NEW REPORT: how fruit and veg on uk supermarkets shelves is driving an environmental and human rights emergency in ica,peru
New report: how the fruit and vegetables on UK supermarket shelves is driving an environmental and human rights emergency in Ica, Peru
+ New report warns that the Ica Valley in Peru, source of blueberries, grapes, asparagus, avocados and other fruit and vegetables for UK, European and US supermarkets, is facing a ‘do or die decade’ as wells run dry.
+ Production for supermarkets, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, Aldi, Lidl, Co-op, Waitrose, and M&S, is driving grossly unsustainable patterns of water use, infringement of human rights and environmental degradation, with tens of thousands of farm workers living without access to safe water and sanitation.
+ The water crisis in Peru is the tip of the iceberg of a wider water emergency in our global supply chains, with analysis suggesting that 40% of the UK’s global water footprint is unsustainable, draining and polluting rivers and aquifers around the world.
+ Water Witness calls on UK supermarkets, governments, financial institutions and consumers to help end the abuse of water in our supply chains and “the most blatant example of unsustainable natural resource use on the planet.”
A new report published today [Monday 25th November 2024] finds evidence that the Ica region of Peru is facing an environmental and human rights emergency driven by the fruit and vegetables on our supermarket shelves. [1]
UK NGO, Water Witness, is publishing the report How fair is our water footprint in Peru? warning that the next decade will be a time of ‘do or die’ for Ica’s survival as an economic production hub, as wells run dry and groundwater becomes too saline to irrigate crops. Tens of thousands of farm workers in Ica are living without access to safe water and sanitation.
The report outlines how the volume of fresh fruit exported to the UK from Peru has grown tenfold since 2010, when the alarm was first raised that groundwater abstraction to irrigate export crops was causing the water table to plummet. Despite a ban on drilling, the number of wells has increased by 30% and the area under irrigation to supply supermarket demand has expanded by over 100 square kilometers, mostly on land which was previously desert. The over-abstraction of water in Ica is now equivalent to 219 full size Olympic swimming pools every single day.
Extensive research with farm workers, community organisations, government departments and hydrologists, as well as analysis of three decades of official water data, reveals impacts on livelihoods, health, indigenous people, climate vulnerability, and human rights.
The report finds:
Groundwater-fed crop production in Ica is likely to become economically non-viable in the short to medium term, and this will have significant impacts for Peru’s economy, as well as for food security, health, and the cost of living in countries which now depend on Peru’s fruit and vegetables, including the USA, the UK, and those in the European Union.
Existing wells used by small farmers and the municipal water utility are running dry and three quarters of farmers regularly lack water and are forced to stop or pause production.
70-80% of the population of Ica lack reliable water supply: The rapid influx of workers to serve the agro-export sector combined with declining groundwater, means the municipal water utility is struggling to deliver safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) for Ica’s population of almost half a million people. At least 35,000 people lack any formal water provision – an infringement of the Human Right to Safe Water as recognised by the UN.
Collection and transfer of water from the Andes to supplement flows to Ica is driving ecosystem and wetland degradation, and exacerbating flood and drought, and climate change impacts for indigenous and pastoralist communities in the mountains of Huancavelica.
Unplanned settlements have sprung up across Ica to house farm workers from other regions of Peru and South America, but lack infrastructure for sanitation or safe water. Inhabitants reported that they have to buy water of unknown quality at hiked up prices, and that they and their children face regular diarrheal disease and ill-health. Storage of the purchased water is often in open containers, which contributes to the spread of Dengue fever and other mosquito-borne disease.
Speaking about the scale of the problem outlined in Water Witness’ report, Peruvian economist and former advisor to the Ministry of Agriculture in Peru, Dr Eduardo Zegarra said:
“This new study by Water Witness raises the alarm for Peruvian society, agribusiness, and buyers in UK and Europe. If this overexploitation continues we will see the irreversible collapse of the main source of water for more than half a million people in Ica.
“UK and European firms and buyers need to impose strong conditions for assuring that the produce they buy from Ica is based on a sustainable use of water. This is not happening right now.”
Agro-export businesses, as well as government authorities were consulted during the research and there is broad agreement on the scale and severity of the water emergency. A new taskforce, convened by the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, is being set up in response to the report, to bring together business, government, and Peru’s trading partners to help address the problem. [2]
Dr Nick Hepworth, Executive Director of Water Witness International, and lead author of the report said:
“The water emergency in Ica is an iconic example of how unsustainable water use in our supply chains is imposing ecological, social and economic disaster around the world. The evidence exposes a stark failure of environmental and social governance in supermarket sourcing and global trading relationships.
