by EDF Group, Thai and Lao Governments

by the Ministry of Energy and Mines (Laos), TheunHinboun Power Company, Statkraft Oslo, Electrcité du Laos, and GMS Lao Company Ltd.

Held at the Second Annual Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa Addis Ababa, 19-20 October 2012, by Gisela Prasad, Energy Research Centre, University of Cape Town

In a poll taken last year, The Nature Conservancy found that 77% of Americans have absolutely no idea where their water comes from. This lack of understanding about how water is delivered to our homes is symptomatic of broader water illiteracy - too few understand the basic workings of global or local water cycles, how much water we use in our homes, factories, or farm fields, how water shortages develop, or how our use of water might affect the health of natural ecosystems. If we don’t understand these basic characteristics of water and its use, we likely won’t understand how we can use water more sustainably, or what we should expect of other water users or managers. In the past few months Brian Richter has been working with Jason Pearson of TRUTHstudio to develop some graphical illustrations of our water sources and uses.

Animation on virtual water: “Eating water might sound strange, but you are about to discover that actually you eat loads of it, you are addicted to it, and you don’t know it. An understanding of our water consumption can help us provide a solution to one of our most pressing problems: making sure there is enough water for everybody on the planet.”

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector in developing countries. Established in 1956, IFC is owned by 182 member countries, a group that collectively determines our policies. Our work in more than a 100 developing countries allows companies and financial institutions in emerging markets to create jobs, generate tax revenues, improve corporate governance and environmental performance, and contribute to their local communities. IFC’s vision is that people should have the opportunity to escape poverty and improve their lives. Population Growth, environmental pressures, and urbanization are putting significant pressures on valuable resources such as water, energy, food and land. Climate change is central to the fragile nexus between energy, water and food security, and will significantly impact economic development going forward.

A large quantity of water is needed to produce the food we eat every day. This animation aims to show the relationship between food production and water use.

The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

The Ethiopian Institute of Water Resources (EIWR) was established under the Africa-U.S. Higher Education Initiative to serve as the central administration unit to coordinate research, education and outreach activities amongst the partnering U.S. and Ethiopian Universities.

The EU as a whole is the world’s largest donor and a key trading partner for developing countries. With its broad and ambitious development policies and comprehensive partnerships, the EU it is already making a significant contribution towards the MDGs. But we could have even greater impact.

A voice from the ground, Edward Byers, PhD student from Newcastle/UK, gives his view of the NEXUS event at the German Pavilion in Rio.

The South African Water, Energy and Food forum could not have come at a more opportune time. COP17 has come and gone and with the new year in full swing, many remain doubtful about whether or not all the hype has left us with a successful outcome to the complicated international climate change negotiations process; and about what the outcomes to this process mean for business. — by Aimée Girdwood

The African Union and the United Nations Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation (UNSGAB) are convening a High-level African Dialogue on the Water-Food-Energy Nexus in Nairobi, Kenya on November 29, 2012.

KTH Division of Energy Systems Analysis (DESA) invites PhD students and researchers with an interest in integrated resource modelling to the course on Integrated Assessment of Climate, Land Use, Energy and Water Systems. The course will be held in conjunction with an IAEA meeting hosted by the Swedish government at KTH with the same name, bringing together analysts from several countries as well as leading modelers and academics.

“Global Trends 2030” a report by the National Intelligence Council (NIC) predicts that one of the four megatrends will be the “Food, Water, Energy Nexus.”

Bangladesh will advocate for a “green economy” approach that does not constrain poorer nations’ potential to grow at the U.N. conference on sustainable development in Rio de Janeiro this week. “We are concerned the green economy path will hamper our economic development. How effective will it be for poverty eradication?” Quazi Khaliquzzaman Ahmed, convener of Bangladesh’s climate change negotiation team, told AlertNet. “Unless poor countries get adequate funds from the major polluter (nations), it won’t be possible for them to green their economy.

Humanity is in a “race against time” to produce enough food to feed itself, hampered by a false sense of comfort that set in over the last few decades when food supplies generally outpaced demand, said a University of Nebraska-Lincoln agronomist who’s one of the world’s leading experts on feeding the world. Ken Cassman was one of several who reflected Friday on the final day of the fourth annual global Water for Food Conference, hosted by the Robert B. Daugherty Foundation at the University of Nebraska and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Systems thinking comes of age as KPMG says environmental, social and economic problems cannot be solved separately. The megaforces that KPMG highlights represent all the usual suspects, from climate change, unpredictable energy supplies and water scarcity to urbanisation, deforestation and food security.

In science class, kids are taught about the many systems of their bodies, for example: the nervous system, digestive system, and the skeletal system. It is important for them to understand how their bodies work so they can take good care of themselves. Likewise, it is also important for students to understand how the critical systems of their communities work. Even after decades of environmental activism in this country, we still struggle to reliably deliver clean and safe water, food and energy to our nation’s children.