Abstract
Nature-based solutions (NBS) for water management and food security constitute a new paradigm that uses or mimics ecosystem services to enhance water quality and quantity for agricultural production, while preserving the integrity of ecosystems. Yet, regenerative processes that maintain ecosystems’ quality require ample time and large areas that are shared with multiple stakeholders, many of which have opposing and, sometimes, incompatible interests. Reconciling these conflicting objectives requires a coherent set of principles for NBS interventions that should be based on valuation of the natural resource base and a multidisciplinary approach that uses case-specific knowledge on problem solving. A survey of 21 case studies shows that a platform of multi-stakeholders with an active transdisciplinary approach and sustainable funding mechanisms has important elements for successful NBS implementation. Rewards for ecosystem services delivered to custodians is promising, but still in its infancy; valuation of ecosystem services or ecosystems as an entity is technically cumbersome and hardly applied in practice.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Blesh, J. M., & Barrett, G. W. (2006). Farmers’ attitudes regarding agrolandscape ecology: A regional comparison. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, 28(3), 121–143.
Bossio, D., NobleMolden, A. D., & Nangia, V. (2008). Land degradation and water productivity in agricultural landscapes. In B. Bossio & K. Geheb (Eds.), Conserving land, protecting water (pp. 20–32). CAB International.
Burek, P., Satoh, Y., Fischer, G., Kahil, M. T., Scherzer, A., Tramberend, S., Nava, L. F., Wada, Y., Eisner, S., Flörke, M., Hanasaki, N., Magnuszewski, P., Cosgrove, B., & Wiberg, D. (2016). Water futures and solution – fast track initiative (Final report. IIASA working paper). Laxenburg: IIASA.
Coates, D., Pert, P. L., Barron, J., Muthuri, C., Nguyen-Khoa, S., Boelee, E., & Jarvis, D. I. (2013). Water-related ecosystem services and food security. In E. Boelee (Ed.), Managing water and agroecosystems for food security (pp. 29–41). CABI.
Coates, D., Uhlenbook, S., & Connor, E. (2018). Nature-based solutions work everywhere, including Africa. www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/SC/images/NBS_for_Africa_website.pdf
Dieguez, H., & Paruelo, J. M. (2017). Disentangling the signal of climatic fluctuations from land use: Changes in ecosystem functioning in South American protected areas (1982–2012). Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation, 3, 177–189.
Eggermont, H., Estelle, B., Azevedo, J. M. N., Beumer, V., Brodin, T., Claudet, J., Fady, B., Grube, M., Keune, H., Lamarque, P., Reuter, K., Smith, M., Van Ham, C., Weisser, W. W., & Le Roux, X. (2015). Nature-based solutions: New influence for environmental management and research in Europe. Gaia, 24(4), 243–248.
ESPA. (2018). An environment for well-being: Pathways out of poverty – Policy messages from the ESPA programme (Executive summary). Edinburgh: Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation.
FAO. (2011). Payments for ecosystem services and food security. http://www.fao.org/docrep/014/i2100e/i2100e00.htm
FAO. (2017). The future of food and agriculture – Trends and challenges. Rome: FAO.
FAO/GIAHS. (2018a). Traditional Wasabi cultivation in Shizuoka, Japan. [Cited March 24, 2018.] http://www.fao.org/giahs/giahsaroundtheworld/designated-sites/asia-and-the-pacific/traditional-wasabi-cultivation-in-shizuoka-japan/detailed-information/en/
FAO/GIAHS. (2018b). Globally important agricultural heritage systems. [Cited March 20, 2018]. http://www.fao.org/giahs/en/
Finlayson, M., Bunting, S. W., Beveridge, M., Tharme, R. E., & Nguyen-Khoa, S. (2013). Wetlands. In E. Boelee (Ed.), Managing water and agroecosystems for food security (pp. 82–103). CABI.
Greenhalgh, S., Samarasinghe, O., Curran-Cournane, F., Wright, W., & Brown, P. (2017). Using ecosystem services to underpin cost–benefit analysis: Is it a way to protect finite soil resources? Ecosystem Services, 27, 1–14.
