By Naneka A. Hoffman
Liberia joined the rest of the world in celebrating World Food Day on Tuesday, 16th October under the theme “Water is life, water is food” with a country slogan, “We must not take water for granted: we must work together to manage a finite, precious resource.”
This year’s World Food Day celebrates one of the planet’s most precious resources, water and it’s essential to life on earth. It covers majority of the planet’s surface, making up over 50 percent of the human body.
The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Dr. QU Dongyu, said they approach the complex challenge of shielding existing freshwater resources and aquatic food systems from pollution and impacts of the climate crisis, while ensuring that people have equal access to water with about 70 percent of all freshwaters going to agriculture, changing the ways food production is carried out with fiber, and other agricultural products as the most crucial task.
He stated that it is also where failure to act will have the gravest consequences, adding that Freshwater is not infinite, and should not be taken for granted.
Dr. Dongyu said over the last two decades, the world has lost approximately one-fifth of its freshwater, and that for some people, the reality is much worse, while in some regions, it runs closer to one-third.
However, he explained that unless there are urgent action, the world is on course to increase its water use by more than a third by 2050, given the planet’s growing population.
He warned of a collective risk of reaching a point of no return with rapid population growth, urbanization, industrialization, economic development, and the climate crisis that have all taken a toll on global water resources.
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He mentioned that increased extreme weather events, drought and flooding are stressing the ecosystems, with daunting consequences for global food security, with smallholder farmers, particularly the poor, women, youth, Indigenous Peoples, migrants, and refugees, as the most vulnerable.
Dr. Dongyu added that approaching a complex challenge at the heart of the balancing act to address these combined challenges must be securing sufficient water for agriculture, while reconciling the competing water needs of other economic activities, especially as urbanization accelerates.
He underscored that good governance is crucial for sustainable and equitable water allocation, through an integrated and inclusive approach with all partners.
Water governance and tenure, pricing, regulations, and incentive measures, he noted, are needed to drive change and ensure equitable access to clean and safe water resources.
“We need to implement integrated water resources management through coordinated development and management of water, land, and related resources to maximize human well-being, without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems. For this we need both national and regional designs”, Dr. Dongyu concluded. Editing by Jonathan Browne
