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Efficient Irrigation Management -
IRMA
9
Books, Reports etc.
FAO - Status of the World's Soil
Resources
The Status of the World's Soil
Resources produced by FAO's
Intergovernmental Technical Panel on
Soils brings together the work of some
200 soil scientists from 60 countries.
Its publication coincides with World
Soil Day which is celebrated on 4
December and also the end of the UN
International Year of Soils 2015 an
initiative which has served to raise
global awareness on what has been
described as "humanity's silent ally".
Some of the report’s key findings:
Erosion carries away 25 to 40
billion tonnes of topsoil every
year, significantly reducing crop
yields and the soil’s ability to store
and cycle carbon, nutrients, and
water. Annual cereal production
losses due to erosion have been
estimated at 7.6 million tonnes
lost each year. If action is not
taken to reduce erosion, a total
reduction of over 253 million
tonnes of cereals could be
projected by 2050. This yield loss
would be equivalent to removing
1.5 million square kilometres of
land from crop production – or
roughly all the arable land in India.
Lack of soil nutrients is the
greatest obstacle to improving
food production and soil function
in many degraded landscapes. In
Africa, all but three countries
extract more nutrients from the
soil each year than are returned
through use of fertilizer, crop
residues, manure, and other
organic matter.
Accumulation of salts in the soil
reduces crop yields and can
completely
eliminate
crop
production.
Human-induced
salinity affects an estimated
760,000 square kilometres of land
worldwide – an area larger than all
the arable land in Brazil.
Soil acidity is a serious constraint
to food production worldwide. The
most acidic topsoils in the world
are located in areas of South
America that have experienced
deforestation
and
intensive
agriculture.
ISO standards for the use of
treated wastewater for irrigation
Three standards concerning the use of
treated wastewater for irrigation were
published recently by ISO:
ISO 160751: 2015, Guidelines for
treated wastewater use for irrigation
projects – Part 1: The basis of a
reuse project for irrigation, which
contains guidelines for all elements
of a project using treated
wastewater for irrigation
ISO 160752: 2015, Guidelines for
treated wastewater use for irrigation
projects – Part 2: Development of
the project, which covers such
issues as criteria for the design and
specifications for quality
ISO 160753: 2015, Guidelines for
treated wastewater use for irrigation
projects – Part 3: Components of a
reuse project for irrigation, which
covers the system's components
needed for the use of TWW for
irrigation.
Water and the Circular Economy
On December 2
nd
, the EU Commission
published a Communication titled
"Closing the loop - An EU action plan
for the Circular Economy". It was
accompanied by a Press Release