3rd Asia-Pacific Water Summit (3rd APWS)
Session Proposal: Water, Energy, Food and Ecosystems
11 December 2017, 3:30pm to 5:00pm
Short Summary:Water, energy, land and ecosystems are essential for satisfying basic human needs and development.
Access to these resources and their sustainable management are the basis for smart, equitable andsustainable development.1
Sector policies regarding water, energy, land and ecosystems have deep and consequentialrelationships. Policies from one sector often entail consequences – externalities – for the other threesectors, be on a local, national, regional or global scale.
With the world population predicted to reach 9.6 billion people by 2050, with 8.3 billion people living
in developing countries.2 There is a recognition that the nexus relationships will add to current
pressures on water, energy, food and ecosystems. At a base, we will be required to increase foodproduction by 60% during the next 40 years in order to feed the growing world population.1
Meanwhile, there is little room for increasing the amount of irrigated water against competitive water
demands (OECD Environmental Outlook 2050 (2012)).3 In addition, the risk of natural disasters suchas climate change, extreme weather events, drought and flooding is increasing. Subsequently, theuncertainties of food production/supply are increasing.
The objective of this session is to contribute to the development of the agricultural sector in the AsiaPacific region through discussing measures to better manage and further promote awareness of therelationships between water, energy, food and ecosystems.
Key Messages:§Achieve food security and promote sustainable agriculture through secure and equal access toagricultural water, farm land and other productive resources§

Ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that
increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity foradaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters§

Increase water-use efficiency with supporting and strengthening the participation of local
communities in agricultural water management§

Ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater
ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands
Contact person: Louise Whiting (FAO): Louise.Whiting@fao.org

1DIE (2015). Post 2015: Why is the Water-Energy-Land Nexus Important for the Future Development Agenda? Found at:https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/830Post-2015_DIE_BP%203.2013.pdf
2World Population Prospects: The 2014 Revision (2015)
3
OECD Environmental Outlook 2050 (2012)Water, Energy, Food and Ecosystems
Detailed Session Program:Interactive Panel Session

TimeShort Intro

Dr. Alex Smajgl, Managing Director, MERFI

2 minsOpeningProf. Dr. Khin NiNi Thein (Mrs.) Secretary, Advisory Group, National Water Resources Committee (NWRC),Myanmar

5 minsOpening Presentations

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ICIMOD: David Molden, CEO (7 mins)
U Tun Min Thein, Assistant Director, Ministry of Electricity and Energy (MOEE) (7 mins)
Dr. Toe Toe Aung, Assistant Director, Ministry of Natural Resources and EnvironmentalConservation(MONREC) (7 mins)
JIID: Mr. Akira Hashimoto, Research Leader (7 min)World Bank: Daryl Fields, Senior Water Resources Specialist (7 mins)

35 mins

2 min break – Front panel table reconfiguration
Panel Introduction

Panelists

Closing Remarks

Dr. Alex Smajgl, Managing Director, MERFI
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MOALI: Dr. Zaw Lwin Tun
MAFF: Mr. Hidefumi Murashita
FAO: Louise Whiting
K Water: Dr. Choi
RRI: Ranil Senanayake

Mr. Mitsuo Ishijima, Director, Overseas Land Improvement Cooperation Office, Rural Development Bureau,MAFF, Japan

5 mins50 mins

5 mins