HS5.3.1 | Water resources policy and management - balancing the water, food, energy and environment nexus for resilient water systems under global change
EDI
Water resources policy and management - balancing the water, food, energy and environment nexus for resilient water systems under global change
Convener: Taher Kahil | Co-conveners: Timothy Foster, Andrea Momblanch, Davide Danilo ChiarelliECSECS, Hector Macian-Sorribes

Water sustains societies, economies, and ecosystem services locally and globally. Competition and conflict over access to and use of freshwater resources in many regions around the world is increasing as a result of changes in water demand, coupled with shifts in water availability due to climate change and variability. To address these challenges, integrative approaches to water management and policy are required to balance and manage trade-offs between social, economic, and environmental uses of water. In addition, there is an emerging need for adaptive and flexible solutions capable of updating decisions to changing climatic and socio-economic conditions to enhance the resilience of water systems. This session will provide a forum for showcasing novel and emerging research at the intersection of agricultural production, energy security, water supply, economic development, and environmental conservation. In particular, we encourage contributions to the session that: (i) identify knowledge gaps and improvements to understanding about the critical interconnections, feedbacks, and risks between water system components, (ii) highlight development of new methods or tools for evaluating and monitoring trade-offs and performance in water allocation and management between different users and sectors, (iii) evaluate alternative technological, policy, and/or governance interventions to address the water-food-energy-environment nexus in different locations and at various scales (local, regional, and/or global), and (iv) advance methods to evaluate risks to water systems and identify solutions to enhance their resilience. We welcome real-world examples on the successful application of these methods to facilitate integrated planning and management of the water-food-energy-environment nexus.