The Right to Water for Food and Agriculture
()
About this ebook
This study examines the question of the right to water for food and agriculture and asks whether such a right can be found in the right to water, or whether it is more appropriate to examine the right to adequate food for that purpose. Seeking inspiration from the right to adequate food and from other fields of international law, the study explores the content of the right to water for food and agriculture and then considers its implications for water law. Recognizing a human right to water – for drinking and household needs as well as for growing food – has implications for water allocation and sets limits to the extent that water can be allocated for other uses. In addition, it entails the respect for procedural rights and attention to important principles, such as the principle of non-discrimination and the rights of indigenous peoples.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
An intergovernmental organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has 194 Member Nations, two associate members and one member organization, the European Union. Its employees come from various cultural backgrounds and are experts in the multiple fields of activity FAO engages in. FAO’s staff capacity allows it to support improved governance inter alia, generate, develop and adapt existing tools and guidelines and provide targeted governance support as a resource to country and regional level FAO offices. Headquartered in Rome, Italy, FAO is present in over 130 countries.Founded in 1945, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO provides a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and debate policy. The Organization publishes authoritative publications on agriculture, fisheries, forestry and nutrition.
Read more from Food And Agriculture Organization Of The United Nations
Agripreneurship across Africa: Stories of Inspiration Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFood Handler's Manual: Instructor Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Food Safety Risk Management: Evidence-Informed Policies and Decisions, Considering Multiple Factors Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFruit and Vegetables: Opportunities and Challenges for Small-Scale Sustainable Farming Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFood Composition Data: Production, Management and Use Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Datos de composición de alimentos Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Save and Grow: Cassava Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2020: Transforming Food Systems for Affordable Healthy Diets Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDigital Technologies in Agriculture and Rural Areas: Status Report Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGuía de nutrición de la familia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Food Handler's Manual: Student Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFood Control System Assessment Tool: Introduction and Glossary Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsClimate Change and Food Systems: Global Assessments and Implications for Food Security and Trade Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsE-Agriculture in Action: Blockchain for Agriculture Opportunities and Challenges Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Edible Insects: Future Prospects for Food and Feed Security Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThinking about the Future of Food Safety: A Foresight Report Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFAO Guide to Ranking Food Safety Risks at the National Level Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe State of the World's Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIdentification Guide to Macro Jellyfishes of West Africa Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Use of Solar Energy in Irrigated Agriculture: A Sourcebook for Irrigation Water Management with Alternative Energy Solutions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTrends and Impacts of Foreign Investment in Developing Country Agriculture: Evidence from Case Studies Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Farm Data Management, Sharing and Services for Agriculture Development Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFood Control System Assessment Tool: Dimension B – Control Functions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Guide to Good Agricultural Practices for Commercial Production of Ginger under Field Conditions in Jamaica Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Farmer Field Schools for Family Poultry Producers: A Practical Manual for Facilitators Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCodex Alimentarius Commission: Procedural Manual Twenty-Sixth Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsQuality Assurance for Animal Feed Analysis Laboratories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGuidelines for Assessing Nutrition-Related Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to The Right to Water for Food and Agriculture
Related ebooks
Catalysing Dialogue and Cooperation to Scale up Agroecology: Outcomes of the Fao Regional Seminars on Agroecology Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIndigenous Peoples’ Food Systems: Insights on Sustainability and Resilience from the Front Line of Climate Change Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGuide on Incentives for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Guide to Forest–Water Management Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDangerous Intercourse: Gender and Interracial Relations in the American Colonial Philippines, 1898–1946 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIndecent Exposure: Gender, Politics, and Obscene Comedy in Middle English Literature Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGood Maya Women: Migration and Revitalization of Clothing and Language in Highland Guatemala Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDecolonizing the Diet: Nutrition, Immunity, and the Warning from Early America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFood Research: Nutritional Anthropology and Archaeological Methods Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsConservation Agriculture in Subsistence Farming: Case Studies from South Asia and Beyond Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLegends, Traditions, and Laws of the Iroquois, or Six Nations, and History of the Tuscarora Indians Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEthical Eating: A Complete Guide to Sustainable Food Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Prairie Gardener’s Go-To for Soil Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVoices of Inuit Leadership and Self-Determination in Canada Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEdible Entanglements: On a Political Theology of Food Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPlant Science, Agriculture, and Forestry in Africa South of the Sahara: With a Special Guide for Liberia and West Africa Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPolitics of Indigeneity: Challenging the State in Canada and Aotearoa New Zealand Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On the Edge of the Global: Modern Anxieties in a Pacific Island Nation Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Biodiversity and Livelihood: Lessons from Community Research in India Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGarlic (Allium sativum): Monograph on a herb reputed to be medicinal Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNative Religious Traditions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStorm Prayers: Retrieving and Reimagning Matters of the Soul Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUrban Pollution: Cultural Meanings, Social Practices Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFood Security and Scarcity: Why Ending Hunger Is So Hard Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCustomizing Indigeneity: Paths to a Visionary Politics in Peru Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEnvironmental Winds: Making the Global in Southwest China Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMaking a Living: Work and Environment in the United States Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSimply Living: The Spirit of the Indigenous People Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Social Science For You
The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Come As You Are: Revised and Updated: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A People's History of the United States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art of Witty Banter: Be Clever, Quick, & Magnetic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Men Explain Things to Me Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dumbing Us Down - 25th Anniversary Edition: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fourth Turning Is Here: What the Seasons of History Tell Us about How and When This Crisis Will End Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All About Love: New Visions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Verbal Judo, Second Edition: The Gentle Art of Persuasion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Secret Garden: Women's Sexual Fantasies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Just Mercy: a story of justice and redemption Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5You're Not Listening: What You're Missing and Why It Matters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Denial of Death Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Weapons of Mass Instruction: A Schoolteacher's Journey Through the Dark World of Compulsory Schooling Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Like Switch: An Ex-FBI Agent's Guide to Influencing, Attracting, and Winning People Over Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary of Clarissa Pinkola Estés's Women Who Run With the Wolves Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Close Encounters with Addiction Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Island of the Blue Dolphins: The Complete Reader's Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Right to Water for Food and Agriculture
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
The Right to Water for Food and Agriculture - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Required citation:
Morgera, E., Webster, E., Hamley, G., Sindico, F., Robbie, J., Switzer, S., Berger, T., Silva Sànchez, P.P., Lennan, M., Martin-Nagle, R., Tsioumani, E., Moynihan, R. & Zydek, A. 2020. The right to water for food and agriculture. Rome, FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/ca8248en
The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned.
