On February 9th, 2023 Nexus-Ness project supported the organization of the side event “Towards the operationalization of transdisciplinary participatory WEFE Nexus approaches for achieving water and food security”, during the 2nd WASAG International Forum, held in Praia (Cabo Verde) from February 7th to 10th, 2023.
WASAG is the Global Framework on water scarcity in agriculture, hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). This framework fosters collaboration among government agencies, international organizations, research institutions and professional organizations, in the development and deployment of policies, strategies and programmes focused on agriculture’s adaptation in the context of water scarcity. The forum was the occasion for accelerating strategic actions, formulating messages, discussing more effective partnership, sharing knowledge and showcasing methodologies and solutions to face food production issues.
The side event was organized at the aim to collect and promote science, innovation and international cooperation efforts mainstreaming Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem (WEFE) Nexus approaches. Important keynote speakers joined the WEFE Nexus side event from academia, industries and civil society organizations presenting value and operationalization of solution across geographic and social scale. The WASAG side event was the occasion to present some outcomes and insights from PRIMA Nexus Ness project. Maria Cristina Rulli and Davide Danilo Chiarelli (Politecnico di Milano) presented “Water and food nexus in the context of human health”. The coordinator Fernando Nardi and Antonio Annis (WARREDOC-University for Foreigners of Perugia) presented “Engaging stakeholders and transferring transdisciplinary science-driven WEFE Nexus scenarios to co-demonstrate the Nexus-Ness solution in four Euro-Mediterranean Nexus Ecosystem Labs”. Other contribution from academia derived from the work of Paolo D’Odorico (University of California-Berkeley, USA) “Tradeoffs, vulnerabilities and inequities in the Food-Energy-Water Nexus”.
The contribution “Transferable lessons from small-scale urban agriculture in Colorado” by Jennifer Riley-Chetwynd showed an application of WEFE Nexus from Denver Botanic Gardens, a civil society organization that promoting maintenance of urban gardens as place to connect people with plants and environment in Colorado (USA). Finally, Francesco Cavazza and Raffaella Zucaro (Consorzio Canale Emilia-Romagna, Italy) presented the contribution “Water saving, drought management and ecosystem services, how to find a balance” attesting integration of WEFE Nexus principles in water governance and management in Central Italy.