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The past decade has seen the advent of several important global policy frameworks including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement on climate change, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, the Small Island Developing States Accelerated Modalities of Action, the New Urban Agenda and the Addis Ababa Action

Changing climate, loss of native forests, disappearance of biodiversity, water shortages, desertification, the reduction of natural soil fertility — all add to the scenario of a world with increasingly complex environmental challenges.

The concept of Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) has emerged as a challenge to the all-too-prevalent tradition of taking the Earth’s natural resources for granted. PES highlights a global continuum, illustrating the relationship between our lifestyles, the demands associated with our production and consumption patterns, and the effects those demands have on close or distant ecosystems.

The second international symposium on the management of large rivers for fisheries was held by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and Mekong River Commission on 11 - 14 February 2003 in Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia. It had three primary objectives: (a) To provide a forum to review and synthesise the latest information on large rivers; (b) To raise the political, public and scientific awareness of the importance of river systems, the living aquatic resources they support and the people that depend on them; and (c) To contribute to better management, conservation and restoration of the living aquatic resources of large rivers.

The symposium was organised in six sessions:

Session 1: Status of rivers
Session 2: Value of river fisheries
Session 3: Fisheries ecology and conservation
Session 4: Management of river fisheries
Session 5: Statistics and information
Session 6: Synthesis

 It came up with the following recommendations for action -

• Improve the valuation of living river resources in order to contribute to equitable and sustainable management of fishery resources and properly place the fishery in the context of the other uses of rivers.
• Direct greater effort to better understanding the social and economic aspects of fisheries to support policy and management priorities; livelihood approaches will be a valuable tool.
• Communicate and engage with environment and water resources managers within the context of multi-use of water in order to accurately assess impacts and to sustain the benefits of river fisheries in an equitable manner.
• Develop processes that facilitate the users and beneficiaries of the fishery resource to assume greater control of its management.
• Establish appropriate mechanisms at national and basin level to enable negotiation for the needs of communities dependent upon the living aquatic resources. In particular further regulations need to be elaborated to protect general ecosystem function and provide for environmental flows.
• Use instruments such as the freshwater eco-regions approach, the Ramsar Convention and the guidelines for water allocation suggested by the World Commission on Dams, to enhance planning for conservation and sustainable use of river habitats.
• Incorporate ecological flow requirements of river-floodplain systems into development plans and impact assessments that affect river flows, taking into account the seasonality of the system and the environmental cues needed by the fish for migration and reproduction.
• Rehabilitate degraded ecosystems wherever possible. Prioritize schemes that ensure connectivity and protection of critical habitats.

This report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) deals with the economics of wastewater use in agriculture. It presents an economic framework for the assessment of the use of reclaimed water in agriculture, as part of a comprehensive planning process in water resource allocation strategies to provide for a more economically efficient and sustainable water utilization. 

The UN-Water website's World Water Day 2010 section, provides access to a range of informative, educational and advocacy material on water.

The documents and publications section includes a range of documents related to water quality, drinking water quality and public health, and water safety planning and management including the safe use of wastewater for agriculture and aquaculture.

This document by International Water Management Institute (IWMI) highlights the urgent need for improving irrigation systems to enhance food production to meet the needs of the growing population in Asia, in the context of increasing urbanisation and the challenges posed by climate change.

Experience has shown that improvement in irrigation systems have led to improvement in agricultural growth in Asia in the past where irrigated agriculture still continues to be the heart of rural growth.

However, experts estimate that demand for food and animal feed will double during the next fifty years in Asia. This will require better management of the existing irrigated lands as opening up of new alternatives is constrained by lack of land and water resources.

Suresh Desai is a founding member of an Organic Farmers Club in Belgaum District of Karnataka, India. It has 400 members, some of whom are already growing crops organically, while others are in the process of shifting to organic farming.

Since completing his matriculation, Suresh has been caring for the family property of 4.5 hectares, in an area where today sugar cane is primarily grown. For nearly a decade Suresh, as the manager of the farm, followed conventional practices relying on external inputs in the form of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Just like most of the other farmers near Belgaum, he grew sugar cane, a high water-demanding cash crop, and tobacco.

This report by the Agriculture and Consumer protection Department, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) is divided into the following chapters:

Zero tillage: A conservation agriculture technique that is helping South Asian wheat farmers increase productivity and conserve their natural resources - by spending less time on land preparation
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