A report of the Transatlantic Academy about the the Struggles for Land, Energy, Food, Water, and Minerals.

The report was co-published by the POLIS Project on Ecological Governance and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. It is the first report in a two-part series addressing the water-energy nexus in British Columbia.

held at the 10th European Conference: The Implementation of the Water Framework Directive Europe‐INBO, by Caner Aktaş, Boğaziçi University

Climate change is exerting an increasing influence on the general conditions faced by market economies. This poses a challenge that is complex, sometimes contradictory, and yet highly promising: the role of the private sector in adaptation to a changing climate. Climate change is certainly not exclusively – probably not evenpredominantly – a public responsibility. It is obvious that climate change affects enterprises in terms of risks as well as opportunities. In this context, there are five messages to the private sector which are important for further dialogue on this topic - by Friedrich K. Kitschelt, Director, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) for Africa, Latin America; Global and Sectoral Affairs

The corporate world is waking to the realisation that improved water management is fundamental for future prosperity and human well-being. This special issue explores aspects of its response: from the application of an array of analytical tools such as water footprint accounting, risk filters and standards; water use efficiencies; derivatives and insurance mechanisms; to collaborative infrastructure and watershed projects; stakeholder engagement and attempts to influence water governance at all scales. Drawing on the papers in this issue the motivations for this new agenda are traced and its potential in helping to unlock some of our most intractable water challenges, or to open a Pandora’s box of controversies are considered. Key concerns include the potential for diverging corporate and public interests; policy and regulatory capture; privileging of economic over social perspectives; process inequities; displacement of existing water management priorities, and the risks of misguided interventions which undermine institutional and hydrological sustainability - with the financial support of Water Witness International, WWF, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and German Technical Cooperation (GIZ)

by Holger Hoff (SEI): Overview, Initial Scenarios, Charles Iceland (WRI): Hydropower, Vulnerability to and Impacts on Water Scarcity, Jakob Granit (SEI/SIWI): Water Energy Nexus Opportunities, Guy Pegram (Pegasys): Water Food Nexus Opportunities, Abby Onencan (Nile Basin Discourse): The Role of Science, Nexus, Cooperation

Constructing a multi-level governance framework for the Water-Energy-Food Security Nexus in the SADC region - by Inga Jacobs, Water Research Commission (WRC), and Manisha Gulati, WWF South Africa

Green Cities, Integrated Resource Planning Approach and Trade-offs to Meet a Green, Sustainable Economy. By Jay Witherspoon, Mark Anderson, Avinash Pathwardhan, and Jared Thorpe, CH2M HILL

A global dialogue platform for best practices and optimisation of multi-purpose water infrastructure. By Mark Smith, Director IUCN Global Water Programme Gland, Switzerland

by Janos J. Bogardi, Executive Officer of GWSP

Three focal areas need to be addressed for a transition to a Green Urban Economy, which promotes environmental well-being and improved quality of living for all income groups (i.e. Green Jobs and Poverty Eradication; Financing and Green Investments; Effective Governance and Institutions). The messages and their conditions offer potential ways to address environmental and social concerns in an economically viable way at the local level.

by Peter Stigson, Swedish Environmental Research Institute (IVL), held on 3 July 2012 at the Chinese Academy of Science, Institute for Policy and Management (CAS/IPM)

Rio+20 displays a momentum for action. It justifies and requires broad attention. For those who want to use it, the Rio Agreement delivers options and opportunities, for those who do not want to advance the pursuit of sustainability the document does not give a leverage to turn backwards. The positive momentum is clearly insufficient against the benchmark of deliverables that seemed possible, and it is definitely so when judged against what appears to be necessary in order to face global issues. Nevertheless, the momentum is greater than publicly perceived at this moment. Translated into action, it may even turn out as more challenging than major parts of civil society are prepared to cope with.

This webinar explores the interconnections and interdependencies between water and energy — a topic that is rapidly becoming a priority area of focus in British Columbia and across North America. The guest speakers address the water-energy nexus in British Columbia’s energy sector and explore water conservation and efficiency as a possible path to realizing future energy savings for municipalities in Ontario. Speakers: Ben Parfitt, Resource Policy Analyst, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives B.C. Office, Research Associate, POLIS Water Sustainability Project; Carol Maas, Innovation and Technology Director, POLIS Water Sustainability Project; Heather Cooley, Co-Director of Water Program, Pacific Institute

This report analyses how combinations of technological measures and changes in consumption patterns could contribute to achieving a set of sustainability objectives, taking into account the interlinkages between them. The potential exists for achieving all of the objectives.

