Water for Food

Water for Life Support

Balancing Water for

People and Nature

Uriel Safriel

Hebrew University of Jerusalem Israel

Balancing Waterfor

People and Nature

Water for

People and Nature

Competition for limiting resource

?

ature

growth?

Water •Population

•Economic

•Population

for

?

People and N

Competition for limiting resourcelimiting

Organisms

Essential

?

Nature

OrganismsSpecies

limiting growth?

Water •Population

•Economic

•Population

for People and Ecosystems

People

speciesother

Competition for ?limiting resourcelimiting

Where growth of people and organisms limited by water?

Forests

Drylands

Polar

          

Drylands

MountainsMountains

Mountains

Islands

Coastal

Coastal

CoastalIslands

Cultivated

Cultivated

Cultivated

Forests & Woodlands Polar

Islands

1.5

Total precipitation (1 km3/1000 km2/yr)

2.0

1.0

0.5

0.0

Net primary productivity (kg/m2/yr)

1.0

0.8 Temp.

Forest & Woodland

Island Cultivated Dryland

Coastal Mountain Polar

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0

Forests

Drylands

PolarTemperature

Light

Water

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0

Population growth between Net primary 1990 and 2000 (percentage) productivity Total precipitation (kg/m2/yr) (1 km3/1000 km2/yr)

Forest &

Woodland

Island Cultivated

Coastal Mountain

Dryland

Polar

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0

1.0

Drylands

• Forty percent of nature is limited by water• Third of humanity competes with nature on

water?

•Precipitation at least ~1.5 < evapotranspiration •NPP limited by soil moisture

% of global land 41.3% % of global population 35.5%

Drylands: Low water Low productivity Water overuse Effect on nature?

Global water use

Global dryland

Forest ecosystem in drylands

Competition?

Remaining nature

Nature → agriculture

Water resource development

Remaining nature

• Remaining nature had enough water

• People did not outcompete nature and denying it water

• Development denied people of nature’s benefit

Ecosystem services Remaining nature

•Water regulation •Water provision

Off-site, water-related On-site, non-water

Off- and on-site, non-water

•Flood regulation

•Soil conservation •Climate regulation

Provisioning

Goods produced or

provided by ecosystems

• food • water provision

• woodfuel • timber

• fiber • biochemicals

Regulating

Benefits obtained

from regulation of ecosystem processes

• water regulation

• climate regulation

• disease regulation

• flood regulation

• water purification

Cultural

Non-material

benefits obtained from ecosystems

• spiritual

• inspirational

• aesthetic

• educational

• recriational

Supporting Services necessary for production of other services

(not directly used by people)

• • nutrient cycling • primary production

• supporting biodiversity

• ssooiill ccoonnsseerrvvaattiioonn

Forest ecosystem

Biodiversity Number vs difference

Service diversity and quality

•Water regulation

•Water provision

•Flood regulation

•Soil conservation Nature → agriculture •Climate regulation

Conditions required by a species for optimal service provision

• Large population size • Presence of other species

• Food • Facilitator

• Regulator

Habitat size • decrease

• fragmentation

↓↓↓↓ Population decrease

↓↓↓↓ ↓↓↓↓

Habitat • Conditions

• Abiotic conditions • Presence of other species

• Size

Local extinction

↓↓↓↓ Reduced biodiversity

↓↓↓↓ Service degradation

e

Forest ecosystem

Water resource development • Ecosystem transformation • Service tradeoff Habitat reduction

Still sustainable development

Forest services to cultivated

•Water provisionNatu → agricultureForrest → cultivated •Water regulation

ecosystem

Forest ecosystem

Water resource development • Ecosystem transformation • Service tradeoff Habitat reduction

