Conference // Water-Energy-Food Nexus and Environmental Sustainability: Choices, Compromises and Priorities

The water-energy-food nexus is a theoretical concept describing the mutual interconnections between the complex systems of these resources. Its purpose is to develop solutions mitigating and promoting synergies able to maintain and further elaborate sustainable development. Currently there are numerous challenges this area necessary to face and policymakers all over the world struggle to balance between different priorities such as minimizing the ecological footprint of human activities, satisfying the needs of the constantly growing population, and in order to fulfill Sustainable Development Goals set. While water is a vulnerable and valuable resource in itself, its importance for, and connection with, energy and food security cannot be understated. The over-exploitation of fresh water resources by both the energy and agricultural industry is one example of competing uses. Similarly, energy is needed for water sanitation and farming. Finally, nutrition is vital for livestock breeding, biofuel production and the maintenance of labor. Despite this factual indivisibility, regulatory solutions continue to be isolated and sectorial. Although some of these can be regionally effective, without thoroughly analyzing wider impacts they are likely to be counterproductive with respect to global sustainability.

Programme

11:00 – 11:10 Welcoming Address of the IG Coordinating Committee: Paolo Davide Farah West Virginia University (USA) and gLAWcal – Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development (United Kingdom) 11:00 – 13:00 Panel I: Water-Energy-Food Nexus: Implications for Sovereignty Principles, Self-Determination and Global Public Goods Chair and Moderator: Paolo Davide Farah, West Virginia University (USA) & gLAWcal – Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development (UK): Introductory Remarks: Water-Energy-Food Nexus Under International Law Hitomi Kimura, Otsuma Women's University, Tokyo, Japan: Water-Energy-Food Nexus in the International Environmental Laws Yao-Ming HSU, National Cheng-Chi University, College of Law (Taipei, Taiwan), Chen Wen-Wei, Taiwan Research Institute (Taipei, Taiwan): Mainstreaming the Water-Food-Energy Nexus Approach: A Driving Force Analysis Maria Banda, University of Toronto (Canada): The Food-Water Nexus and International Law: Climate Change Adaptation Across State Boundaries Hyun Ju (Crystal) Park, University of Macau Faculty of Law (China): The Implications of the Conflict between the Customary Principles of Permanent Sovereignty over Natural Resources and the Equitable Use of Transboundary Aquifers Lunch Break: 13:00 – 14:00 14:00 – 15:30 Panel II: Water-Energy-Food Nexus: International Trade, Investment Law and
Development Chair, Moderator and discussant: to be confirmed Flavia MARISI, Ghent University (Belgium) & CUHK – Chinese University of Hong Kong (China): Balancing the Human Rights to Water and to Property in Investment Law Alexander SOLNTSEV, People's Friendship University of Russia, Department of International Law, Moscow (Russia): Legal Problems of Using the Transboundary Amur River: Issues of Environmental,
Social and Economic Development Martin Svec, Charles University Faculty of Law (Czech Republic); Matteo Barra, Energy Charter Treaty (Belgium): Opportunities for Advancing the Water-Energy-Food Nexus in Development Cooperation: the Case of Africa

15:30 – 17:30

Panel III: Water-Energy-Food Nexus: Agriculture, Farmer Rights in the light of Human Rights, the Protection of the Environment and Democracy Chair, Moderator and discussant: to be confirmed Charlotte BLATTNER, University of Basel (Switzerland); Odile AMMANN, University of Fribourg (Switzerland) and University of Oxford (United Kingdom): Water-Energy-Food Nexus: Animal Agriculture and Farmer Rights in the Light of International Human Rights Law Chamu KUPPUSWAMY, University of Hertfordshire, School of Law, Criminology and Political Science, Hertfordshire (United Kingdom): Intersectionality in Food Security and Tenure Rights Antonio Coletta, CREA - National Council for the Research in Agriculture and Analysis in Agricultural Economics – UTV (Italy); Hatice M. Tuncer, University of Cambridge, CAPE - Centre for Advanced Photonics and Electronics (United Kingdom): Food, Energy, Water and Their Synergy in Sustainable Agriculture

Stefano Fabiani, CREA - National Council for the Research in Agriculture and Analysis in Agricultural Economics, Center for Policy and Bioeconomics (Italy); Silvia Vanino, CREA - National Council for the Research in Agriculture and Analysis in Agricultural Economics, Center for Policy and Bioeconomics (Italy); Pasquale Nino, CREA - National Council for the Research in Agriculture and Analysis in Agricultural Economics, Center for Policy and Bioeconomics (Italy); Rui Jorge Fernandes Ferreira Santos, University of Nova de Lisboa, Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering (Portugal); Paula Antunes, University of Nova de Lisboa, Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering (Portugal): Improving Agriculture Sustainability through Farm’s Management Optimization: the Water-Energy-Food Nexus to Reduce Inputs Requirement in Intensive Cropping Systems.

Priscila Pereora de Andrade, University Center of Brasília (UniCEUB), Brasilia (Brazil): Private Normative Instruments to Regulate the Water-Energy-Food Nexus: the Legal Effects of Private Standards and Contracts Adopted in the sustainable biofuel industry 17:30 – 18:00 Concluding Remarks: Julien Chaisse, CUHK – Chinese University of Hong Kong (China) and Paolo Davide Farah, West Virginia University (USA) & gLAWcal – Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development (UK)

Programme Download

ESIL conference website (PDF)

About the 2017 ESIL Annual Conference

The 2017 ESIL Annual Conference will explore how international law responds to global public goods, global commons and fundamental values, examining the responses in a wide range of fields. It will discuss which general interests have or have not been deemed to deserve the protection of international law in one or more of these categories, and why; it will also explore the legal foundation of such interests in international law. In addition, the conference will focus on whether and how it is appropriate that international law intervenes to regulate such interests, taking into account the interplay between multiple actors of international law, ranging from states, international and regional organisations and non-state actors. It will explore how states and other actors have used international law to protect general interests, what lessons can be learned from these efforts, and what main challenges still need to be addressed. Looking at international law through the prism of global public goods, global commons and fundamental values also implies an in-depth examination of different substantive regimes, for example those regulating human rights, the protection of the environment, judicial cooperation in criminal matters, the use of force, terrorism, and so on.

Where and when

Metropolitan City of Naples
Room A 1
Via Nuova Marina
Napoli
Italy 6 September 2017
11am - 6pm More information Conference website