Events

Brasilia

By invitation

This event, and its consortium of partners (Texas A&M University, International Food Policy Research Institute, Global Water Partnership, OCP Policy Center, International Water Management Institute, etc.) are the outcome of a momentum that has grown since the 2016 Stockholm World Water Week and which continued at the 2017 World Water Congress. These events and the work conducted by the consortium partners paved the way to Brasilia 2018.

Building on key milestones from Stockholm (WWW 2016) and Cancun (WWC 2017), and looking ahead toward informing the SDG agenda in promoting WEF Nexus as a foundation for SDGs implementation, the objectives of this special session are to:

1) Share WEF Nexus lessons learned across scales and sectors toward SDGs implementation; 
2) Facilitate dialogue on the role of WEF Nexus in SDGs implementation between funding agencies, banks, academics, private and public sector, technology providers, entrepreneurs and civil society;
3) Discuss ways to improve policy coherence across WEF sectors and scales.

Facilitated audience engagement will encourage dialogue among stakeholders; funding agencies, banks, academics, private/public sectors, technology providers, entrepreneurs and civil society on the role of WEF Nexus in SDGs implementation, with the goal of addressing key questions: 
1. How can scientific tools, technology (in particular information and communication technology), data, and case studies contribute coherence to WEF systems / SDGs implementation? 
2. What policies and incentives are needed to promote implementation of SDGs in the context of WEF systems? 
3. What are some successful, cross-scale governance and technological lessons in WEF nexus implementation? 
4. How can we communicate the WEF systems complexities and share positive messaging, while maintaining momentum toward change for a sustainable future?
5. How do we maintain the integrity of human rights issues in the context of WEF systems solutions? 
6. How can opportunities be better promoted and coordinated between cross-sectoral players, at different scales?

The session intends to support the policy coherence efforts in achieving the sustainable development goal efforts and implementation.

The session will provide the opportunity for stakeholders beyond the water sector to engage in the dialogue and address the topics that cut across the multiple themes of the Brasilia Forum. Specifically, it complements and builds upon the sessions: water for energy, water for food, governance, financing, and communication. Lessons learned from successful case studies addressing WEF Nexus challenges can contribute to addressing the critical policy issues associated with implementation of the SDGs. The diversity of the stakeholders and the cross-cutting topics discussed will facilitate a larger dialogue: one that extends beyond the scope of any single session. The session’s white paper, its factsheets, and video will provide outcomes that address the challenges facing WEF Nexus implementation at multiple scales. These will also include strong policy messages that build on the momentum begun in Stockholm (2016) and Cancun (2017) with a growing coalition of global partners. 

C-organizers include: Texas A&M University, International Food Policy Research Institute, Global Water Partnership, OCP Policy Center, International Water Management Institute, World Wildlife Fund, International Union for Conservation on Nature, Stockholm Environment Institute, The World Bank, Asian Development Bank, World Water Council, International Water Resources Association, Global Environmental Facility, Water Foundry, Circle of Blue, and GIZ, UNU Flores, The International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute (DWFI) at the University of Nebraska, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN FAO), International Water Association(IWA), and the American University of Beirut (AUB). 

For inquires, contact Dr. Rabi H. Mohtar, TEES Research Professor, Texas A&M University and Senior Fellow, OCP Policy Center at: mohtar@tamu.edu or mohtar@aub.edu.lb 

Session website for updated material and information: https://wefnexus.tamu.edu/wwf-8-special-session/ 

Co-Organizers:

Literature of interest:

United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UN ECLAC), Maureen Ballestero Vargas and Tania Lopez Lee.  The Water-Energy-Food Nexus in Costa Rica: The Case of the Upper Reventazon River Basin . December 2017.   access

OCP Policy Center, Rabi Mohtar.  Climate Change and the Water-Energy-Food Nexus in the MENA Region .  OCP Policy Brief. October 2017 PB-17/39

OCP Policy Center, Global Nexus.  Morocco’s Water Security: Productivity, Efficiency, Integrity.  OCP Policy Brief October 2017 PB-17/34

OCP Policy Center, Rabi H. Mohtar.  What Role Can Renewable Energy and Water and Food Securities Play for North Africa and the Middle East?   OCP Policy Brief. July 2017.PB-17-28July 2017.

Bassel Daher, WEF Nexus Research Group, and Texas A&M University (2017).  IWRA   Sustainability in the Water-Energy-Food Nexus: Bridging Science and Policy Making .  Policy Briefing Water International , 6  download

Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL)  Latin America El Nexo Entre el Agua, la energia y la alimentacion en America Latina y el Caribe: planificacion, marco normativo e identificacion de interconexiones prioritarias.  April 2017.  access

Nexus Regional Dialogue Programme (NRD) GIZ.  Practical Planning Management of WEF-Nexus Issues in Germany.  April 2017. Download

OCP Policy Center ,  Rabi H. Mohtar. The Role of Soils in Global Water and Food Security. OCP Policy Brief April 2016PB-16/11

Nexus Regional Dialogue Programme (NRD) GIZ.  Coordination of Sectoral Interests in the Nexus Between Water, Energy and Agriculture. Mechanisms and Interests in Germany.  March 2017.  Download

OCP Policy Center, Rabi Mohtar.  The Water-Energy-Food Nexus: Who Owns it?, OCP Policy Brief January 2016 .   PB-16/03

Ait-Kadi, Mohamed, Chair,Global Water Partnership (GWP). 2016.   Water for Development and Development for Water: Realizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Vision. Elsevier B.B.  Open access . doi: 10.1016/j.aqpro.2016.06.013

Gyawali, D. (2015)  Nexus Governance: Harnessing Contending Forces at Work,
Nexus Dialogue Synthesis Papers.  Gland, Switzerland: IUCN DOI: 10.2305/IUCN.CH.2015.NEX.5.enNexus access

Ozment, S., DiFrancesco, K., Gartner, T. (2015)  The role of natural infrastructure in the water, energy and food nexus, Nexus Dialogue Synthesis Papers.  Gland, Switzerland: IUCN DOI: 10.2305/IUCN.CH.2015.NEX.4.en  access

Daniel Yeo, Global Green Growth Institute Ethiopia,  OCP Policy Center, Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB).  Thinking to practice: Applying complexity. The Water-Food-Energy Nexus in Global Drylands: Bridging Science and Policy  (paper presented at the conference on the Water-Food-Energy Nexus in Drylands, Rabat, 12-13 June, 2014.)  download

IWA / IUCN. Nexus Dialogue on Water Infrastructure Solutions. Nexus Case Studies.access

IWA.  The Water-Energy-Food Nexus in Latin America and the Caribbean.  access

access

6th World Water Forum HLP. 2012.  Water, Food & Energy Nexus. Time for Solutions. Case Study Nexus .Download

 Additional Resources:

The Water, Energy, and Food Security Resource Platform