About the Conference
The Water Institute of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and collaborators will host a conference on March 3-7, 2014 to examine the thinking and actions related to a nexus approach. The co-Directors of the conference will be Felix Dodds, Associate Fellow at the Tellus Institute, and Jamie Bartram, Director of the Water Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, supported by an International Advisory Committee. The conference will bring together scientists and practitioners working in government, civil society, and business and other stakeholders focusing on the questions of how and why the nexus approach is, and can be, used on international and local levels.

Main Conference Themes
• Building on the Water, Food and Energy Nexus Conference held in Bonn Germany in 2011, this conference aims to address four connected, but distinct relationships, with water being the central node of each nexus:
• Water-Climate
• Water-Energy
• Water-Food
• Energy-Food

Broad Themes
• Economics and Finance of the Nexus
• Politics, Policy, and Regulation
• Ecosystem Approaches and Resilience
• Resource Scarcity and Security
• Remote Sensing and GIS Approaches

Conference Participants Will Aim to:
• Learn from relevant case studies & examine cutting-edge research
• Identify future research areas
• Debate emerging solutions
• Identify how science can inform policy processes
• Build new, or strengthen, existing networks
• Launch the Nexus Academic-Practitioner Network

Save the date
The Nexus Conference will run from March 3rd to 7th, 2014 at the Friday Center, Chapel Hill North Carolina.

The 16th International Riversympsium will be held 23 – 26 September 2013 in Brisbane, Australia and will continue to build the knowledge base and capacity to inform policy decisions that incorporate inevitable trade-offs between river basin protection and sustainable water, energy and food security with the theme Rivers: linking water-energy-food.

We invite you to begin thinking about your abstract or session for the 16th International Riversymposium. The Online Submission System will open 25 January 2013.

Submissions

Online Submission System is Now Open

You are invited to submit an abstract for a 16th International Riversymposium that will contribute to the exploration of the Riversymposium theme Rivers: Linking Water-Energy-Food.

Themes
• River systems: providing for people and biodiversity
• Rivers and energy: new paradigms in a changing world
• River cities: water, energy and food systems
• River health: healthy rivers, healthy economies
• Rivers globally: pathways to sustainability

Further breakdown on each of themes is also available.

All abstracts should be submitted via the Riversymposium website by completing the online form.

Submissions can ONLY be CONSIDERED by following the steps below –

1. Read the Oral and Poster Presentation / Interactive Workshop Submission Guidelines or the Convening Partner Feature Session Submission Guidelines carefully to ensure you are aware of your obligations
2. Read the Conditions of Presenting carefully to ensure you are aware of your obligations
3. Complete the online Abstract Submission Form and upload your abstract as requested to complete the submission
4. Complete the online Official Copyright Release
5. If you wish to apply for funding, please read the Funding Application Guidelines and complete the Funding Application form following the copyright release

Key Dates

1 March 2013 – Abstract submission closes (there will be NO extensions to this date)
17 April 2013 - Notification of acceptance into program
22 July 2013 - Early bird registration closes

All abstracts will be reviewed by the Program Committee. Abstracts accepted for presentation at the Riversymposium must include all details outlined in the guidelines.

Objectives and Programme Outline

• Water use performance and water productivity
• Conservation agriculture and water saving
• Sustainability of groundwater exploitation for agriculture
• Decision support systems and modelling tools
• Innovative data-acquisition and information and communication technologies
• Irrigation technologies and management practices for environmental upgrading
• Use of treated and low quality water in agriculture
• Climate change: adaptation and mitigation
• Drought risk management
• Socio-economic aspects of land and water management
• Policies, governance and institutional development.

Conference Themes:

Nexus around Soil, Energy and WASH

• TP soils – soil fertility
• Organic farming, New insight to plant-soil interaction, land use, reforestation, reversing erosion
• Quality of products, hygienic parameters, legislation, certification
• TPS systems and design / Logistic and operation / Life cycle assessment
• Carbon composting of biowaste and excreta / Wood gas technology for energy and char coal production / Pyrolysis vs. hydrothermal carbonisation
• Microbiology, santisation and lactic acid fermentation
• Greywater in TPS – Bamboo, short rotation plantation, constructed wetlands
• Practical experiences

Call For Papers

ESEH conferences occur biennially. “Biennial” is a term associated in particular with botany. Most plants are annuals or perennials. But a biennial flowers every two years, following a period of dormancy – just like our Society. Though some biennial plants are merely flowers, others are edible. Thinking about biennial vegetables such as carrots and parsley focuses our intellectual appetites on the conference theme of “Circulating Natures: Water-Food-Energy”. We wish, of course, to attract high-quality scholarship and to tap into intellectual energy-flows related to all aspects of the blooming field of environmental history. At the same time, we specifically encourage proposals related to “Circulating Natures”. While always situated locally, nature also circulates regionally and globally through the movement of natural resources, products, people and non-human biota. What happens in – and comes from – one part of the world can have profound effects on other, often distant places. We wish to explore this theme of circulation – which is of basic importance to the multifaceted relationships of humans with the rest of nature at different times and in diverse places – with specific reference to the three, often interrelated, subjects of “Water, Food, and Energy”.

The following are just a few examples of potential topics and themes that explore the theme of “Circulating Natures: Water-Food-Energy” from the diverse perspectives of environmental history:

Water

• Water resources and their deployment
• Icebergs, glaciers, permafrost and snow cover in changing climates
• Irrigation and salination as environmental problems
• Fish, fisheries and fishing (freshwater and saltwater)
• Water pollution and water treatment
• Water-based recreational pursuits
• Flooding, drought and climate change

Food

• Environmental impacts of agricultural practices and food industries
• Politics of food production and consumption
• Food and sensory history
• Food, terroir and sense of place
• Food, environment and advertising
• Culinary choices and eco-activism
• Animal husbandry and agricultural history
• Famines, harvest failures and malnutrition

Energy

• Travel, tourism and the fossil fuel economy
• Oil, gas, coal and nuclear industries
• Energy disasters: oil spills, strip mining and nuclear accidents
• ”Green” energy: harnessing the sun, wind and waves
• ”Greening” of the energy sector

After embedding the water-energy-food nexus concept in the discussions, attention will shift to understanding how best to manage the nexus challenges and steer companies and stakeholders through an increasingly resource constrained future. This year’s forum will discuss the operationalising of the water, energy & food security response.

The SAWEF programme features altogether three plenary sessions:

• Plenary session 1 discusses the reinvigoration and consolidation of catchment management agencies, as a solution for water resource management solution;
• Plenary session 2 will introduce a new socio-economic model for mining, aiming to bridge the gap between mining and agriculture on the one hand, and mining and communities on the other;
• Plenary session 3 will debate the new nuclear building programme, as a part of South Africa’s Integrated Resource Plan to use power generation mix of 42 600MW of new capacity by 2030.

The preliminary programme can be found under: sawef.co.za/programme
/For more information, please visit: sawef.co.za/about-the-forum

Purpose of the Summer School

The purpose of the Summer School is to familiarize the participants with the theory and possible applications of the MuSIASEM approach (Multi-Scale Integrated Assessment of Society and Ecosystem Metabolism). More specifically this edition of the summer school will deal with the application of the MuSIASEM approach to the analysis of the nexus between land, water, food, energy and population across scales. The courses of the Summer School will cover:

The basics of MuSIASEM: Introduction of basic theoretical concepts, such as hierarchy theory, Georgescu-Roegen’s fund-flow model, and multi-purpose grammars, which form the building blocks of the MuSIASEM approach.

The use of multi-purpose grammars: Learning how to develop quantitative descriptions, using multipurpose grammars, of the metabolic pattern of water, food, and energy in face of a given availability of primary resources, land, and population, and in relation to a desirable expression of functions in modern economies.

Application of MuSIASEM to analyze the nexus between land, water, food, energy and population across scales: Step-wise demonstration of the use of the MuSIASEM approach (incl., multi-purpose grammars, multi-level data arrays, and the “sudoku effect”) in order to arrive at an integrated characterization of the complex metabolic pattern of modern society and to generate robust scenarios.

