• The role of the farmers
• In climate change mitigation
• In watershed protection services
• Land management
• Water quantity
• Water quality
• In biodiversity conservation
• Preserving agriculture landscape

In watershed protection services

Water quality

Today the most prevalent contaminants can be traced to agricultural and industrial production.  Improving water quality through changes in agricultural production systems involves reducing salinization and harmful runoff from agricultural fields together with improved livestock waste management.

Agricultural activities (crop and livestock) – together with industrial production – account for most water contaminants: soil erosion, nutrient runoff and pesticide leaching are the main causes.  Agriculture could be either a non-point source of pollution – where the exact sources are diffuse and difficult to detect – or a point source of pollution – specific discharge of pollutants into a water body (e.g. concentrated livestock production).

Generating improvements in water quality through changes in agricultural production systems generally involves changes that reduce the amount of harmful runoff from agricultural fields in the form of soil erosion, pesticides and other agricultural chemicals or livestock waste.  Land use practices that can protect water quality include integrated pest and nutrient management, conservation tillage and  agro-forestry.

Measures to improve the management of livestock waste can also contribute to enhanced water quality, such as changes in feed management together with collection, storage, processing and utilization of manure.  Reducing non-point source pollution requires the coordination of all land users in the section of the watershed large enough to deliver results to the immediate downstream users(13).

 

 

Payments for Environmental Services from Agricultural Landscapes - PESAL
is a project funded by the FAO Netherlands Partnership Programme © FAO 2010