FIONA MARSHALL, SPRU, UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX

WASTE-WATER IRRIGATION & FOOD SAFETY

RECOGNITION, REGULATION AND RISK.

Peri-Urban AgricultureSmall holder farmers (> 50% landless or < 1ha land) Grain crops for home consumption, but also vital for supply of perishable vegetables to cities e.g. 77% spinach (D), 43% aubergine (V)70-90% households involved in agriculture and 25-60% household income Very little formal support accessedHighly dynamic transition zone, rapid environmental degradation worsening levels of discrimination & changing health concerns.

Contaminated irrigation water and food safety for the urban and peri-urban poor: in India and ZambiaProject funded by UK DFID

SocialTechnological andEnvironmentalPathways toSustainability

Areas to address

To use a case study of wastewater use linked to food safety concerns in India to illustrate:

• The link between environmental pollution-wastewater irrigation-food safety &livelihoods.

• Areas of oversight in formal policy and planning

• The role of regulation• Does regulation reduce risk?• Some Immediate priorities

Case study on wastewater use and food safety in India – as systems perspective

• Assess heavy metal contamination of vegetables in Varanasi and implications for health & livelihoods.

• Investigate relationships between crop contamination, wastewater irrigation and industrial pollution sources.

• Work with local stakeholders to explore current practices, concerns, perceptions, adaptation, actions.

• Determine practical measures to ameliorate impacts of heavy metal pollution on food safety.

• Engage with institutional and policy processes to identify opportunities towards alternative (more Sustainable) management approaches.

Assessing heavy metal contamination

Wide range of crops grown around Delhi and Varanasi have been tested for contaminationIncluding - Bhindi, Palak, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Wheat, Tomato, Brinjal, Radish, Pumpkin, Wheat, Amaranthus

Heavy metalsCadmium, Zinc, Nickel, Manganese, Copper, Lead,

Chromium

Mean concentration of cadmium in crops at D6 site, Dinapur (Mar 05 - Feb 06)

0.000.100.200.300.400.500.600.700.800.90

mg

/kg

Amaranthus P alak Cabbage Cauliflower WheatBrinjal Tomato Radish Nenua KarelaLauki P arwal Kohanda Bhindi P umpkin

European Union standard

Heavy metal contamination in the food basket of peri-urban communities – levels far in exceedence of ‘safe’ permissible limits.

Lead contamination exceeds standards (many fold) at wastewater irrigated sites

Lead concentration in Palak at different sites in different seasons

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

D2, Dec 2003 D2, Jan 2004 D3, Dec 2003 D3, Jan 2004 S2, Dec 2003 S2, Jan 2004 S2, Apr 2004 L1, Apr 2004 L4, Aug 2003 L4, Dec 2003 L4, Apr 2004

conc

entr

atio

n in

mic

rogr

amm

e pe

r gra

mm

e

Indian standard

European Union standard

Cadmium concentration in Palak at clean and wastewater irrigated sites at Dinapur and Lohta, Varanasi

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Dinapur w astew ater Dinapur clean w ater Lohta w astew ater Lohta clean w ater

mg

/kg

EU standard

Indian standard

High levels of heavy metals in a range of crops were directly linked to irrigation with wastewater(as opposed to other possible sources.

There are a range of potential technical interventions

• Find effective means of tackling pollution at source

e.g. additional effluent treatment or bioremediation.

BUT no simple relationship between levels in water and levels in crops. Location, crop and practice specific.

• Ameliorate the impacts of using polluted water sources.

e.g. soil treatments, Fertiliser regimes, specific cultivars,

Low cost monitoring, farmer support mechanisms

Environment Policy

Irrigation Management

UrbanPlanning

WaterPolicy

Agricultural Practices

Food Safety Policy

Health &Nutrition

Policy

Industrial Pollution

Industrialzoning

Urbanisation

Effluent/ sewage

Agricultural Policy

Contaminated soil

Irrigationwater

Contaminated Crop

Livelihood

Farmers

Consumers

Policy fields related to wastewater irrigationin peri-urban areas

Key gaps in formal recognition

• Wastewater not officially recognized as a source of irrigation water.

• No formal recognition of the link between industrial pollution and food safety – and particular threat to the poor.

• No irrigation water quality standard for heavy metals in India and many other countries.

• No priority given in food safety policy to the monitoring of fresh produce important to the poor.

Regulatory ApproachesFollowing formal recognition…

• Standards for heavy metals in irrigation water– But levels in water don’t necessarily reflect levels in crops– Existing monitoring programme overstretched– Complexities of multiple sources etc for polluter pays

• Amend and enforce standards for fresh produce - Contamination an invisible credence property that often

requires regulation.-But likely to adversely affect poor producers and consumers.-Shortfalls of new food safety authority.

Need a framework for management of wastewater (industrial, domestic, treated/untreated, partially treated) within the broader framework of water management, environmental pollution and food safety and security strategies.

Does regulation reduce risk?

How inclusive are regulatory ‘framings’ of experience and concerns of poorer communities?

Regulation can reinforce or hinder particular technological pathways.

Should emphasis be on controlling known risks, or developing resource management strategies capable of adapting to change whilst preserving environmental integrity and social justice?

Towards Sustainable waste-water management

• Develop means to incorporate user practices, concerns and aspirations, in all their diversity, in decision making.

• Actor oriented approaches that recognise the role of power and politics – beyond ‘supply’

• Integrating mechanisms needed i) across disciplines and sectors and ii) across research and policy

• From food chains to systems perspectives (socio-ecological/technical)-

• Build on successes in participatory approaches in water management and tools for social appraisal.

Some recommendation from our Indian case study

• Formal recognition of wastewater irrigation is essential• Urgent action needed to ameliorate impacts of heavy metal

contamination of crops in badly affected areas whilst longer term strategies emerge.

• Need for comprehensive status report on wastewater irrigation (extent, livelihood opportunities and threats, health links – different perspectives)

• Formal recognition and awareness raising of link with industrial pollution & food safety required - but in context of other opportunities and threats of wastewater reuse.

• Establish multistakeholder platforms and innovative approaches to illucidate appropriate technological choices and pathways to Sustainable water management.

SocialTechnological andEnvironmentalPathways toSustainability

Thank You!

Fiona MarshallScience and Technology Policy ResearchUniversity of SussexEmail: F.Marshall@sussex.ac.uk