water, energy provision and food security certainly lie at the heart of climate compatible development. An emphasis on explicit negotiation of trade-offs in delivery of these water-energy-food services could enhance climate compatible development approaches.

Looking at how ‘nexus thinking’ and ‘climate compatible development’ approaches could complement each other is a fruitful area for further exploration. (Mairi Dupar, CKDN )

More complex than just water, energy and food ….

Other sectors are taking water seriously – have we found the entry point for dialogue?

Proportion of energy inputs to irrigated agriculture Source: T. Jackson and MA Hanjra in Sustanable Energy Solutions in Agriculture, 2014

Surface irrigated Groundwater irrigated

Increase policy coherence• Identify synergies and trade-offs and incentivize cooperation

Accelerate access• Prioritize access for the poor and marginalized to water, sanitation, energy and food

Create more with less• sustainable intensification use of land and water, increasing resource productivity

End waste and minimize losses• To reduce demands on water, land and energy, and turn waste into a resource

Value natural infrastructure• Secure, improve and restore the multi-functional values of biodiversity

Mobilize consumer influence • encouraging the catalytic role of consumers

Bonn2011 Nexus: Key messages

Significant differences in water use intensity of biofuels

Different situations require

different solutions

– e.g. reducing food waste in

different contexts

New partnerships are addressing nexus issues

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Wiley, 2013

Extensive coverage in the research community

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But, is the nexus new?

.. compared to basin planning and regional development

Mahaweli Authority, Sri Lanka

Trade off – irrigation and hydropower production – Kotmale dam - Mahaweli system, Sri Lanka

Peronne and Hornberger, Wiley, 2013

Integrated Water Resources Management

Acknowledgements to GWP

….a process which promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources in order to maximise economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems.

… a cross-sectoral policy approach, designed to replace the traditional, fragmented sectoral approach to water resources and management that has led to poor services and unsustainable resource use.

Some question the efficacy of IWRM

1. “Ideas of IWRM are fine, but costs of IWRM implementation must not be forgotten

2. IWRM principles should not have a monopoly on potential solutions.

3. There are imperfect alternatives to the IWRM package and its components that can solve real world water problems

4. An implemented, imperfect solution is usually better than an unimplemented ideal”. M. Giodarno and T. Shah

Nexus dimension to much of IWMI’s work

Sustainable groundwater use

Revisiting water storage

Balancing built and natural infrastructure

Recycling waste

Urban expansion

Water Storage Continuum

Source: McCartney & Smakhtin 2010

Reduce vulnerabilities, enhance resilience through complementary solutions

Underground Taming of Floods for Irrigation (UTFI)Source: Pavelic 2012

www.iwmi.orgWater for a food-secure world

E.g. new approaches to rehabilitate and adapt

• For example, encourage distributed storage to improve system flexibility and reliability e.g. Rajasthan: farm-storages; Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh: village tanks replenished by canal water

• Modernize irrigation systems e.g. pressurized systems

Groundwater – a clear nexus issuetwo contrasting cases from India

1. Gujarat - ‘free’ electricity encouraged groundwater overuse

2. Eastern Gangetic Plain – barriers to access

Jyotigram in Gujarat – separate feeders• Pragmatic solution - separation of

electricity supply to villages and pumps• Outcome - reduced electricity use, less

groundwater use, improved power supply to domestic users

Tushaar Shah, IWMI

Halved subsidy to agriculture

Reduced groundwater overdraft

Increased yields

Spurred rural non-farm enterprises

Now rolling out in other states

Result in Gujarat

West Bengal – easing regulatory and pricing barriers

• Agricultural growth in West Bengal had slumped by more than half

• Research identified that a major obstacle to agricultural productivity was getting access to groundwater

• New policies recommended by IWMI were adopted to reduce ‘red-tape’ and improve groundwater access for smallholder farmers.

• The policy change could benefit more than 5.6 million smallholders

Uniting agriculture and nature for poverty reduction

Aral Sea Basin Groundwater irrigation (GWI) has higher energy and water use

efficiency compared to traditional Lift Irrigation (LI)Crop Water productivity,

kg/m3

Energy productivity (kg/Kwh)

  LI GWI LI GWI         

Cotton 0.19 0.21 0.25 2.10 Vegetables 0.59 1.00 1.65 7.93 Maize for silage 1.99 1.46 2.61 14.17 Sorghum 0.55 1.66 1.54 3.30 Alfalfa 0.59 0.78 0.78 1.56 Apricots 0.16 0.51 0.44 4.92

Grapevines 0.11 0.70 0.15 1.37

GW irrigation

…back on the agenda in Africa and India – groundwater a major source

Unlocking the potential for smallholder agriculture to

improve the lives of smallholder farmers in 5 countries in sub-Saharan

Africa and 2 states in India

Small-scale irrigation

(Giordano et al, 2012)

Development puts pressure on electricity, groundwater supply and water quality - Jaffna

Urban expansion - Hyderabad, 2003-14

Pulling water in from an increasing distance Hyderabad, India

Krishna RiverHimayat Sagar

Osman Sagar

GW

Musi River

GW – Ground WaterNJS – Nagarjuna Sagar reservoir

HyderabadWaste water irrigation

industry

Godavari Basin

Krishna Basin

NJS

Basin Border

Musi River

P ETManjira

Singur

Godavari River water

Water pum

ped

Water pumped

Source: van Rooijen, D.; Turral, H.; Biggs, T.W. 2005. Sponge city: Water balance of mega-city water use and wastewater use in Hyderabad, India. Irrigation and Drainage 54: 81-91.

