Seeing “invisible water”: challenging conceptions of water for agriculture, food and human security

Abstract

Climate change and variability combined with increasing population shape a discourse of “water crisis”, with a heavy emphasis on scarcity, particularly in the Global South. The primary metric used is freshwater availability, defined as annually available surface and groundwater. We challenge the accuracy of this metric and introduce the concepts of green water and virtual water. Applied to the case of cotton production in Uzbekistan, we show that there is enough water and land for food security for all. Shortages are most often the result of decision making based on narrow economic criteria rather than satisfaction of basic human needs.

Résumé

Les changements et la variabilité climatiques combinés à la croissance de la population donnent lieu à un discours sur la « crise de l’eau » qui met l’accent sur sa pénurie, tout particulièrement dans les pays du Sud. Cette posture s’appuie principalement sur la disponibilité en eau douce définie comme la quantité d’eau de surface et souterraine renouvelable chaque année. Nous remettons en question la pertinence de cette mesure et proposons les concepts d’eau verte et d’eau virtuelle. En prenant comme cas d’étude la production de coton en Ouzbékistan, nous montrons qu’il y a suffisamment d’eau et de terre pour assurer la sécurité alimentaire de tous. Les pénuries sont, le plus souvent, le résultat d’une prise de décision fondée sur des critères économiques étroits plutôt que sur la satisfaction des besoins humains fondamentaux.

Keywords:

• food security
• water scarcity
• green water
• virtual water
• central Asia

Notes

1. Reporting and monitoring water use is no less politicised; see, for example, Welle (2014).

2. The term m³/cap/yr refers to cubic metres per capita, per year.

Additional information

Biographical notes

Charmaine Leung holds a Master of Development Practice degree from the University of Waterloo, Canada. Currently, she combines her experience in the environmental and health sectors to address local issues related to food insecurity.

Meghan McMorris holds a Master of Development Practice degree from the University of Waterloo, Canada, and is presently a PhD candidate at the University of Western Ontario, Canada. Her current research focuses on the community dynamics of First Nation communities in Ontario, in relation to the real and potential use of renewable energies.

Larry A. Swatuk is an Associate Professor in the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development at the University of Waterloo, Canada, and Visiting Professor in the Institute for Water Studies at the University of Western Cape, South Africa. He is the author of the monograph A Glass Half Full: Water Security in Southern Africa, forthcoming in 2015 from University of Kwa Zulu Natal Press.

Yuyan Zu holds a Master of Development Practice degree from University of Waterloo, Canada. Currently, she works as a coordinator in the Development and Liaison office in Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics.