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The Global and National Food and Water System

Website: www.waterandfood.ifpri.org

Introduction

Global change will profoundly affect many aspects of water: its contribution to food production, water rights and access to water especially by poor and marginalized people, the health of water-related ecosystems, the incomes of water users, and conflicts over water use. Policies and institutions at national, regional and international levels—some of which may promote global trends like trade liberalization or react to them—will likewise strongly influence the future of water resources.

Theme 5 will improve knowledge of the complex interplay between global change and policymaking and use the results to build institutional capacity in this area. The aim is to support policymaking both within and outside the water sector so that it enhances food security and human health, promotes production of more food with less water, helps alleviate poverty, and protects ecosystems.

Research questions

How can globalization and trade liberalization be managed to best enhance environmental policy and the management of water quality and water-related ecosystems?

What proportion and types of investment should be made in water development, relative to agricultural research, education, health and nutrition?

How much money should be invested in dams, taking into account future water needs as well as the financial, social and environmental costs of dam building?

How can broader goals, including agricultural development, rural livelihoods, food security, water quality, and health and nutrition, best be integrated into international river basin agreements?

How will changes in global water cycles affect food production and change the ways in which the poor, women and disadvantaged groups access ecosystem services?

How can global and national policies and institutions prevent or mitigate the negative impacts of changes in global water cycles on water and food security and on the livelihoods of the poor, women, and the socially marginalized?

Impacts and Outputs