Collecting inputs for the Bonn2011 Nexus Conference preparatory process

The question of how to effectively use our water resources has been debated for decades, yet what we need more than ever is direct action at the field level.

A message from Felix Dodds, Executive Director of the Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Future and International Steering Committee (ISC) Member

Forty five influential CEOs commit to lobbying for political change to stave off water crisis – It’s not often that you get 45 of the world’s most powerful CEOs calling on governments to push up the price of a key resource. But this is exactly what happened today when companies ranging from Coca Cola, Nestle, Glaxo SmithKline, Merck and Bayer signed a special communiqué at the Rio+20 conference on sustainable development highlighting the urgency of the global water crisis and calling on governments to step up their efforts and to work more actively with the private sector, civil society and other stakeholders to address it.

Ahead of the online live debate on water, food and energy on 6 February 2013, Gordon Conway and Liz Wilson explain the urgent global challenges in food security and some innovative solutions.

“If something isn’t given a value, people tend to waste it. Water is our most useful resource, but those using it often don’t even cover the costs of its infrastructure,” said Nestlé CEO Paul Bulcke, speaking in Stockholm for 2012 World Water Week, which concluded Friday. The key issues this year: water and food security, followed by partnerships, tools and data. The water-food-energy triangle was key at the 2011 Bonn Nexus Conference, but the key the difference this year, according to an essay penned by David Grant, SABMiller’s senior director of water risk and partnerships, for the Guardian, “was the progression of the issue from a broad theoretical concept to actually seeing practical examples of how it is being both experienced and addressed on the ground.”

The global water crisis makes collaboration between business, NGOs and civil society essential for securing a sustainable, long term future for all. In Stockholm, 2,500 delegates have gathered for World Water Week to discuss the global water crisis and its effects on food security. Droughts and floods from America to Australia have devastated farms, frustrated civic leaders and caused food prices to skyrocket at a disturbing rate. Now companies are realising that water stewardship is both a moral imperative and makes smart business sense. With the world confronting a 40% gap between the planet’s supply and demand by 2030, the time to confront water scarcity is now.

“The flapping of a butterfly’s wings may or may not have the capacity to trigger a tornado on another continent, but without a doubt, our food, water and energy systems have profound impacts upon each other (and us, and our planet). With that in mind, we’re excited to introduce our new GRACE website, which we built to reflect the interconnected nature of these three systems.”