Course Format

The five-day Summer Course follows an interactive, dynamic format. Morning lectures are alternated with afternoon working groups. The working groups allow the participants to address practical, problem-oriented, and policy-relevant research projects. Participants will be enabled to conduct studies, organized in small groups, on one of the following proposed topics: (i) comparative, integrated assessment of the metabolic pattern of different countries; (ii) analysis of scenarios of low carbon economies; (iii) integrated analysis of a specific sustainability issue proposed by the participants. At the end of the week the participants are expected to present the results of their group work. The course language is English.

Participant Profile

The course is aimed at advanced students, researchers, and experienced practitioners. Participants are expected to have a good command of written and spoken English, and to have an interest in learning about innovative approaches and ideas related to energy analysis, integrated assessment, and sustainable development. Submission of a résumé is required to determine eligibility for participation. For logistic reasons (formation of working groups), the number of participants is limited to 25 persons. Admission of eligible candidates in the program is on a first come, first serve basis.

Resource Persons

Prof. Mario Giampietro, ICREA Research Professor, Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA), UAB
Prof. Jesús Ramos-Martín, Departament d’Economia i d’Història Econòmica, UAB
Dr. Tiziano Gomiero, ICTA, UAB
Dr. Pedro Lomas, ICTA, UAB
Dr. Alevgul Sorman, ICTA-UAB
Mr. Juan Cadillo Benalcazar, ICTA, UAB
Ms. Cristina Madrid, ICTA, UAB
Mr. François Diaz Maurin, ICTA, UAB
Mr. Tarik Serrano Tovar, ICTA, UAB
Ms. Zora Kovacic, ICTA, UAB

Venue

The Summer Course will take place on the Bellaterra Campus of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, in the Centre de Recerca Matemàtica (CRM, Building C). The Bellaterra Campus is located about 20 km outside of Barcelona and can be conveniently reached from Barcelona’s city centre by Ferrocarril (FGC, line Barcelona-Vallès, destination: Universitat Autònoma). At Plaça Catalunya, take line S2 (green, toward Sabadell) or S55 (blue, toward Universitat Autònoma) and get off at the stop “Universitat Autònoma”. The trip takes about 30 minutes and trains leave about every 10 minutes.

Course Fee

Course Fee: 400 € (including morning coffee breaks, lunches, course material, and a social dinner).
Late fee (after 1 June 2013): 500 euro.

The course fee shall be paid in full to Asoc Cientifica LIPHE4 by Pay-pal or bank transfer.

Industry sectors that are a particular strain on land and soil are likely to face increasing regulatory and consumer pressures to reduce their impact. At the same time, actors in sustainable land management, acting as early movers, are set to become major business players in the future.

The workshop is part of the BONN PERSPECTIVES. The BONN PERSPECTIVES are rooted in decentralised networks of learning and exchange that draw on a wide variety of experiences and viewpoints. They bring together the diverse initiatives working on Green Economy Transformation under a common roof.

The objectives of the workshop are to:

• Understand companies’ needs;
• Profile the economic valuation of land and ecosystems services within business strategy development;
• Identify business sectors most affected by land degradation and explore how to document the impact of unmitigated risk on business strategy and value chains;
• Raise awareness of options for managing land degradation risk;
• Explore examples of sustainable land use in specific sectors and showcase enterprises implementing scalable, win-win solutions;
• Identify barriers to scaling up good practices and explore options to enable the private sector to invest in sustainable land management;
• Identify a programme of work and sector leaders to be integrated into subsequent stages of the ELD Initiative.

UNIDO, in collaboration with international partners, including IIASA, GIZ, BMZ, SE4ALL, OPEC and the Vienna Energy Club, is organising a side event on the water-energy- food nexus during the Vienna Energy Forum. Policy-makers and representatives from the private sector, researchers and water/energy/food experts from various international organizations around the world will discuss the intricate link between water, energy and food, and explore the opportunities presented by this link to address major global development challenges.
Knowledge and awareness of the water-energy-food nexus can inspire international actions for integrated planning and implementation of energy programmes that seriously take water and food into consideration.

Backround
There are increasing calls globally to include water and food in the energy debate as nations around the world develop new energy policies and evaluate the options they want to follow in response to the UN Secretary-General’s Initiative on Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All). The inclusion of water and food in the energy debate is relevant as energy decisions have a broad range of impacts on water and food production. For example, novel water and energy policies in agriculture could enhance food production and security. However, abstracting water for irrigation may affect reservoir levels and reduce hydropower capacity, with negative consequences for energy security. The water-energy-food nexus presents opportunities for policy-makers, business leaders, investors, non-governmental organizations and the public at large to manage dwindling resources that are important for addressing important global development challenges.

Objectives
The side event will provide a platform to discuss recent international undertakings and progress on the water-energy-food nexus and to seek contributions and insights from institutions and individual experts that will inspire international action on this very important subject.

Date
Date - 29 May 2013
Time - 14:30 to 16:00
Location - Radetzky II

www.unido.org/ ...

The conference will provide the platform to present global and regional perspectives of world wide experiences on the responses of water management to global change in order to address issues such as variability in supply, increasing demands for water, environmental flows, and land use change. It will help to build links between science and policy and practice in the area of water resources management and governance, related institutional and technological innovations and identify in which ways research can assist policy and practice in the field of sustainable freshwater management.

Participants from all continents and dealing with various water-related problems are expected to attend this conference.

The 2nd APWS will provide Asia-Pacific leaders, stakeholders, and international organizations a forum to jointly seek solutions on water resources development and management for regional water security, as well as on disaster risk and vulnerability, with participation from public and private sectors, technical experts, academics, and civil society groups.
The Summit aims to present the Royal Initiatives of His Majesty the King of Thailand as best practices for sustainable water resources management; to promote active dialogues among regional leaders on water-related policy priorities and commitments; and to facilitate more effective regional cooperation in water security in Asia and the Pacific.

In Focus Area Sessions, representatives and members of the APWF Lead Organizations, and other stakeholders will discuss issues of water security and water-related disaster challenges in the Asia-Pacific region. These participants will also explore which initiatives could be undertaken by stakeholders in the region to help improve leadership skills and to boost levels of commitment.

Objectives and Programme Outline

• Economic, Food and Water Security (organized by FAO and UNESCAP)
• Urban Water Security (organized by UN-HABITAT and PUB)
• Environmental Water Security (organized by IUCN)
• Household Water Security (organized by UNESCAP and ADB)
• Water Risks and Resilience (organized by ICHARM)
• IWRM Process for a Water Secure World (organized by UNESCO GWP and NARBO)
• Water Related Disaster Challenges (organized by Office of the National Water and Flood Management Policy, Thailand)

Recent years have seen major droughts, floods and extreme temperatures affecting vast areas of the globe, including some of our most productive agricultural regions. How can we increase the capacity of our food, water and natural ecosystems to adapt to a changing climate?

Please join us at the 2013 Water for Food Conference, “Too Hot, Too Wet, Too Dry: Building Resilient Agroecosystems,” May 5-8 at the Cornhusker Marriott Hotel in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA.

Hosted by the Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Institute at the University of Nebraska and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the conference will feature plenary addresses by Benedito Braga, President, World Water Council; Rosina Bierbaum, University of Michigan; Cynthia Rosenzweig, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies; Christo Fabricius, Nelson Mandela Metroplitan University, South Africa; Heidi Cullen, Climate Central; and others to be announced. Additional sessions include:

• Surviving the 2012 Drought: 80 Years of Innovation
• “A View from the Field” panel featuring an international group of agricultural producers
• Technical sessions on “Resilience in Stressed Watersheds” and “Livestock and Water”
• Case studies on “Drought Preparedness and Planning: Africa, Mediterranean Region and Colorado, USA”
• “Communicating about Climate” roundtable discussion
• “Cool Tools and Technologies”
• Graduate Student Poster competition focused on conference themes
• “Farm to Table” Banquet at a working organic farm
• Networking opportunities

Please join us in this opportunity to share ideas and perspectives from many disciplines and cultures. Visit this site often, a full conference schedule will be posted soon.

The annual Water for Food Conference brings together experts from around the globe to discuss one of the greatest challenges facing our world today: how can we double our agricultural production by 2050 to feed an expected population of 9 billion people and do it using less water than we use today?

Since 2009 more than 1300 people from 28 countries including farmers, scientists, policy-makers, students, educators, politicians, conservationists, industry leaders, and philanthropists have gathered to discuss how innovations in science, technology and policy will enable agriculture to sustainably feed an increasingly hungry and thirsty world.

The State of the World’s Land and Water Resources for Food and Agriculture (SOLAW), recently published by FAO, notes that food production has been associated with inappropriate management practices that have degraded the land and water systems. This degradation constitutes an important threat for the entire ecosystem in addition for the human society especially in the Near East region. This region is characterized by intense scarcity of land and water. With more than 70% of the total area located under desert and arid conditions, social and economic development in general and food security and agricultural production in particular are highly dependent on water availability. Recently, the Near East Region priority framework identified the scarcity of natural resources, particularly land and water, as the first priority that needs support from both Member Countries and FAO. The optimal management of these resources is being a key for sustainable agriculture and food security for the region.

Cooperating Organizations

FAO/RNE, IFAD, WFP, GIZ, Egypt (Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, National Water Research Centre and Agricultural Research Centre)

“China and the global resource nexus - implications for food, water, energy and waste” is the title of a seminar that will be given by Julian Wong, an associate with the Palo Alto law firm Wilson, Sonsini. The seminar is one in a series of 1 hour seminars on a variety of topics related to environmental engineering and science. They are all open to the public.

The first meeting of the Task Force, which is the key step in the discussion and design of the assessment of the nexus, will have the following objectives:

• Discuss the process of preparation of the Assessment;
• Explore the needs and preferences of the riparian countries, river basin commissions and stakeholders in the basins proposed to be assessed in the Water Convention Nexus Assessment in order to agree on the scope and objectives of the assessment and on deriving information and analysis needs;
• Review past and on-going efforts to analyse the nexus and to provide guidance for sectoral (and inter-sectoral) decision-making to learn from such exercises;
• Discuss and agree on the basins to be covered by the nexus assessment and agree on the next steps in the process.

The Task Force meeting will be attended by representatives of the countries that are concerned by the case basin proposals submitted so far or that have expressed interest in participating in the assessment, representatives of organizations undertaking parallel initiatives, partners, experts and stakeholders.

The Nestlé CSV Prize in Creating Shared Value aims at supporting innovative, commercially viable, and high impact initiatives in order to achieve social impact and financial sustainability.

Specific fields of activity may include:

Nutrition - Improving access to food and nutrition; food security; reducing malnutrition; fighting micronutrient deficiencies; food fortification; food technology; nutrition education programmes; innovations in health care; nutrition and health research; etc.

Water - Improving access to clean drinking water; reducing water shortages; protection of water resources; water management and conservation; water sustainability; wastewater treatment and management; water, sanitation and hygiene; improving water use in agriculture (e.g. irrigation); etc.

Rural development - Development of local agriculture integrating smallholder farmers in the supply chain; sustainable agriculture; sustainable farming; agricultural extension services; addressing climate change in agriculture; women empowerment in agriculture; increasing opportunities for rural communities; ICT in agriculture; etc.

The Prize is open to individuals, not-for-profit organisations, governmental organisations, private and social enterprises, and academic institutions.

The Nestlé CSV Prize is awarded every other year.

Background

ADB is organizing Asia Water Week 2013 to deepen and expand analytical work in Asia’s water sector to advance inclusive policy reforms and strengthen support to priority programs and projects. The analytical work will provide the basis for sustained public investment and increased mobilization of private sector investment and expertise.

Asia Water Week 2013 has for its overarching theme “Securing Water for All”. The conference will cover crosscutting topics such as climate change, water-food-energy nexus, and disaster management as well as sub-sector specific discussions, including water supply and sanitation, water resources and environment, and agriculture and irrigation.

Objectives

The conference will enable participants, including clients, ADB staff and invited specialists, to exchange knowledge on water sector issues, technologies, and to identify clients’ emerging priorities. New water sector initiatives will be announced, water sector professionals and leaders recognized, and innovations in the water sector encouraged.

Thematic areas

Aspects of water security will be examined through three thematic areas:

• Basin Water Management - involves river basin institutions, capacity development, benchmarking, and stakeholder participation processes. Asia Water Week will provide a forum for exchanging knowledge and experiences in improving the planning, conservation, development, and management of water, forest, land, and aquatic resources in the context of increasing water security in river basins.
• Urban Water Services - includes water supply and sanitation, wastewater management, and flood risk management. Asia Water Week will focus on the key challenges facing the sector in the provision of water supply, sanitation and wastewater management services. Urban flood management, a perennial and growing problem, also needs to be addressed.
• Rural Water Services - encompass irrigation, drainage, flood management, and water supply and sanitation services to rural communities. Asia Water Week will discuss ways to revitalize irrigation services to support market-oriented and diversified farms and to increase access to water supply and improved sanitation services for healthy and vibrant rural communities.

Exhibition

The Asia Water Week trade exhibition and marketplace will showcase emerging water sector technologies, services, and management innovations from partner organizations and networks. The exhibition opens on Wednesday, 13 March, 12 Noon and will be open for the duration of the conference.

Participants

More than 500 participants consisting of representatives of ADB members, development partners, academe, research organizations, NGO/CSO representatives, private sector partners and the media are expected to attend

This week, IUCN and the International Water Association (IWA) host an online consultation session on Infrastructure Solutions for the Water-Energy-Food Security Nexus. As part of the UN’s ‘The World We Want’ initiative, the consultation platform allows everyone to have their say on development issues post 2015, from 11-17 March with a particular focus on water, energy and food.

“The Post2015 Consultation platform allows us to share ideas around the future of infrastructure in water-energy-food provision. These are important questions that the ‘The World We Want’ consultations allow to be raised. Solutions exist, for sure, but they are often spread across sectors. Now is the time to rely on inter-sectoral collaboration and sharing of ideas to help collect sustainable solutions for the future of water, energy, and food security”, said James Dalton, Coordinator, Global Initiatives, IUCN Water Programme.

The post 2015 water consultation has so far highlighted the need for development goals centred around water. The close interaction between water, energy and food - the nexus – is certainly part of that thinking. For example, increasing irrigation for food production, reduces the water flow left for energy generation (hydropower) and natural ecosystems and the services they provide downstream (biodiversity). The three elements; water, energy and food, are all inextricably linked, and so is their security.

By 2050, to feed a global population of 9 billion people we will need 70% more food. To ensure needs are met, engineered infrastructure, including dams, embankments, and wastewater systems are needed, but also well functioning natural infrastructure, such as healthy rivers, wetlands and forested hill slopes.

Addressing the competing needs for the water, energy and food nexus means exploring opportunities to optimize water infrastructure and technology to help shape and achieve the Post 2015 Development agenda.

You can join the discussion by visiting the website World We Want 2015, you can also tweet ideas or solutions (#waterpost2015) and/or follow and post on Facebook (WaterPost2015).

Background

Following the Rio + 20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in June 2012, the United Nations started an open consultation process to identify priorities from citizens around the world for the post-2015 development agenda, as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) reach their target date in 2015.

The global consultation process is organized around 11 thematic areas. Water was chosen as one of the thematic areas. Given the importance of water, especially due to the fact that water underpins most of the other MDGs and any future goals, it is critical that there is an insightful and informative debate on the role of water in the post-2015 development agenda.

The Thematic Consultation on Water, led by UN-Water, UNICEF and UN DESA, with the support of the Governments of the Netherlands and Switzerland, began through the website www.worldwewant2015.org/water in November 2012. Through a post/response system, people worldwide participate in a discussion on the post-2015 agenda on water-specific issues. Starting on 14 January 2013, sub-consultations will start on the three “streams” under the water theme, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Wastewater Management & Water Quality (WWQWM) and Water Resources Management (WRM). Under each “stream”, weekly discussions will focus on specific areas related to water. These discussions will be synthesized into recommendations for how to move forward in the post-2015 development agenda.

Meeting on the Post-2015 Development Agenda Consultation on Water: Water Resources Management and Wastewater Management & Water Quality, 27-28 February 2013, Geneva

A part of the water consultation, a meeting on the Post-2015 Development Agenda Consultation on Water: Water Resources Management and Wastewater Management & Water Quality will be held in Geneva on 27-28 February 2013, at the invitation of the Government of Switzerland, Attended by invited representatives of governments, international organizations, civil society and business, the objective for the meeting ,is to allow for more profound technical and political debate and synthesize the discussions of two of the three streams of the water consultation: Water Resources Management and Wastewater Management & Water Quality, facilitated by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and UN-Habitat/Aquafed, respectively.

The meeting will facilitate the development of a short document that reflects the discussions that have taken place both online and during this meeting and,, possibly, highlights potential targets and indicators for a potential future water goal and the reasoning/arguments behind them, thereby providing a basis, both technically sound and politically strong, for the future negotiations in the Open Working Group as well as an input for the High-level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

The consultation meeting will include high-level plenary discussions to reflect on the consultation process and frame the issues related to the two streams, including sub-themes. This will be followed by a series of parallel working group meetings to go into depth in these areas. A concluding plenary discussion will address the prioritization of targets and indicators for a potential future water goal to be considered as recommendations for the final outcome of the Water Resources Management and Wastewater Management & Water Quality streams.

Leading questions

• Do you think there are close links between energy, water, land, and food security? What about other development priorities? Please share practical examples, as possible.
• How do we best promote coherent national energy planning (e.g. policy and budgetary processes) that also advances larger development goals, for example, taking into account the water-energy-food security nexus?
• Bearing in mind the linkages between energy and other development goals, what factors would create an enabling environment for energy initiatives (of all sorts) to have impact at a meaningful scale?
• In what ways can stakeholders take action to advance a more integrated approach to energy access, the use of renewables, greater energy efficiency, or other areas for progress?

Background

The World We Want has set itself the target to gather the priorities of people from every corner of the world and to help build a collective vision that will be used directly by the United Nations and World Leaders to plan a new development agenda launching in 2015.

This seminar will put a nexus lens on the three action fields while focusing on better understanding the inter-linkages between the three securities. Further, the discussions will focus on identifying enabling conditions which facilitate the transition to a greener economy. The seminar will provide a space for discussion, interaction, dissemination of information to policy-makers, water managers, academics, students and the public in general.

Documents

Concept Note (PDF, 353 kB)

Speakers

• Fiona Harvey, environment correspondent, the Guardian News & Media

Fiona Harvey is an award-winning environment journalist for the Guardian. Prior to this, she worked for the Financial Times for more than a decade. She has reported on every major environmental issue, from as far afield as the Arctic and the Amazon, and her wide range of interviewees include Ban Ki-moon, Tony Blair, Al Gore and Jeff Immelt.
Professor Sir Gordon Conway, Imperial College London

• Gordon Conway

Gordon Conway is a Professor of International Development at Imperial College, London and Director of Agriculture for Impact, a grant funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which focuses on European support of agricultural development in Africa.
Andy Wales, senior vice president sustainable development, SABMiller

• Andy Wales

Andy Wales is senior vice president sustainable development for SABMiller plc, one of the world’s largest brewers. He leads the group’s approach to prioritising economic, social and environmental issues within the group’s strategies and business plans, including risks such as water scarcity and opportunities such as promoting local economic growth through
smallholder farming.

• Jo Confino

Jo Confino is an executive editor of the Guardian and chair of Guardian Sustainable Business. He also advises Guardian News & Media and Guardian Media Group on their sustainability strategies.

• Camilla Toulmin

Camilla Toulmin is director of the International Institute for Environment and Development. An economist by training, she has worked mainly in Africa on agriculture, land, climate and livelihoods, mixing research, policy analysis and advocacy. Her work has aimed at understanding how environmental, economic and political change impact on people’s lives, and how policy reform can bring real change on the ground.

• Herbert Oberhänsli

Herbert Oberhänsli was educated at Geneva and St. Gallen where he graduated with a PhD in economics. He went on to work at the Swiss Institute for International Economics at the University of St. Gallen. In 1982 he joined economics department of the Federal Office for Foreign Economic Affairs. And moved to Nestlé in 1985 he moved to Nestlé, as deputy head of investor relations. He’s held his present position since 2010.

• Gerard Payen

Gerard Payen has been working for more than 25 years to solve water issues in many countries all around the globe. Today, he works to mobilise the international community towards improving water and sanitation services mainly as adviser to the UN Secretary General and as president of AquaFed, the International Federation of Private Water Operators.

• Usha Rao-Monari, global head, water, International Finance Corporation
• David Norman, director of campaigns, WWF UK

• Nutrition – what are the best ways to address the nutritional double burden of obesity and malnutrition?
• Finance and risk management – what is the potential for microfinance and microinsurance to strengthen food security?
• Science and technology – what is the effectiveness and potential of a number of approaches to boosting yield and productivity?

Symposium Chair: Prof. Carlos Dosoretz, Head, Environmental, Water and Agricultural Engineering Division, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology

Session A
Global and National W&E Projects and Solutions
13:00-15:00
Chair: Mr. Oded Distel, Director, Investment Promotion Center, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor

• Energy Related Water Technologies: Present and Future. Dr. Avital Dror-Ehre, Director, Water Division, Ministry of Energy and Water, Israel
• Energy Management in National Water Supply System: Efficiency and Novelty.Dr. Yigal Kadar, Manager, Energy Department, Mekorot National Water Company, Israel
• Is Seawater Desalination really a Big Energy User?:Reality and Myths. Prof. Rafi Semiat, Dean, Chemical Engineering, Technion - IIT, Israel
• Food, Water and Energy Nexus: Cross learning possibilities can transform crisis into opportunity. Ido Rozolio, former CEO and Executive of Israel Oil Refineries; former CEO of Mekorot National Water Company, Israel
• Non-Revenue Water Solutions for Reducing Energy Requirements in Water Supply.Roland Liemberger, Director, Miya Asia, Philippines

Session B
Water and Energy Challenges, Solutions and Innovations
16:00-18:00

• KEYNOTE. Membrane Based Technologies for Sustainable Production of Water and Power. Prof. Menachem (Meny) Elimelech, Director, Environmental Engineering Program, Yale University, USA
• Chair: Mr. Rafi Ifergan, Vice President - Engineering and Technology, Mekorot National Water Company
• Cogeneration at the Renovated Shafdan Water Reclamation Project. Ing. Yuval Sela, Chief Engineer, Igudan - Dan Regional Association of Environmental Infrastructure, Israel
• China: Water, Wastewater and Energy Interdependence.Fang Hong Zhang, CEO, China Environmental Technology Holdings Limited (CETH), China
• Advanced Energy Efficient Wastewater Treatment Technologies.Eytan Levy, CEO, Emefcy (2012 Global Cleantech 100 awardee), Israel

The various policy and technology options for meeting future energy demand have different implications with regard to water resources. Trade offs between water use for energy and other water uses, not the least food production, are likely to increase depending inter alia on the choices made in energy policies and planning.

A better understanding of the cross sectoral implications - involving land use, food production, urbanization, demographics, and environmental protection - and of the relevance of these cross sectoral inter linkages and interdependencies for designing future energy systems is therefore becoming more and more important. Integrating the water-energy nexus is key to a successful “Energiewende”.

The high-level side event will address the need and approaches for integrated energy and water planning in the context of the water, energy and food security nexus to achieve sustainable economic growth.

Programme

Welcome and Introductory Statements

• Peter Altmaier, Federal Minister for the Environment, Germany
• Adnan Amin, Director General, IRENA

Panel Discussion

• Vivien Foster, Sector Manager Energy, World Bank
• Achim Steiner, Executive Director, UNEP
• Rabi Mohtar, Executive Director, Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI)
• Joppe Cramwinckel, Director Water Program, WBCSD

Closing Remarks

• Dirk Schattschneider, Director General, BMZ, Germany

Moderator: David Hales, REN21

Now, as the centerpiece of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, WFES 2013 will work seamlessly with a string of other global conferences in sustainability, renewable energy and cleantech, including the inaugural International Water Summit and IRENA to create an unrivalled global hub of expertise and connections.

