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2. Sustainable consumption patterns for water and food Water-related consumption patterns of all stakeholders in the food systems – from consumers to industry and producers – optimize water use (for, processing and packaging, food loss and waste, etc.) to ensure sustainable access to clean water for healthy people and a healthy environment. Participants agreed that water was key to food security and underpinned all 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Water plays a role at all stages of the value chain, and we cannot continue using water to the same extent that we are now. Sustainable consump... Read moretion of water requires global solutions, the effects of which would be felt at the local-level. One participant highlighted three key areas needed to ensure sustainable access to clean water, which framed a large portion of the discussion. These included (1) developing a unified agreement in the water space on what was important, (2) developing a suite of solutions for the global community to act on, and (3) developing a people-focused call to action to raise the profile of water. A key solution would be to break down the silos in the water community. Sustainable water use comes from integration, with the involvement of people from all sectors in conservation. This includes farmers, governments, the private sector, and the general public. Farmers could benefit from education programmes. Governments would benefit from access to high-quality data, allowing for the development of sustainable water policies. There would need to be a paradigm shift in the private sector, away from a risk-management perspective to an approach of water stewardship. Additionally, there is tension in terms of trade-offs and competition between different parts of the water sector which needed to be addressed. For the general public, sustainable consumption would require individuals coming closer to the understanding that water is sourced directly from nature and is essential to life. It would also be necessary to focus on local-level and community management, which would require building trust among all stakeholders. To a certain extent, participants diverged in terms of to what extent they thought the key issue was water scarcity vs. inefficient use of water. Those who framed the primary issue as inefficient use noted that technology and innovation could improve water-use efficiency and water productivity. These participants emphasized that increased demand for water and food requires excess capacity. However, others framed the primary issue as one of water scarcity, emphasizing an increased focus on sustainable consumption through awareness raising. For example, one participant noted that the agriculture sector focuses too heavily on measures that promote “more crop per drop” at the expense of generating awareness around sustainable consumption. Finally, participants highlighted the urgency of the issue. One participant noted that the global community would need to perform a miracle to integrate water action into SDG 17. Another noted that deforestation constantly makes front page news but water is being lost at a faster rate, and raised the question of why we are “here now when we’ve known that we’ve had a problem for so long?”. Read less

1. Ensuring access to safe and nutritious food and safe water "Food production increases and diversifies to meet growing demand for nutritious foods while minimizing water use and protecting freshwater sources in the context of climate change (thereby boosting water availability for other uses - domestic, industry, environment, and livestock)." The discussion group was quite diverse in terms of gender, country, expertise, and stakeholders ranged from youth to seniors, innovators, public and private sector representatives, and international organisations. The group attempted to answer the provi... Read moreded questions with focus on ensuring access to safe and nutritious food and safe water. There was clear consensus on the: • need to foster connection between the food and the water systems; • lack of understanding of the value of water (freshwater system); • mismatch on how to treat the natural resources and freshwater in relation to food system; • food production misses a system approach understanding and implementation; • lack of data to better understand the system; • need for mapping our understanding and natural process, regardless of the many solutions that exist; • lack or harmonization of the legal dimension (water law, management, protection, governance, etc.); • need to shift as users and consumers our interactions with water and food systems (improve efficiency and productivity and reduce waste); and • need for higher inclusion of local communities, youth, indigenous populations, etc. In response to the above, the group highlighted a number of actions: • Map freshwater systems for greater understanding • Understand the status of irrigation systems as most water consumers • Actively engage local communities, youth, and women in the design, development, and implementation of solutions and interventions • Promote innovation, technologies, and smart agriculture to save water for safe food • Promote and establish the legal protection of water bodies, similar to forest protection • Raise government awareness of systemic approach • Promote the recycling and reuse of each water drop to improve its value • Produce nutritious food: shift from cropping food to nutritious food Surprisingly, no areas of divergence amongst participants were identified. The group was able to connect its thoughts and ideas to focus on the problem and proposed solutions. Read less