Guo, Z., **ao, X., & Li, D. (2000). An assessment of ecosystem services: Water flow regulation and hydroelectric power production. Ecological Applications, 10(3), 925–936.
Hardin, G. (1968). The tragedy of the commons. Science, 162, 1243–1248.
IUCN. (2012). The IUCN Programme 2013–2016. Retrieved 7 October 2015, from http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/iucn_programme_2013_2016.pdf
Jax, K., Furman, E., Saarikoski, H., Barton, D. N., Delbaere, B., Dick, J., Duke, G., Görg, C., Gómez-Baggethun, E., Harrison, P. A., Maes, J., Pérez-Soba, M., Saarela, S., Turkelboom, F., van Dijk, J., & Watt, A. D. (2018). Handling a messy world: Lessons learned when trying to make the ecosystem services concept operational. Ecosystems Services, 29, 415–427.
Kalas, P., Abubakar, A., Chavva, K., Gordes, A., Grovermann, C., Innes-Taylor, N., Ketelaar, J., Laval, E., Phillips, S., & Rioux, J. (2017). Multi-stakeholder, multi-actor processes, platforms and networks for Climate Smart Agriculture. In Enhancing capacities for a country-owned transition towards Climate Smart Agriculture. Climate-Smart Agriculture.
MacKinnon, K., Dudley, N., & Sandwith, T. (2011). Natural solutions: Protected areas hel** people to cope with climate change. Oryx, 45(4), 461–462.
Mander, M., Jewitt, G., Dini, J., Glenday, J., Blignaut, J., Hughes, C., Marais, C., Maze, K., Van der Waal, B., & Mills, A. (2017). Modelling potential hydrological returns from investing in ecological infrastructure: Case studies from the Baviaanskloof-Tsitsikamma and uMngeni catchments, South Africa. Ecosystem Services. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2017.03.003.
Mattsson, B. J., Fischborn, M., Brunson, M., & Vacik, H. (2019). Introducing and evaluating a knowledge transfer approach to support problem solving in and around protected areas. Ambio, 48, 13–24.
NCE. (2016). The sustainable infrastructure imperative: Financing for better growth and development. The 2016 new climate economy report- The global commission on the Economy and Climate. https://newclimateeconomy.report
Nesshöver, C., Assmuth, T., Irvine, K. N., Rusch, G. M., Waylen, K. A., Delbaere, B., Haase, D., Jones-Walters, L., Keune, H., Kovacs, E., Krauze, K., Külvik, M., Rey, F., Van Dijk, J., Vistad, O. I., Wilkinson, M. E., & Wittmer, H. (2017). The science, policy and practice of nature-based solutions: An interdisciplinary perspective. The Science of the Total Environment, 579, 1215–1227.
Ostrom, E. (1990). Governing the commons: The evolution of institutions for collective action. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Pearce, D. W., & Turner, R. K. (1990). Economics of natural resources and the environment. London: Harvester Wheatsheaf.
Sonneveld, B. G. J. S., Merbis, M. D., Amani, A., Ünver, O., & Arnal, M. F. (2018). Nature-based solutions for agricultural water management and food security (FAO land and water discussion paper 12). Rome: FAO.
UNESCO. (2018). The United Nations world water development report 2018: Nature-based solutions for water. Paris: UNESCO.
Ward, N. K., et al. (2018). Integrating fast and slow processes is essential for simulating human–freshwater interactions. Ambio. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-018-1136-6.
WWAP (United Nations World Water Assessment Programme)/UN-Water. (2018). The United Nations world water development report 2018: Nature-based solutions for water. Paris: UNESCO.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Sonneveld, B.G.J.S., Amani, A., Merbis, M.D. (2021). Nature-Based Solutions for Agricultural Water Management. In: Brears, R.C. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Climate Resilient Societies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42462-6_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42462-6_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-42461-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-42462-6
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences