Seeing “invisible water”

Challenging conceptions of water for agriculture, food and human security

Datos Bibliográficos

ID11401751
AutoresLarry A Swatuk (0000-0002-3066-8090, University of Waterloo, autor de correspondencia), Larry Swatuk, Meghan McMorris (University of Waterloo), Charmaine Leung (University of Waterloo), Yuyan Zu (University of Waterloo)
Año2015
Volumen36
Número1
Páginas24-37
Fecha de publicación2015-01-02
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaCanadian Journal of Development Studies/Revue canadienne d études du développement (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0225-5189 • E-ISSN: 2158-9100
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/02255189.2015.1011609
OpenAlexW2064347077
IdiomaEN
Referencias citadas23

Climate change and variability combined with increasing population shape a discourse of “water crisis”, with a heavy emphasis on scarcity, particularly in the Global South. The primary metric used is freshwater availability, defined as annually available surface and groundwater. We challenge the accuracy of this metric and introduce the concepts of green water and virtual water. Applied to the case of cotton production in Uzbekistan, we show that there is enough water and land for food security for all. Shortages are most often the result of decision making based on narrow economic criteria rather than satisfaction of basic human needs

Agriculture · Business · Climate change · Economic shortage · Economics · Environmental planning · Environmental resource management · Food security · Food shortage · Geography · Groundwater · Metric (unit · Natural resource economics · Population · Scarcity · Sociology · Virtual water · Water resource management · Water resources · Water scarcity · Water security · Engineering · Environmental Science · Transboundary Water Resource Management · Water resources management and optimization · Water-Energy-Food Nexus Studies · Ecology