“Our study shows a direct link between consumer demand for blueberries, avocado, grapes and asparagus, irresponsible sourcing by supermarkets, and water insecurity and hardship for hundreds of thousands of people. It’s outrageous that this problem, the most blatant example of unsustainable natural resource use on the planet has been known about for 15 years, but the buyers and retailers have sat idle.
“Sadly, Peru is just the tip of the iceberg of a much wider problem of water abuse in our globalised economy. 70% of the UK’s total water needs are met outside the UK – to produce the food, clothes, and other goods we consume – and close to half of this water use is unsustainable, draining and polluting rivers and aquifers and pushing people, ecosystems and economies into extreme vulnerability.
“The time for change is now. Our supermarkets cannot cut and run. They must help fix the problems that they’ve profited from, and guarantee sustainable water use in sourcing hotspots so that these injustices are not repeated. We all have a role to play to ensure that our consumption does no harm. It’s time to demand action for a fair water footprint from government, business, banks, and pension funds.
“We’re glad to see business, government and NGOs in Peru starting to take collective action to address the emergency. The decade ahead is a ‘do or die’ time for the social and economic benefits of agro-export in Ica, so we welcome news of a FAO Taskforce and the leadership being shown by the Peruvian Government through their commitment to the Glasgow Declaration for Fair Water Footprints.”
Dr Stephen Foster, Professor of Groundwater Science, University College London, Chair of Groundwater at the International Water Association, and former Director of the World Bank Groundwater Management Advisory Team said:
“As the new Water Witness International report states clearly, there is unequivocal evidence of rapid over-exploitation of the Ica-Villacuri Aquifer to meet the irrigation demand of export agriculture over the past 20 years. While managed recharge needs to be maximised, the only route to long-term sustainability is a major reduction in groundwater pumping through closure of illegal water wells and controlled use of legal waterwells. Otherwise the consequences for all will be very negative.”
Catherine David, Director at WRAP, which leads the Courtauld Water Roadmap, a commitment from businesses to ensure 50% of fresh food is sourced from areas with sustainable water management by 2030, said:
“WRAP commends Water Witness for bringing these issues to public attention via their report. We are very concerned by the global water crisis and are working closely with retail businesses and their suppliers through our Water Roadmap projects, in Ica and elsewhere, to build effective collective action. We are committed to playing our part in restoring sustainable water management in Ica.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
Dr Nick Hepworth is available for interview. To arrange, contact Lexi Parfitt, Director of Communications, Water Witness lexiparfitt@waterwitness.org or 07833 554 360
[1] How fair is our water footprint in Peru? The role of fresh fruit and vegetable production for export in Ica’s water emergency, and lessons for sustainable water use in the global economy Water Witness, 2024 https://we.tl/t-vQAllKK70b
[2] A taskforce on addressing the Ica water emergency has been mobilised in response to the Water Witness report’s findings. Proposed after a series of meetings with agro-export businesses, Peruvian Government Ministries, the National Water Authority, the UK Government, buyers and community leaders in 2024, the taskforce will be convened by the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (UN FAO) in Lima, Peru. The first meeting of the taskforce is Monday 25th November 2024.
[3] This report is the first in a series of investigations by Water Witness into unsustainable water use, and environmental and human rights harms in the production of food, clothes and IT in developing countries for UK and European markets. Further reports on sugar from Malawi and cocoa from Cote D’Ivoire are due for publication in early 2025. Contact Lexi Parfitt for advance copies of the reports: lexiparfitt@waterwitness.org
[4] Water Witness is a research and advocacy NGO, based in Edinburgh, UK. Since 2009, we have worked with those at the sharp end of the global water crisis to shine a light on its impacts, understand its root causes and activate an effective response. Water Witness is a founding member of the Glasgow Declaration for Fair Water Footprints- an initiative bringing together governments, private sector, financial institutions and civil society to transform the way water is used in supply chains for good, making fair water footprints the business norm. The Government of Peru and the UK Government are both Signatories to the Declaration. www.waterwitness.org / www.fairwaterfootprints.org
The public are being encouraged to sign Water Witness’ online petition in support of Fair Water Footprints in supply chains: www.waterwitness.org/campaigning-action