"Increasing scarcity, competition and arguments over water in the first quarter of the 21st century will dramatically change the way we value and use water and the way we mobilize and manage water resources," says His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange of the Netherlands, who chaired the Second World Water Forum in The Hague in 2000. "Innovative ways of using this precious commodity have to be found to protect ecosystems and ensure food for the billions on this planet."

The debate on the use of water is sharply divided. Agricultural scientists say that farm water use, especially irrigation, must be increased 15-20 percent in the coming 25 years to maintain food security and reduce hunger and rural poverty for a growing world population.

Environmental scientists, on the other hand, say that agricultural water use will need to be reduced by at least 10 percent to protect the rivers, lakes and wetlands on which millions of people depend for their livelihoods and to satisfy the growing demands of cities and industry. Many of these ecosystems have already been eliminated or severely damaged over the last decades.

"The truth is that both sides have a point", says the Prince of Orange. "Unfortunately, both sides too often base their arguments on emotion and anecdotal evidence. There has to be a compelling analysis and dialogue on what irrigation and other water projects have done for agriculture and the environment."

The 20th century saw the need to provide enough food for a booming population. Growth in food production substantially outpaced the growth of population from 1960 to 2000. Over this period, the world's average per capita per day calorie supply has increased by 23 percent. Globally, the number of malnourished people has been reduced by 160 million from the 1990 levels. Other benefits of using water for agriculture include food security and employment. But these achievements have often come at an environmental and social cost.

Currently, some 450 million people in 29 countries face water shortage problems. The entire Mediterranean region, including parts of southern Europe, North Africa and Middle East, Pakistan, parts of India and China, most of Sub-Sahara Africa and major regions in North and South America, especially the western United States, will face severe water shortages in the coming years. Northern Europe also faces serious problems.

By 2025, about 2.7 billion people, nearly one-third of the expected world's population, will live in regions facing severe water scarcity, says a study by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI). Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, containing the most heavily populated and poorest regions of the world, will be most severely affected.

"If current trends continue, the shortage of water will extend well beyond the semiarid and arid regions," says Professor Frank Rijsberman, IWMI Director-General. IWMI is headquartered in Colombo, Sri Lanka. "Expanding demand for water will drain some of the world's major rivers, leaving them dry throughout most of the year. Urban centres will experience severe water shortages. But the rural poor will suffer the most serious consequences. Many already lack access to potable water and to the quantity and quality of water needed to grow food and generate income."

"The protection of rivers, lakes and wetlands is vital. Many people, especially in poor rural communities, depend directly on the food and materials these ecosystems provide. Moreover, ecosystems play an important role in the regulation and provision of water", says Ger Bergkamp, Freshwater Management Advisor of IUCN - The World Conservation Union. IUCN is headquartered in Gland, Switzerland, and has 42 offices world-wide. "Abstraction of more water and the conversion into agricultural land will destroy many of these ecosystems and threaten the communities that depend on them".

"In developing countries, irrigation today accounts for over 80 percent of the water consumed, so that the debate among agriculturists and environmentalists on how to manage water for agriculture is of paramount importance to the very poor," says William Cosgrove, Vice President of the World Water Council.

It is clear to both sides of the debate that more irrigation cannot be the only solution. Water infrastructure built in recent decades is decaying or becoming obsolete, mainly through silting up of reservoirs and crumbling of irrigation networks. Groundwater levels are falling and soils are rendered infertile by salinization. Surface and groundwater is polluted through excessive use of pesticides and fertilisers.

Global Action Needed

To resolve the dilemma between agricultural production and environmental protection, a group of the world's most influential nature protection, irrigation and food security organizations created an international scientific and policy coalition -- the Dialogue on Water, Food and Environment.

The group consists of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); the Global Water Partnership (GWP); the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID); The International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP); IUCN, The World Conservation Union (IUCN); the International Water Management Institute (IWMI); the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); the World Health Organization (WHO); the World Water Council (WWC) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

"The question is: how will we use the available water to provide food security, environmental security, health, and livelihoods to a growing world population, in harmony with nature and water users such as industry?" says Rijsberman, who chairs the Dialogue coalition. "This is truly a global challenge. We need to grow more food with less water, meet the growing needs in cities and industry, protect ecosystems for their important role in the water cycle, and so on. It is a question of daunting complexity, but one that has to be answered in the coming years."

Working on solutions Irrigated agriculture will need to be carefully examined to discern where society can benefit most effectively from its application. Access to natural resources will have to be negotiated with other users in a transparent fashion in order to effect optimal use of limited water resources to deal with human welfare, food security and poverty reduction. Irrigation is under pressure to perform as a service to agriculture, not as an end in itself. This will involve a shift in approach from a supply-driven to a demand-responsive activity. Integrated water resources management provides a basis for this action by allowing clear comparison and negotiation for resources across all sectors..

• A more strategic development of the available land and water resources, both in irrigation and rain-fed agriculture, will be needed to serve effective demand while providing opportunities to conserve the natural resources base;
• Particular attention should be given, in irrigation investment strategies, to pro-poor, affordable irrigation systems to effectively impact poverty reduction and food security in small rural communities;
• Programmes of irrigation modernization will need to be designed to turn existing rigid command and control systems into much more flexible, service oriented delivery systems. They will include upgrading of existing infrastructures, adaptation of the institutional framework, and systematic participation of users in the decision making processes, negotiated on the basis of declared rights in use;
• Adaptive research is needed to identify and promote most promising options for increase in agricultural water productivity, with specific attention to transformation of paddy irrigation, and improved irrigation management in water scarce regions. More research is also needed in understanding the multiple roles of agriculture, in particular in Asian monsoon regions;
• Constructive dialogues must be promoted between irrigation and other sectors to accommodate private and public interests and facilitate allocation of water through multiple users;
• Agriculture must be more proactive in shouldering the negative environmental and health impacts of irrigated agriculture and enhancing its positive externalities;
• Substantive additional investments are needed for the rehabilitation of existing irrigation systems and, where possible, new water resources development. Appropriate financing mechanisms should be established, together with an enabling environment for private investments in irrigation.