Water, Food Security and Human Dignity

This book highlights the key role of water for food security, globally and for different groups. Climate change projections suggest many regions will become drier and hotter, and droughts are expected to become more frequent and severe. Population growth will most likely largely be in poor parts of the world where agriculture is the main source of livelihood, but where yields are low, partly due to uncertainty in water supply. Elevated risk and other challenges apply both for the part of agriculture that has access to irrigation, and even more for farmers who depend on increasingly uncertain rainfall. This book analyses ’Society’s New Normal’ as an inconvenient truth of global water resources and the rapid increase in groundwater extraction. The book emphasizes that requirements for innovation and reforms leading to water savings are large. Policy decisions must also take into account new knowledge about the distortions in food security, and special consideration given to vulnerable groups. Although the challenges are significant, there are great opportunities to make better use of limited water resources.