The report aims to provide a conceptual framework to address food security under conditions of water scarcity in agriculture. It has been prepared by a team of FAO staff and consultants in the framework of the project "Coping with water scarcity - the role of agriculture", and has been discussed at an Expert Consultation meeting organized in FAO, Rome, during the period 14-16 December 2009 on the same subject. It was subsequently edited and revised, taking account of discussions in the Expert Consultation and materials presented to the meeting. The purpose of the Expert Consultation was to assist FAO to better design its water scarcity programme. In particular, the experts were requested to provide recommendations on the range of technical and policy options and associated principles that FAO should promote as part of an agricultural response to water scarcity in member countries. The document offers views on the conceptual framework on which FAO's water scarcity programme should be based, proposes a set of definitions associated with the concept of water scarcity, and indicates the main principles on which FAO should base its action in support to its member countries. At the meeting, experts were requested to review the draft document and provide feedback and recommendations for its finalization. Issues that were addressed in discussions included: 3⁄4 Water scarcity: agreement on key definitions. 3⁄4 The conceptualisation of water scarcity in ways that are meaningful for policy development and decision-making. 3⁄4 The quantification of water scarcity. . 3⁄4 Policy and technical response options available to ensure food security in conditions of water scarcity. . 3⁄4 Criteria and principles that should be used to establish priorities for action in response to water scarcity in agriculture and ensure effective and efficient water scarcity coping strategies.

Flood based irrigation in particular spate irrigation relies on variable flood scenarios occurring every year. Management of spate flood for spate irrigation must cope with the variability and uncertainty of water supply. Coping with water supply risks is often the only way to harness the opportunities for a productive use of water in arid environment. Integrating and strengthening community responses into irrigation policies and improvement plans could ensure sustainable and productive spate irrigated systems that can achieve food security for the poor population. This research analyses and evaluates risks and coping strategies developed by farming communities in the Gash spate irrigation system in Sudan, Eastern Africa. The research has synthesized different coping strategies developed by farmers, water user associations and water managers to cope with low, high and untimely flood risks. The research provide different frameworks that can assist with the identification of risk sources, pathways and propagation as well as evaluation of locally developed strategies at field, secondary and intake systems. The findings of this study contribute to scarce knowledge on spate irrigation system and provide scientifically sound and evidence-based insights to aid informed policy and decision making to improve productivity and sustainability of the spate irrigation systems.

Originally published in 1990, Agricultural Protectionism in the Industrialized World takes a detailed look into the domestic and international agricultural policies of the United States, Europe, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. These areas are some of the most industrialised in the world and this study focuses on the benefits, policies and costs related to protectionism of their agriculture. These papers offer detailed analysis of the evolution, objections and domestic and international implications related to agriculture in specific countries as well as taking a global view of issues such as policy, trends and costs and concluding with a discussion on the effects of free trade. This title will be of interest to students of environmental studies.

The science of climate change is a complex subject that balances the physical record and scientific fact with politics, policy, and ethics - and is of particular importance to the geosciences. This thoughtfully crafted new text and accompanying media encourage non-science majors to practice critical thinking, analysis, and discourse about climate change themes. Taking a cross-disciplinary approach, acclaimed educator and researcher, David Kitchen, examines not only the physical science, but the social, economic, political, energy, and environmental issues surrounding climate change. His goal: to turn knowledge into action, equipping students with the knowledge and critical skills to make informed decisions, separate facts from fiction, and participate in the public debate.