Global Water Security: Current Research and Priorities for Action

This article introduces the “Global Water Security” special collection in this issue [63(1)] of Transactions of the ASABE and issue 36(1) of Applied Engineering in Agriculture. Researchers, educators, industry partners, agricultural producers, and policymakers from 19 countries met at Hyderabad, India to discuss critical issues and advancements at the Global Water Security Conference for Agriculture and Natural Resources. The conference was organized jointly by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) and the Indian Society of Agricultural Engineers (ISAE). This Special Collection consists of 13 articles selected from the 245 meeting presentations as well as invited articles. Additionally, a perspectives article in this collection summarized seven Key Priorities identified for action at the conference: Reduce Food Waste, Increase Wastewater Reuse, Increase Agricultural Resiliency and Efficiency, Optimize Irrigation Efficiency and Increase Crop Water Productivity, Improve Water Supply Management, Improve Water Resource Infrastructure, and Enhance Water Resource Decision-Making and Policy Formulation. The remaining 12 articles address a wide range of water security topics grouped into four broad categories: sustainable management of water resources (3 articles), limited irrigation for water conservation (5 articles), precision irrigation management (2 articles), and water management in hilly regions (2 articles). While these articles are not inclusive of all water security challenges to the agriculture and natural resources sectors, they highlight selected important challenges and potential solutions. Research presented in this special collection emphasizes the importance of developing and utilizing appropriate location-specific technologies that increase the water application efficiency and water use efficiency while maintaining adequate water supplies for natural resource functions and ecosystem services for ensuring global water security.