The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of FAO.
ISSN 1014-6679 (Print)
ISSN 2664-5106 (Online)
ISBN 978-92-5-132301-4
E-ISBN 978-92-5-132333-5 (EPUB)
© FAO, 2020
Some rights reserved. This work is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO licence (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo/legalcode).
Under the terms of this licence, this work may be copied, redistributed and adapted for non-commercial purposes, provided that the work is appropriately cited. In any use of this work, there should be no suggestion that FAO endorses any specific organization, products or services. The use of the FAO logo is not permitted. If the work is adapted, then it must be licensed under the same or equivalent Creative Commons licence. If a translation of this work is created, it must include the following disclaimer along with the required citation: This translation was not created by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). FAO is not responsible for the content or accuracy of this translation. The original [Language] edition shall be the authoritative edition.
Disputes arising under the licence that cannot be settled amicably will be resolved by mediation and arbitration as described in Article 8 of the licence except as otherwise provided herein. The applicable mediation rules will be the mediation rules of the World Intellectual Property Organization http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/mediation/rules and any arbitration will be conducted in accordance with the Arbitration Rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).
Third-party materials. Users wishing to reuse material from this work that is attributed to a third party, such as tables, figures or images, are responsible for determining whether permission is needed for that reuse and for obtaining permission from the copyright holder. The risk of claims resulting from infringement of any third-party-owned component in the work rests solely with the user.
Sales, rights and licensing. FAO information products are available on the FAO website (www.fao.org/publications) and can be purchased through [email protected]. Requests for commercial use should be submitted via: www.fao.org/contact-us/licence-request. Queries regarding rights and licensing should be submitted to: [email protected].
Cover Photo: © Jialiang Gao
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgements
Acronyms and abbreviations
Introduction
1. The human right to water
1.1. Water rights and water tenure
1.2. The emergence of a human right to water
1.3. General Comment No. 15 on the normative content of the right to water
1.4. International obligations arising from the right to water
1.5. General obligations
1.5.1. Specific obligations
1.5.2. Procedural obligations
1.5.3. International cooperation
1.5.4. Responsibility of non-state actors
1.6. Preliminary conclusions
2. The human right to water for food and agriculture
2.1. Insights and challenges from the perspective of the right to food
2.1.1. Insights from the High Level Panel of Experts on water for food security and nutrition
2.2. Groups requiring special consideration
2.2.1. Women
2.2.2. Indigenous peoples
2.3. Preliminary conclusions
3. Insights from other relevant areas of international law
3.1. International investment law
3.2. International trade law
3.2.1. Water efficient agriculture – the role of subsidies
3.2.2. Process and production methods
3.2.3. Bulk water transfers
3.2.4. Trade and virtual water
3.3. International climate change law
3.4. International biodiversity law
3.4.1. General guidance
3.4.2. Specific guidance concerning indigenous peoples and local communities
3.5. International law on transboundary watercourses
3.5.1. United Nations Convention on International Watercourses
3.5.2. United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Water Convention
3.5.3. United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Protocol on Water and Health
3.5.4. Draft Articles on Transboundary Aquifers
3.6. Preliminary conclusions
4. Implications of the right to water for food and agriculture
4.1. Human rights-based approach
4.2. Integrated water resources management
4.3. A human rights-based approach to integrated water resource management
4.3.1. The interaction between the human right to water, water rights and land tenure
4.3.2. Considerations related to customary land and water rights
4.4. Relevant examples in national law
4.5. Implications for reviewing (and reforming) national law
Conclusion
References
Literature
Legally-binding international instruments
Non-legally-binding international instruments
National legislation
International case law
National case law
Preface
The right to water is a self-standing right inextricably connected to the right to an adequate standard of living, and is understood to be also inherent in the right to health and the right to life. The right to water and the right to food are intimately connected and therefore, these rights are expected to mutually support the realization of one another with a view to contributing to an adequate standard of living.
