OECD Studies on Water Water Quality and Agriculture

Water is essential for economic growth, human health, and the environment. Yet governments around the world face significant challenges in managing their water resources effectively. The problems are multiple and complex: billions of people are still without access to safe water and adequate sanitation; competition for water is increasing among the different uses and users; and major investment is required to maintain and improve water infrastructure in OECD and non-OECD countries. This OECD series on water provides policy analysis and guidance on the economic, financial and governance aspects of water resources management. These aspects generally lie at the heart of the water problem and hold the key to unlocking the policy puzzle. Contents: Chapter 1.Linking policies, farm management and water quality; The challenge; The Polluter-Pays-Principle; The policy mix and interactions affecting water quality in agriculture; Farm management practices and hydrological properties and processes; Challenges in the interaction between farm management practices and water quality; Chapter 2. Agriculture and water quality: Sources, trends, outlook and monitoring; Sources of water pollution from agriculture; The contribution of agriculture as a source of water pollution; Overall trends of the impacts of agriculture on water quality; Medium-term outlook and implications of climate change; Issues related to monitoring water quality in agriculture important for policy makers; Chapter 3. Monetary costs and benefits of agriculture's impact on water systems; Key components in measuring the costs and benefits of agriculture on water quality; Information needs to provide monetary cost and benefit estimates; A survey of OECD countries' impact estimates; Further research; Chapter 4. OECD policy instruments and mixes addressing water quality issues in agriculture; Economic instruments; Environmental regulations; Information instruments and other persuasive approaches to address water pollution; Chapter 5. OECD policy experiences in addressing water quality issues in agriculture; Addressing nitrate water pollution from agriculture in the European Union; Lowering pollution of the Chesapeake Bay, United States: The role of agriculture; Reducing salinity in agriculture to improve water quality: The case of Australia Implementing water quality trading for nitrogen pollution in Lake Taupo, New Zealand; Improving research on diffuse source water pollution: France and the United Kingdom; Reforming governance to address social concerns with water quality in New Zealand; Addressing transborder pollution: The Baltic Sea, eutrophication and agriculture; Establishing co-operative agreements to address diffuse source pollution; Chapter 6. Moving towards sustainable water quality management in agriculture; Policy challenges; Policy responses; Policy reforms; Policy governance and institutions The analysis in this report was enriched by a set of background consultant reports available here: ww.oecd.org/agriculture/water and www.oecd.org/water