The city of Madrid welcomed the GoNexus team
On 5 and 6 June, the GoNexus partners met in the Spanish capital to take stock of the year’s activities and achieved results, and to plan the next steps for the final year of the project. Collaboration is key since several activities are closely linked and depend on each other, in particular the identification of models (for instance, PRIMES, GLOBIO, CAPRI, PROMETHEUS, etc.), scenarios, and solutions for implementing an effective coordinated governance of the WEFE (Water- Energy- Food- Ecosystem) nexus.
On the first day, the activities and initial results obtained for each of the project’s 8 case studies were presented. Whether on the scale of a European river basin (Danube, Tagus…) or in Africa (Senegal, Zambezi), the following key common elements have been identified and discussed:
- rethinking water use and allocation
- developing the use of renewables to produce energy
- transitioning monoculture production into a mixed model with adapted plants that are more resistant to climatic hazards
- implementing new irrigation methods
- creating environmental corridors and/or parks
During the two days, the partners also had the opportunity to discuss the first and second rounds of Dialogues organised, what worked and what did not work. ‘Some solutions have been confirmed during the Lake Como Dialogues’, noted Andrea Francesco Castelletti from the Polytechnic University of Milan. This information is important for the organisation of the third and final round of Dialogues, which will take place between now and May 2025, when the project ends.
Policies and solutions to answer climate change issues
‘The scenarios and solutions are different, and that’s a challenge we face’, indicated María Blanco from the Polytechnic University of Madrid. ‘We need to “read” the scenarios to propose suitable policies and work on river basin management plans.’ Moreover, ‘not all solutions and policies are compatible with all scenarios’, added Manuel Pulido Velázquez, GoNexus coordinator.
Extreme weather events, loss of biodiversity, ecosystem collapse, growing food insecurity… in an era of climate change, how can we produce more food and energy with less water? Resilience and adaptation have become issues of daily concern to which we need to find urgent solutions. This is why the GoNexus team will be working together to produce guidelines and policy recommendations that will support the implementation of new EU policies on the WEFE nexus and mitigation and adaptation strategies across different spatial scales (basin/local, global, and continental).
Their work will contribute in particular to Europe’s energy and agricultural sectors, both of which are highly dependent on and demanding of water, a resource at the heart of the governance of the WEFE nexus.
In addition to a new institutional policy framework, the GoNexus partners have identified the need for better cooperation and coordination between key stakeholders to ensure energy security and transition. Another item to be addressed in the final year of the project is water diplomacy as well as the importance of raising social awareness through pedagogical and educational actions.
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