Water quality improves over 40 km along the Musi River

Hyderabad

Sources: IWMI/J. Ensink

Managing transfers from rural to urban - Zhanghe Irrigation District, China

• Top-down approach with water reallocated to cities

• Farmers “induced” to respond with construction of 1000s of small reservoirs to capture runoff and return flow.

• Research provided ways to grow more rice with less water through alternative wetting and drying and extension got the message out.

Result - less water, but stable production

Agricultural production levels maintained…

…as allocation to agriculture reduced and transferred to urban use

In most cities in sub-Saharan Africa, S. Asia and SE Asia, population growth has outpaced the development of sanitation infrastructure, making the management of urban waste, human excreta and wastewater ineffective. Investment in treatment will not catch up for decades.

Waste – another nexus issue

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Dilutedwastewateror polluted

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Untreatedwastewater

Groundwater Treatedwastewater

River Othersurface

water bodies

Rainfed Irrigationcanal

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Source: IWMI, RR 127

Global survey of irrigation source in urban and peri-urban areas:In and around three of four cities in the developing world, farmers use

polluted irrigation water for the production of high-value crops

Challenge:closing the

nutrient loop

?

Enhance efficient resource use and reuse

Waste to fertilizer – closing the nutrient loop

Co-composting

Introducing business models to turn waste into an asset

• Solid waste and fecal sludge composting

in Asia and Africa could save billions of

US$ per year, assuming a market for

only 25% of the urban organic waste.

• Not a new concept, but many pilots not

viable or sustainable

• Business models for resource recovery

& reuse (RRR) target private and public

investors and business schools.

Resource recovery and reuse - Sustainable waste and wastewater treatment Source: DrechselNexus benefits:

Energy reduction in: Water treatment, chemical fertilizer production and transport

Environmental benefits: Reduced pollution of water bodies, reduced nitrogen and phosphorous demand, reduced GHG emissions

Interactions between “agricultural” and “natural” ecosystems – providing multiple servicesSources: McCartney, Senaratne Sellamuttu, de Silva

Sustainable use of wetlands: fulfilling multiple needs throughecosystem services including food production, fisheries, storage

Benefit from functioning ecosystems

Natural basin

CropsHydropower

Industrial Regulation of water balance

Erosion control

Climate regulationSoil

formation

Nutrient cycling

Recreation

CropsHydropower

Industrial Regulation of water balance

Erosion control

Climate regulationSoil

formation

Nutrient cycling

Recreation

Intensively utilized basin

CropsHydropower

Industrial Regulation of water balance

Erosion control

Climate regulationSoil

formation

Nutrient cycling

Recreation

Multifunctional “green” basinProvisioning services

Regulatory services

Cultural services

Supporting services

Acknowledgements: Meynell, P-J.

Constructed wetlands in reservoirs

Mekong: influence

of upstream

dams – dry season 2014

Source: MRCS

www.iwmi.orgA water-secure world

Sri Lanka Environmental Flow Calculator (SLEFC) A software package to provide a preliminary planning estimate of how much water should be left in rivers to ensure they remain healthy

Awareness raising is spreading Knowledge base expanding Analytic tools being developed Increasing evidence of engagement across sectors, particularly

private sector

? Policy formulation – still predominantly sector based

? Planning systems mainly fragmented

Nexus scorecard

Concluding thoughts on the nexus No its not entirely new, but ‘the nexus’ frames the debate differently at

a time of heightened competition – it has convening power There is no single nexus – multi-dimensional – water, energy, food,

land, climate change, natural resources, etc In a world of increasing water demands, the consequences of not

taking a cross-sectoral approach are more significant now than a generation ago

We shouldn’t turn nexus concept into a structured framework – its value lies in its principles and flexibility

Doesn’t displace other forms of planning (regulatory frameworks, SEA, IWRM, etc), but provides a focus or ‘lens’ for integration

Important to extend the knowledge base and analysis of nexus issues Ultimate test is who is ‘sitting at the table’ to discuss the consequences

and implications of policy and planning interventions

Uniting agriculture and nature for poverty reduction

Water, Land and Ecosystems Program

. . . with targeted interventions in a number of priority focal regions

iwmi.orgCGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and

Ecosystems

wle.cgiar.org