FAO Webinar // Nature-Based Solutions for Agricultural Water Management and Food Security
With a rising demand for food, fodder, fiber and bio-energy, the agricultural sector faces fierce competition with households and industry over increasingly scarce water resources. Moreover, for many countries, prospects on improving water availability under changing climatic conditions remain bleak as both droughts and flood hazards are expected to increase. Given the importance of water needs for the sustainable development of the agricultural sector and related food security, calls for a shift in water management paradigms are justified and merit greater attention.
Scaling up of Adaptation in the Agricultural Sectors (SAAS)
Module 1: Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) in the agricultural sectors
Webinar 5: Nature-based solutions for agricultural water management and food security
Nature Based Solutions (NBS) may offer a promising contribution to enhance the availability and quality of water for productive purposes and human consumption, while simultaneously striving to preserve the integrity and intrinsic value of the ecosystem. Nature-based solutions use or mimic natural processes to enhance water availability and reduce risks associated with water-related disasters and climate change. By doing so, these solutions have the potential to move us beyond the business-as-usual approaches to tackling many of the planet’s water challenges, while simultaneously delivering additional benefits vital to all aspects of sustainable development.
Despite this, implementing successful NBS for water management is not an easy task, as many ecosystems are already severely degraded. Ecosystems are often large and complex systems and the impact of interventions can only be assessed and analysed at a system-wide level. Furthermore, many stakeholders are involved as owners, users or caretakers, each with their own set of interests and values. As such is the case, simple market-based solutions such as partitioning the ecosystem, attributing property rights and applying the polluter-pay-principle are not the most viable strategies. This webinar will share perspectives from FAO, UN World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP, UNESCO programme) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on the potential for and use of NBS to sustainably improve the management of agricultural water.
When
Thursday 28 June
14:00 - 15:30 CEST (UTC +2)
Presentations and Speakers:
- FAO discussion paper: Nature-Based Solutions at the service of agricultural water management and food security
Ben Sonneveld , Senior Researcher, Amsterdam Centre for World Food Studies/Athena Institute and Amani Alfarra, Land and Water Officer, FAO - Nature-based Solutions for Agricultural Water Management – Key-findings of the UN World Water Development Report
Prof. Stefan Uhlenbrook, Coordinator and Director, UN World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP, UNESCO programme) - Key messages from the Convention on Biological Diversity on nature-based solutions for water and agriculture
Dr. Harry David Cooper, Deputy Executive Secretary, CBD - Nature-based solutions for water and agriculture - guidance under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
Ms. Lisa Janishevski is Programme Officer for Biodiversity and Climate Change, CBD - Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS): Wasabi cultivation system in Japan
Hiroyuki Ono is an Associate Professional Office, GIAS
Moderators
Manar Abdelmagied and Maria Arnal, Climate and Environment Division, FAO, Rome
Webinar Access
To register for the webinar please click here and join the webinar here on 28 June. For further information, please visit the FAO website.