World Water Day
International World Water Day is held annually on 22nd March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.
Each year World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater.
2012 is intended to draw the international attention on the relationships between water & food.
During the second half of the 20th century, world population had a twofold increase. Today there are over 6.5 billion people on the planet.
Expanded irrigated agriculture and agronomic advances has boosted the food production and the agricultural sector. Food production at the turn of this century has more than doubled compared to the situation at the beginning of the 1960s.
There is enough food today to feed the world. Yet, despite of this, 15 % of the world population (854 million people) is undernourished, and with continuing population growth, rising incomes and urbanization, food demand will roughly double in the next fifty years.
Over this period the world's water will have to support the agricultural systems that will feed and create livelihoods for an additional 2.7 billion people.
Today agriculture, farming and growing, accounts for 70% of the total water used on the planet.
Agriculture is thereby the largest human use of water.
Clearly, agricultural practices need to be targeted on reducing waste of water and so this has been the centre of attention for water saving practices for years.
But there are additional ways to save water.
Huge losses and waste of food occur throughout the supply chain i.e. from the produce leave the farmers' fields until it reaches its final destination; in food storage, transportation, food processing, wholesale and retail.
Furthermore, vast amounts of food are then wasted in households and restaurants. Every loss or waste of food is equivalent to loss and misuse of water.
Further, since water is part of every food production process, and hence an ever-present building block in everything we consume. Whether we are biting into a banana or a slice of pizza, we are biting into something that has used water for its growth or production.
With regards to this, it's worth bearing in mind that animal-based food require a larger amount of water per kilo ready-to-eat product than fruits and vegetables do.
A lower animal protein diet will need less water to be sustained.
www.unwater.org/worldwaterday