With truly worldwide reach and authoritative subject matter expertise, WFES 2013 will bring together depth of knowledge and breadth of talent to inspire audiences, share insights, stimulate debate – and influence the agenda for the years in prospect. It is a platform from which conventions can be challenged and new thinking shaped.

Conference speakers, delegates and exhibitors are truly world class. WFES 2012 Opening Ceremony speakers included the Premier of China and the Prime Minister of Korea as well as the President of the United Nations General Assembly and the Secretary General of the United Nations. Heads of State and Heads of Government have used WFES as a unique global platform from which to launch initiatives, announce investment, make policy statements and deliver targeted media messages designed to raise awareness and increase business.

Speakers

• Peter Voser, Chief Executive Officer of Royal Dutch Shell
• Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO, a global innovation and design firm
• Kim Noone, Director of the Swedish Secretariat for Environmental Earth System Sciences (SSEESS) at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Professor of Meteorology at the Department of Applied Environmental Science at Stockholm University, and affiliated with the Stockholm Resilience Centre

Background

Humans are at a pivotal moment in the history of the planet. At this point, more humans enjoy greater wealth, consume more resources like food, water, oil and other minerals, than ever before in history. This extraordinary abundance has been made possible because humans have brought to bear increasingly sophisticated technology to search the world for the vital resources we need. As a result, the entire planet is integrated into a global system of resource extraction, production, processing and distribution.

Over the past several decades, it has become increasingly clear that the increasing industrial use of natural resources in the human economy cannot continue much longer. Humans have used much of Earth’s resources, and the resulting environmental impacts are global. There is now solid evidence of the growing scarcity of the energy, food and water resources that earlier on supported the industrial and modern agricultural revolutions. The competition for access to these vital resources increasingly drives international relations. Governments must increasingly compete for dwindling resources supplies, mindful that future demand is also likely to grow substantially and that the prospect of resources insecurity is indeed real. Clearly, the patterns of 20th century resource consumption and production are neither environmentally feasible nor politically feasible. In 2008, the International Energy Agency (IEA) stated:

The world’s energy system is at a crossroads. Current global trends in energy supply and consumption are patently unsustainable …. But that can – and must – be altered; there is still time to change the road we are on. It is not an exaggeration to claim that the future of human prosperity depends on how successfully we tackle the two central energy challenges facing us today: securing the supply of reliable and affordable energy; and effecting a rapid transformation to a low-carbon, efficient and environmentally benign system of energy supply. What is needed is nothing short of an energy revolution.

In order to envision an alternative future for strategic resources such as energy, water and food, we need to understand their past and current forms of governance. To date, despite the interconnectedness of resource extraction, production, processing and distribution in a global system, the full extent of the political, economic and security implications of the ‘new’ resources scarcity are yet to be fully understood in mainstream academic and political circles.

Rationale for the Conference

The Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) are convening the “International Conference on Regional Energy Governance and the Nexus Perspective: Challenges in the Asia Pacific Region” on 5 and 6 December 2012 in Kuala Lumpur. The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), which launched the “Green Growth Roadmap for Asia and the Pacific” in Seoul May 2012, is also a partner institution for this international conference. The conference is a sequence to an international expert meeting ISIS and KAS jointly organized in December 2011. The meeting successfully produced a book entitled ‘Towards a Green Economy: In Search of Sustainable Energy Policies for the Future’, which documented policy experiences in ten countries across the globe. The panel discussion during the 2011 meeting also identified the importance of regional energy governance in addressing resource scarcity in Asia.

ISIS, KAS and UNESCAP recognized the growing international interest in the nexus of water, energy, and food (WEF) security. Water and energy are strongly dependent upon one another, and their interdependence results in significant environmental consequences. There is wider recognition now that issues surrounding these strategic resources should be seen in tandem and not separately. To transition to a green economy, Germany proposed the Nexus in its Bonn Perspective as an official contribution to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD). Similarly, the World Economic Forum in Davos also singled out the Nexus in its 2008 and 2011 Global Risks reports. For the WEF nexus to work, the concept needs to be translated into a set of public policy tools. Countries in the Asia Pacific region need to be sensitized to the Nexus perspective in line with global developments.

The 2-day conference in December 2012 will focus on how energy policy and governance are influenced by or influencing water and food sectors. The first day deals mainly with energy governance issues in Asia Pacific countries, but with papers pointing to the importance of Nexus internationally. The second day will feature presentations and papers contextualized on the Nexus issues in Asia Pacific. These will be delivered by experts from regional organizations, culminating in a panel discussion among policy practitioners.

Conference Outcome

The Conference is expecting about 60 participants. All paper presenters are expected to finalize a 4000-word paper after the conference by the end of January 2013. All papers will be peer-reviewed prior to compilation into a book to be published by Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Singapore. The organizers are also exploring the possibility of publishing selected papers in the format of academic journal’s special issue.

The 2-day conference will serve as the launching pad for the Nexus perspective to be debated in the Asia Pacific region. Findings and recommendations from the conference’s energy governance segment may be brought to the Asia Pacific Energy Forum (APEF) in May 2013. UNESCAP may also bring selected participants from this Conference to its Expert Group Meeting on the WEF Nexus tentatively scheduled for March 2013, before ESCAP’s 69th commission session around May.

Tentative Conference Programme

DAY 1
5 December 2012, Wednesday

9:00-9:30

Welcoming Remarks
ISIS Malaysia
Konrad-Adenauer Stiftung
UNESCAP

Keynote Paper:Governing Global Energy

Energy is one of the most regulated resources yet its governance is most diffused. Energy production, processing, transmission and marketing nowadays are transnational processes. At present, however, energy sector governance is addressed primarily at the national level. Although supranational energy governance is widely acknowledged as necessary, the challenge of collective action has proven insurmountable obstacles both regionally and globally. As a result, energy governance at the global level is still underdeveloped. The following questions are especially relevant to the conference:

• What is the general landscape of global energy governance and its associated processes?
• Does the market mechanism alone provide adequate support for global energy governance?
• What is the influence of the emerging narrative combining energy security and climate change on one hand, and of the water-energy-food nexus for global energy governance, on the other?
• What would be the implications for Asia and the Pacific region in an energy-scarce future?

9:30-10:00
Global and Regional Energy Governance to Address Global Change: Concept and Future Implications
Professor Dr. Ann Florini
Brookings Institution, USA

10:00-10:30
Refreshment

Session 1:
Regional Institutions for Energy Governance

Energy governance is a global challenge which cannot be effectively addressed without international collaboration and coordination. In Asia and the Pacific, the ratio of energy imported to energy exported is close to 1, indicating self-sufficiency for the region. However, this is likely to change with the economic rise of the region. Furthermore, the uneven distribution of primary energy resources indicates a potential to enhance trade in energy and electricity to support energy security through regional cooperation. This session will assess and critically survey achievements in the area of energy cooperation in Asia and the Pacific region, guided by the following questions:

• What are the key existing regional energy co-operations and other governance structures in the region to meet the security of energy supply?
• What are the needed future regional energy governance mechanisms to promote a comprehensive and rapid transformation in the production, transportation and use of energy towards a low carbon economy?
• What are the benefits and challenges of moving from national to regional energy market?

10:30-10:50
Regional Energy Governance in Asia and the Pacific Region
Dr Hongpeng Liu
UNESCAP, Thailand

10:50-11:10
Energy governance and Cooperation in Southeast Asia: a policymaker’s perspective
Speaker TBA
ASEAN Secretariat, Indonesia.

11:10-11:30
Regional Energy Governance in South Asia
Professor Dr Leena Srivastava[TBC]

TERI University, India.

