The global reproduction of food, notably cereal crops, appears to have been remarkably resilient to the vagaries of climate. The unsung hero in this production chain may well be groundwater. When rainfed agriculture fails, the fallback is usually groundwater. First it is accessed to smooth over the dry periods, and then it becomes a habit. Therefore, staying within strict resource limits would seem to be the obvious piece of management advice. That sensibile advice was given in the late 1950s; in the meantime the green revolution occurred and 40 years later the resource limits on many key aquifiers have been exceeded. High-quality groundwater that had taken thousands of years to emplace has gone in a few decades, leaving agriculture, municipalities and rural communities competing for the recoverable groundwater that remains. This paper explains why conventional approaches to groundwater management may need to be re-thought.
Autores y editores
Marcus Moench, Jacob Burke, Yarrow Moench
Land and Water Division
Deputy Directory-General Natural Resources
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and debate policy. FAO is also a source of knowledge and information.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and debate policy. FAO is also a source of knowledge and information.
Proveedor de datos
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and debate policy. FAO is also a source of knowledge and information.