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20 December 1993
Doc. 6980
1403-17/12/93-1-E
REPORT
on the management of water resources
in relation to agriculture
(Rapporteur: Mr MÜLLER,
Germany, Group of the European People's Party)
Summary
Life on earth is dependent on water which is a unique resource that cannot be replaced. A degradation of its quality through pollution or serious quantitative restrictions may have grave consequences for food production and the survival of millions of people, animals and plants. Water may therefore become a source of violent conflicts in many regions of the world during the next century due to its decreasing availability and the increased competition for this scarce non-renewable resource. In fact, an increasing number of countries will experience water shortages with available water per person per year far below one thousand cubic metres. Below this level lack of water becomes a severe constraint on food production, economic development and the protection of natural systems.
The present report puts forward proposals for political action aimed at creating sustainable water resources management regimes. It suggests using agricultural policies for nature and water conservation purposes, and to adapt such policies to local climatic conditions. The report particularly asks governments to give increased attention to flood and drought protection measures. Consumers should be given full information on relationships between food quality and water quality.
I. Draft recommendation
1. The Assembly recalls its Recommendation 1224 (1993) on the protection and management of freshwater resources in Europe, and stresses the need for pan-European policy initiatives in this field and for appropriate actions to be undertaken by the Council of Europe.
2. The Assembly also reiterates its conviction that policies to preserve the natural environment are necessary for the preservation of freshwater resources.
3. Access for all people to enough food for an active and healthy life (a fundamental human right) is jeopardised by an increasing scarcity of potable water which, in certain regions of the world, could lead to serious conflicts.
4. Consequently, the Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers:
i. promote the integration of nature conservation, land use, agricultural and water management policies and include activities designed to promote this goal in the Council of Europe's intergovernmental work programme;
ii. increase and improve public information and specialised education and training for integrated, sustainable water management;
iii. promote adherence to the principles laid down in the European Water Charter;
iv. invite governments of member states and the European Union;
a. to work for the development and inclusion of sustainable water management policies in agriculture, as well as for an integrated water resources management policy encompassing all other areas, and to set up administrative bodies to this end;
b. to promote reforestation and other vegetation programmes to increase moisture and available water on land;
c. to adapt agricultural practices to local climatic conditions — if necessary to be supported by new research and development;
d. to promote programmes and research to avoid and/or reverse soil erosion;
e. to make sure that food security will not be negatively affected by lack of sufficient water of acceptable quality.
f. to increase the efficiency of irrigation systems and minimise water losses;
g. to promote water desalination and purification technologies;
h. to continue and strengthen research and development programmes for the breeding of plants capable of using waste and/or salty waters;
i. to monitor the use of, and if need be modify, agricultural inputs (fertilisers, pesticides, etc.) to avoid any pollution arising from their use;
j. to create, wherever needed, socio-economic and technological capacities to prevent or contain human and ecological tragedies caused by sudden changes in water availability (quality and/or quantity);
k. to inform consumers on food quality and its dependence on the water used for its production, for example through labelling.
II. Explanatory memorandum
by Mr MÜLLER
Contents
Page
Introduction 5
Water management for agriculture 5
Water quality 6
Water quantity 6
Irrigation and food 6
Competition for water 7
Future strategies for water
management in relation to agriculture 10
Conclusions 11
Appendix: the European Water Charter of 1968 12
Introduction
Water is a unique resource and cannot be replaced or substituted by other liquids. Its fundamental role for life on earth can be illustrated by its central place in many mythological and religious cosmogonies, including that of the Genesis. Chinese, Hebrew, Muslim and Roman law all include specific measures for the use and management of this common resource.
In agriculture it serves as the universal solvent for a variety of mineral salts and ensures that vegetation and micro-organisms will have a source of assimilable nutrients. Needless to state that animals would not survive without drinking water. A change in water availability (quality or quantity) can consequently affect plants, animals and other life forms considerably.
The most easily available of the world's water resources (that is vapour, liquid, or solid) are the waters of the oceans (90% of total), rivers and lakes. These are used in multiple ways which have created a certain competition for the exploitation of this resource. Some of the major uses and some principles for water resources management are set out in the European Water Charter which was adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 6 May 1968 (see Appendix). The Parliamentary Assembly's Campaign "Freshwater Europe" has elaborated on several of the major issues of importance for future water management policies in Europe. This new political initiative for the preservation and management of European freshwater has been presented by Mr Ruffy in his excellent report to the Assembly on the protection and management of freshwater resources in Europe (Doc. 6909), Recommendation 1224 (1993).
