Message from the International Conference on Transboundary River Basin Management, Phuket, 1-3 May 2012

Mekong2Rio will be an important contribution to the transboundary water resources management dimension to Rio+20. The NEXUS perspective is an important part in this process.

In December the Mekong River Commission (MRC), an intergovernmental body made up of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, called again for approval of a potentially devastating dam at Xayaburi in northern Laos to be withheld until more is known about its effect on the lower Mekong. But now CH. Karnchang, a Thai construction giant contracted to build a $3.8 billion dam at Xayaburi has told the Bangkok Stock Exchange that dam construction officially began on March 15th, and that 5,000 workers have just been hired.

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

Prior to the much anticipated Rio + 20 Conference of sustainable development; about 300 participants were invited to the River Basin Management conference in Thailand. Agreed upon among other key areas of discussion, was that water uses must meet the food, energy and water needs of the population and that a nexus approach is needed.

An international conference convened by the Mekong River Commission has concluded that the water, food and energy sectors need to talk to each other more.

By Stuart Orr, Freshwater Manager, WWF International, and David Grant, Senior Manager: Water Risk and Partnerships, SABMiller

A summary of the Stockholm Water Week’s discussions on the NEXUS on 28 August 2012.

“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.”