Klingbeil, R. & Byiringiro, F., 2013. Food Security, Water Security, Improved Food Value Chains for Sustainable Socio-economic Development. Presentation at the SHARAKA conference “EU-GCC Regional Security Cooperation: Lessons Learned & Future Challenges”, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar, 28-29 Oct 2013.

1. Food Security, Water Security,
Improved Food Value Chains for
Sustainable Socio-economic Development
EU-GCC
Regional Security Cooperation
Doha, Qatar, 28-29 Oct 2013
Ralf Klingbeil, RA Environment & Water
Fidele Byiringiro, Economic Affairs Officer

2. Opening Quotes
“Nobody is qualified to become a statesman
who is entirely ignorant of the problems of wheat.”
Socrates
“There are no water wars because
food wars are not judged to be necessary.”
J.A. Allan, 1981
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3. Outline
• Definitions:
– Food security
– Water security
– Water-Food-Energy Nexus
• Challenges / Opportunities for Food & Water Security
– Reducing food losses and food waste
– Water – a keys to sustainable food production
– Securing food through securing international trade
– Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs)
– Securing food & rural livelihoods: improving value
chains
• Opportunities for International Cooperation
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4. UN ESCWA
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5. Sustainable Development and
Productivity Division
Implementation
Approach
Regional Convening
Power for
Intergovernmental
Mechanisms
Informing Regional
Processes for
Global Negotiations
and National Action
Partnerships
Green Economy
Energy
Section
Water
Resources
Section
Energy
Productive
Sectors Section
Shared Water
Resources
Efficiency
Climate Change
Adaptation
Food Security
Renewable
Energy
MDGs
Sustainable
Development
Goals
Energy
Security
Integrated Water
Resources
Management
Support to Intergovernmental Mechanisms
www.escwa.un.org
29 October 2013
ESCWA Committees (Water Resources / Energy); LAS Councils: CAMRE (JCEDAR), AMWC, AMCE
5

6. MENA: Water, Food, Energy Challenges
Demographics
Energy
Governance
Food
Water
& Land
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7. • Ongoing
Drought since
at least 2008
• Inability to
“make a living”
• Internal
displacements
• Additional
stress on
resources and
society in
urban areas
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irinnews.org, 2009. Syria’s drought-affected provinces as of Aug 2009.
Syria’s Ongoing Drought

8. Syria’s Past! – Syria’s Future?
Demographics
Drought and water scarcity
Water shortages
Crop failure
Natural resource mismanagement
Climate change
Internal displacement
Rural disaffection
Political unrest
...
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CCS, CAP and Stimson, 2013. Arab Spring and Climate Change.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
8

9. Syria’s Past! – Syria’s Future?
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Evans, J.P., 2009. 21st Century Climate Change in the Middle East.
Estimated
Change in
Length of
Dry Season
9

10. Definition:
“Food security exists when all people, at all times,
have physical, social and economic access to
sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary
needs and food preferences for an active and healthy
life.”
Four pillars / dimensions of food security:
• Availability
• Access
• Utilization
• Stability
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FAO, 2009. Declaration of the World Summit on Food Security (WSFS).
Food Security

11. FAO, IFAD, and WFP, 2013. The State of Food Insecurity in the World.
Food Security Indicators:
Based on Four Dimensions of Food Security
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12. FAO, IFAD, and WFP, 2013. The State of Food Insecurity in the World.
Global Undernourishment Trends:
Increases in Western Asia
29 October 2013
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13. Khouri, N. 2013. Food Security in Saudi Arabia - A Framework.
Combining Indicators:
Hunger, Food Balance and Price Risk
29 October 2013
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14. Definition:
“The capacity of a population to safeguard sustainable
access to adequate quantities of acceptable quality
water for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being, and
socio-economic development, for ensuring protection
against water-borne pollution and water-related
disasters, and for preserving ecosystems in a climate
of peace and political stability.”
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UN Water, 2013. Water Security & the Global Water Agenda.
Water Security

