GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE CAMBRIDGE IGCSE: WATER, FOOD AND AGRICULTURE. Definitions, questions for the research project, global/international perspectives, local/national perspectives, family/personal perspectives, useful websites.

1. WATER, FOOD
AND AGRICULTURE
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES
CAMBRIDGE IGCSE P21

2. WATER, FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
• Water is key to food security. Crops and livestock need water to grow.
Agriculture requires large quantities of water for irrigation and of good
quality for various production processes. While feeding the world and
producing a diverse range of non-food crops such as cotton, rubber and
industrial oils in an increasingly productive way, agriculture also
confirmed its position as the biggest user of water on the globe.
Irrigation now claims close to 70 percent of all freshwater appropriated
for human use.
http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/food_security.shtml

3. QUESTIONS FOR YOUR
RESEARCH PROJECT

4. GLOBAL/INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES
• Why do some countries have an inadequate supply of clean water?
• Why do some countries have a surplus of food and others do not have
enough food?
• How can growing genetically modified (GM) crops solve food
shortages around the world?

5. LOCAL/NATIONAL PERSPECTIVES
• What foods are important in my community and why?
• What emergency measures are in place for coping with droughts and
floods in my community or country?
• What causes famine and drought and how do they affect my
community?

6. FAMILY/PERSONAL PERSPECTIVES
• How much water do I use each day and for what purpose?
• How much food does my family waste each day and why?
• What decisions does my family have to make about food on a daily
basis?

7. WEBSITES
www.wateraid.org International website with country-specific pages.
www.nrdc.org/water American website. Natural Resources Defense
Council working towards protection of natural resources.
www.oxfam.org.uk/education/resources/water_for_all/ An online
resource for students about water.
www.waternet.be/ A website set up to look at the geopolitics of water in
the Middle East.
whyfiles.org/131fresh_water/2.html - Information about water shortage.