Emphasizes the importance of integrated approaches to tackle global energy, water and food security challenges.
NEW DELHI, India?Demand
for energy, water and food stand to increase sharply in the coming
decades in step with broader socioeconomic trends such as population
growth, expanding cities, and a rapidly growing global middle class.
These trends will put increasing pressure on our natural capital. For
example, energy demand in the developing world is growing fast, but 47
percent of all of global water-reliant energy production takes place in
areas of significant water stress. A country like India produces close
to 66 percent of its water-reliant energy in areas of medium to
extremely high water stress. These trends, coupled with ongoing climate
change and reduction in the flow of services that ecosystems provide,
can seriously compromise national and regional food and water security.
Interventions must be built on the existing nexus between energy, water
and food production.
GEF CEO Naoko Ishii said
it is appropriate that this years? Delhi Sustainable Development Summit
(DSDS), organized by the Energy and Resources Institute in New Delhi,
India, is focusing on ?Attaining Energy, Water and Food Security for All.?
?Sectoral development
needs are often blind to one another and sometimes neglect local and
national contexts in favor of cookie-cutter approaches,? Ishii, who
addressed the summit said. ?Hence bringing to the forefront of the
sustainable development agenda the energy-water-food nexus and putting
natural capital at the center of the discussion can open a window to
foster integrated approaches that will enhance the sustainability and
resilience of ecosystems on which all life depend.?
The GEF, through its role
as financial mechanism for multiple global environmental conventions,
can play a key role in breaking the silos that often dictate energy,
water and food policies. The energy-water-food nexus has multiple
impacts across GEF programs: from promoting renewable energy and energy
efficiency, to biodiversity conservation, sustainable land and water
management, including conjunctive management of groundwater resources,
sustainable fisheries, and climate change adaptation. Many examples from
the GEF-funded portfolio have shown results and outcomes that clearly
illustrate how integration of environment and development priorities
across landscapes and sectors and a focus on the value of natural
capital, can lead to more sustainability in the energy-water-food nexus.
Through a partnership
with the Government of India, the GEF, and the World Bank, the
Uttarakhand State Government is implementing an innovative program
that restores sustainable ecosystem functions in the fragile
watersheds, thereby laying the foundation for improving income, food,
and livelihood security. The program has helped create a water surplus,
which has allowed the introduction of high-value vegetable crops in the
watersheds, including twenty different varieties of off-season
vegetables, leading to higher income levels. Simultaneously, the
program has introduced briquetting techniques which provided an
alternative source of energy for cooking and heating, reducing a
households? dependency on firewood by 22 percent, and reducing the time
spent on fuel wood collection.
The DSDS is an annual
event that engages global partners to exchange knowledge and strategize
on bold visions for development plans that are deeply rooted in
sustainability for the benefit of current and future generations. The
summit brings together a significant congregation of world political,
economic, business, and academic leaders to deliberate on issues related
to sustainable development. This year over 300 delegates, including
heads of state, executives of multilateral and bilateral organizations,
and senior government representatives, corporate CEOs, and
representatives of Civil Society Organizations came together in Delhi to
discuss corporate actions to attain energy, water and food security for
all. To learn more about the Summit, go to: http://vx.worldbank.org/t/3768532/26281320/70916/0/.
About the Global Environment Facility
The Global Environment
Facility (GEF) unites 183 countries in partnership with international
institutions, civil society organizations (CSOs), and the private sector
to address global environmental issues while supporting national
sustainable development initiatives. An independently operating
financial organization, the GEF provides grants for projects related to
biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation,
the ozone layer, and persistent organic pollutants.
Since 1991, the GEF has
achieved a strong track record with developing countries and countries
with economies in transition, providing $11.5 billion in grants and
leveraging $57 billion in co-financing for over 3,215 projects in over
165 countries. Through its Small Grants Programme (SGP), the GEF has
also made more than 16,030 small grants directly to civil society and
community based organizations, totaling $653.2 million.
Contact: Christian Hofer, Senior Communications Officer, GEF. chofer@thegef.org
About the GEFThe
GEF unites 183 countries in partnership with international
institutions, civil society organizations (CSOs), and the private sector
to address global environmental issues while supporting national
sustainable development initiatives. Today the GEF is the largest public
funder of projects to improve the global environment. An independently
operating financial organization, the GEF provides grants for projects
related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land
degradation, the ozone layer, and persistent organic pollutants.
Since 1991, the GEF has
achieved a strong track record with developing countries and countries
with economies in transition, providing $10.5 billion in grants and
leveraging $51 billion in co-financing for over 2,700 projects in over
165 countries. Through its Small Grants Programme (SGP), the GEF has
also made more than 14,000 small grants directly to civil society and
community based organizations, totaling $634 million. For more
information, visit
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