11:30-12:30
Q&A and Discussion
Moderator: Dato’ Dr Muthiah Alagappa, ISIS Malaysia

12:30-1:45
Lunch

Session 2:
Policy Processes and Actors of Energy Governance

The debate on energy governance tends to be analytically state-centric. Beyond this confine, a range of non-state actors also play influential roles in energy governance. The actors important for the transformation of the energy sector towards sustainability include civil society organizations, business entities, public–private partnerships, policy communities and networks (within and between state and non-state entities), and international standard-setting bodies. Reshaping energy governance begs answers to the following questions:

• What are the public roles of non-state actors in energy governance?
• What roles can law, regulation and other policy instruments play in reducing obstacles and facilitating opportunities for a transition to a low carbon economy?
• What policy processes are necessary for Asia and the Pacific region in a resource-scarce future?

1:45-2:10
Challenges of energy governance in Southeast Asia
Associate Professor Dr. Benjamin Sovacool
Vermont School of Law, USA

2:10-2:30
Energy governance in the European Union: Role of the Market
Dr. Kirsten Westphal[TBC]

German Institute for International & Security Affairs, Germany

2:30-2:50
Polycentric energy governance in Australia

TBA

Australian National University, Australia.

2:50-3:10
Civil society, governance and the energy transition
Dr Jan Andersen[TBC]

Roskilde University, Denmark

3:10-3:30
International Development Agencies and Regional Energy Governance: The Case of Hydropower Development
Speaker TBA
Asian Development Bank

3:30-4:00
Coffee Break

4:00-5:00
Q&A and Discussion

7:30
Conference Dinner

End of Day 1

DAY 2
6 December 2012, Thursday

Session 3:
Building the Synergy for Water, Food, and Energy Nexus

Today, resources are high priority concerns in all levels of government, corporate boardrooms, and local communities. The 3F crises of fuel, food and finance recreated the fears about resources prices and access. However unlike the debate over resource scarcity in the 1970s and 80s, the current global resource scramble is not caused by the mere physical scarcity of single natural resources but rather by multiple resources scarcity. In the past, resource problem was mainly a local (or national), but in recent years, problems crossing boundary had scaled up, involving supply-chain concerns. Energy, water and food policies have numerous interwoven concerns ranging from ensuring access to services, to environmental impacts to price volatility. These issues manifest in very different ways individually but often the impacts are closely related. Identifying these interrelationships is of great importance to help target synergies and avoid potential tensions.

8:30-9:00
The Water-Energy-Food Nexus Perspective in Theory and Practice
Dr. Karen Hussey
Australian National University, Australia.

9:00-9:20
Water, Energy, and Food Security Nexus: The Bonn Perspective
Dr. Michael Paul (TBC)
Member of the German Federal Parliament

9:20-10:00
Water-Energy-Food Nexus in Asia and the Pacific region
Dr Adnan A Hezri
Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS), Malaysia.

10:00-10:30
Question and Answer

10:30-11:00
Coffee Break

Session 4:
The Benefits and Challenges of Operationalizing the Nexus

Hypothetical benefits that may accrue from the Nexus approach include: improvement in energy, water, and food security; address externality across sectors, and decision-making at the nexus; and support transition to sustainability. This session will explore ways to support decision-making at the nexus, recognizing the need for a transnational capacity to address the access to and sustainability of water, energy, and food. It will also identify the interrelationships arising from the increasing demand on these three resources.

11:00 –11:20
Overview of the global biofuel expansion and the Nexus perspective
Dr Beau Damen
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Italy

11:20-11:40
Food security and the demand on water and energy in the Asia Pacific region
Dr Larry Wong
Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS), Malaysia.

11:40-12:00
Water for agriculture in the Asia Pacific region
Dr Salmah Zakaria
UNESCAP, Thailand

12:00-12:20
Water for Energy in the Asia Pacific Region
Speaker TBC

12:20-12:40
ASEAN Intervention on Water-Energy-Food Nexus in Asia and the Pacific(by representatives form ASEAN members)[TBC]

12:40-1:10
Q&A and Discussion

1:10-2:30
Lunch

Session 5:
Panel Discussion on the Policy Implications of the Nexus Perspective

Energy, water and food policies have numerous interwoven and common concerns such as limited access to services by billions of people, operation in highly regulated markets, different regional availability and variations in supply demand. In the past decades, anthropogenic activities have mounted unsustainable pressures on these three strategic resources. As a result these resources form deep security issues so fundamental to societal functioning. There is a growing realization that the instability of the nexus may redefine contemporary geopolitics, potentially driven by the failure of resource governance than inefficient distribution. However, the academic and policy debates thus far characterize the nexus only in terms of resource efficiency, which is predominantly in terms of inputs and outputs. This session will unpack the policy and institutional implications of the nexus perspective from the perspective of policy practitioners.

2:30-4:00
Panel presentation and discussion

Panelists:

• FAO
• UNESCAP
• ADB
• Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water Malaysia
• Dr. Michael Paul (TBC), Member of the German Federal Parliament
• ASEAN Secretariat
• UNESCO

4:00-4:30
Workshop Conclusion and Closing Remarks

Programme

Programme download (699 kB)

The Nairobi Nexus Dialogue is intended to serve several purposes:

• On initiative by UNSGAB, the United Nations Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation, the Dialogue should offer an opportunity for the exchange of experiences with and solutions for nexus challenges in the East African Regional context.
• It will be an opportunity for discussing concrete project examples from the region with a wide range of representatives, thus facilitating future collaboration. At the same time, the dialogue should also lead to better political uptake of the nexus concept in East Africa and beyond.
• Through the presence of UNSGAB and AU/AMCOW the dialogue will ensure that the nexus approach finds consideration at the highest level, ideally throughout the continent and that the African perspective is well represented in international processes.

The nexus dialogue takes place as part of UNSGAB’s 19th meeting held 27-29 November.

The dialogue is convened by UNSGAB and the African Union in cooperation with and support of the Ministry of Water and Irrigation of Kenya and the Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany (BMZ).

Programme

8:30-9:30
Welcome and Opening Speeches

• Facilitation: Dr. Uschi Eid, UNSGAB Vice Chair
• His Royal Highness, the Prince of Orange, UNSGAB Chair
• Hon. Dr. Mohamed Bahaa El-Din, Minister for Water Resources and Irrigation, Egypt & AMCOW President 2012-2014 (tbc)
• Dr. Joan Clos, Executive Director, UN-Habitat
• Hon. Charity Kaluki Ngilu, Minister of Water and Irrigation, Kenya

Introductory Presentation:
The Nexus Dialogues – Implementing the Water-Energy-Food Security Nexus on a regional basis

• Franz-Birger Marré, Head of Division Water, Energy, Urban Development, Geosciences Sector, Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Germany

9:30-12:00
Foreign investment in the agriculture / agri-food chain: risk or opportunity for the water, energy and food security?

Guiding questions: Increasing foreign investments in the agriculture / agri-food chain in Africa is an opportunity to mobilize international capacities and finances for developing African economies. However, this could lead to a trade-off between export-oriented production and domestic needs since water, energy and land resources are limited. How private investments in the agriculture and food sector in Africa can contribute to water, energy and food security? Is there a need for adapting sector policies to this new challenge?

Facilitation: Dr. Uschi Eid, UNSGAB Vice Chair

Interventions:

• Ibrahim Thiaw (Director, Division of Environment Policy Implementation, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)): Applying ecoystem-based adaptation to climate change in addressing water and food security
• Dr. Timothy O. Williams (Director, International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Africa): Foreign investment in land vs. poor farmers?

Is there room for both investment models in Africa? If yes, what policies are needed to create the conditions for foreign investments in land related to biofuels and exportoriented food production to coexist, complement and support investment in small-scale agricultural water solutions to improve incomes and food security of poor farmers and ecosystem services?

• Richard Fox (Finlays Horticulture Kenya Ltd): Private – Public sector engagement in resources management – case study from the Lake Naivasha

In the Lake Naivasha Basin, private investors are participating in a multi-stakeholder approach to ensure sustainable use of water resources. An example of locally crafted solution includes the formation of a multi-stakeholder management board and payment for ecosystem services (PES) by downstream companies to upstream smallholders, in order to improve land-use practices, restore the natural environment and lay a foundation for long term sustainable development.

