A recurring lesson in history is that water scarcity is never just about water. Right now, we need to pay attention to those lessons, and what science tells us, to avoid hunger affecting billions.
Drought doesn’t only dry out soil, it destabilizes entire food systems — the networks needed to produce, transform, and distribute food to consumers.
That is why water risks due to extreme weather and food security risks linked to crop failures have always been classical converging stressors. Add climate change to the equation, and disruptions to the entire water cycle that food systems rely on is intensifying these risks.
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About the author
Mark Smith
Mark Smith is the director-general of the International Water Management Institute. He brings more than 25 years of research and program management experience in water resources, agriculture, climate and sustainability. He has a doctorate in ecology and resource management from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and a master’s degree in Climatology from the University of Guelph, Canada.
