PNNL

Abstract

To develop a research track on global irrigation demand and the use of future water resources to help feed the world, we need to adopt a holistic approach to understand inter-dependencies and the main drivers of the global water system and unravel positive (reinforcing) and negative (balancing) feedback loops that can lead to cascading consequences. Thus, there needs to be more research dedicated to 1) the modeling of the agricultural and water systems as components within an integrated assessment human-Earth modeling framework, 2) the understanding of the linkages between the physical processes and the human system, and to integrate them in an economic framework to capture the dynamics of market price, and institutional regulations. This editorial discusses the importance of tackling the global irrigation problem in an integrated assessment modeling framework.