Stockholm International Water Institute » agriculture

SIWI food waste video to be screened at the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit

Sanna — Mon, 16 Sep 2013 08:48:01 +0000

This Thursday September 19 the short film WASTE, a collaboration between SIWI, UNEP, WWF Germany and FAO, will be screened at the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit in New York.

The video illuminates the environmental cost of food waste and presents a comprehensive overview of the negative effects of wasting food. A tremendous amount of water can be saved by reducing losses and waste of food. By curbing food waste, energy is saved and the emission of greenhouse gases can be reduced. Equally important, consumers can save a great deal of money by not letting their food go to waste.

The video will be screened during the UNEP Side Event “The Global Environmental Impact of Food Waste”. Read more on the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit website.

Watch the video directly

Watch the video in different languages

What should be the price of water?

Sanna — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 17:45:02 +0000

As the world’s population grows fast, there will be even more of us to share an already limited amount of water.

Paying for water will inevitably be a part of life. But, who should pay and what sort of water use should we pay for? Should we pay for washing our clothes? For cleaning our cars? Should a farmer pay to irrigate his lands?

Hear the discussion on the paradoxes of water value versus price that took place during the Founders Business Seminar (also including the Stockholm Industry Water Award ceremony).

Detailed programme, more resources and outcome of this seminar are all available at Online Programme – hop back and forth on the tab navigation!
Read the full Press Release on the Stockholm Industry Water Award

SIWI launches project to strengthen farmers’ resilience to climate change in Viet Nam

Sanna — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 10:04:30 +0000

Stockholm, Sweden (January 22 2013) – Viet Nam is at risk of becoming one of the most adversely affected countries by climate change, which could seriously affect the country’s booming economic growth. To help address this issue, SIWI launches a bilateral project to “strengthen farmers’ resilience to climate change in the Mekong and Red River deltas of Viet Nam.”

Current trends show that climate change will result in a significant temperature increase leading to sea level rise, increased water and soil salinity, and dramatic changes in weather and flood patterns. Increased precipitation during rainy season and drought during the rest of the year are among the current trends observed by national agro-meteorologists and the international research community.

The potential impacts of climate change are likely to be serious for agricultural production, and the availability of water resources will be less certain and more variable. As 80-90 percent of the population depends on agriculture, a majority of the population will be vulnerable to these potential impacts. Low land fish and rice farming support the livelihoods of millions of Vietnamese, and are key for both national food security and the economy. Viet Nam is the second largest rice exporter in the world.

Understanding that “climate change is water change,” the Vietnamese Association for the Conservation of Nature (VACNE) and the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) launches a project to improve current knowledge and documentation of the impacts of climate change on the farming communities in both key deltas. The project is partially funded by the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) and aims at helping the country increase the resilience of its farming communities by synthesising international research with field information on this topic, and eventually raise awareness among farmers, and building capacities of water management practitioners at government agencies on how to address climate change.

During 2013, the project will pilot in three provinces, namely, Vinh Long in the Mekong Delta, and Ha Nam and Thai Binh in the Red River Delta. Farmers in these provinces will gather information on hydro-climatic hazards and local responses, which will be used to raise awareness on the potential implications of climate change, as well as the response methods that the community already possesses to address those risks. The programme will focus on empowering farmers by helping them articulate their concerns and need for support from the international community and national government working on climate adaptation policy in order to enhance resilience at the local level.

The Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) is a policy institute that generates knowledge and informs decision-making towards water wise policy and sustainable development. SIWI performs research, builds institutional capacity and provides advisory services in five thematic areas: water governance, transboundary water management, water and climate change, the water-energy-food nexus, and water economics. SIWI organises the World Water Week in Stockholm – the leading annual global meeting place on water and development issues – and hosts the Stockholm Water Prize, the Stockholm Junior Water Prize and the Stockholm Industry Water Award.

