Water, food and ecosystems: the issues

There is a global shortage of fresh water. There is a need to supply our immediate needs, whilse also protecting our water resources and the ecosystems associated with them. Many experts believe that this is one of the most critical problems to be tackled in the 21st century.

Quick facts

How much water have we got?

• water covers about two-thirds of the earth's surface
• only 2.5 per cent of it is fresh water, and two-thirds of it is ice
• less than 0.08 per cent is available to be used

How we use our water resources globally

• 69 per cent is used for agriculture (crop production, irrigation etc). This has doubled in the last 50 years
• 23 per cent is used for industry
• 8 per cent is used domestically, e.g. for drinking and sanitation. This has quadrupled in the last 50 years

Worldwide consumption of meat puts a heavy strain on global water resources:

• over 15000 litres of water are used to produce 1kilo of beef
• 600-2000 litres are used to produce 1kilo of basic grains (depending on variety)

Water shortages for agriculture are becoming evident. The amount of rainwater available for irrigation is limited: 65 per cent of rainwater stored in vegegation evaporates, while 35 per cent ends up as surface water, of which only three per cent is currently used for irrigation.

To counter absolute and seasonal shortages for farming, many programs try to use water resources as efficiently as possible, for example, through irrigation, or introduction of drought resistant crop varieties.

(source of statistics: Programme Water for Food and Ecosystems)