Mitigating the effects of Climate Change on Water Scarcity

Water, Agriculture and Environment share a significant relationship among them. However, this relationship continues to fall out of balance resulting in increasing concerns for food and water security.  Climate change affects freshwater resources negatively, in terms of both quantity and quality. As temperatures increase, evaporation increases, sometimes resulting in droughts which in turn translate into increased crop water demand.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations report on Climate Change, “70 per cent of our water withdrawals are used up by agriculture, yet competition with other sectors for water is increasing”. Glaciers, one of the important sources of freshwater worldwide is melting at an unprecedented rate due to rising temperatures, reports state that they are in danger of drying up within the 21st century.

With the lack of sufficient, accessible water resources to meet water needs of the increasing population, the issue of water scarcity becomes one of the leading challenges of the twenty-first century.
Soils constitute the largest store of terrestrial carbon. When they are poorly managed or cultivated through unsustainable agricultural practices, soil carbon can be released into the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide, contributing to climate change.

In Nigeria, water services cannot be delivered quickly enough to cope with the rapidly growing population and agriculture is mostly rain-fed. The Executive Director of Nigerian Environmental Study Action Team, Professor, Chinedum Nwajiuba expresses that the agricultural sector depends on the natural resource base and thus faces risks such as desertification, rising temperatures, changing rainfall patterns and sea level rise, leading to degrading agriculture and exacerbating conflict.

Given the trends in climate change, FAO predicts that by 2025, water withdrawals will increase to 18 percent in developed countries, and 50 percent withdrawals in developing countries. While increasing effects of climate change intensifies water scarcity, report asserts that the economic impact of this would fall on agriculture.

Hence this issue calls for action to harvest and recycle freshwater resources, and employ more efficient ways to use water to provide food for an ever-increasing global population.
Experts suggest that climate adaptation measures in agriculture that build on existing good management practices can increase water security, thereby contributing directly to sustainable development. Also, modern technologies derived from applied research, combined with suitable policies would be effective in reducing the effects of climate change.

To this end, FAO adopts a global framework to combat the eff­ects of climate change on water scarcity.  Under this framework, countries will develop risk management strategies for national food security policies under water constraints and economic transitions, focused investments in water infrastructure; and the development of institutional and human capacities, and Implement sound and innovative water auditing to support decision-making and management.

The report also recommends that farmers adopt Precision Irrigation Techniques, Water Harvesting Techniques, and Wastewater Management to tackle water scarcity issues.