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Why a “water-energy-food-ecosystems” nexus approach to foster transboundary cooperation?

• 29.12.2018
• Author:admin
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  Every transboundary river basin or aquifer presents specific management-related challenges, and making a coordinated response to various pressures is beyond the means of water management alone. For example, among the intersectoral challenges that call for coordinated solutions across sectors and borders are: flooding and sedimentation, water scarcity and pollution, unsustainable land use and agricultural practices, suboptimal use of existing infrastructure and impacts of new infrastructure, inefficient use of resources, and degradation of ecosystems and their services. Various drivers of change, economic strategies and sectoral policies result in pressures and impacts on water resources, and water management does not always have an influence on such factors. A “nexus approach” to managing interlinked resources has become recognized for its potential to enhance the closely interlinked aspects of water, energy and food security by increasing efficiency, reducing trade-offs, building synergies and improving governance, while also protecting ecosystems. A common ground for compromise needs to be found to effectively address trade-offs between development and environment protection, and also between diverging interests of riparian countries and economic sectors. At the same time, applying a nexus approach can bring mutual benefits between energy and water efficiency, and also helps to establish coherence between sectoral policies. With a better understanding of the benefits for different sectors and the implications of sectoral developments for water resources, nexus considerations also provide a more solid basis for equitable water allocation between various uses in watercourse-sharing countries.   Recognizing the need to strike a balance between different sectoral objectives, the international community explicitly calls for taking a nexus approach to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In taking such an approach, cooperation in the management of natural resources is essential. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the Member States of the United Nations in 2015, includes several goals (17) and a multitude of targets (169). In line with the spirit of the 2030 Agenda, these targets are highly ambitious, and many of them – notably those related to water and sanitation (SDG 6), food security (SDG 2), sustainable energy (SDG 7) and environmental protection (SDG 15) – draw from a common pool of natural resources that are globally finite, and sometimes locally scarce. Achieving all the SDGs simultaneously means reconciling different interests and taking into account these interdependencies when devising the implementation of sectoral policies and measures. Policymakers (and national authorities in particular) are therefore called to take a more sustainable and collaborative approach to resource management and then, crucially, to translate this collaboration into concrete actions. At present, policymakers around the World face common challenges: improving coherence between sectoral policies, balancing economic growth with environment and climate action, and using resources more efficiently. In order to manage natural resources more responsibly and sustainably, Governments need to gain greater understanding – and control – of the dynamics linking policy decisions at different levels (basin, local, regional, national). What, for example, is the impact of a national strategy on climate change mitigation on river basin management planning? Are there trade-offs and synergies to be discussed? And if so, through which mechanisms? Although integrated resource management approaches are not new, and many  have become well established (e.g. Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) at the river- basin level), a nexus approach aims at taking integration a step further by promoting dialogue between different resource management fields, and across scales, in strategic policymaking and planning. Nexus dynamics are particularly complex in transboundary basins because intersectoral impacts can traverse borders, and governing such complexity requires international cooperation. In fact, it was precisely an awareness – underpinned by evidence from regional assessments on transboundary waters – of the adverse effects of low policy coherence across sectors and countries that lay behind the decision of the Parties to the Water Convention in 2012 to look into assessing nexus issues. The Water-Energy- Food-Ecosystems Nexus approach applied under the Water Convention reflects, on the one hand, the mandate of the Water Convention to control and reduce transboundary impacts, to use transboundary waters in reasonable and equitable ways, and to ensure their sustainable management; and, on the other, the prominent role of the energy and agricultural sectors among large water users and other impact sources. The Water-Food-Energy-Ecosystems Nexus approach applied under the Water Convention reflects a variety of perspectives from different sectors. The water sector, however, has played a prominent role in the development of a nexus approach from the beginning: this is mostly a response to the need to capture the multiplicity of drivers and pressures on one single resource, namely water. A greater awareness of nexus dynamics has evolved over time, thanks to the leading efforts of several international agencies. Highlighted efforts within the energy community include the work of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) on the impact of renewables on water and land resources, and that of the International Energy Agency (IEA) on the interdependencies between energy and water utilities. In agriculture, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has provided technical support to set up “nexus-sensitive” policies. Furthermore, leading environmental organizations such as the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) have contributed shared perspectives on the nexus, namely: environmental resilience is a function of sustainability, and a nexus approach can help in taking better account of environmental needs when planning for socioeconomic development. Reflecting the specificities of the nexus in transboundary basins, the main objective of the work on the nexus carried out under the Water Convention is to foster cooperation. In practice, this means supporting joint identification of synergies and actions that can reduce tensions related to the multiple needs for common resources; it also means assisting countries in optimizing resource use and in building capacities to address intersectoral and transboundary impacts. Water Convention work on the nexus thus far includes: the development and piloting of a methodology for participatory assessment of the nexus in transboundary basins (hereafter simply referred to as “the methodology”); a series of demand- driven basin assessments in close cooperation with the Governments of riparian countries; the facilitation of or contributing to national-level and regional-level dialogue; the dissemination of findings and experience from the assessments; and general advocacy for cooperation to address intersectoral issues in transboundary basins. It is the Task Force on the Water-Food-Energy-Ecosystems Nexus under the Water Convention that provides a devoted platform with a focus on transboundary settings for Governments who want to exchange experience on identifying, assessing and responding to complex intersectoral issues. To read full report please click on SummaryBrochure_Nexus_Final-rev2_forWEB