15. UN Water, 2013. What Is Water Security?
Water Security
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16. UN Water, 2013. Water Security & the Global Water Agenda.
Water – Food – Energy
The Nexus
29 October 2013
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17. Challenges to / Opportunities for
Food & Water Security
• Reducing food losses and food waste
• Water – a keys to sustainable food production
• Securing food through securing international
trade
– Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs)
• Securing food & rural livelihoods:
improving value chains
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18. Challenges to / Opportunities for
Food & Water Security
Food Losses and Food Waste
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19. http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/240072-massive-amount-of-food-wa
Qatar:
“Massive amount of food wasted”
Qatar Statistics Authority (QSA):
“(...) more than half of the
municipal waste generated (...)
contains discarded food.”
The Peninsula, 05 Jun 2013
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20. BCFN, 2013. Food Waste: Causes, Impacts and Proposals.
Food Losses – Food Waste
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21. Lundqvist, J. et al., 2008. Saving Water: From Field to Fork –
Curbing Losses and Wastage in the Food Chain.
Food Losses – Food Waste
29 October 2013
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21

22. Gustavsson, J., et al., 2011. Global Food Losses and
Food Waste. Extent, Causes and Prevention.
Food Supply Chains:
Losses of Food – and Water
Production Volumes per Commodity Group (million
tonnes)
29 October 2013
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23. BCFN, 2013. Food Waste: Causes, Impacts and Proposals.
Food Losses – Food Waste:
Total Carbon Footprint, GB
29 October 2013
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24. BCFN, 2013. Food Waste: Causes, Impacts and Proposals.
Food Losses – Food Waste:
Carbon Footprint per Category, GB
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25. www.waterfootprint.org
Food Losses – Food Waste:
Water Footprint
29 October 2013
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26. BCFN, 2013. Food Waste: Causes, Impacts and Proposals.
Food Losses – Food Waste:
Total Water Footprint, GB
X million m3
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27. BCFN, 2013. Food Waste: Causes, Impacts and Proposals.
Food Losses – Food Waste:
Water Footprint per Category, GB
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28. BCFN, 2013. Food Waste: Causes, Impacts and Proposals.
Food Losses – Food Waste:
Economic Impact along Supply Chain, ITA
XXX million euro
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29. Inamo, 2001. 7 (27), www.inamo.de.
Challenges to / Opportunities for
Food & Water Security
Water
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30. Agricultural Water Use
e.g. Wadi Al-Sirhan, Saudi Arabia
1991
2000
2012
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31. Irrigated Agriculture in Saudi Arabia
Accumulated 30 year groundwater abstraction, 1975 - 2004 per
Region for Saudi Arabia (WaterWatch, 2006)
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32. Transboundary / Shared Water Resources
and Aquifers in Middle East
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33. UN ESCWA & BGR, 2013. Inventory of Shared Water Resources in WA.
Water Resources in Agricultural Areas:
Wajid Aquifer, Saudi Arabia and Yemen
Wajid Aquifer is used by
the population living in
Najran area, with
estimated 450,000 people,
and Sa’dah Governorate in
Yemen.
Water resources shared
with Yemen.
Water use: mainly
agricultural, limited
municipal and industrial
Sustainability: water level
decline and salinization
due to overexploitation,
resulting in partial
exhaustion of the resource
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34. UN ESCWA & BGR, 2013. Inventory of Shared Water Resources in WA.
Water Resources in Agricultural Areas:
Wadi Najran Basin, Saudi Arabia and Yemen
29 October 2013
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35. Challenges to / Opportunities for
Food & Water Security
Trade
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36. The Economist, 2012. Food. How to feed a planet, continued, 28 May
2012, www.economist.com/blogs/feastandfamine/2012/05/food
Food Surpluses and Deficits by Region
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37. Jordan
Saudi Arabia
UAE
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Keulertz, M., 2013. Arab Vulnerability in Global Food Supply Chains.
Based on : Water and Food data base and COMTRADE.
Average Annual Wheat Imports, 2008-2012
39