10:15-10.30
Tea break

• Prof. Elijah Phiri (Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP)): Private investments for Sustainable Water and Land Management

The framework developed under the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) seeks to extend area under sustainable land management and water control systems through (i) the promotion of coalition-building amongst key stakeholders, (ii) empowerment of national and regional stakeholders, (iii) improvement of collection, management and dissemination of knowledge, (iv) identification, mobilization and harmonization of investment funds and (v) scaling up of investments. The CAADP Initiative on Land and Water Management (SLWM) is an important
development for making private investments work for water, energy and food security in Africa.

• Dr. Franz-Josef Batz (GIZ - Africa Department Competence Centre, Cooperation with the Private Sector): The “Water Futures Initiative” - New approaches towards working with the private sector
• Dr Alassane Baba-Moussa (Water and Sanitation Expert, Benin): Drinking water as a priority use of water in the context of international investments in agriculture – the case of Savé, Benin

Panel discussion with

• Hon. Minister Ngilu, Kenya
• Hon. Deputy Minister Mahenge, Tanzania
• Prof. Eric Odada, UNSGAB
• Prof. Elijah Phiri, CAADP
• Dr. Timothy O. Williams, IWMI
• Richard Fox, Finalys Horticulture Kenya Ltd.

12:15-13:15
Lunch break

13:15-15:15
The water energy food security Nexus at regional level: Towards the African single market in a Green Economy perspective

Guiding questions: Improving water, energy and food security needs regional approaches for addressing trade-offs and improving synergies. Regional approaches are increasingly important in the different sectors, for example for tackling transboundary water resources issues, interconnecting electricity networks, exploiting hydropower potential and integrating food markets. Transferring the sector silos from national to regional level would lead to significant burdens and risks, in particular for private investors. How regional organizations and national governments can set up a regional framework enabling private investors to contribute to water, energy and food security?

Facilitation: Dr. Axel Klaphake, GIZ Uganda

• Dr Callist Tindimugaya (Ministry of Water and Environment, Uganda): Water-food-energy nexus in Africa: experiences from Uganda
• Dr Canisius Kanangire, Lake Victoria Basin Commission/East African Community
• Emmanuel Olet, Nile Basin Initiative
• Jasper Oduor, Eastern Africa Power Pool
• Dr Vincent Kitio (UN-Habitat): Energy and water supply – case studies and lessons learned for regional approaches

Panel discussion with

• Hon. Minister Kamuntu, Uganda
• Hon. Minister Nkomo, Zimbabwe
• Dr. Canisius Kanangire, LVBC/EAC
• Emmanuel Olet, NBI
• JB Collier, World Bank
• Mounkaila Goumandakoye, Regional Director for Africa, UNEP

15:15-15:30
Tea break

15:30-16:30
Synthesis and commitments

Synthesis

• Franz-Birger Marré, Head of Division Water, Energy, Urban Development, Geosciences Sector, Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Germany

Commitments

• Dr. Rashid Mbaziira, African Union & Bai-Mass Taal, AMCOW
• UNSGAB Your Action – Our Action
• “East African Nexus Process” (tbc)

16:30
Close of meeting

• HRH the Prince of Orange

Background

The High-Level Dialogue follows up on the 2011 Bonn Conference on the Water, Energy and Food Security Nexus - Solutions for a Green Economy, which highlighted the need for taking a systemic view on these three interconnected resources in order to address the challenges that we face today and in future due to population growth, urbanization and climate change. The conference provided guidance on how to move forward with realizing the nexus perspective through promoting policy coherence, a strong focus on pro poor approaches, education and learning, minimizing waste and increasing efficiencies.

These strategies now call for implementation, specifically in the African context, where multiple challenges with regards to water-energy and food security exist.

Specifically, the Dialogue seeks to address the role private investments can play in improving water, energy and food security. Taking into consideration the inter-linkages between the three sectors is crucial, in particular for the following reasons.

• Often, investments opportunities can only be realized by using synergies between the sectors (e.g. investments in sanitation coupled with fertilizer production).
• Investments in one sector could lead to negative impacts on other sectors, if the right framework is not in place (e.g. agriculture intensification can lead to over-exploitation of water resources).
• Investments in one sector are crucially dependent on the functioning of others (e.g. increased water requirements for increased energy production).

A better understanding of the interlinkages between water, energy and land will lead to increased and better private investment into water, energy and food security. How can it be reached, how can we remove hindrances? How do we create those frameworks that help secure access to water, energy and food for all?

The Dialogue will contribute to a better understanding of possible future pathways in this regard and the roles different actors can play in order to realize the nexus for Africa.

Download

Programme (PDF, 114 kB)

Participation

Participation in the High-level dialogue is by invitation only. For further information and if you are interested in participating please contact:
pierre.guillibert[at]giz.de

This is the follow up of a discussion started at the Bonn2011 Nexus Conference

Website of the 2011 Workshop

The workshop takes place following the Water, Food and Energy Nexus Conference held in Bonn in 2011, as well as the Rio +20 Conference. It aims at enabling young professionals to deal with the water, energy and food security nexus in order to develop a scientific view, methods and management approaches. As an outcome of the workshop, a declaration will be formulated on the issues that the participants deem most important with regard to sustainability and the long term prospects of the nexus. This meeting is another step towards promoting the involvement of young professionals in the discussion and development of water and energy related topics.

The first edition of the convention was held in 2004. This year, 2012, the eighth edition will take place. The EDC platform will host three main conferences:

• Back To The Future Of Gas, organized by Energy Delta Gas Research (EDGaR)
• Changing Infrastructures
• Energy, Food and Water

On top of these conferences, the EDC includes a number of high level plenary events: keynotes, forum, dinners, networking lunches. A high profile speaker will deliver the concluding plenary speech. Also there will be a number of side events, also with special interest for young energy professionals and students.

The Energy Delta Convention has stated the following goals:

• To create an unique international, interdisciplinary platform on challenges in the field of future energy production, transport and supply.
• To apply the triangle of business, science and government that is key for an effective process of energy transition.
• To cover state of the art energy and sustainability research.
• To demonstrate good examples of energy transition and technology.
• To enhance the visibility of the city Groningen and the Northern Netherlands as a hot spot for energy research and technology.

• What government policies will help Africa exploit its latent agricultural potential, enabling the development of vibrant markets in rice, maize, soy beans etc?
• How can farmers be supported with the skills, financing and access to markets that they need?
• How can new technologies boost yields and solve critical nutrition needs?

It is a prerequisite to sustainable development of the water resources in the Mekong River Basin to depart from past, polarized debates and to strive instead for constructive dialogues, transparency and accountability in decision-making. One objective of the Second Mekong Forum on Water, Food and Energy is therefore to build on the success from 2011 and to further foster the open and constructive dialogue between representatives from government, industry, financers, civil society and research institutions.

The Forum is being convened by the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF). Confirmed co-hosts of the event are the Institute of Water Resources Planning, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Government of Vietnam; and the Mekong Program on Water, Food and Resilience (M-POWER). Additional co-hosts are soon to be confirmed. The event is funded through a generous grant from the Australian Government, through AusAID.

Who can participate in the Forum?

Participation in the forum is by invitation only.

Why a forum on Water, Food and Energy in the Mekong region?

The Mekong River is among the richest rivers in the world, both with regard to water volume as well as biodiversity. It plays a central role in the lives of the more than 300 million people who live in the region – its Lao and Thai names meaning literally “Mother of Water”.

The river is an important source of livelihoods: for centuries, it has yielded fisheries, irrigation for agriculture, silt for agriculture, water for households and as a major transportation route into the southeast Asian peninsular. Today, the countries of the Mekong are undergoing dramatic change and rapidly developing. This, in turn, demands considerable amounts of energy to achieve, including electricity. Up and down the length of the Mekong, hydropower is being developed to meet this growing demand.

How, then, are the demands on water for food to be reconciled with water for energy? This represents a ‘nexus’ (i.e. a connection or series of connections linking two or more things), with which the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) is committed to exploring and understanding. You can learn more about our understanding of the nexus, and our work towards understanding it, here.

What will we aim to achieve during this Forum?

We aim to move towards a shared understanding of the relationships between water development, food and energy in the Mekong region; to better understand technical and institutional innovations, which can make water resources development more sustainable; and to further strengthen the dialogue and exchange between representatives from governments, industry, financers, civil society and research institutions.

