Bonn2011 Nexus Conference // Policy Recommendations
The Policy Recommendations are the result of a broad participatory stakeholder process which started during the preparation for the Bonn2011 Nexus Conference and includes feedback from participants during and in the follow-up to the conference.
The first imperative is to achieve water, energy and food security for the poorest of the poor. It emphasizes the human dimension and fulfilment of basic human rights. Global demand and supply assessments predict significant shortfalls in water and food in the future, but this should not mask the reality that universal access to minimum standards of water, energy and food can be achieved and sustained within planetary boundaries provided there is political commitment and an appropriate enabling environment.
Second, more sustainable development and growth beyond poverty eradication can be achieved by better management of the world's ecosystems and a more informed and optimal use of water, land and other natural resources. It is an approach fully consistent with the Green Economy that aims to bring a broader perspective into decision-making and where "growth in income and employment is driven by public and private investments that reduce carbon emissions and pollution, enhance energy and resource efficiency, and prevent the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services".
This realisation forms the rationale for Bonn2011 and an approach that addresses the interdependency between water, energy and food security and the underlying natural resources — water, soil and land and related ecosystems. Bonn2011 has opened up a global debate on the importance of the nexus on water, energy and food security and the need for interlinked thinking and action.