The Viet Nam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment (VACNE) is an NGO and a member organisation connecting Vietnamese expertise from inside and outside the country in the field of nature conservation and environmental protection in Viet Nam. With its broad network, VACNE is deemed as the best possible local partner for the implementation of this project. VACNE has access to Vietnamese researchers, authorities, and organisations that are imperative for the successful implementation of this project. They also maintain a very high level of integrity and credibility in pursuing such efforts, and have had experience dealing with Swedish organisations in implementing other projects in the past. VACNE is ideally setup to take the prime communication role with the local communities, and thereby both assess the perceived needs and desires. VACNE combines long standing experience from environmental work, with excellent knowledge on socio-economic conditions and pre-requisites on local community level.

Inception Workshop
The Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment (VACNE), Vietnam and Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), will co-organise the Inception Workshop to launch the project on January 22-23, 2013 at the Sunway Hotel, 19 Pham Dinh Ho str., Hanoi, Vietnam.

This workshop will present the preliminary findings of the project on the current impacts of climate change and the status of adaptation measures in Viet Nam. Priorities to address climate change in Vietnam and the role of this project from the Vietnamese perspective will be discussed. The outcome of the session will be taken into account by the PDC partnership during the further implementation stage of the project. Key experts from relevant fields as well as representatives of local beneficiaries are expected to participate.

For further information about the workshop, kindly contact us at: VACNE, thuyvacne@gmail.com, +84 983761714, or Event Organiser support: Vietnet-ict, phngan@vietnet-ict.org, +84 989146114.

At SIWI, please contact rami.abdelrahman@siwi.org for more information.

Feeding a thirsty world: Challenges and opportunities for a water and food secure world

admin — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:57:51 +0000

This report presents the latest thinking and new approaches to emerging and persistent challenges to achieve food security in the 21st century. It focuses on critical issues that have received less attention in the literature to date, such as: food waste, land acquisitions, gender aspects of agriculture, and early warning systems for agricultural emergencies. It also offers perspectives on how to better manage water and food linkages.

Published in 2012.

Addendum

This addendum clarifies issues relating to the research results published in:

Falkenmark, M. (2012) Food security: overcoming water scarcity realities, in Feeding a Thirsty World: Challenges and Opportunities for a Water and Food Secure World, SIWI Report 31. Jägerskog, A. and Jønch Clausen, T., (ed). Stockholm International Water Institute, Stockholm.

Clarification of citation

The chapter is based on the in May 2012 latest accessible modeling in the well published multiyear research project at Stockholm Resilience Center starting in 2007. The project is being summarised in the book:

Rockström, J., Falkenmark, M., Folke, C., Lannerstad, M., Hoff, H., Heinke, J., Gordon, L., Enfors, E., & Barron, J. (2013). Confronting the water challenge in a turbulent world. Towards a green-blue resilience approach for global sustainability. Cambridge University Press, forthcoming.

The results presented in the chapter originate from work in progress. The forthcoming publication will consider additional water productivity gains for crop and livestock production, different fractions of animal source foods in the diet, and sensitivity of the analysis, depending on the chosen assumptions.

Land Acquisitions: How Will They Impact Transboundary Waters?

admin — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:56:45 +0000

This exploratory report investigates how the current surge in land acquisitions and investments by foreign countries, sovereign wealth funds and private corporations, as well as domestic investors, will affect transboundary water management, an area where current knowledge is sparse. The majority of land deals tend to be made in places with low land lease prices, weak legislation, inexpensive labour and relative abundance of land and water and very few include regulations or agreements for water used on the acquired territories. With many of the largest land leasing countries located on the transboundary water basins, shared waters will be affected with unknown implications for regional relations. Two case illustrations in the Nile and Niger basin regions are presented to explore how land acquisitions have affected global, regional, national and local actors in those areas and point out key questions that require more research.

Report published in 2012.

