Water, Energy and Food Security in the Region: A Nexus Approach

The American University of Beirut-affiliated Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs held a seminar on "The Nexus Approach: The Road to Water, Energy and Food Security in the Arab World" on 22 January 2014. ESCWA was represented by Regional Advisor for Environment and Water issues, Ralf Klingbeil, who delivered a presentation on "Food Security, Water Security, Improved Food Value Chains for Sustainable Socio-economic Development". The seminar addressed the nexus approach as a cross-sectoral approach towards a practical planning of coherent policies that integrates the three basic resources of life: water, energy and food, to ensure better resource management and environmental sustainability. This approach has increasingly become a fundamental approach in facing the impacts of climate change and the conservation of these limited resources. The event has highlighted the "Water-Energy-Food Nexus" in the Middle East and North Africa, and the relevant policies and processes that may be adjusted to enable the nexus approach. The presentations of the seminar can be viewed through: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvVg5ZOvNJI - See more at: http://www.escwa.un.org/escwanewsdetails.asp?id=29#sthash.9XgutahD.dpuf