Research Article // Elevating the role of water resilience in food system dialogues
By Nathanial Matthews and colleagues. Good governance for resilient water resources is a necessary precursor to ensuring resilient food systems and sustainable healthy diets for all. This study proposes six attributes that together provide a foundation for good governance to reduce future water risks to food systems.
Abstract
Ensuring resilient food systems and sustainable healthy diets for all requires much higher water use, however, water resources are finite, geographically dispersed, volatile under climate change, and required for other vital functions including ecosystems and the services they provide. Good governance for resilient water resources is a necessary precursor to deciding on solutions, sourcing finance, and delivering infrastructure. Six attributes that together provide a foundation for good governance to reduce future water risks to food systems are proposed. These attributes dovetail in their dual focus on incorporating adaptive learning and new knowledge, and adopting the types of governance systems required for water resilient food systems. The attributes are also founded in the need to greater recognise the role natural, healthy ecosystems play in food systems. The attributes are listed below and are grounded in scientific evidence and the diverse collective experience and expertise of stakeholders working across the science-policy interface: Adopting interconnected systems thinking that embraces the complexity of how we produce, distribute, and add value to food including harnessing the experience and expertise of stakeholders s; adopting multi-level inclusive governance and supporting inclusive participation; enabling continual innovation, new knowledge and learning, and information dissemination; incorporating diversity and redundancy for resilience to shocks; ensuring system preparedness to shocks; and planning for the long term. This will require food and water systems to pro-actively work together toward a socially and environmentally just space that considers the water and food needs of people, the ecosystems that underpin our food systems, and broader energy and equity concerns.
Published
October 2022
By
Citation
Nathanial Matthews, James Dalton, John Matthews, Holly Barclay, Jennie Barron, Dustin Garrick, Line Gordon, Saleemul Huq, Tom Isman, Peter McCornick, Alqayam Meghji, Naho Mirumachi, Shehnaaz Moosa, Mark Mulligan, Andrew Noble, Olga Petryniak, Jamie Pittock, Cibele Queiroz, Claudia Ringler, Mark Smith, Caroline Turner, Shuchi Vora, Louise Whiting, Elevating the role of water resilience in food system dialogues, Water Security, Volume 17, 2022, 100126, ISSN 2468-3124, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wase....
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Research Article // Elevating the role of water resilience in food system dialogues
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