Agriculture, Water and Ecosystems

admin — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:37:23 +0000

This Policy Brief covers the past agricultural management that has caused wide scale changes in land cover, streamflow, and groundwater systems and what actions that are needed in order to repair damage and lessen future negative impacts of climate change. In the future, agriculture will have to strike a balance between the water required for food and the water needed to keep ecosystems healthy.

Let it Reign: The New Water Paradigm for Global Food Security

admin — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:34:12 +0000

Let it Reign highlights key facts, conditions and trends regarding water aspects of food production, consumption and ecological sustainability. It presents policy recommendations within governance, capacity building/awareness raising and financing in order to improve water productivity and increase the possibility to produce the food needed, improve diets, and raise consumer awareness – all in an equitable and ecologically sustainable manner.

2012 Stockholm Water Prize presented to IWMI

Nora — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 11:11:00 +0000

H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden presented the 2012 Stockholm Water Prize to the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) today during a Royal Ceremony held in Stockholm City Hall. The event was held as part of the annual World Water Week in Stockholm.

IWMI, which has its headquarters in Sri Lanka and regional offices across Asia and Africa, was honoured for their pioneering research that has served to improve agriculture water management, enhance food security, protect environmental health and alleviate poverty in developing countries. As the Stockholm Water Prize Laureate, IWMI receives a USD 150,000 prize and a crystal sculpture specially designed and created by Orrefors.

IWMI has been the driving force promoting policies and techniques to help farmers to produce ‘more crop per drop’, and to implement solutions that enable agriculture to cultivate enough food to feed the planet’s growing population with limited water resources.

The Stockholm Water Prize Nominating Committee described the international research institute as “the foremost organisation in agricultural water management”, and credited their work to influence the creation of new policies and investments in agriculture to enable more productive use of water and enhance food security around the world.

Dr. Colin Chartres, Director General of IWMI, received the prize on behalf of the organisation. Upon being handed the prize, he said: “This award really recognises the sustained contributions of IWMI staff and partners over the last 27 years. They have put in a great effort, often under conditions of considerable hardship and have still employed scientific rigour in their work leading to many papers in esteemed journals as well as undoubted on-ground success in combatting food insecurity, poverty and improving natural resources management.”

About the International Water Management Institute (IWMI)

Founded in 1984, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) is a nonprofit, scientific research organisation focusing on the sustainable use of land and water resources in agriculture, to benefit poor people in developing countries. IWMI’s mission is “to improve the management of land and water resources for food, livelihoods and the environment.” The Institute has its headquarters in Colombo, Sri Lanka, with regional offices across Asia and Africa. IWMI is a CGIAR Consortium Research Centre and works in partnership with developing countries, international and national research institutes, universities and other organizations to develop tools and technologies that contribute to poverty reduction as well as food and livelihood security.

About the Stockholm Water Prize

The Stockholm Water Prize is a global award founded in 1991 and presented annually by the Stockholm International Water Institute to an individual, organisation or institution for outstanding water-related achievements. The Stockholm Water Prize Laureate receives USD 150,000 and a crystal sculpture specially designed and created by Orrefors. Founders of the Stockholm Water Prize are Swedish and international companies in collaboration with the City of Stockholm. They are: Bacardi, Borealis & Borouge, DuPont, ERV, Fujitsu, Grundfos, Hewlett Packard, Kemira, KPMG Sweden, Ragn-Sells, Scandic, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), Siemens AG, SJ (Swedish Railways), Snecma/Safran, Uponor, Water Environment Federation, Xylem and Ålandsbanken Sverige. H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden is patron of the prize.

www.siwi.org/prizes

Water Transfers from Agriculture: China’s Challenge

Nora — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:41:55 +0000

Water resource exploitation has silently supported the blossoming Chinese economy for decades. Unfortunately, that rapid development has ended with depleted rivers and aquifers and degraded water and soil. China is responding with new thinking, policies and technologies to manage water.

Published in Water Front Magazine No. 2 2009.