he U.N. General Assembly declared 2013 the International Year of Water Cooperation. And the theme of this year’s World Water Week, September 1st-September 7th, is “Water Cooperation: Building Partnerships.” 768 million people do not have access to clean water, and two and a half billion people do not have access to adequate sanitation facilities. Meanwhile, U.N. Water estimates that the food sector contributes 40 percent of organic water pollutants in industrialized countries, and 54 percent in developing countries. During World Water Week, Food Tank will highlight research and innovations that are working around the world to conserve water resources and make clean water available to everyone. Research institutions, private businesses, governments, and the donor community can work together to scale these innovations up and alleviate global water scarcity. Due to its resilience, nutritional value, and versatility, Ethiopians have been relying on enset as a staple crop for thousands of years. In addition to these characteristics, however, enset has proven to be a valuable asset for food security in times of drought. The molecular structure of the plant gives it the ability to hold in moisture for extended periods of time. The plant has been known to not only survive drought, but provide water to plants growing next to it. Because of its unique ability to lock in moisture, it lends itself to become globally recognized as an environmentally sustainable agricultural system. Not only do the leaves help shade the soil beneath it, conserving water, but the plant also has the ability to prevent the soil from erosion during heavy rainfall.
Posted on: Wed, 11 Sep 2013 09:46:19 +0000