Co-chaired by Keshab Man Shakya, Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, Nepal, and Pema Gyamtsho, Minister of Agriculture and Forests, Bhutan, this side event highlighted local, national and regional knowledge-based solutions that are inclusive and supportive to the water, food and energy nexus and have promoted green growth strategies and reduced poverty. Organized by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), the Government of Nepal, Mountain Partnership, Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), EVK2CNR, Global Gender and Climate Alliance (GGCA).

CGIAR calls for a focus on the entire agricultural landscape as an integrated system, which recognizes that isolated solutions will not reduce risks or achieve required progress in the same way as integrated approaches will. CGIAR calls for a focus on harmonizing food security and environmental sustainability through agricultural research and development. This will require us to minimize the harmful effects of agriculture on the environment through more efficient management of water, soils and agricultural inputs. CGIAR calls for the sustainable management of complex agricultural systems while maximizing agricultural productivity and improving the livelihoods and food/nutrition security of the poor.

Key messages to the 2012 Rio+20 Summit from the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI)

“The report is indeed timely and very pertinent to our efforts in finding answers to some of the great questions of our time: how do we handle resource scarcities? How do we tackle climate change and mitigate its consequences? How does the growth of world population affect the globe? And – of course – what does all this imply for foreign policy?”

Is water the “gold of the 21st century,” potentially triggering “water wars” between countries sharing the precious resource? Such scenarios proliferated in the 1990s, but today a different paradigm is taking root. Politicians are beginning to emphasise the peace dividend of water cooperation; and development agencies are now supporting transboundary water cooperation projects around the world. And even at the highest level of political discourse, water cooperation has been identified as an entry point for broader peacebuilding.

Unless the transatlantic community takes the lead in addressing the challenges arising from the unprecedented global demand for land, energy, food, water, and minerals, severe market disruptions are likely to occur, as are increased chances of violent conflict at interstate and local levels in many “hot spots,” especially in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Needs for affordable and clean energy, for water in adequate quantity and quality, and for food security will increasingly be the central challenges for humanity:these needs are strongly linked.

Andy Wales, Global Head of Sustainable Development at SABMiller, speaks about the Water-Energy-Food Security Nexus: “We need new campaigns, new corporate strategies and new policies which consider these connections and drive dramatic efficiency and productivity improvements, the right land use choices and product innovation. And all this whilst meeting the legitimate needs and desires of those 3 billion new middle class consumers.”

The purpose of the UNEP Foresight Process is to produce, every two years, a careful and authoritative ranking of the most important emerging issues related to the global environment. UNEP aims to inform the UN and wider international community about these issues on a timely basis, as well as provide input to its own work programme and that of other UN agencies, thereby fulfilling the stipulation of its mandate: “keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action”.

The Blueprint to Safeguard Europe’s Water Resources will present the policy response to the challenges presented in the European Environment Agency’s 2012 State of Water Report. It will be the 2020 water milestone on the Resource Efficiency Roadmap. However, the analysis underpinning the Blueprint will in fact cover a longer time span up to 2030-2050.

This paper is the scientific background paper of the Bonn2011 Nexus Conference. It explains the Nexus and presents initial evidence for how a nexus approach can enhance water, energy and food security in a green economy by increasing efficiency, reducing trade-offs, and building synergies across sectors.

by Chantal Symoens, EuropeAid

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.

by Rainer Hakala, Energy Unit C.5., Directorate General for Development and Cooperation - EuropeAid, European Commission (EC)

Presentation by Josefina Maestu, UN Water Decade Program on Advocacy and Communication - Presentation at the BONN 2011 NEXUS CONFERENCE

The Water-Energy-Food Security Nexus is this month’s hot topic at the IWA Water Wiki in conjunction with the IWA/IUCN Nexus Dialogue on Water Infrastructure Solutions

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 SEI’s work on the water, energy and food security nexus – an interview with Holger Hoff

Needs for affordable and clean energy, for water in adequate quantity and quality, and for food security will increasingly be the central challenges for humanity:these needs are strongly linked.

