event 10 Jul 2019

Presentations // Brussels Policy Briefing n. 56 - The Land-Water-Energy Nexus and the Sustainability of the Food System

Here you can access all presentations of the Brussels Policy Briefing No. 56 on The Land-Water-Energy-Nexus and the Sustainability of the Food System, which took place on 3rd July 2019 in Brussels. To improve information sharing and promote networking, CTA, the European Commission (DG Devco), the ACP Secretariat and Concord organize since 2007 bimonthly briefings on key issues and challenges for agriculture and rural development in the context of EU/ACP cooperation.

Brussels briefing nexus2

Programme

8h15-9h00 Registration

9h00-9h15 Opening of the Briefing: Isolina Boto, Manager, CTA Brussels Office

Introductory remarks: Patrick Gomes, Secretary-General, ACP Secretariat; Leonard Mizzi, Head of Unit, Rural Development, Food Security, Nutrition, Europeaid, European Commission; Michael Hailu, Director, CTA

9h15-11h00 Panel 1: The Land-Water-Energy nexus: what do we know?

This panel will provide an overview of linkages between land-water-energy from a research and practice perspective and its implications for the sustainability of the agrifood system with a focus in developing countries and ACP countries in particular.

Panellists and Presentations:

11h00-11h15 Coffee Break

11h15-13h00 Panel 2: Best practices in integrated approaches on LWE

This panel will look at specific examples of successful practices in linking Land-Water-Energy nexus, with a focus in developing/ACP countries.

Panellists and Presentations:

Concluding remarks

13h00 Networking Lunch

More Information

Biodata of the Speakers

Isolina Boto – Manager, CTA Brussels Office and Coordinator of the Briefings

Isolina Boto is the Manager of the CTA Brussels Office. Isolina has more than 20 years of experience in development. She worked for the European Commission, various ACP embassies and NGOs in areas related to food security, rural development and trade. Within CTA, she worked in various positions at headquarters, in the Netherlands, especially on cofunded technical programmes on Agriculture and Rural Development implemented at regional level. Since 2004 she heads the CTA Brussels Office, dealing with policy issues related to the ACP-EU cooperation in the field of agricultural and rural development. In that context, she coordinates and organizes the regular Brussels Development Briefings on topical development policy issues (http://brusselsbriefings.net). The office produces a daily news service on key policy areas of ACP-EU cooperation on trade, fisheries, climate change, food security and development policy (http://brussels.cta.int). She also implements field projects on policy and value chains in ACP countries.

Olufunke Cofie – West Africa Regional Representative, IWMI, Ghana

Olufunke Cofie has an academic background in Soil Science and over 20 years professional experience in natural resources management in West Africa. This includes 10 years teaching experience in the university and 13 years Post-Doctoral research experience in International Agricultural Research Centres. In the past 14 years, her research activities aim at: (i) exploring water-sanitation-agriculture linkages through safe recovery of nutrients, organic matter and water from domestic wastes, for urban and peri-urban agriculture; and (ii) improving smallholder agricultural water management. She has published over 100 scientific articles through diverse outlets. In addition to these research functions Olufunke has held leadership and research management positions in the past ten years. From 2004 to 2010, she served as the West Africa (Anglophone) Regional Coordinator for the International Network of Resource Centres on Urban Agriculture and Food Security (RUAF). From 2010 to 2013, she led the multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary research for development Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) in the Volta River Basin. Currently, Olufunke heads the IWMI Office in West Africa and serves as the Focal Region Leader for the Water Land and Ecosystems (WLE) program in Volta-Niger Basin region.

Sir Gordon Conway – Member of Malabo Montpellier Panel and Professor of International Development, Imperial College London

Sir Gordon Conway is Professor of International Development at Imperial College London. He was previously Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Department for International Development, President of the Royal Geographical Society, President of The Rockefeller Foundation and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sussex. He holds a Ph.D. in Systems Ecology from the University of California, and a Bachelor of Science in Zoology from the University College of Wales. He was also the Chair of the Montpellier Panel between 2010 and 2016. Sir Gordon is a fellow of several universities among which the Universities of Wales, Sussex, Brighton, and of the West Indies. He is a Fellow of the America and World Academy of Arts and Science, recipient of the Leadership in Science Public Service Award and a Royal Medal from the Royal Geographical Society (2017). In 2002 he was named Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Environmental Science by the University of Sussex.”