The present report is limited to the management of water resources in relation to agriculture and it will not repeat the global context presented in the above report. Your Rapporteur wishes to thank the scientific services of the German Bundestag and the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies — the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari for their valuable assistance in the drawing up of this report.
Water management for agriculture
Traditionally agriculture adapted itself to local climatic conditions — including the availability of water. In regions with too much rainfall different types of drainage systems have been developed to control water levels and in drier regions the development of storage capacity and/or the use of ground water have improved water availability and security. Both approaches could be used in regions with important seasonable variations. The mastering of these technologies has led to the building up of sophisticated irrigation and drainage systems which have allowed for an extension of agricultural production to new land areas as well as to the growing of non-traditional crops. The development and use of desalination plants have made the oceans become a water resource for man and also for agricultural production. Plants which can be irrigated by salty, brackish or waste waters have also been developed.
Is the problem of water management in agriculture then solved? Regrettably this is not the case. The availability of water, in qualitative as well as in quantitative terms has become an increasingly critical factor for agriculture as well as for society as a whole, given the dramatically increasing world population. There are often conflicting interests competing for the use of this common resource and agriculture is only one of these users.
Water quality
Pollution of water is mainly caused by industry, urbanisation and discharges of wastes, but it is also increasingly stemming from intensive agricultural exploitation. Pollutants can be organic chemicals or salts but also heat and hydro-biological contamination. If the water is too contaminated or polluted it cannot be used for agriculture without costly purification or a modification of crops. A change in water quality can also drastically change the composition of the soil, its micro-flora and fauna and the uptake of nutrients by plants. It may have serious negative effects on animal health. The death of forests is only one example of the negative effects of water pollution (acid rain), but intolerably high levels of nitrates in fresh salad or dangerous concentrations of heavy metals in other foodstuffs broadens the spectrum of hazards to food safety which might be caused by water of bad quality. Non-negligible concentrations of lead can even be traced in milk from certain areas with heavy traffic. Certain pesticides have been traced, as air pollution absorbed by rain, far away from their areas of application.
Under a sustainable management regime water quality must be maintained in spite of water's multiple uses. The users must therefore eliminate the causes of pollution and/or remove unwanted elements added to water during its use. In agriculture this applies in particular to fertilisers, pesticides, fungicides, herbicides and other inputs used during production. The Assembly, in its recommendation on relations between animal husbandry and the quality of the environment (Doc. 6363, Recommendation 1143 (1991), asked the governments of member states and the European Union to establish satisfactory rules and legislation designed to guarantee that the storage, handling and application of animal manure on farmland does not result in any degradation of food quality or the environment but rather improve soil and soil fertility.
Consumers should be given full information on any negative effects on food products caused by water of bad quality, in line with Assembly Recommendation 1142 (1991), on the labelling of quality food products.
Water quantity
The total volume of water on earth is estimated at 1 460 000 000 km3 of which more than 90% is found in the oceans and about 60 000 000 km3 in the earth's crust. Climatic change has led to an increase in ocean water of about 430 km3 per year during the last sixty to eighty years. This volume is thus removed from the land.
Vegetation, and in particular forests, plays an important role for the preservation of moisture and water on land. The dramatic deforestation in tropical regions, the decline in boreal forests and the loss of forest cover in temperate regions have negatively influenced available water for plants and animals on land and have resulted in increased erosion and loss of fertile topsoil. Desertification, as a matter of fact, claims an estimated 6 000 000 hectares of land each year. An additional 20 million hectares become unprofitable for farming or grazing purposes. This represents an area as large as three-quarters of Germany lost beyond practical hope of reclamation every year. These alarming facts have led to new attention being given to reforestation, and to the maintenance of a plant cover on land areas.
Irrigation and food
The insufficient and irregular precipitation levels in many arid regions in the world have led to increased use of irrigation to satisfy agricultural production targets. Rivers, as well as ground water, are being used for this purpose and waste waters have also been employed. This is not without inconvenience since irrigation often causes higher salinity levels in the soil and reduced crops. The use of desalinated ocean water is still costly, 1 to 2 US dollars per cubic metre.
