WaPOR born out of necessity

It was a sunny day, just after my coffee back at my desk at the embassy in Sana'a. In front of me was a written request from a municipality in Yemen for help in solving problems with the domestic water supply. Surprise, because the embassy had already financed this municipality some time ago with the construction of a 24/7 water supply. After clarification, it turned out that the problem of water scarcity was caused by the fact that the amount of water had decreased.  So, no infrastructural funding needed.  

As luck would have it, I was visited by a professor on a World Bank mission. He informed me about a training he had given to the Yemeni Ministry of Water on the use of satellite information in agriculture. I linked this to the water supply request and the findings. He wasn't surprised and expected that this wouldn't be the last time I would receive this kind of request. According to him, the shortage of water for domestic use was easy to explain. Satellite information showed that agriculture was the largest user of water. Crops produced in this country consumed three times more water than crops in similar areas and conditions. This caused water scarcity, with the result that there is not enough water left for domestic use. This information gave me a different perspective on how to approach water scarcity management, agriculture, and domestic water use. 

I raised the issue of the use of satellite information with the competent authority. They were skeptical about this.  It took time, but after several expert meetings, they were convinced that the use of satellite data could have added value.  In the end, the ministry even decided to develop an information database system to map water use in agriculture using remote sensing. Water productivity now became part of the discussion about water scarcity. 

Subsequently, the Netherlands discussed with the FAO the added value of scaling up the water productivity concept using satellite information as a planning tool. The FAO, as the mandated UN for Food and Agriculture Organization, embraced the concept. They asked the Netherlands for financial support to develop the concept as an innovative tool to monitor and implement the link between water and agriculture. In the end, the FAO prepared an international tender and WaPOR, WAter Productivity through Open access or Remote sensed derived data, was created. 

Basic elements of WaPOR:

1. Focus on validated water productivity data.
2. All data is open source. This includes all data, its development is open and freely available and accessible to everyone.
3. All countries to capacitate the knowledge about content and usage.

At this stage, WaPOR is already in full use in many organizations to gain insight into managing water scarcity. (see also Guidelines for better water allocation to agriculture) **  

This shows that with WaPOR, FAO has developed a mature, proven instrument that provides evidence-based data based on a decadal basis. Over time, the WaPOR concept evolved from a supply-driven to a demand-driven approach.

Are we there yet?  WaPOR is on the right track, but remains a living dialogue with users and their questions. It is a triangular relationship. The FAO provides open data, the private sector develops applications at the request of farmers and industry and the government, as a regulator, uses data for planning, regulation, and enforcement.

And what happened to the Yemeni request for funding for the urban water supply? The fact that the use of water in agriculture was (consciously or unconsciously) given priority over water for domestic use was therefore an eye-opener for me. I realized that lack of access to water (SDG 6), instead of lack of infrastructure ($) can also be caused by a lack of water due to excessive use of water in agriculture.

In this case, WaPOR could have served as part of a management tool that focused on supply (groundwater data) and demand (agriculture and households). To this end, WaPOR produces on the demand side, data on inefficiencies in agriculture and on agricultural practices over the years that have increased or decreased water use:

What is certain, is that with WaPOR, born out of a practical necessity, FAO gives hope to get a better grip on water use and to work towards a world with sustainable water and food security. 

Job Kleijn is a strategic advisor water diplomacy, water and food security. He is a former diplomat in water affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and First Secretary of the Netherlands Embassy in Sana’a Yemen.