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Report
No.250304 |
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- International - |
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Asia-Pacific Water Summit: Multi-functionality to be Appealed to Avoid Reduction of Agricultural Water The 1st Asia-Pacific Water Summit in Oita closed on December 4 of 2007, with re-acknowledging the importance of water resources. The attendees included heads and other high-level officials from countries in Asia-Pacific region. Many statements from the attendees were almost cries over disastrous effects of the climate change; such as lakes and swamps drying up, insufficient safe drinking water, and so on. On the other hand, there was a controversy among experts as to a relation between limited water resources and agricultural water. In recent years, a concept of "environmental flow" has become dominant in the sphere of water management. The concept places the highest priority on securing the water supply from rivers that is necessary for the conservation of existing natural ecosystems. It is obvious that water should not be allocated only in accordance with economic values. As a drought or development has often led to the insufficient flow rate of rivers, more and more conflicts of interest occur between agriculture, the largest water user, and environment. In the most western countries with agriculture based on upland farming, agriculture has been facing growing criticism that large consumption of inexpensive water causes a concealed agricultural subsidy and waste of valuable water. Meanwhile, International Network for Water and Ecosystem in Paddy Field, which is composed of 17 countries with paddy-field-faming-based agriculture, held a workshop at the site of the summit. It suggested that water for paddy fields is linked to the environmental conservation, for example, maintenance of ecosystems, and its multi-functionality should be taken into consideration. This represents its concern over the environmental flow that may spread on its own, bringing about the increased demand for significant reduction of agricultural water in the international society. Tight supplies of food will intensify the competition for water. It is indispensable to make efforts in describing simply and clearly multifaceted roles of the paddy field farming. ( by S. Yamada, Editor of Nihon Nogyo Shimbun) |
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