Paolo D'Odorico – Professor, Dept Environmental Science, Berkeley University, USA

Paolo D’Odorico is Professor of Hydrology and Water Resources and Chair of the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at the University of California, Berkeley. He received his Ph.D. from the university of Padua (Italy), has been a postdoc at Princeton, and a faculty member at Texas A&M and the University of Virginia. His research focuses on the role of hydrological processes in the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems and societies. His work in ecohydrology has analyzed the coupling between hydrological processes and the biota in dryland ecosystems. Through field observations and modeling he is studying new mechanisms of desertification and factors contributing to the resilience of ecosystems at the desert margins with a focus on African savannas and the Kalahari region of Botswana. He is currently investigating the global patterns of water use for food and energy production and their impacts on water equity, societal resilience, and food security. He has published more than 240 articles in peer reviewed journals, edited a volume on Dryland Ecohydrology (Springer, 2006); co-authored Noise-Induced Phenomena in the Environmental Sciences (Cambridge University Press, 2011); Elements of Physical Hydrology, 2nd ed. (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014), and Global Deforestation (Cambridge University Press, 2016).

Veronica Girardi – Policy Officer, Water Sector, European Commission, DEVCO

Veronica Girardi is working as Policy Officer for Water at the European Commission Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development. In her present job, she is the water focal point for the whole Africa continent in DG DEVCO, she manages a portfolio of centralised water projects, provides technical support to EU Delegation and help in the formulation of Water and Sanitation development policies with other European Union’s Institutions, EU Member States and other global actors like UN Water, UNECE, UNESCO. Before joining the Water Team in 2014, she has been working as desk officer for Gambia and Mali in the same DG and as project manager for different non-governmental organisation active in development cooperation actions in Sub-Saharan Africa. In her 10 years’ experience in development issues she has been in charge of the implementation of projects and programmes in the fields of water and sanitation, health and environment and responsible for defining strategies and interventions in these sectors. She is graduated in Political Sciences and International relation and holds a Master in Diplomacy.

Patrick Gomes –Secretary General, ACP Secretariat

Dr. Patrick Ignatius Gomes of Guyana was elected the new Secretary-General of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) at the 100th Session of the Group’s Council of Ministers, held at ACP Headquarters in Brussels on December 10, 2014. Prior to taking up his position as the Secretary General of the ACP Group, Dr. Gomes served as Guyana’s Ambassador to Belgium and the European Community and as Guyana’s representative to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation FAO). Dr. Gomes also served as Chair of the Working Group on Future Perspectives of the ACP Group. He was the Dean of ACP Ambassadors in Brussels, and Chair of the Sub-Committee on Sugar and previously served as Chair of the Committee of Ambassadors, a decision-making body of the ACP Group. Dr Gomes has also worked for the United Nations as a senior adviser in Human Resources Development at the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. He has authored numerous publications in the areas of development and social policy analysis and served as Chairman of the Board of Governors for the Maastricht-based think tank, European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM). Dr. Gomes will serve as Secretary General for the ACP for the period 2015 - 2020.

Ruud Grim – Senior Advisor, Netherlands Space Office

Ruud Grim, senior advisor at Netherlands Space Office, is coordinating the Geodata for Agriculture and Water (G4AW) programme commissioned by Ministry of Foreign Affairs. G4AW supports 23 partnerships to develop and operate financially sustainable services for 4,5 million smallholder farmers and pastoralists in 14 developing countries based on innovative business models. He is advisor to Dutch ministries involving international collaboration using satellite and other geodata. He is also advisor to the Geodata for Inclusive Finance & Food Initiative (G4IFF) by the Netherlands Platform for Inclusive Finance. He has worked 15 years in industry on project management and business development. He can be found on LinkedIn and on Twitter at @ruudgrim.

Dawit Guta – Center for Environment & Dev Studies, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia

Dawit Diriba Guta graduated with a PhD in Economics from the University of Bonn, Germany, in 2015. He earned his BA and MSc in Economics from Addis Ababa University in 2005 and 2008 respectively. He held a position of senior researcher and postdoctoral fellow at the University of Bonn during 2014-2015. Since January 2016, he has been with the Center for Environment and Development Studies of AAU, Ethiopia where currently he is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Economics and graduate coordinator. His main area of research interest is on natural and environmental economics applied to the field of renewable energy, bioenergy and bioeconomy, water-energy and food security nexus, valuation of environmental resources, forest, climate change, and rural livelihoods.