38. Hoekstra, A.Y. and Mekonnen, M.M., 2012.
The Water Footprint of Humanity.
Net Virtual Water Imports
per Country, 1996-2005
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39. UN ESCWA & GIZ, forthcoming. Green Agricultural Value
Chains for Improved Livelihood in the Arab Region.
Cereal Trade Globally and in the Region:
Net Cereal Import 1980-2011 (million tons)
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40. UN ESCWA & GIZ, forthcoming. Green Agricultural Value
Chains for Improved Livelihood in the Arab Region.
Major Cereal Traders:
Export & Import Countries, 2010 (million tons)
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41. UN ESCWA & GIZ, forthcoming. Green Agricultural Value
Chains for Improved Livelihood in the Arab Region.
Agricultural Trade in the UN ESCWA Region
29 October 2013
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42. GeoEconomica, 2011. Saudi Arabia’s Food
Diplomacy: Searching for Fertile Ground.
Saudi Arabia: Wheat Production,
Consumption, and Trade, 1983-2019
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43. Woertz, E., 2013. Food Security in the UAE.
Agro-Projects and MoUs
Announced in the UAE, 2008-2011
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44. GeoEconomica, 2013. Assessing the Governance and Transparency
Standards of Sovereign Wealth Funds: Santiago Compliance Index.
GeoEconomica:
Santiago Compliance Index 2013
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45. Challenges to / Opportunities for
Food & Water Security
Improving Value Chains
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46. Byiringiro, F., 2013. Green Agricultural Value Chains
for Improved Livelihood in the ESCWA Region.
Green Value Chains: Characteristics
• Addresses socio-economic and
environmental development :
–
–
–
–
higher income,
jobs,
equity,
conservation, etc.
• Global companies increasingly looking at issues
such as safety, fairness, etc.
• Need to prove performance standards
• Given the continuously rising global ramifications:
 Adapt or be left out
• Covers economic, social and environmental
(and institutional) issues
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47. Byiringiro, F., 2013. Green Agricultural Value Chains
for Improved Livelihood in the ESCWA Region.
Green Value Chains: Tasks
Seven implementation tasks:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
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Prioritization,
Assessments & design of strategies,
Upgrading & replication,
Vertical & horizontal linkages,
Value, quality & competitiveness,
Support services for better environment,
Monitoring & evaluation.
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48. Byiringiro, F., 2013. Green Agricultural Value Chains
for Improved Livelihood in the ESCWA Region.
Repositioning of Moroccan
Vegetable Market for Export
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49. Challenges to / Opportunities for
Food & Water Security
Other Measures
• Investing in GCC-based (global) food trading house:
– Competition to ABCD (US-EU), NOWS (Easter Asia),
• Increasing food storage options:
– Regional approaches instead of national,
• Increasing storage option for water
(surplus desalination and treated wastewater):
– Strategic subsurface groundwater storage,
Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR),
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50. Opportunities for International Cooperation:
EU, Maghreb, Mashreq and the GCC 1/2
• Inter-regional cooperation with focus on socio-economic
development and its contributions to sustainable
development,
• EU & Europe to offer GCC experience sharing and
cooperation on
– environmental and water statistics,
– transboundary water and environmental cooperation,
– contribute to better cooperative environment within and beyond
GCC to the wider Middle East,
• EU & Europe to assist in improving governance of
national investment funds (Sovereign Wealth Funds)
towards more transparency and accountability; ensuring
positive impacts of agricultural investments.
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51. Opportunities for International Cooperation:
EU, Maghreb, Mashreq and the GCC 2/2
• EU, Europe & GCC to cooperate and support local and
regional initiatives for improving Green Value Chains in
Mashreq, Maghreb & GCC to
– provide more socio-economic development opportunities for rural
populations,
– improve environmental deterioration resulting from overuse of
natural resources,
– offer chances to improve local livelihoods in more remote areas,
– reduce migration to already overcrowded urban centres,
– reduce social tension in urban fringes, ...
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52. Conclusions and Recommendations
1.
2.
3.
4.
Food security as described in this paper has many facets and requires
holistic approaches to the management of natural resources and its
inter-linkages with national, regional and global socio-economic
policies.
International trade can contribute to securing food and to sustainable
development in both, food producing, i.e. “surplus” and deficit
countries if handled in cooperative and transparent manner.
Primary focus of food security measures should be on local vulnerable
population, rural poor, often located in rural areas with less access to
urban infrastructure and resources as local food producers and
preservers of natural habitats.
If global trade continues to impose non-equitable and unjust trade
relations, if national governments continue to ignore the plight of the
rural, disadvantaged and poor for more affordable food, equitable use
of natural resources and better distribution of wealth the region may
not come to a rest easily and further food-related conflicts are likely to
influence the fate of governing elites.
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53. Woertz, E., 2013. Oil for Food.
Today ! – Tomorrow ?
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54. Food Security, Water Security,
Improved Food Value Chains for
Sustainable Socio-economic Development
EU-GCC
Regional Security Cooperation
Doha, Qatar, 28-29 Oct 2013
Ralf Klingbeil, RA Environment & Water
Fidele Byiringiro, Economic Affairs Officer