A case study from Lesotho shows that the need for irrigation water increased 5% with a 10% drop in precipitation, and 18% with a 10% increase in evaporation. Irrigation efficiency worldwide is estimated at less than 40%, so most of the water diverted for agriculture never benefits crops. In the Mediterranean area irrigation represents 72% of the total water withdrawals.
Some 235 million hectares of land is currently irrigated, a fivefold increase since 1900. As the world population grew from 1 600 million to more than 5 000 million in the course of this century, irrigation became a cornerstone of global food security. Today, 36% of the global harvest comes from 16% of the world's cropland which is irrigated. With some 95 000 000 people being added to the planet each year in the nineties, new strategies will be needed to prevent the many emerging irrigation constraints leading to food shortages. It now seems likely that the total irrigated area will spread by no more than 1% per year for the foreseeable future, while world population expands by 1,7% annually.
Turning to desalination or long distance water transfers does not offer a practical solution, since the food produced with such expensive water will be out of reach for those most at risk — the 1 000 000 000 people now subsisting on less than one dollar per day. New technologies will relieve some of the constraints now emerging. Breeding and selecting crop varieties which are more salt-tolerant, drought-resistant, and water-efficient will help bolster crop production as freshwater supplies for agriculture dwindle. The biggest gains for the foreseeable future, however, will come from irrigating crops more efficiently.
Competition for water
The production of one kilogramme of sugar in Germany needs 120 litres of water and that of one kilo of paper 3 000 litres whereas the manufacture of a car takes 100 000 litres. The production of one kilogramme of grain and one kilogramme of rice is calculated to consume respectively 1 000 and 2 000 litres of water under inefficient irrigation conditions in the Mediterranean region. The consumption of potable water in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1987 was some 146 litres per person per day, corresponding to an annual individual consumption of 53,5 m3. The daily individual water-need per person in the poor countries of the south is about 3 litres. The total world need for water — for irrigation, industry, human consumption, etc. — has been estimated at about 1 600 m3/person/year at the turn of the century.
As a rule, hydrologists designate water-stressed countries as those with annual supplies of 1 000-2 000 m3 per person. When the figure drops below 1 000 m3, nations are considered water scarce, that is to say lack of water becomes a severe constraint on food production, economic development and the protection of natural systems. Today twenty-six countries, collectively home for 232 000 000 people, fall into the water-scarce category. By the year 2000 the total number of Africans living in water-scarce countries will rise to 300 000 000 a third of the continent's project population. In the southern Mediterranean area, Libya represents the most outstanding case of unsustainable water use. Libya now mines fossil ground water for 75% of its water needs, and this dependence is growing. Water withdrawal is as high as 245% of available water inflow (renewable water) (see Figure 1 and Figure 2).
Water shortage is not a new phenomenon in the Mediterranean. What is new, however, is that it is occurring in an increasingly changing environment and this makes it more serious and long-lasting. The more recent drought in 1989 and 1990 summers marked a turning point that highlighted the vulnerability of water supplies even in the industrialised northern Mediterranean countries which had always relied on an adequate capital of rainfall. The water crisis is endemic or permanent in some southern Mediterranean areas, but it has now even reached towns and villages in France, Spain, Italy and Greece, obliging them to impose temporary restrictions. The shortfall in quantity has been compounded by a decrease in quality due to the contamination of surface or underground water. In short, no country is safe from serious shortages in its water supply system, and management of water resources is one of the most urgent problems facing public authorities in the Mediterranean basin.
Water shortage threatens to spread and become a permanent feature in the Mediterranean basin because it is increasingly superimposed on demographic, industrial, agricultural and tourism growth that exacerbates demand and jeopardises the quality of the resources.
Over the last twenty years, it has become clear that water resource management needs to broaden its focus. The problems water managers have to deal with include environmental, social, institutional and legal aspects, problems of integration among different water-using sectors and increasingly, financing the provision of services in a climate of economic restraint.
In the context of the current critical water shortages, the serious and growing threat they pose to sustainable development and protection of environment, the statements of the Genoa Declaration of the Mediterranean Action Plan (1985), the declaration of Algiers meeting on water (1990), the Nicosia Charter (1990) and its follow-up at the Cairo meeting (1992), the Action Programme adopted by the Mar del Plata Conference (1977), the declaration of the International Conference on Water and Environment of Dublin (1992), the results of the World Congress on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro (1992) and the Mediterranean Charter for Water (Rome, 1992), all support the integrated water management approach as a concept to alleviate water problems for a sustainable development.
