Water and Agriculture

• Main Authors: Wulf Klohn, Bo Appelgren
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB) 1999-10-01
• Series: Revista CIDOB d'Afers Internacionals
• Online Access: http://www.cidob.org/en/content/download/5579/54633/file/45-46klohn.pdf

The growing scarcity of water resources causes concern, especially with reference to agriculture-related applications. Such scarcity is not due to hydrological reasons, but goes back to the dynamics of human society and the way in which the resource is used. Thisarticle emphasizes the basic facts of this dynamic. For instance, while total quantity of water available yearly on our planet has not changed significantly, the human population has increased greatly –consequently, the quantity of water available per person is inferior.Natural disasters multiply themselves and have a greater resonance, perhaps helped by a climatic change, and their impact on society is dramatic. The human beings affected by disasters are generally not only the poorest, but are constrained to living on steep hills,along river beds that easily flood, and in arid regions of scarce productive potential. Beyond this, the volume of water appropriated in one way or another for human use is already considerable and the rhythm of water appropriation cannot be extended towards the future. Irrigation for agriculture itself amounts to about 70% of all water extraction. Our civilization, capable of exploring the solar system, has the technological solutions to the water problems, but the levels of costs and of the necessary social organization for their application make these solutions available only to the richest societies. The technical, economic and social solutions to overcome the water global crisis exist, but their application requires the existence of a political will, and, in many cases, of international cooperation. At present, such political will appears hesitant, and multilateral international cooperation is undergoing a deep crisis. It is necessary for a public opinion to be formed on these topics so that it can find expression at a political level.