The Water Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and collaborators will host the Nexus 2014: Water, Food, Climate and Energy Conference on March 3-7, 2014 to examine the thoughts and actions related to a nexus approach. The co-Directors of the conference will be Jamie Bartram, Director of The Water Institute, and Felix Dodds, Associate Fellow at the Tellus Institute, with support from an International Advisory Committee. The conference will bring together scientists and practitioners working in government, civil society and business, and other stakeholders focusing on the questions of how and why the nexus approach is, and can be, used on international and local levels.
For more information about the conference please visit: http://nexusconference.web.unc.edu/
The plenary themes for the Nexus 2014 Conference are:
Urban Challenges of the Nexus: Local and Global Perspectives
The world has passed the second wave of urbanization with more than 50% of the population now living in urban areas—expected to rise to 60% by 2030. The challenge of providing increased food, water and energy is huge and interlinked.
Nexus Perspectives: Water, Energy and Climate
Water and energy have a symbiotic relationship; all types of energy provision consume water, and water supply and sewage disposal require energy. This theme explores traditional and alternative energy sources and the opportunities moving forward.
Nexus Perspectives: Water, Food and Climate
Agriculture is one of the dominant water users in the US and abroad. Understanding how to conserve water and reuse water can have a dramatic effect on water availability and food production in the future.
Natural Resource Security for People: Water, Food and Energy
As the challenges for water, energy and food become greater, the competition for these resources will also increase. Individuals, companies, and countries need to think critically about resource management and use, both now and in the future.
Entrepreneurial Environmentalism and Development
New businesses are increasingly adopting an environmental outlook. What are start-ups in North Carolina and around the world doing to address water, food, climate and energy?
Nexus Corporate Stewardship: How Business is Improving Resource Use
Industry is a great user of water and energy, and a major food producer. How can corporations address competitive demand and related resource use? What are corporate best practices in sustainability and “greening” business?
Financing the Nexus: Policy and Practice
Often funding is through sectors. In a more interlinked world, how can traditional and new funding be utilized?