In terms of recommendations for action, the following themes emerged across the discussion groups, demonstrating the inter-relations between all the discussion topics: No water = no food: Resolving issues around water scarcity, pollution and wastage is crucial for transforming food production and consumption. The demand for food is increasing: while almost 800 million people are currently hungry, by 2050 global food production would need to increase by 50% to feed the more than 9 billion people projected to live on our planet. However, the annual amount of available freshwater resources per pe... Read morerson has declined by more than 20% in the past two decades. Whether it is irrigation or whether it is the water we receive through rain-fed agriculture, water is one of the food systems elements that is most taken for granted. The way we value and manage water is central to how we make our food systems resilient and sustainable for future generations. Food loss and waste = water loss and waste: When water is wasted, food is wasted and when water is scarce, food is scarce. One-fourth of freshwater consumed in global food production is effectively wasted since the food produced with this water is never consumed. Reducing food loss and waste is a clear entry point to mitigate water scarcity. Reducing food loss and waste optimizes water use. Food producers = water managers: The way in which water is used in agriculture is no longer sustainable. We know that irrigation accounts for more than 70% of global water withdrawals. Farmers, with specific emphasis on smallholders, are essential actors and food producers are among the world’s most important water managers. Farmers could benefit from education programmes, including through an improved version of farmer field schools which aims to ensure two-way communication, collective learning and co-design principles. Technical solutions and innovation: Innovation should incorporate the fact that water in agriculture is strongly linked to land tenure and distribution, climate change policies, energy and urbanization policies. Innovative technologies are increasingly important to manage scarce water resources, e.g. desalinization, drip irrigation, harvesting rain water in the face of climate change to meet the competing demands of agriculture, domestic use and industry/energy requirements. Innovative policies will allow better management of competition across various nexus domains, highlight trade-offs and synergies, and reduce conflict risks. Regenerative agriculture, including the storage of water in the soil, seed selection, rebuilding soil biodiversity will improve the water cycling in agricultural systems. Safe wastewater reuse in agriculture is a promising solution particularly in peri-urban settings. Governance: Sustainable water use is enhanced by integration of all sectors in conservation including farmers, governments, the private sector and the general population. Governments would benefit from access to high-quality data to develop sustainable water policies. Good governance is essential to mitigate negative forces that impact water management through establishing policies and setting up regulatory frameworks that provide the right incentives. This requires a departure from the ‘sectoralist’ policies to embrace a cross-sectoral approach including food, health, energy and others. Even though investments can optimize and foster sustainable water technologies and processes, the path to water security needs to rely on the right laws and institutions that work to ensure that water sustainably. Inclusion: There is a need for an inclusive participatory process that gives a voice to marginalized and vulnerable communities, indigenous peoples and future generations. Such empowerment and the democratizing of decision and policymaking can foster the trust between relevant stakeholders that is required to leverage synergies and manage trade-offs between different interests, while ensuring that no-one is left behind. This implies a fundamental shift in the way water is valued, in which water not just understood as a commodity, but instead as core to life, livelihoods and culture. Significant part of the traditional knowledge remains with communities that are detached from technology and bringing their wisdom to the benefit of the broader communities and making it accessible requires deliberate effort. Investments: Investments link to many themes above; e.g. investments in technology that helps manage water better, but need for a governance context that guides investments. This must come alongside a series of region-specific or context-specific indicators, indicating what each SDG, especially those relevant to food and water security, means for each regional setup in terms of investments. Investments can play a significant role in improving water security by recognizing the economic value of water, which should be an essential component for investment mechanisms. Public-Private Partnerships are an essential instrument within water and irrigation systems, but there has been a lack of innovative developments in that field. These tools would help investors identifying the direct and indirect impacts of their investments. The value/role of aquatic foods should also be considered. Connections between biodiversity and ecosystems and the benefits you can get from having a water management scheme need more attention. Read less

The dialogue focused on the nexus between food systems and water systems, doing so in a way that acknowledges linkages to other systems that are fundamental to the SDGs (e.g. energy, climate, oceans). The discussion topics addressed this nexus from complementary perspectives: • The five Food Systems Summit Objectives and Action Tracks: o ensure access to safe and nutritious food for all, o shift to sustainable consumption patterns, o boost nature-positive production, o advance equitable livelihoods, and o build resilience to vulnerabilities, shocks and stress. • Key themes and challenges r... Read moreelated to the water-food-energy nexus that are also emerging from dialogues held at regional and country levels, such as governance, cross-sectoral collaboration, investments and innovation and knowledge. Achieved outcomes The global dialogue contributed to the following outcomes: • Build awareness about the key role of water in sustainable and equitable food systems • Identify water-related propositions relevant to the five Food Systems Summit Action Tracks • Ensure water is considered as part of the major issues and recommendations that are taken to the Food Systems Summit through the various work streams (action tracks, levers of change, dialogues, scientific group) • Identify key issues regarding the nexus between water systems and food systems that should also be addressed in the water-related policy forums and agenda (e.g. 2023 United Nations Conference on the Midterm Review of the Water Action Decade) The 9 discussion topics were: 1. Food production increases and diversifies to meet growing demand for nutritious foods while minimizing water use and protecting freshwater sources in the context of climate change (thereby boosting water availability for other uses – domestic, industry, environment and livestock). 2. Water-related consumption patterns of all stakeholders in the food systems – from consumers to industry and producers – optimize water use (for processing and packaging, food loss and waste, etc.) to ensure sustainable access to clean water for healthy people and a healthy environment. 3. Integrated watershed and agro-ecosystem management allows access to safe (pollution-free) and sufficient water for food production and human consumption while preserving or regenerating environmental water requirements (forests, lakes, groundwater recharge). 4. The human right to water and sanitation and the right to food are achieved conjunctly by all people everywhere – in particular low-income households, marginalized groups, women and youth – having fair, sustainable and equitable access to safe drinking water and sanitation, and water for food production, processing, and consumption including food safety. 5. The resilience of water systems in the face of climate change is strengthened to meet the competing demands of agriculture, domestic use, industry and environmental flows. 6. The cross-sectoral and transboundary strategies and cooperation required to ensure water-food-energy security for all and ensure environmental sustainability are in place (jointly managed systems minimize trade-off and maximize synergies). 7. The governance of water resources (in terms of policy coherence, institutional coordination and access rights) at multiple levels – farm, water basin, country, region – support equitable access to and sustainable use of water resources for food, health and energy. 8. The investments – public and private – required to optimize water use efficiency in our food systems and protection of water resources are mobilized and effectively used, and investments in unsustainable water uses discouraged. 9. Science, innovation, and data access from multiple disciplines and traditional knowledge are harnessed to increase the efficiency of water systems for food, sanitation, industry and the environment. Read less