Environmental research. Food systems最新文献

{"title":"The iGains4Gains model guides irrigation water conservation and allocation to enhance nexus gains across water, food, carbon emissions, and nature.","authors":"Bruce Lankford, Nafn Amdar, Matthew McCartney, Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi","doi":"10.1088/2976-601X/adabe9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/2976-601X/adabe9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This paper introduces and applies iGain4Gains, an Excel-based model, to reveal how changes to water conservation and allocation, and irrigation technology, can produce four nexus gains. These gains are; reduced aggregate water consumption, sustained crop production, lower carbon emissions, and enhanced water availability for nature. We developed the model with limited data and hypothetical future scenarios from the Amman-Zarqa basin in Jordan. Given its significant irrigation and urban water demands and difficult decisions regarding future water allocation and nexus choices, this basin is a highly appropriate case study. The paper's primary aim is to demonstrate the iGains4Gains nexus model rather than to build an accurate hydrological model of the basin's water resources. The model addresses two critical questions regarding increased irrigation efficiency. First, can irrigation efficiency and other factors, such as irrigated area, be applied to achieve real water savings while maintaining crop production, ensuring greenhouse gas emission reductions, and 'freeing' water for nature? Second, with the insight that water conservation is a distributive/allocative act, we ask who between four paracommoners (the proprietor irrigation system, neighbouring irrigation systems, society, and nature) benefits hydrologically from changes in irrigation efficiency? Recognising nexus gains are not always linear, positive and predictable, the model reveals that achieving all four gains simultaneously is difficult, likely leading to trade-offs such as water consumption rebounds or increased carbon emissions. Demonstrated by its use at a workshop in Jordan in February 2024, iGains4Gains can be used by students, scientists and decision-makers, to explore and understand nexus trade-offs connected to changes in irrigation management. The paper concludes with recommendations for governing water and irrigated agriculture in basins where large volumes of water are withdrawn and depleted by irrigation.</p>","PeriodicalId":520363,"journal":{"name":"Environmental research. Food systems","volume":"2 1","pages":"015014-15014"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7617495/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143653255","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Affordability of healthy and water-saving dietary patterns in The Gambia.","authors":"Jyoti Felix, Pauline Fd Scheelbeek, Genevieve Hadida, Indira Bose, Bakary Jallow, Kris A Murray, Andrew M Prentice, Rosemary Green, Zakari Ali","doi":"10.1088/2976-601X/ad93de","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/2976-601X/ad93de","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Dietary modification has the potential to improve nutritional status and reduce environmental impacts of the food system. However, for many countries, the optimal composition of locally contextualized healthy and sustainable diets is unknown. The Gambia is vulnerable to climate-change-induced future water scarcity which may affect crop yields and the ability to supply healthy diets. This study identifies potential shifts in Gambian diets that could make diets healthier and reduce the associated agricultural water footprint (WF), and assesses the cost and affordability implications of such dietary changes. Gambian Integrated Household Survey (IHS) food consumption data was combined with market prices, food expenditure and agricultural WF data. Current dietary patterns were compared with World Health Organization (WHO) dietary guidelines and optimized using linear programming to identify least-cost diets that met nutrition recommendations and reduced agricultural water use. Optimization scenarios explored the maximum reduction in green water use that could be achieved with 'culturally-acceptable' dietary shifts, and the magnitude of shifts required to maintain green water use at current levels. On average, current diets provide adequate energy and have appropriate macronutrient composition. However, only 14% of households consume enough fruit and vegetables (F&Vs), and consumption of added sugars exceeds recommendations. With 'culturally-acceptable' changes in consumption, agricultural water use could decrease by 10%-13% or increase by 9%, depending on the baseline dietary pattern. Extreme dietary shifts will be required to maintain water use at 2015 levels with projected population growth. To meet WHO recommendations, dietary costs would increase by 43% compared to the current baseline. Healthy and green water-saving diets would require 48%-63% of average household expenditure to purchase, which is unaffordable for almost half of the population. F&Vs alone account for 31%-40% of the cost of optimized diets compared to 12% of current diets. Dietary modification has the potential to improve the nutritional quality of Gambian diets while reducing agricultural water use, but the required changes are likely to be unaffordable for a large proportion of the population. Improving availability and affordability of nutritious foods-particularly F&Vs-will be crucial for the accessibility of healthy and sustainable diets in the Gambian population.</p>","PeriodicalId":520363,"journal":{"name":"Environmental research. Food systems","volume":"2 1","pages":"015007"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11698302/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142934414","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}