The Conference will analyse the role of science as a driver of innovation for the sustainable development of the Mediterranean region
Nicosia, Cyprus.
In the Mediterranean increasing demand for water, energy and food, due to population growth and urbanization, is aggravated by unprecedented extreme weather and climatic conditions.
The region is hit with devastating heatwaves, water shortages, loss of biodiversity and risks to food production.
These looming threats call for urgent action, which takes into consideration better coordination among the different sectors. As Water, Energy, Food and Ecosystems are strongly interlinked. sustainable development and social stability in the region cannot be achieved simply by considering the management of Water, Energy, Food and Ecosystems (WEFE) as separate resources, instead with a “WEFE Nexus” approach.
The key concept of the 2021 WEFE Nexus Science Advances Conference is “addressing sectorial interdependencies”. The Conference will analyse the role of science as driver of innovation and its interfacing with the policy and decision-making processes. It will recommend enhanced regional cooperation to operationalise WEFE Nexus concepts as a concrete action to implement the UN Agenda 2030 in the Mediterranean Region.
Participants in the Conference will be scientists and practitioners, as well as social actors and decision makers from diverse WEFE sectors from the entire Mediterranean area, all brought together with the following common objectives.
The Conference focuses on the Mediterranean dimension, but it is of broad interest to participants from outside the region sharing the same interests and wishing to learn from the Mediterranean experience.
The Conference will be held entirely online with successive high-level panel sessions and group work smoothly spread over three days. It will be highly interactive with discussions at the science-to-policy interface triggered by keynote speakers tasked to review the state-of-the-art in specific areas of the Nexus during three scientific sessions. (Nexus Talks).
While Session 1 addresses the link energy-water, Session 2 food-water, the scope of Session 3 is to discuss an even more cross-sectoral approach to the management of natural resources in the Mediterranean region, i.e., water-energy-food-ecosystems.
All panels will serve the main goal of the Conference, that of creating a WEFE Nexus Community of Practice in the Mediterranean region, which will distinguish itself from other initiatives by networking actual WEFE Nexus demonstration sites in the region.
Through networking of selected demonstration sites, knowledge-sharing and capacity building, the WEFE Nexus Community of Practice will translate the Water, Energy, Food and Ecosystem (WEFE) Nexus approach into practice, providing a proof-of-concept of the benefits of recommended Nexus measures based on tailored policies, best-available technology and multi-stakeholder partnerships. The Community of Practice, facilitated by a core team of organizations committed to promote the Nexus approach, will engage relevant Mediterranean practitioners and stakeholders, including policy- and decision-makers and investors, to ensure a significant impact.
Get more info about the conference at:
https://wefe-nexus-medconf-2021.eu/registration