We thank the HLPE for providing the opportunity to comment on the scope of the upcoming water and food security study.
FIAN International is an organization working for the promotion and realization of the right to adequate food. We document cases of violations of the right to adequate food worldwide. Many important issues to address the structural causes of the violations of the rights to water and food that we have been able to detect are already included in the scope of the report. We commend the HLPE for this.
In our case data base though, we have identified the issue of water pollution and contamination due to toxic waste disposal in rivers and other water bodies as one major issue to be addressed. The right to food and water of communities whose livelihood depend on healthy rivers/water bodies be it for fishing or for irrigating their fields is severely impacted by these practices. Another example of water contamination and pollution is related to mining. The cyanide spillages which often happen in large-scale gold mining, for instance, heavily contaminate rivers and other water bodies destroying the access of local communities to drinking water, to inland fisheries and to irrigation water for their fields.
The issue of water contamination and its impacts on food security; and the importance of preserving healthy water bodies and water cycles for food security is not yet included in the scope of the study. We recommend HLPE to do so given the fact that it is an urgent issue on the ground.
We also recommend to HLPE to be aware that fishing and live-stock keeping are important livelihoods of many rural communities for which they also need water. Looking into water from a food security perspective needs to address not only crop production but also fishing and live-stock keeping.
Sofia Monsalve