Putting Water Issues in Perspective: CPWF Water Dialogue Posters to Spark Debate

This post was originally published on the Challenge Program on Water and Food website.

We hear a lot about water scarcity. We hear that we are running out of fresh water, that food security is threatened, and that the grim consequences are already upon us. While there is some truth to this, it is easy to over-state the nature of the problem and to underestimate what we can do about it. Water problems are serious, complex and multi-faceted but not impossible to comprehend.  Solutions may not be simple, but they are attainable.

Photo Credit: Neil Palmer/Flickr

Consider for a moment this enigma: agriculture in dry areas is often crippled by drought – but in these areas only a small fraction of rainfall is actually used by agriculture.  Water as such is often less scarce than the ability to capture and make use of it.

It is important to place water scarcity issues in perspective, for example, that access can be as important as physical availability; that institutions can be as important as technologies; that equitable sharing can be as important as improved productivity; that water is essential to ecosystems as well as food systems; that water generates cooperation as well as conflict; that water and food systems are dynamic and can change rapidly in a short time; that solving water problems is a social process in which credible and relevant information can be a powerful asset; but whether and how this information is utilized typically depends on networks of partners and patterns of engagement.

A set of water dialogue posters was recently released by the CPWF. These aim to help place water and food issues in perspective. The posters portray the diversity and richness of insights achieved by CPWF projects. Each poster is designed for brevity, clarity, and accessibility of message. At the same time, each poster is backed up by in-depth research (which you can access through the supporting documentation box accompanying each poster). Some posters focus on the nature of water scarcity while others point out areas of opportunity to make things better, through technologies, institutions, policies, or patterns of engagement.

The purpose of the posters is to stimulate dialogue as much as to inform. They aim to show that water and food issues are indeed complex but that we do know a lot about them and we have learned a lot about how to address them. We are not helpless. We can act, and dialogue is where action can begin.