BOOK
Water Quality and Agriculture
(2012)
Additional Information
Book Details
Abstract
This report on Water Quality and Agriculture examines the linkages between agriculture and water quality. It discusses the overall trends and outlook for agriculture and water quality in OECD countries; describes recent actions by policy makers to address water quality issues in agriculture; and provides a set of recommendations for countries to meet the challenge of improving agricultural water quality.
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cover\r | Cover | ||
| Table of Contents | 5 | ||
| Key Messages | 9 | ||
| Executive Summary | 11 | ||
| Challenges for agriculture and policy makers in addressing water quality issues | 11 | ||
| Overall trends and outlook for agriculture and water quality in OECD countries | 11 | ||
| Recent actions by policy makers to address water quality issues in agriculture | 13 | ||
| Policy recommendations in moving toward the sustainable management of water quality in agriculture | 14 | ||
| Use a mix of policy instruments to address water pollution | 14 | ||
| Enforce compliance with existing water quality regulations and standards | 15 | ||
| Remove perverse support in agriculture to lower pressure on water systems | 15 | ||
| Take into account the Polluter-Pays-Principle to reduce agricultural water pollution | 15 | ||
| Set realistic water quality targets and standards for agriculture | 15 | ||
| Improve the spatial targeting of policies to areas where water pollution is most acute | 16 | ||
| Assess the cost effectiveness of different policy options to address water quality in agriculture | 16 | ||
| Take a holistic approach to agricultural pollution policies | 16 | ||
| Establish information systems to support farmers, water managers and policy makers | 16 | ||
| Chapter 1:\rLinking policies, farm management and water quality | 17 | ||
| 1.1 The challenge | 18 | ||
| 1.2 The Polluter-Pays-Principle | 20 | ||
| 1.3 The policy mix and interactions affecting water quality in agriculture | 22 | ||
| Agricultural policies | 22 | ||
| Water and environmental policies | 24 | ||
| Agri-environmental policies | 26 | ||
| 1.4 Farm management practices and hydrological properties and processes | 28 | ||
| 1.5 Challenges in the interaction between farm management practices and water quality | 31 | ||
| Raising farmer awareness | 31 | ||
| Improving science and knowledge | 32 | ||
| Recognising the problem of pollutant time lags | 32 | ||
| Addressing information and monitoring data deficiencies | 33 | ||
| Considering a more holistic view of water quality issues | 34 | ||
| Bibliography | 36 | ||
| Chapter 2:\rAgriculture and water quality: Sources, trends, outlook and monitoring | 41 | ||
| 2.1 Sources of water pollution from agriculture | 42 | ||
| 2.2 The contribution of agriculture as a source of water pollution | 44 | ||
| 2.3 Overall trends of the impacts of agriculture on water quality | 45 | ||
| Eutrophication of rivers, lakes and coastal waters | 49 | ||
| Human health risks with water pollution from agriculture | 50 | ||
| 2.4 Medium-term outlook and implications of climate change | 53 | ||
| Medium-term outlook | 53 | ||
| Climate change | 57 | ||
| 2.5 Issues related to monitoring water quality in agriculture important for policy makers | 59 | ||
| Standards, targets and goals to measure progress | 59 | ||
| Developing water quality monitoring and modelling of water catchments | 61 | ||
| Notes | 63 | ||
| Bibliography | 64 | ||
| Chapter 3:\rMonetary costs and benefits of agriculture’s impact on water systems1 | 69 | ||
| 3.1 Key components in measuring the costs and benefits of agriculture on water quality | 72 | ||
| Water treatment costs | 72 | ||
| Non-market costs: Agriculture | 72 | ||
| Non-market costs: Fishing | 72 | ||
| Non-market costs: Industrial | 72 | ||
| Non-market costs: Ecosystems | 73 | ||
| Non-market costs: Recreational, amenity and other social uses of water | 73 | ||
| 3.2 Information needs to provide monetary cost and benefit estimates | 73 | ||
| Linkage complexity | 73 | ||
| Spatial and temporal variability | 74 | ||
| Non-agricultural sources | 74 | ||
| Total economic value and non-market valuations | 74 | ||
| Other externalities | 74 | ||
| 3.3 A survey of OECD countries’ impact estimates | 75 | ||
| 3.4 Further research | 76 | ||
| Underpinning science | 76 | ||
| Non-market valuation | 77 | ||
| Environmental accounts | 77 | ||
| Collation and aggregation | 77 | ||
| Diminishing marginal returns of filling data gaps and improving data quality | 77 | ||
| Note | 78 | ||
| Bibliography | 79 | ||
| Chapter 4:\rOECD policy instruments and mixes addressing water quality issues in agriculture | 81 | ||
| 4.1 Economic instruments | 83 | ||
| Pollution taxes | 83 | ||
| Agri-environmental payments | 85 | ||
| Water quality trading3 | 88 | ||
| 4.2 Environmental regulations | 93 | ||
| 4.3 Information instruments and other persuasive approaches to address water pollution | 97 | ||
| Notes | 99 | ||
| Bibliography | 100 | ||
| Chapter 5:\rOECD policy experiences in addressing water quality issues in agriculture | 103 | ||
| 5.1 Addressing nitrate water pollution from agriculture in the European Union | 105 | ||
| 5.2 Lowering pollution of the Chesapeake Bay, United States: The role of agriculture | 112 | ||
| Current pollution status | 112 | ||
| Policies to address water pollution in Chesapeake | 113 | ||
| Strengthening policy reforms | 114 | ||
| 5.3 Reducing salinity in agriculture to improve water quality: The case of Australia | 116 | ||
| 5.4 Implementing water quality trading for nitrogen pollution in Lake Taupo, New Zealand6 | 119 | ||
| 5.5 Improving research on diffuse source water pollution: France and the United Kingdom7 | 121 | ||
| The United Kingdom’s Demonstration Test Catchments project | 121 | ||
| French research support for the Ecophyto pesticide reduction plan8 | 123 | ||
| 5.6 Reforming governance to address social concerns with water quality in New Zealand9 | 125 | ||
| 5.7 Addressing transborder pollution: The Baltic Sea, eutrophication and agriculture11 | 127 | ||
| 5.8 Establishing co-operative agreements to address diffuse source pollution | 131 | ||
| Co-operative agreements involving water utilities and farmers | 132 | ||
| Co-operative agreements between farmers and non-governmental environmental groups | 135 | ||
| Self-regulatory, community-based co-operative agreements16 | 136 | ||
| Notes | 137 | ||
| Bibliography | 139 | ||
| Chapter 6:\rMoving towards sustainable water quality management in agriculture | 145 | ||
| 6.1 Policy challenges | 146 | ||
| 6.2 Policy responses | 147 | ||
| 6.3 Policy reforms | 149 | ||
| 6.4 Policy governance and institutions | 152 | ||
| Note | 154 | ||
| Bibliography | 155 | ||
| ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION\rAND DEVELOPMENT | 156 |