Abstract
Demand for the world’s water is rising rapidly, limiting its availability for food production and threatening global food security. As agriculture competes with industry, households, and the environment for a larger share of this scarce resource, groundwater is falling to alarming low levels, other water ecosystems are becoming more polluted, and new water sources are becoming more costly to develop.

Will there be enough water to grow food for the 8 billion people expected to populate the Earth by 2025? Using a global model to show how water availability and water demand are likely to evolve, World Water and Food to 2025 contends that if current water policies continue, most poor households will face a high level of food insecurity and a hard struggle to obtain drinking water. The environment will also suffer from water shortages. Further neglect of the water sector could produce a genuine water crisis, which in turn could lead to a food crisis through declining food production, higher food prices, and reduced food trade.

This seminar will look at alternative futures for global water and food, show the consequences of changes in water investments and policies, offer strategies to make more effective use of water in food production, and consider innovative institutional arrangements to avert an impending water crisis.

Please RSVP to 202-862-8107 or Email: S.Hill-Lee@cgiar.org.