A new approach – the water, energy and food security nexus

A Global Dialogue on Water, Energy and Food Security Interlinkages

Reflections of the Co-Chairs on the outcomes of the Bonn2011 Nexus-Conference

1st Inter-Regional Conference on Land and Water Challenges, Bari, Italy

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 objective of this conference is to discuss and identify priority areas following the outcomes of the 6th World Water Forum and the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20 or UNCSD).

The Second Mekong Forum on Water, Food and Energy will continue this constructive dialogue on the relationship between the cost and benefits of water development.

WaterLex, with the sponsorship of the permanent missions of Costa Rica, Ecuador, Germany and Spain, invites to a side event on “The Future of Water in the United Nations System”, Wednesday 19th September, 1-4pm, Room XXIV, Palais des Nations.

New Challenges for Science and Governance. Indicators, Thresholds and Uncertainties of the Global Water System, Bonn

This session aims to consider how a new paradigm of adaptive management can be developed to address water security issues in a context of growing multiple needs and water scarcity.

The Africa Water Week (aww) is organized by the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW) and represents a political commitment at the highest level with over 1000 participants from governments, regional institutions, international partners, the private sector, the scientific community, civil society, and the media from all over the world, and in particular Africa, meeting to discuss and collectively seek solutions to Africa’s water and sanitation challenges.

The Global Town Hall is being convened by ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, during the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20).

This article by Manish Bapna discusses the four grand challenges to overcoming resource scarcity, as pointed out in the Global Trends 2030 report from the U.S. National Intelligence Council (NIC).

Our world is facing an urgent food management crisis that is leading to many continuing to go hungry whilst vast amounts of food are being wasted daily. This is why the link between water and food is of immense concern and this year, the World Water Week in Stockholm, organised by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) was dedicated to this issue. Within the complex nexus of water, food and energy, water plays a critical role and a fair governance mechanism for efficient management of water can lead to long-term positive implications for food security. However, water governance and management are currently suffering from numerous problems that prevent this positive long-term perspective from becoming a reality.

The POLIS Project on Ecological Governance’s Creating a Blue Dialogue webinar series is ramping up for another year, beginning with a session that will preview a forthcoming report on the water-energy nexus in British Columbia. Water Canada spoke with report author Ben Parfitt of the Candian Centre for Policy Alternatives to learn more.

Feeding 7 billion people whilst maintaining the health of natural ecosystems and livelihoods is a huge challenge and urgent solutions will be required. During the six day conference, IUCN and partners will look into and discuss possible answers and solutions to the growing water, energy and food security challenge. The yearly conference attracts over 2,000 participants, from government, private sector and civil society, who will put forward policy recommendations and concrete actions.

Droughts, poor land use and water access have all contributed to recent volatility in food prices and regional food emergencies. To address such insecurity in food supplies, good water management and governance – as well as reliable early warning systems – are needed, says Jens Berggren, who heads World Water Week that begins on 26 August in Stockholm.

The World Water Week 2012 in Stockholm will zoom in on food security and the global water situation. This is warranted not least from the perspective of the increasing imbalances in global food security. In this article, Dr. Anders Jägerskog sums up the thrust of a report he edited on this topic, which is meant to provide input for the Week’s deliberations.

Management of water resources needs “substantial improvement and actual reform in many countries,” and an integrated management is significant for “the most valuable natural resources,” Olcay Unver from the UNESCO’s water assessment program told Xinhua. “There has been some improvement over the the past decade or so, but we would very much like to see this expedited mostly by national government,” the director of UENSCO Program Office for Global Water Assessment said in a recent interview.

National science academies of 15 countries issued joint statements today calling on world leaders about to meet at the upcoming G8 Summit and other international gatherings this year to give greater consideration to the vital role science and technology could play in addressing some of the planet’s most pressing challenges.

We need green economy roadmaps with “concrete goals and benchmarks of progress” and we need them fast, according to the zero draft of the outcome document from the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, or Rio+20. Between now and 2015 this ambitious plan aims to establish indicators to evaluate implementation, mechanisms for technology transfer, sharing of know-how and capacity building.

An environmental report issued by an agency of the United Nations last month has some critics sounding the alarm, saying it is a clarion call for “global governance” over how the Earth is managed.