Michael Hailu – Director, Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA)

Michael Hailu, an Ethiopian national, is the Director of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) based in the Netherlands. CTA is a joint institution of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States and the European Union working under the Cotonou Partnership Agreement. Mr. Hailu has over 25 years of professional experience in agricultural research and development in Africa and Asia. Prior to joining CTA in mid-2010, he held senior leadership positions at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) based in Nairobi, Kenya and at the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in Indonesia. Mr. Hailu has led the development and implementation of CTA’s 2011-2015 strategic plan refocusing the Centre’s work on three priority themes—supporting agricultural policies and strategies; enhancing inclusive value chains; and strengthening capacities of ARD institutions and networks in knowledge management and ICTs. He has degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and Addis Ababa University. He has also been trained in strategic leadership at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Craig Hanson – Vice President for Food, Forests, Water & the Ocean, WRI

Craig Hanson is the Vice President of Food, Forests, Water & the Ocean at World Resources Institute. In this role, he guides programmatic strategy, catalyzes projects, and ensures a focus on results, financial development, and strong staff capacity. Craig has co-developed a number of leading initiatives, including Global Forest Watch, the Global Restoration Initiative, the Forest Legality Alliance, the Food Loss and Waste Protocol, Champions 12.3, the Better Buying Lab, Resource Watch, the Food and Land Use Coalition, Cities4Forests and the Ocean initiative. He is a co-author of the current World Resources Report, Creating a Sustainable Food Future, and lead author on publications such as The Restoration Diagnostic and the Corporate Ecosystem Services Review. Previously at WRI, Craig managed the Green Power Market Development Group, a coalition of a dozen Fortune 500 companies that helped pioneer corporate energy markets in the United States. This initiative won a U.S. EPA Innovation Award in 2004. Craig spent five years as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company. Craig holds a Master’s in Environmental Change & Management from Oxford University. While at Oxford, he also earned a Master’s degree in Philosophy, Politics, & Economics with an emphasis on environmental economics while on a Rhodes Scholarship.

Tafadzwa Mabhaudhi – Researcher, School of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Tafadzwa Mabhaudhi is an Honorary Research Associate Professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s School of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Sciences in South Africa. He holds a BSc Honours in Crop Science from the University of Zimbabwe, and an MSc and PhD in Crop Science from University of KwaZulu-Natal’s with specialisation in crop ecophysiology (plant-water relations) and crop-climate modelling. His primary goal is to work on research and development that is dynamic, transformative, informs policy and achieves real life impacts within poor communities. His research has evolved from focusing on crop water use and crop modelling to multi- and transdisciplinary research covering food systems, global environmental change and the water-energy food nexus. He is interested in working with multidisciplinary teams to conduct research and development related to global grand challenges such as food and nutrition insecurity, climate change and the WEF nexus. He is also interested in research translation, i.e. the application of research outcomes into practice on the ground to achieve real life impact. In that regard, he is very closely linked with multiple policy stakeholders in South Africa at various levels (national, provincial and local) and regularly contributes to evidencebased policy making.

Leonard Mizzi – Head of Unit Rural Development, Food Security, Nutrition, Europeaid, European Commission

Leonard Mizzi is a Maltese national, having started working in the Maltese public administration (Office of the Prime Minister in the late 80s) then moving to the Maltese private sector between 1996-2006 where he was the first Director of the Malta Business Bureau in Brussels- the joint office of the Hotels and Restaurants Association and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Malta. Since 2007 he joined the European Commission (DG Agriculture and Rural Development), first dealing with ACP countries and development and then inter-institutional affairs. In 2017, he joined DG DEVCO. Dr. Mizzi is a graduate of the University of Malta, CIHEAM-IAMM (Montpellier) and has a Ph.D from Reading University, UK – with a specialisation in food demand economics. He has been a visiting lecturer at the University of Malta, Open University and Boston University and occasionally College of Europe (Bruges). He is the author of a number of articles, specialising in Euro-Mediterranean issues, Malta-EU relations, agribusiness in island states and agribusiness and SME development.

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