Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and cities are similar in that land-use availability is limited as is the availability of natural resources. While cities can expand, and SIDS cannot do so easily unless they undertake costly land reclamation activities, both face competition for land from many users.

The use of land is nearly always a trade-off between various social, economic, and environmental needs. For example, housing, transport infrastructure, energy production, agriculture, and nature protection.

There is also competition for scarce water resources between agricultural producers and domestic, commercial, and other human users as well as competition for water resources between humans and nature.

The linear economy’s result: water-food nexus pressures

Our current economic model is linear, following a “take-make-consume-dispose” pattern where natural resources are harvested for the manufacturing of products, which are then disposed of after consumption.

While this model has generated unprecedented levels of growth, the model has led to resource scarcity, the generation of waste, and environmental degradation from a variety of climatic and non-climatic challenges:

• Climate change is impacting the availability of good quality water of sufficient quantities necessary for both humans and nature
• Rising demand for food is placing immense stress on water resources while agricultural production is impacting water quality
• At the same time, our demand for water resources is resulting in environmental degradation and biodiversity loss

The circular economy

The circular economy uses resources for as long as possible, extracts value from them while in use, and recovers and regenerates products and materials at the end of each service life. The aim of the circular economy is to decouple economic growth from resource use and associated environmental impacts.

There are three broad principles that should guide SIDS and cities in the development of the circular economy that reduces water-food nexus pressures:

2. Use policy instruments to achieve sustainable economic and environmental outcomes: To shift to a circular model, SIDS can leverage a variety of policies and policy tools including:

• Preserve natural capital: Natural resources and healthy ecosystems are essential to all life — human and natural — and provide the natural capital that humans depend on. Policies can be developed to: improve information about water resource consumption and environmental impacts, increase water resource use efficiency to protect ground and surface water resources, and increase reuse/recycling of water to preserve natural capital
• Use policy instruments to achieve sustainable economic and environmental outcomes: To shift to a circular model, SIDS can leverage a variety of policies and policy tools including: regulations, economic incentives, innovation policies, information sharing, and partnerships to promote water conservation and water efficiency to achieve a wide range of SDGs as well as food security
• Engage stakeholders: Water usage involves and affects many stakeholders and so the creation of a circular economy can be improved by the inclusion and engagement of many actors across the water cycle through collaborative efforts that lead to collective solutions

The circular economy and water and food security

To action the circular economy that achieves water and food security, SIDS and cities can follow the circular economy 5R approach of reduce, reuse, recycle, recover, and restore:

• Reduce: Agricultural producers and urban farmers can grow more crop per drop through water conservation and water use efficiency best management practices (drip irrigation, water metering, organic farming practices etc.)
• Reuse: Agricultural producers and urban farmers can implement reuse systems (without treatment) that harvest rainwater and greywater for irrigation
• Recycle: Municipal wastewater treatment plants and housing developments can recycle water (treated) for a variety of uses including irrigation of crops
• Recover: Local governments can recover nutrients from wastewater and process them to healthy levels for use as fertiliser. This provides an additional revenue stream for wastewater treatment plants while reducing demand for carbon-intensive fertiliser
• Restore: Water users can utilise nature-based solutions to restore environmental flows, including recharging aquifers and ensuring minimum flow levels in waterways for environmental preservation and restoration

Conclusion

By following the circular economy principles of reduce, reuse, recycle, recover, and restore, SIDS and cities can reduce water-food nexus pressures.

Join the conservation on the following LinkedIn groups: Urban Water Security, Our Future Water, Circular Water Economy, Blue and Green, and Nature-Based Solutions