Practical matters

The seat of Viet Nam’s Government, Hanoi has been a busy and frenetic city since 1010. Boasting ancient architecture, superb food, a wonderful Asian-French ambiance, and an excellent springboard from which to explore northern Vietnam, we are proud to be holding this year’s forum here.

Many nationalities require visas to enter Viet Nam.

• Citizens of Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand can enter Vietnam without a visa for a period of 30 days.
• Philippine citizens can enter Vietnam without a visa for a period of 21 days.
• Citizens of Denmark, Norway, South Korea, Finland, Russia, Sweden and Japan can enter Vietnam without a visa for a period of 15 days.
• All other nationalities must obtain a visa in advance from a Vietnamese consular mission to enter Vietnam.

In November, Hanoi is cool, with average temperatures between 19-25C, so dress warmly!

Language

The forum will be conducted in English.

Contacts

For information
Malichanh Srithirath, CPWF Mekong Program Officer
Email: m.srithirath[at]cgiar.org
Phone: +856.2055.512.461

For media and communication
Terry Clayton clayton[at]redplough.com

A word from former participants:

• ”Thanks for the opportunity to be trained by the WEAP training team itself. I am grateful and looking forward to becoming a TRAINED WEAP USER AND MODELER IN THE FUTURE” - Research Scientist, Ghana.
• ”Thank you very much for the opportunity to participate in the WEAP Beginner’s Course online training session. The online format worked very well, and your patience and special talent for teaching made the training a resounding success for me. I look forward to hearing about the upcoming intermediate and advanced training sessions. I will definitely take part if given the opportunity” - Water Resources Manager, California, USA
• ”Personally, I enjoyed every moment during the training, thanks to all for sharing your experiences and I do hope that we shall continue with the same spirit. Let’s keep the interactions alive not only in dealing with WEAP but in other aspects of our research agenda. And to Laura, no words can express my gratitude, you are a great teacher, full of patience and tolerance, God bless you and I look forward to interacting more with you in the future. Thank you for expanding my network.” - Senior Research Scientist, Kenya
• ”I’m very pleased to be a member of this great group, we hope the best for all and keep in contact. Thanks again to Laura and all of the WEAP team” - Engineer, Sudan.

Where

ICE
One Great George Street
Westminster
London, SW1P 3AA

Programme

• Keynote: Winston Yu (World Bank): Challenges and Opportunities in Reforming the Irrigation Sector in South Asia: Reflections from a Practitioner.
• Keynote: Tingju Zhu (IFPRI): Global irrigation futures and implications for water and food security.
• Melvyn Kay (UK Irrigation Association & UK National Drought Group): A fair share of water for agriculture in the UK.
• Bruce Lankford (UEA): Do we need a World Commission on Irrigation?
• Jean-Phillipe Venot (Wageningen University): Small-scale water systems in sub-Saharan Africa: Importance and need for integration.
• Tony Allan (KCL): Farmers, Accountants and Optimism – FAO will save the world despite drought but with higher food prices. (Farmers manage 90% of the water needed by society.)
• Other presenters are confirming.

There are charges to attend this technical meeting in order to cover refreshments and lunch. We ask you to register your attendance by emailing Tim Fuller Tim.Fuller[at]ice.org.uk. Please do this before Monday 5 November.

Background

In most countries, economic models and current consumption patterns are highly dependent on the exploitation of limited and often scarce non-renewable energy sources. Investment in the extraction and distribution channels of these resources often have negative impacts on the development prospects of countries rich in resources.

One reaction to this self-created scarcity is aggressive trade and investment policies and a shifting of investment to more destructive resource exploitation in marginal areas (forests, oceans, fertile agricultural land etc.). These short-term solutions often include technologies which are serving the profit interests of multinational companies (e.g. genetic engineering, bio-fuels, and nuclear power), but are neither ecologically nor socially sustainable.

Another so-called solution to scarcity is attempts of substituting certain resources with others - e.g. biomass instead of fossil fuels, the use of noble earths for renewable energy technologies, or increased inputs of water and fertilizer to increase yields on shrinking arable lands). However, with a growing world population and a consumption-oriented middle class, this approach also does not address the fundamental problem of a spiraling demand that has already overstepped the planet’s limited resources.

Aims

The aims of the Regional and International Resource Summits:

• To involve young stakeholders from science and civil society from different regions worldwide and to create new links between regions, actors and approaches and furthermore to jointly develop a new and participative HBS Resource Memorandum.
• To make use of the HBS Resource Memorandum in national, regional and international policy negotiations and in discussions with decision makers.
• To set a starting point for activities related to alternative resources policy on national and regional level together with young actors as a new target group.

Target Group

• The Future Workshops in general will address young people up to the age of 35. These include (graduate) students, young scientists, politically committed persons or job-starters with knowledge about different aspects of the resource topic and an interest to think beyond the boundaries of institutions and disciplines.

Requirement for Applicants

• One should be a young person of up to 35 years.
• One should have some insight in the resource topic (such as oil/gas, minerals, coal, land/soil, water, forests, biodiversity) but do not have to be high profile experts in the field.
• Workshop will be in English. Therefore, one needs to have English language skills, sufficient not only for following the proceedings but also for contributing actively.
• The applicant will be required to submit either an essay or a poem or an art with a synopsis on the state of natural resources today and a vision for the future in their own country (between 700 -1000 words)

Participants

will be selected based on:

• Expertise
  The applicant has foresight and knowledge in the field of resources.
• Open mindedness
  The applicant demonstrate the ability and willingness to step back from their organization’s viewpoint and to consider other standpoints and perspectives and able to look beyond their own field of expertise.
• Commitment
  The participant is willing to invest time and energy.
• Autonomy
  The applicant demonstrates ability to function autonomously, demonstrate the ability to convey the developed ideas and present them to other participants.
• Creativity
  Thinking about the future is always a somewhat creative process, it is important to have sufficient ability of a visionary and out of the box thinking person.

Rights Reservation

By agreeing to participate in this application, HBS reserve the rights:

• To publish your essay, poem, artwork/painting/mural in the HBS website.
• To document photo taken, video or any visual materials obtained after the workshop for those selected.

Interested candidates and who meet the above criteria are requested to submit their essays, poem or work of arts addressed to Heinrich Boell Stiftung, Country office Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, through email: info[at]et.boell.org or attention Mr. Ayele Kebede: ayele.kebede[at]et.boell.org on or before 31st August 2012.

Background

By 2030, population will grow from currently 7 billion to almost 8.5 billion, the world will need around 40% more energy, 50% more food, and 30% more water. Thus, achieving water, energy and food security for the world’s growing population will be one of the grand challenges ahead of us. Water as a multi-functional natural resource plays a key role as it is a fundamental ingredient to almost all human activities like energy generation, food and fibre production, industrial production and to sustain the health of humans and ecosystems.

Worldwide trends influence the water sector but are beyond its boundaries and the water managers’ control. Pressures on water are related to energy and agricultural policies, land use and urban planning, international trade policies and come from within the water sector. The Water, Energy and Food Security Nexus describes these many complex relations, the trade-offs, and the opportunities. How policies should look like and be coordinated to address these issues is as yet not fully understood, and there is an urgent need for new approaches beyond the confined borders of sector policies.

Lectures

• 29 Oct 2012
  “Eco-Innovation for Greening Growth”
  Prof. Dr. Harald Sander, Fachhochschule Köln
• 12 Nov 2012
  “Rainwater Harvesting: Climate Change Adaptation Strategy for Food Security”
  Prof. Dr. Clement Dorm-Adzobu, TU Braunschweig
• 26 Nov 2012
  “Biomass for Energy: The Water Footprint for Biodiesel”
  Dr. Winnie Gerbens-Leenes, University of Twente
• 10 Dec 2012
  “The Role of Scarcity in Global Virtual Water Flows”
  Dr. Anik Bhaduri, Global water system project (GWSP), University of Bonn
• 14 Jan 2013 (postponed to March 2013)
  “Large-Scale Land Acquisitions: Can We Manage the Trade Offs Between Land, Water and Energy?”
  Dr. Waltina Scheumann, DIE-GDI