Still sustainable development

Forest services to cultivated

•Water provisionNatu → agricultureForreest → cultivated •Soil conservation

Natural water provision → Intensified food provision

Still

Forest → cultivated

Natural water provision → Intensified food provision

Water resource development • Ecosystem transformation • Service tradeoff Habitat reduction

sustainable development

- increased

Non -

Competition is NOT on water On space

Non

more needs Sustainable Development Ecosystem

Less Services

Local extinction ↓

Regional extinction ↓

Degradation of other services

Water resource development • Ecosystem transformation • Service tradeoff Habitat reduction - increased Still sustainable development ?Non -

Scale

•Temporal

•Spatial

Ecosystem transformation

0

10

20

30

40

50

Fores

t D

ryla

nd

Isla

nd

Mou

ntai

n

Coast

al

Inla

ndw

ater

Polar

% s

yste

m a

rea

tra

nsfo

rmed

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Are

a o

f tr

an

sfo

rme

d s

ys

tem

(m

illio

n s

q.k

m)

% of ecosystem area transformed (by year 2000)

Area of ecosystem transormed (million sq.km)

10 60 System area

million sq.km (% of land)

driven by water

Not driven by

water

11%

Larger the system, higher percentage

transformed

19%

(7%) (41%)

37% of total land area transformed

Impacts of transformations on biodiversity Habitat Over- Pollution change exploitation (N,P)

Inland water

Mediterranean

Temperate forest

Impact strength Impact trend (last 50-100 yrs) Fast Continuing Very Moderate increase high High Low Increase Decreasing

Biodiversity response to impact Israel

100

80

60

40

Inlandw

ater

terrestrial

other

Living Planet Index Measure of trends relative to 1970

3000 populations 1146 vertebrate species

45% of extinct plant species are aquatic

40 invertebrate species locally extinct

1 (out of 7) amphibians globally extinct

1 fish species locally extinct

10 breeding birds 1970 1980 1990 2000 locally extinct as

breeders

Allocation of water to Israeli inland water ecosystems

(as % of annual renewable water, 9.4 km3/1000km2/yr)

Current allocation

Required flow

Loss to other uses

Best rainy year

Worse rainy year

0.2% 2% 9% 2%

Efforts to restore freshwater biodiversity

do not address damage to terrestrial ecosystems

caused by damage to freshwater ones

Services’ tradeoffs Provisioning services •Crops, livestock

•Capture fisheries •Wild food •Timber •Woodfuel

•Biochemicals

Cultural services •Spiritual & religious

•Aesthetic •Recreation

Regulating services •Global climate regulation •Local climate regulation

•Water regulation •Water purification •Flood regulation •Disease regulation

•Pollination

Supporting services •Soil conservation •Supporting biodiversity

0

20

40

60

80

Nu

mb

er

of

de

ath

s p

er

10

00

liv

e

Infant mortality rate

0

4,000

8,000

12,000

16,000

20,000

Dryland

Mountain

Cultivated

Inlandwater

Coastal

Forest

Island

Urban

Polar

US

do

lla

rs p

er

ca

pit

a

bir

ths

GDP per capita

Effect on people

% s

ys

tem

are

a t

ran

sfo

rme

d

ot

in

l it

asal

lnd

rbaP

l

n

GDP per capita Infant mortality rate % transformed

10

20

30

40

50

U oar

00

US

do

llars

per

cap

ita

20,000

16,000

12,000

D M C In C F Isry u u la o or ala n t v nd en a a t std e wd ater

80

60

40 8,000

4,000

0

20

Nu

mb

er

of

death

s p

er

1000

live b

irth

s

10

Ecosystem transformation

Fores

t D

ryla

nd

Isla

nd

Mou

ntai

n

Coa

stal

In

land

wat

er

Polar

0

10

20

30

40

50 %

syste

m a

rea

tra

nsfo

rmed

% of ecosystem area transformed (by year 2000)

Low water ↓

More water resource development ↓

Greater damage to freshwater and non-aquatic ecosystems

& their biodiversity ↓

Degradation of services ↓

Reduced human well-being

Balancing Water for

People and Nature?

FOR

Develop, transport Transform

More water kept in Nature More sustainable the development isTradeoff

Water nature IN

Degrade