World has 'sufficient water' for future food needs

According to a series of studies preented at 14th World Water Congress in Porto de Galinhas, Brazil there is enough water in the world's rivers to meet the demands of the expanding global population, but the rivers have to be better managed. The main problem for water use is not scarcity but inefficient use of supplies because of poor governance and regulation. According to Simon Cook, leader of the CPWF Basin Focal Research Project,"the failures are institutional and political. The studies analysed economic and demographic conditions; hydrology; agricultural systems and the influence of institutional factors on water availability and use in nine major river basins in Africa, Asia and Latin America. They found that, in many areas, water production can be substantially increased without harming the environment. In Africa, for example, most cropland is rain-fed and only four per cent of available water is captured for crops and livestock. For more on this article visit http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rwin20/36/1