An innovative approach to the assessment of hydro-political risk: A spatially explicit, data driven indicator of hydro-political issues

Farinosi, Fabio; Giupponi, Carlo; Reynaud, A.; Ceccherini, Guido; Carmona-Moreno, C.; Roo, Ad de; Gonzalez-Sanchez, D; Bidoglio, G.

doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2018.07.001

Cited by 61 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 78 publications

(162 reference statements)

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“…Consequently, Iran is grappling with a state of "water bankruptcy" [2] that threatens the sustainability of one of the world's most ancient and thriving civilizations. Rising water stress will likely increase the risk of water conflicts [9][10][11][12][13] driven by the country's water management issues. There is widespread evidence of water security becoming a major concern from a national security standpoint, including extensive drying-up of water bodies, frequent sand and dust storms, widespread groundwater table decline, deteriorating water quality, and increasing competition and conflict over limited water resources [1,2].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Groundwater‒Energy‒Food Nexus in Iran’s Agricultural Sector: Implications for Water Security

Mirzaei

Saghafian

Mirchi

et al. 2019

Water

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This paper presents the first groundwater‒energy‒food (GEF) nexus study of Iran’s agronomic crops based on national and provincial datasets and firsthand estimates of agricultural groundwater withdrawal. We use agronomic crop production, water withdrawal, and energy consumption data to estimate groundwater withdrawal from electric-powered irrigation wells and examine agronomic productivity in Iran’s 31 provinces through the lens of GEF nexus. The ex-post GEF analysis sheds light on some of the root causes of the nation’s worsening water shortage problems. Access to highly subsidized water (surface water and groundwater) and energy has been the backbone of agricultural expansion policies in Iran, supporting employment in agrarian communities. Consequently, water use for agronomic crop production has greatly overshot the renewable water supply capacity of the country, making water bankruptcy a serious national security threat. Significant groundwater table decline across the country and increasing energy consumption underscore dysfunctional feedback relations between agricultural water and energy price and groundwater withdrawal in an inefficient agronomic sector. Thus, it is essential to implement holistic policy reforms aimed at reducing agricultural water consumption to alleviate the looming water bankruptcy threats, which can lead to the loss of numerous agricultural jobs in the years to come.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Groundwater‒Energy‒Food Nexus in Iran’s Agricultural Sector: Implications for Water Security

Mirzaei

Saghafian

Mirchi

et al. 2019

Water

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Irrigation efficiency can also be improved through altering farming practices and conservation tillage that help improve soil moisture conservation [44]. Water availability, and therefore all options that increase water supply, as well as agriculture dependency (agriculture output as a share of GDP) increase the likelihood of occurrence of hydro-political interactions defined as either conflicts or cooperation [93]. Evidence from CDM projects shows the significant potential of technology transfer associated with renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power and measures to improve energy efficiency at the household level or in services [95].…”

Section: Food Storagementioning

confidence: 99%

Building a Framework to Understand the Energy Needs of Adaptation

2019

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Adaptation is a critical option to cope with climate change, as it alleviates the residual climate damages not avoided by emission reduction measures. However, adaptive actions can consume extra amounts of energy. This paper introduces a framework to identify the energy use associated with adaptation and qualifies its relevance in terms of sustainable development. A qualitative, bottom-up analysis of the policy commitments submitted in the context of the Paris Agreement and the 2030 UN Agenda for sustainable development is complemented with a review of the literature on adaptation, energy, and sustainable development. The analysis of the policy options related to vulnerability reduction in the Nationally Determined Contributions reveals a set of recurring adaptation strategies strongly associated with energy use. By linking the resulting options to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets and indicators, we show that energy-related adaptation options are all connected to at least one SDG, though the strength of the connection varies across adaptation options and SDGs. The descriptive synthesis provided in this paper sets a framework for future research aimed at assessing the energy implications of adaptation strategies, contributing to further understand the nexus between climate policy and development.

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“…The political leadership of today and global governance systems need to place water squarely in the middle of the peace and security nexus. Farinosi et al (2018) opine, "although water issues alone have not been the sole trigger for warfare in the past, tensions over freshwater management and use represent one of the main concerns in political relations…" Solutions cannot be piecemeal or always internal, just as water knows no boundaries, solutions also need to transcend borders. Water used a weapon of war, as a tool in the hands of non-state actors and terrorist and by governments is a strong argument to the UN and the International community to place water in the space of a human rights argument.…”

Section: New and Emerging Threatsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Water as a Non Traditional Security Challenge

Vishwanth¹

2019

ajs

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Challenges such as climate change, water and environment or even food security were not considered under the traditional security paradigm. In 1994, the UN Human Development report brought to the forefront the need to shift focus to the concept of people‟s security and identified several essentials including economic, health and environment security. Water, which lies at the core of these essentials did not find adequate prominence and while „water wars‟ was under the subject of academic scrutiny, the concept of water security as a global challenge did not receive adequate attention. Currently, water and its inextricable relationship to energy, food and development, and political stability is placed at the core of every security debate. In 2015, leaders at the WEF in Davos ranked water as the No.1 risk to societies. The paper explores how a change in attitude is required from policy makers to the end user.

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An innovative approach to the assessment of hydro-political risk: A spatially explicit, data driven indicator of hydro-political issues

Abstract: HighlightsData driven spatially explicit index of hydro-political issues magnitude.Estimation of the non-linear interactions between factors determining water issues.Increasing climate change and population are likely to boost hydro-political issues.

Cited by 61 publications

References 78 publications

The Groundwater‒Energy‒Food Nexus in Iran’s Agricultural Sector: Implications for Water Security

The Groundwater‒Energy‒Food Nexus in Iran’s Agricultural Sector: Implications for Water Security

Building a Framework to Understand the Energy Needs of Adaptation

The Role of Water as a Non Traditional Security Challenge

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