Is Alternative Water and Food Production a Solution?

The amount that we can use as fresh water in all the waters of the world is 2.5 per cent, and most of this water consists of icebergs and glaciers, which are very difficult to reach. Only 1 per cent of surface fresh water is found in lakes and rivers. Although underground waters are 100 times more than surface fresh waters, most of them are located very deep below the surface as brackish water. Approximately 50 per cent of those close to the surface are constantly withdrawn as drinking and utility water and their quantity and quality are decreasing.

It can be said that the fresh water resources of our world are unevenly distributed on the earth's surface with the population and considering the increasing needs, it can be said that water resources are regionally finite resources according to space and time.

Water resources unevenly distributed on the earth's surface are under the pressure of climate change, population growth, migration to cities and pollution. Since the mid-20th century, rapid population growth, especially in developing and underdeveloped countries, has led to an increase in the population that cannot access fresh water and live in a healthy environment. Currently, nearly 2 billion people have difficulty in accessing clean water and live in unhealthy environmental conditions. 

We Push the Limits of Natural Resources

Our resources in the world are capable of feeding 12 billion people annually. However, the resources that can be produced in 1 year worldwide have unfortunately been depleted earlier and earlier every year since the 1970s. In terms of resource utilisation, scientists now explain that we start to consume the next year's crop just after half of each year.  This date is being brought forward rapidly every year. Nature needs to renew itself in certain periods for reproduction. However, by consuming more than we produce, we do not give nature the time it needs to renew itself.  

For a long time, we have been pushing the limits of our natural resources for more consumption. Our water resources are also included in this.

Approximately 70 per cent of water resources in our country and in the world are used for agricultural irrigation. About 40 per cent of the world's total food production is produced on irrigated agricultural lands. On average, irrigated agriculture is at least twice as productive per unit of land compared to rain-fed agriculture. It allows for more intensive production and product diversity. As the effects of climate change increase, the need for irrigated agriculture and therefore the need for water will also increase. 

For this reason, more efficient use of water in all sectors, especially agricultural irrigation, and its rational and planned management becomes much more important.

Is Alternative Water and Food Production a Solution?

Before we set out towards alternatives for basic needs such as water and food, it is useful to review our consumption habits for both needs 

Rapidly developing technology seems to be in a position to theoretically meet both of these needs from seawater desalination plants and food production laboratories. However, we should think again before we get caught up in the process of obtaining the increase in demand for our vital and continuous water and food needs through technology-supported artificial productions. These solutions are still used compulsorily, especially in regions with water scarcity. However, it will be difficult to talk about a natural environment and life in a world where these solutions are widespread because they will provide fast production for consumption frenzy. For this, we have to use our existing natural resources more consciously and create a more livable and sustainable world. 

Since the beginning of the 2000s, the United Nations has set many goals such as poverty alleviation, adaptation to climate change and sustainable development. For this purpose, 17 global development goals were set in 2015, which were accepted by all UN member states.  The Sustainable Development Goals to be realised by 2030 have three main objectives: ending extreme poverty, combating inequality and injustice, and preventing and adapting to climate change. 

Considering these objectives, it is seen that water has a very important role in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN. The clean water goal, which is accepted as the 6th Sustainable Development Goal, is not only a part of the other 17 goals, but also a prerequisite for the realisation of these goals. This goal includes basic targets for drinking water supply and sanitation as well as environmental sustainability.

Alternative Water and Development 

It is difficult to achieve these targets by continuously producing water from alternative sources, which has such a great importance in the sustainable development of countries. Countries with physical water scarcity have no other solution but to resort to alternative sources such as sea water treatment and fossil water withdrawal. For this reason, the development and development plans of these countries are different and their implementation carries many difficulties. Water-poor but oil-rich countries have recently realised the risks of the petrodollar economy and started to take some industrialisation steps. This has revealed that they will need more water. As a result, water stands out as a very important resource in the sustainable development and development of each country. Those who try to provide this development and development with alternative resources, even if they are technological countries such as Israel and oil-rich countries such as Arab countries, still experience significant constraints. For this reason, they are trying to create water and food security areas in other geographies.

Can We Achieve Responsible Consumption and Innovative Management 

The rate at which we consume the world's resources has long since surpassed the rate at which nature reproduces them and offers them to us. Today, the world consumes 1.6 times more than it can produce. Compared to 1900, energy consumption per capita has tripled, raw material utilisation has doubled and the world population has increased 5 times. If this understanding of consumption continues, water management will also be adversely affected. Today, the relationship between water, energy, food production and environmental security has become much more intense than in the past. In this case, an increase in demand in any of these areas will have consequences that will directly affect water management. This will necessitate a flexible water management approach capable of rapidly adapting to changing conditions and making and implementing rapid decisions. In addition, the water management of the 21st century is shaped as adaptive, multifunctional and locally oriented in order to overcome many uncertainties that will arise from climate change.

A change in thinking is necessary for Sustainable Use and Management of Water 

If we get carried away with the idea that the water issue will reach a technological solution by taking the speed of development of technology behind us, we will find ourselves in another unnatural world. However, for millions of years since the foundation of the world, we have continued to live as a part of the natural environment. Taking the risk of disrupting the natural balance and seeking other solutions by consuming our natural resources in an effort to dominate nature will be costly. We should live in peace with nature and firstly, we should try to use our existing natural resources in the most efficient way. The pressures and uncertainties facing water resources require us to make radical changes in our understanding of water management and water use. In this context, we need a water management that is participatory, transparent, ecosystem sensitive, open to nature-based solutions, socialist, realistic and dynamic planning. In water management, it is necessary to widely implement the understanding of using the available water in the most efficient way before deciding to develop new resources to meet the increasing demand. In this context, online reuse of water after treatment, especially in industrial use, will be a very important step for sustainable water use. In fact, new planning such as smart cities and new production concepts such as circular economy will also create infrastructures suitable for the purification and online use of water. 

In water resources management, it is important to meet the water demand of not only humans but also all living things in a sustainable manner.  Because water is not only the vital need of humans, but also the basic need of our natural environment and the basic element of ecological balance. As a result, a balance between economic, ecological and sociological objectives will be required for the sustainable management of water resources. This balance is often difficult to achieve and some objectives are compromised. Pressures on water resources are increasing all over the world, but technology is also developing. Therefore, water management will now be in great need of an innovative water management approach and effective use of digital technology in water management for sustainable management of water by ensuring this balance. 

For the sustainable management of water in our country, we first need a radical change in thinking, legal regulation and institutional restructuring at the basin scale.