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The Forum > Article Comments > Only a price on water can end threat to food security > Comments

Only a price on water can end threat to food security : Comments

By Colin Chartres, published 24/8/2009

There is a looming global water crisis which climate change will aggravate by making rainfall more erratic in many regions.

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A timely and interesting article. Cubbie Station is for sale and in the interests of reducing the impact of water-intensive cotton, I hope the government is putting in a bid.

Another way to look at this problem is not to see it as a water problem but a population problem. The solutions might be better approached from a population sustainability aspect than purely focussing on water restrictions or pricing mechanisms.

In the Third Word, water issues are exacerbated by lack of social infrastructure and volatile governments.

A better solution might be arrived at by spreading our attention across the board to include not only agricultural measures but economic, population, health, education etc.

Limiting our outlook to agriculture might be necessary in the short term however if we continue to ignore other factors it will be a bandaid fixture only.
Posted by pelican, Monday, 24 August 2009 9:14:55 AM
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This morning I read the ABC's news item "4.6m short of water in China drought". http://www.abc.net.au/news/world/topstories.htm This makes me shudder, as it looks more and more like a reality: http://www.japanfocus.org/-Brahma-Chellaney/2458

It is my computer's desktop that made me truly aware of the politics of water in Asia. The background picture is of earth, looking down on Australia from space. It changes every 10 minutes to reflect the day / night shadow, the night time city lights as would be seen from space, the moon circling the earth, and the current weather (ie clouds). Very pretty, and the clouds give me a 2 second overview of what the weather is like. For example, right now I can see the cloud front that will bring rain to Melbourne today, while Brisbanes sky's are clear.

Over time I noticed something. No matter when I looked, there always seemed to be clouds in one place: banked up behind the Himalayas. Those clouds are evidently the water source for 1/3 of the worlds population: India and China. Both are running low, and China is evidently trying to fix its problem by redirecting the water flowing through Tibet to India, so it flows to China instead.

Then I read this article, particularly the words: "This is almost twice what we use today and is not sustainable." Quite. A statement of the obvious, I guess. Yet I know we will see comments here saying he is mistaken, the world is a magic pudding the population will grow and it will all be OK, and I will wonder just what percentage of people have such a loose grip on reality, and hope that it is small.

Then I read "Study demonstrates how we support our false beliefs", http://esciencenews.com/articles/2009/08/21/study.demonstrates.how.we.support.our.false.beliefs I see the figure 50%. I shake my head, say this must be a US disease, and go back to work. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, that's what I say.
Posted by rstuart, Monday, 24 August 2009 10:54:47 AM
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We can reduce immigration. There's no way our country can sustain more numbers, look at how many rivers we've destroyed already, such as the Snowy, Murrimbidgee, Ovens and Murray just to start off with. We still have hardly any flows in the Snowy below Jindabyne dam, the greedy hydro company has kept the MOwamba aqueduct operating to divert this little river into the lake when it could run straight into the Snowy instead.

Overseas we need to offer population control in our aid programs, promote reproductive health and contraception as a way to reduce population and give the people more food security. In countries that refuse to allow these programs, we can reduce aid, which may have a similar affect as the reducing and eventually totally withdrawn aid will hasten attrition of their unsustainable numbers.
Posted by Inner-Sydney based transsexual, indigent outcast progeny of merchant family, Monday, 24 August 2009 12:14:01 PM
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While water scarcity and means of dealing with it is an important issue, the article's suggested solutions along with some here in the forum, seem to only be responsive (and thus limited their ultimate effect) in nature.

Addressing the forum comments first- 'overpopulation' is not the problem and population control is certainly not the solution. Equitable resource use and distribution are instead meaningful and just solutions.
Australian water usage for example (or use of any other scarce resource for that matter) would be far out of proportion on a per capita basis than anywhere in the developing world. This ties into responding to the Chartes' proposals. Our current market system and the inequitable social and environmental conditions it perpetuates simply aren't sustainable. Those in the industrialized world (a fraction of the world's population)use a lot more of scarce resources to maintain lifestyles that aren't sustainable.

Valuing and pricing water in the end seeks a market solution for a market problem. Yes it might create some better usage, but it will most likely lead to costs be passed on to the consumer or subsidized by the taxpayer, while doing very little to fundamentally change patterns of use and consumption and thus the issue of water scarcity.
Chartes rightly mentions increasing meat and dairy consumption patterns as lead cause in water usage in wealthier nations. However he doesn't see/suggest the solution in ending the long-term subsidies of such unsustainable practices, creating a change in eating patterns and farming that is much more water efficient, not to mention numerous other benefits for environment and health from such changes.
Nor is there any questioning of the notion that unlimited growth (the driving force of markets)is in the end what needs to be addressed to stop the absurdity of climate change and its many effects including water scarcity.

Chartes' solutions only delay the problem and don't go far enough in fundamentally addressing the important points he raises.
Solutions to the water crisis, like all the environmental problems facing both the developed and developing world, are inexorably linked to changing our economic and social structures.
Posted by Movingpast, Monday, 24 August 2009 4:32:27 PM
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I am of the opinion there is enough water, it's just that we take it for granted.

We all know water is our most presious assett, yet, we often continue to use it only once.

We treat all household water to 'A grade' drinking standard, yet, we only consume less than 2%. Why?

Why can't the run off from aguculture be captured, treated if needs be, then re-used again and again.

Now as for third world counties and thier population problems, it's simple, THEY JUST CAN'T STOP BREEDING! Now if you want to teach them anything, teach them about contreception. Then, and only then, you may get somewhere. Otherwise you may as well pee into a fan!

Of cause the other competitor for food is bio-fuel.

What farmer in thier right mind would continue to jump through hoops to grow food, when they can simply grow fuel.
Posted by rehctub, Monday, 24 August 2009 6:13:08 PM
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Putting a price on water - not privatising it - is certainly one step that can be taken. Stop wasting food- it's estimated that up to 40% of our food is wasted - that's always wasting water. Stop growing water hungry crops - eg cotton or rice - in countries without enough water. Stop industrial monoculture cropping and start mimicking natural systems and the efficient way they use and reuse water. Finally, eat less meat.
Posted by next, Monday, 24 August 2009 7:57:25 PM
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