The scope of the human right to water has mostly been understood to encompass domestic uses, for drinking and for hygiene. However, water is also essential for food production, but are there grounds in international law for stating that there is a right to water for food production or for agriculture more broadly? The FAO Legal Office has been faced with this question in a number of contexts, including in the preparation of a study on water for food security by the High Level Panel of the Committee on World Food Security, and in the elaboration of other international instruments pertaining to water for food and agriculture.
This study is commissioned with a view to bridging existing knowledge gaps on the relationship of the human right to water and effective water governance with sustainable agriculture and the human right to food. This study addresses the above-mentioned question by interpreting the right to water and discussing its linkages with other human rights, in particular, the right to food and other fields of law, from trade and investment law to climate change and biodiversity law, to understand the possible scope of such a human right. It also examines the implications of the human right to water for food production and agriculture for a human rights-based approach to water governance.
Acknowledgements
This study was prepared through a Letter of Agreement with the University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom, under the supervision and leadership of Margret Vidar, Legal Officer, FAO and Sisay Yeshanew, International Legal Consultant, FAO. Jessica Marasovic performed editing and layout.
Acronyms and abbreviations
ACHPR African Commission on Human and People’s Rights
CBD Convention on Biological Diversity
CEDAW Convention on Elimination on All Forms of Discrimination against Women
CESCR Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights
CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child
EIA Environmental impact assessment
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
FSN Food security and nutrition
GATS General Agreement on Trade in Services
GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
HBRA Human rights-based approach
HLPE High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition
ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
ICESCR International Covenant for Economic Social and Cultural Rights
IACtHR Inter-American Court of Human Rights
IIT International Investment Treaties
ILO International Labour Organization
IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
IWRM integrated water resource management
LDCs Least-developed countries
OAS Organization of American States
OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
OHCHR Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
RTFG Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security
SDGs United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
UN United Nations
UNCTAD UN Conference on Trade and Development
UNDP UN Development Programme
UNDRIP UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
UNECE UN Economic Commission for Europe
UNEP UN Environment Programme
UNFCCC UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
UNGA UN General Assembly
UNHRC UN Human Rights Council
UNICEF UN Children’s Fund
UNILC UN International Law Commission
UN OHCHR UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights
UNWC UN Watercourses Convention
VGGT Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security
WHO World Health Organization
WTO World Trade Organization
Introduction
The human right to water is anchored in the human right to an adequate standard of living; a response to concerns that began to attract the international community’s attention in the 1970s (Gleick, 1998; Cahill, 2005; and Leb, 2012). The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the absolute minimum water required to maintain a person’s life is 25 litres per day, but this is unsatisfactory for other needs such as personal hygiene (Hutton and Haller, 2004). Depending on circumstances, water for personal and domestic uses can be satisfied by 50–100 litres per day (Howard and Bartram, 2003). Within the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by United Nations (UN) Member States on 25 September 2015 (2030 Agenda), the international focus has been on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) target 6.1 (universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all), and target 6.2 (access to adequate and equitable sanitation for all). WHO and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have reported that billions of people have achieved access to the basic services described by these targets since 2000, although faster progress is required to achieve the 2030 targets (WHO and UNICEF, 2017).
The progressive realization of these targets is expected to rely upon the realization of SDG target 6.4:
By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity and substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity (2030 Agenda, 2015).
Water use in the agricultural sector is particularly relevant in this connection. Agriculture uses 70 percent of the global average annual freshwater withdrawals,¹ (which total nearly 4 billion m²),² while in least developed states, agriculture accounts for over 90 percent of freshwater withdrawals (FAO, 2011). Renewable freshwater sources total 4.2 billion m²,³ but many water sources (such as groundwater) are not renewable in a human timescale (FAO, 2006a; HLPE, 2015). By 2050, global freshwater withdrawals for agriculture may increase to 90 percent (WWAP, 2012), due to population growth, agricultural intensification and changing dietary patterns.
The realization of SDG target 6.4 is complicated by the fact that the planet’s water resources are under increasing stress due to population growth, pressure on land from natural resource extraction, energy generation, increasing industrialization and importantly, climate change (WWAP 2012; HLPE, 2015). Anthropogenic climate change will increase uncertainty in the availability, reliability and quality of freshwater resources (Jiménez Cisneros et al., 2014). The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) noted that water is the agent that delivers many of the impacts of climate change to society
(Jiménez Cisneros et al., 2014, p. 234). In particular, climate change may increase uncertainty in water access for agriculture. The IPCC states that due to climate change, future irrigation demand is projected to exceed local water availability in many places
and rainfed agriculture is vulnerable to increasing change in rainfall (Jiménez Cisneros et al., 2014, pp. 251–2). Further, demand to produce food on either rainfed or irrigated land will rise, due to intensifying weather variability brought about by climate change (Jiménez Cisneros et al., 2014). According to FAO, focusing on improving the resilience of agricultural systems to reduce current and likely risks from climate variability should be