Future strategies for water management in relation to agriculture
The unity of natural waters as expressed in the natural water cycle, combines the surface, ground, ocean, and atmospheric waters in a single global process. Accordingly, a change in one of the moisture cycle components will lead to a change in this entire complex chain of relationships. Humans are capable of activating the moisture cycle and making use of the resources of surface, ground, and ocean waters.
The only long-term approach to a water management regime must therefore fully include the principle of sustainability. Agriculture can in a major way contribute to stopping and reverting the present degradation of the environment and the earth's natural resources. It can halt NOx, SOx and CO2 excess emissions by proposing renewable and sustainable energy solutions (bio-fuels, etc.). It can deliver raw materials which will help industry reduce present pollution levels and water consumption by substituting environmentally-friendly products for polluting ones. And it can help revert climatic conditions in favour of increased water availability on land and at the same time halt erosion.
The example of Mauritius is of interest in this connection. By the time the first Dutch settlers left the island, which became French in 1721, the hardwood forests were largely depleted in areas easily accessible from the coast. As a result, zealous anti-capitalist French reformers, inspired by the economic philosophy based on the "laws of nature" (physiocracy) and indigenous strategies to combat soil erosion and deforestation, and convinced of the relation between deforestation and local climatic change, put forward a plan to preserve as much as possible of the environment of Mauritius. As a consequence, 25% of all landholdings were to be kept as forests, particularly on steep mountain slopes to prevent soil erosion; all denuded areas were to be reforested; and all forests within 200 metres of water were to be protected. Eight years later a fully staffed forest service was set up and in 1803 the clearing of forest was forbidden beyond one-third of a mountain side. These early laws were not confined to forests. Pollution of water by effluent from indigo factories and sugar mills engendered more laws in 1791. In 1798 regulations were introduced to control vital but diminishing fish stocks.
The global strategy must consequently be the addition of local initiatives to improve the availability of renewable waters in terms of quality and quantity. Agriculture must stop polluting waters and reduce its present wasteful employment of this resource. Agriculture must also become a tool in changing the water balance for the purpose of nature conservation and to increase moisture and available waters on land. An increasing world population will need more water but also more food.
Conclusions
Your Rapporteur, against this background, would like to reiterate the proposals contained in Assembly Recommendation 1224 (1993) on the protection and management of freshwater resources in Europe. It is a clear necessity to further integrate different policy fields with that concerned with water management. This must evidently include environmental policies as well as land use policies and agricultural policies.
The major issue arising from the above analysis is that water management policies must respect the principle of sustainability and not jeopardise the availability of water in qualitative or in quantitative terms. The competition for this non-renewable resource may well lead to violent conflicts in regions where scarcity may arise. Agricultural policies must fully integrate these principles but also be used to enhance the availability of fresh water while improving all peoples' access to healthy food. The often severe human tragedies and natural disasters resulting from floods and droughts must be further minimised.
The issues raised in this report are relevant for several of the Council of Europe's fields of activities and the recommendations should therefore be communicated to those particularly concerned. The specific policy proposals should also be communicated to member governments and the European Union for appropriate action.
APPENDIX
European Water Charter
Reporting committee: Committee on Agriculture.
Budgetary implications for the Assembly: none.
Reference to committee: Doc. 6325 and Reference No. 1704 of 22 November 1990.
Draft recommendation: unanimously adopted by the committee on 3 November 1993.
Members of the committee: Mrs Gjørv (Chairperson), MM. van der Linden, Sipos (Vice-Chairmen), Anthopoulos, Mrs Antilla, MM. Barnardini, Bühler (Alternate: Müller), Mrs Burbiené, MM. de Carolis (Alternate: Ferrari), Černý, Couveinhes, Crowley (Alternate: Brennan), Figel, Goerens, Granstedt, Gunnarsson, Hansen, Sir Ralph Howell (Alternate: Alexander), MM. Jeambrun, Kiratlioglu, Lanner, Lord Mackie of Benshie, MM. Mändmets, Mannino, Michels, Ottenbourgh, Pirinski, Pizzo, Rodrigues, Roger (Alternate: Colombier), Roman, Scheer, Seiler, Smolarek, Jack Thompson, Toplak, Vella.
N.B. The names of those members who took part in the vote are printed in italics.
Secretary to the committee: Mr Lervik.