20 Sep International Workshop on “Water-Energy-Food-Nexus Implementation in the Mashreq”
MEDRC Partners with Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung REMENA
24th – 26th September 2018, Beirut, Lebanon
MEDRC, together with Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung REMENA, have organised a gathering of internationally renowned water experts, for a 3-day Water-Energy-Food Nexus workshop to be held in Beirut, Lebanon, September 24th, 2018.
The Nexus recognizes that the Water, Energy and Food sectors are inextricably linked and that actions in any one of these areas usually impact upon the other. Thus, these complex and intricate links require a suitably integrated approach to ensure global food and water security and sustainable agriculture and energy. The workshop aims to stimulate dialogue, promote shared understanding and explore how success stories might be replicated and applied to Mashreq countries. It will address how future changes in climate and water demand in the MENA region, may affect trade-offs and synergies about the use and distribution of water for the energy and food industries.
In the Mashreq countries, water resources are particularly limited and vulnerable to pollution and weather extremes. Yet, environmental protection is still considered partly in conflict with economic growth. The integrated perspective provided by the WEF Nexus may help meeting the needs of water use, by stimulating appropriate investments in the Mashreq region, on the basis of consistent and effective water policy and water governance.
The WEF nexus framework is particularly suited to the Mashreq region given the stressors, constraints and strong inter-dependencies between sectors. It is further necessitated by the cross-sectoral effect of climate change predicted for the region. The understanding of the dynamics of the water, energy and food sectors is essential for developing effective strategies for the sustainable use of these resources.
The objectives of this Workshop are to:
· bring in experience on competition, synergies and priorities among sectoral water usages and stakeholders in the Mashreq region and address trade-off solutions on how we are going to allocate water in the future.
· share best practices bridging the gaps between governments, communities and business concerning collaboration among water users that result into water cost reduction
· discuss how policies in the Mashreq region can be improved by a Water Nexus perspective in order to create opportunities for green economic growth and achieve the SDGs
Held under the auspices of H.E Eng. Cesar Abi Khalil, Minister of Energy & Water and Dr. Fadi Georges Comair, Director General of Hydraulic and Electrical Resources of the Ministry of Energy & Water, Lebanon the workshop will include a technical visit to the Chabrouh Dam.
The workshop participants include representatives from Lebanese ministries, governmental institutions, academic institutions and private sector, together with renowned international experts, key players and academics in the fields of water, energy and agriculture from Jordan, Palestine, Turkey, Oman, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Iraq, the League of Arab States, the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).