or impeded the successful outcomes." --Book Jacket.

"Wessex Institute of Technology's Sustainable Irrigation 2012 Conference held at University of South Australia in Adelaide"--Preface.

Fresh water is becoming an ever increasingly precious commodity, control of which could lead in the near future to the type of political instability now associated with energy shortages. This book addresses the different aspects of irrigation, including not only the management of water resources and scientific and technical aspects, but also matters related to policy and economics, researchers in academia and industry as well as professional practitioners and policy makers. Bringing together papers from the First International Conference on Sustainable Irrigation Management, Technologies and Policies, the book covers topics such as: Irrigation Controls; Irrigation Modelling; Irrigation Systems and Planning; Irrigation Management.

Sustainable Use of Water by Industry: Perspectives, Incentives, and Tools

Fresh water is becoming an increasingly precious commodity. In the near future, control of it could lead to the type of political instability that is now associated with energy shortages. This book addresses the different aspects of irrigation, including not only the management of water resources and scientific and technical aspects, but also matters related to policy and economics. The objective of the Conference Series is to provide a venue for an international presentation and dissemination of papers related to sustainable ways of conducting irrigation. Sustainable irrigation has three key aspects, i.e. i) developing ways of using scarce water resources most efficiently to maximize food production while minimizing the environmental impact of irrigation activities on the affected land and water resources; ii) ensuring that the extraction of water from surface and groundwater sources is set at sustainable levels to maintain healthy aquatic ecosystems to secure a continued supply of quality water for irrigation, recreation and urban/industrial uses; iii) facilitate an equitable distribution of the water available for consumption between competing users, which is essential to maintain sustainable communities. Attracting researchers in academia and industry, as well as professional practitioners and policy makers, the Third International Conference provides a platform for a review of the state of the art from the scientific, technological, political and economic points of view. Papers from the Meeting are published in this volume, and cover the following topics: Irrigation Management; Modelling and Simulation; Sustainable Irrigation - Farmers' Actions, Environmental Benefits and Socio-economic Consequences.

Continued population growth, rapidly changing consumption patterns and the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation are driving limited resources of food, energy, water and materials towards critical thresholds worldwide. These pressures are likely to be substantial across Africa, where countries will have to find innovative ways to boost crop and livestock production to avoid becoming more reliant on imports and food aid. Sustainable agricultural intensification - producing more output from the same area of land while reducing the negative environmental impacts - represents a solution for millions of African farmers. This volume presents the lessons learned from 40 sustainable agricultural intensification programmes in 20 countries across Africa, commissioned as part of the UK Government's Foresight project. Through detailed case studies, the authors of each chapter examine how to develop productive and sustainable agricultural systems and how to scale up these systems to reach many more millions of people in the future. Themes covered include crop improvements, agroforestry and soil conservation, conservation agriculture, integrated pest management, horticulture, livestock and fodder crops, aquaculture, and novel policies and partnerships.

In 2021, the United Nations Secretary-General will convene the Food Systems Summit to advance dialogue and action towards transforming the way the world produces, consumes and thinks about food guided by the overarching vision of a fairer, more sustainable world. The Secretary-General will also convene the High-Level Dialogue on Energy (HLDE) to promote the implementation of the energy-related goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Given the inextricable linkages between the energy and agriculture sectors, integrating the nexus perspective within the FSS and the HLDE is crucial to formulate a joint vision of actions to advance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement. In this context, IRENA and FAO have decided to jointly develop a report on the role of renewable energy used in food chain to advance energy and food security as well as climate action towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement. While energy has a key enabling role in food system transformation and innovation in agriculture, its current use is unsustainable because of the high dependence on fossil fuels and frequent access to energy in developing countries. The challenge is to disconnect fossil fuel use from food system transformation without hampering food security. The use of renewable energy in food systems offers vast opportunities to address this challenge and help food systems meet their energy needs while advancing rural development while contributing to rural development and climate action.