Bangkok--2 Feb--Asian Institute of Technology
Water, energy and food, which constitute three of the most critical factors for human existence, were the issues under discussion at the two-day International Expert Workshop on Water Energy Food Nexus: Opportunities and Challenges in Mekong Region” organized at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) on 22-23 January 2015.
Delivering the keynote address, Mr. Dipak Gyawali, former Minister of Water Resources, Nepal stated that “at the level of a farmer, everything including energy, food and water” are a nexus. “Nexus Nirvana or Nexus Nullity: A dynamic approach to security and sustainability in the water-energy-food nexus” was the theme of his keynote which addressed issues of scarcity, sustainability and security. Citing the example of the Kulekhani reservoir in the Himalayas, Mr. Gyawali mentioned how a cloudburst filled up a large percentage of the storage capacity causing a flood, though the river was averaging only 60 per cent of its monthly flow. Traversing the path of development narratives from critical thresholds to tipping points and planetary boundaries, Gyawali cited instance of pluralistic approaches in development.
Dr. Erik Kemp-Benedict, Director, Stockholm Environment Institute (Asia), delved on the complex issues in the dynamic environment in the Ayeyarwady basin with a focus on the Chindwin tributary. He remarked that Ayeyarwady is one of the least developed basins with conflicting uses of navigation, hydropower, irrigation and fisheries having multiple impacts. Dr. Surachai Sathitkunarat, Executive Director, APEC Center for Technology Foresight, and Director, Energy and Environment Department, National Science Technology and Innovation Policy Office, Thailand, spoke on the issue of “Water-Energy-Food Foresight for Sustainable Economic Development and Eco-Resilience in ASEAN Countries.” Dr. Michel van der Valk, Scientific Secretary of the Netherlands National Committee, IHP-HWRP, The Netherlands provided a European view of the water nexus.
Other prominent speakers who participated in the two-day international workshop included Dr. Anthony Watanabe, Managing Director, Asia Clean Innovations; Prof. Raffaele Zanoli, Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences – Università Politecnicadelle Marche, Italy; Dr. Sirintornthep Towprayoon, Director, The Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment, Center of Excellence on Energy Technology and Environment, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand; Dr. Thomas Hennig, Scientific Assistant, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Geography, Germany; Prof. Mukand S. Babel, AIT; Dr. Shobhakar Dhakal, AIT; Dr. Hezri Adnan, Program Director Technology, Innovation, Environment & Sustainability (TIES), Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS), Malaysia; Dr Antonio Loporto , Researcher, RSA-CNR - Water Research Institute, Italy; Dr. Antonio Acedo, Postharvest Specialist AVRDC-The World Vegetable Center South Asia Regional Office ICRISAT campus, India; Dr. Nguyen Mai Dang – Thuyloi University – Hanoi, Vietnam; and Dr. Adrian Wing-Keung, Associate Professor, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore.
Dr Sangam Shrestha of AIT welcomed the delegates, while Dr. Anil Kumar Anal briefed the participants about the SEA-EU-NET program. Dr. Sangam, Dr. Anil and Dr. Abdul Salam of AIT are the three principal investigators in this project. This is the second in the series of two-day expert workshops organized under the project. The previous workshop titled “Managing Water Resources under Climate Uncertainty: Challenges and Opportunities” was held on 17-18 October 2013.
Photo caption: Mr. Dipak Gyawali