The first International Soil and Water Forum opened on Monday ( December 9 ) to map out concrete measures to boost global efforts in managing water scarcity and reversing soil degradation – both critical for global food security and environmental health.

Competing demands for access to fresh water in the Asia-Pacific region are intensifying, and this could have dire consequences for the region's massive agriculture sector and, ultimately, could interrupt regular and affordable access to food, water resource management experts have warned.