Call to Action for Implementing the Water-Energy-Food Nexus

On 20 May, after two days of discussions in several plenary and a large number of parallel sessions, the International Conference on Sustainability in the Water-Energy-Food Nexus issued a Call to Action for policy makers, practitioners and researchers around the world to start developing and implementing strategies that jointly address water, energy, and food in a comprehensive nexus approach.

The key messages of the Call to Action are:

1. Responsible governance of natural resources is the necessary first step for action on the Water-Energy-Food Nexus

2. The nexus is calling for a broad involvement of stakeholders to collaboratively work toward sustainable development

3. It is essential to greatly expand financial, institutional, technical and intellectual resources for nexus research and applications

The Call to Action includes a set of guidelines which aim to support policy makers, practitioners and researchers as they consider a Nexus approach which focuses on increasing resource use efficiencies, which in turn reduce environmental pressures and maximize the benefits from scarce resources.

Taken collectively, the guidelines of the “Call to Action” can constitute the centerpiece for Sustainability in the Water-Energy-Food Nexus.