03 July 2015
Objectives of this expert workshop were
Workshop background
Water, food or energy insecurity has created social tensions in many countries. Water is often at the center: in many parts of the world water shortage has been a main stress on food and energy industries, as well as eco-systems. There is an increasing need to explore synergies and address risks and trade-offs between competing uses of water, while taking account of environmental and social considerations. If done right, this can bring productivity gains through more efficient use of water and other resources, thus contributing to greening the economy. Equally, the consequences of inaction could become increasingly severe on people’s wellbeing, economic growth, jobs, and the environment.
In most countries of Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA), achieving water, energy and food security is among the key policy objectives. Some have included this objective in their National Development Strategies and other policy documents. A number of countries launched National Policy Dialogues (NPDs) aimed at improving water resources management, including its trans-boundary dimension, with the ultimate objective of achieving water-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The NPDs and other policy discussions in EECCA have so far focused on water, agri-food or energy sectors individually, and at best discussed water-energy and water–agriculture inter-linkages. More comprehensive discussion spanning the three sectors (water-food-energy nexus) is needed. Quantitative and qualitative tools that help assess the water-energy-food nexus will be useful to support and substantiate such discussions.
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
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