Webinar // The WEFE nexus approach - International experiences and potential for the Hindu Kush Himalaya

11 August, 2021

10:15-12:35 CET / 14:00–16:20 (Nepal Standard Time)
(please join 15 min early to avoid technical glitches)

ICIMOD invites you to the virtual webinar on 'The WEFE nexus approach' , aimed at increasing understanding on the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem (WEFE) nexus framework, its methods and practices, its implementation the HKH region and beyond, and its applicability in the HKH, particularly in a transboundary context. We're inviting a panel of experts, practitioners, and researchers to discuss existing WEFE frameworks, and explore opportunities, challenges and potential in the application of WEFE nexus! The webinar is particularly helpful to you if you are a practitioner/researcher working on WEFE nexus implementation, and engaged with government/non-government/intergovernmental organizations working on river basin and landscape, management and governance.

Objectives

• Share existing WEFE frameworks and approaches developed or adopted by different organisations in the HKH and beyond
• Share experiences on the implementation of the WEFE nexus in different parts of the world and lessons drawn from those experiences
• Discuss opportunities and challenges, and explore the potentials in implementing WEFE nexus in the HKH, including in a transboundary context

Background

While the interlinkages among water, energy, and food have been acknowledged within the WEF nexus approach, more recently practitioners and researchers have highlighted the key role of ecosystems in this nexus due to their intermediary role among the water, energy, and food components and their strong linkages with each individual component. The water-energy-food-ecosystem (WEFE) nexus approach highlights potential synergies and identifies critical conflicts between components.

The WEFE nexus also includes the main drivers of climate change – water, energy, and food security, and the main affected sectors – water and environment. So, to mitigate climate change, the WEFE nexus approach needs to be mainstreamed into development policy and planning.

Challenges related to data, information, and knowledge gaps in the nexus interlinkages, and issues regarding the operationalisation of the nexus approach are particularly relevant to the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH). Furthermore, the ability to unpack the nexus has often been limited by the lack of systematic tools that efficiently improve on the opportunities from interlinkages between its components and regulates conflicting outcomes from the trade-offs between them.

UNECE Water Convention has also developed a six-step methodology for WEFE nexus assessment of a transboundary river basin. While an analytical framework investigating the impacts of the SDG targets with quantification of interlinkages of nexus pillars has been developed for the Mediterranean region, a similar framework is lacking for the HKH region. Challenges in governance of river basins at various scales have also been raised.

The webinar is targeted to:

• Practitioners working on WEFE nexus implementation
• Researchers working on WEFE nexus implementation issues and challenges
• Representatives from government organisations working on river basin and landscape management and governance
• Representatives of non-governmental and intergovernmental organisations working on transboundary issues in the HKH

Agenda

Registration

Webinar : The WEFE nexus approach (office.com)

More Info

Learn more at : https://www.icimod.org/event/the-wefe-nexus-approach/