Overview of the Conference

Josefina Maestu

United Nations Office to Support the International

Decade for Action: “Water for Life” 2005-2015, 

UN-Water Decade Programme on Advocacy and Communication

Where are we? • Since the Bonn Conference 2011– Stronger focus on Nexus: water-energy (and food). – And Many nexus initiatives……

What have we gained? Improved understanding on:

How the scenarios are related/interlinked; How is Climate Change affecting. – Challenges are related; What affects water will affect energy

and vice versa.. Although maybe not the same level of dependence?.

– Integrated solutions exist. Many examples at all scales to insure access, efficiency and sustainability.

Improving efficiency in the water domain saves energy for treatment and supply and therefore reduces the amount of water needed by the power sector.

And .. • A better understanding of …– the inter-linkages and trade offs- opportunities for

win-win and co-benefits, the differences and similarities.

– The many opportunities for co-benefits and reversal of unsustainable trends..

There is the risk of going further in solving one problem at the expense of worsening the other.

Moving on… • The innovations required

• The policy responses that can facilitate this..(financing, incentives, allocation systems)

• The need to scale up at all levels.

• The implementation challenge.

For achieving..

Access to water and energy

Improving water and energy efficiency

Insuring sustainable development

Initiatives in the UN UN-EnergyUN-Water World Water DaySustainable Energy for All initiativeDecade of Sustainable Energy for All (2014 2024) and International Decade for Action 2005-2015

ExamplesUnited Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)WB Thirsty Energy

We are focusing on implementing the nexus through partnerships

• The challenges involved in the Water and Energy Nexus are beyond the scope of any individual public authority, business or stakeholder.

• Nexus solutions can be implemented/have been by building partnerships to allow acting together and supporting finding and implementing effective actions.

Partnerships are means to many ends. They might allow : • Integrating policies and broaden the scope and enhance the

effectiveness of both water and energy planning. • Improve water and energy governance by helping to provide

better regulations and enabling institutional frameworks.• Reach agreements and integration of different sectoral policies

within a sustainable use of water and energy resources. • Learn from each other success and failure among the water and

energy communities.• Identify opportunities to improve water and energy access,

efficiency and sustainability• Implement win win solutions that are more sustainable.

Why are we here? • Analyzing and evaluating the existing

partnership experience.• Providing a platform for exchange of experiences

of effective partnerships.• Learning from experience to draw lessons to

buid up effective partnerships.• Enable cooperation and new partnerships.

Building effective partnerships to better respond to the water and energy challenges and take advantage of

the synergies between water and energy

Who are we? ParticipantsMore than 120 participants from • Energy (23) and water professionals• Agriculture (Canal de Aragon and Catalonia)• Industry (AEAS, ZNNAE,… )• Government (local, National and subnational)• UN (9) (UN Water, UNECE, UNU, WB, UNIDO, UNEP, UNESCO, WWAP, …)• UN-Water Partners (Women for Water, Aquafed, WCCE)• Environment (IUCN, ECODES, ..)• Companies (Abengoa, BP, CYII, EDF, Endesa, Repsol, Iberdrola, Carlsberg,

Mapfre, Veolia, Aquamed,…)• University (Alcalá de Henares, Canarias, Zaragoza, Pisa, Castilla la Mancha, UBA,

Sevilla,…) • Media.

Geothermal into energy planning in

Itlay.

Pro-poor PPPs in Asia

Energy production in water utilities in

Madrid.

We will be looking at the partnerships experience - according to main partners and realms of cooperation

a) Stakeholders (private, research) and Governments for integrated water-energy planning and investments;

b) Industries and other actors for efficiency improvement in SMEs and major Energy producers;

c) Water and energy utilities for improving W&E efficiency and management;

d) NGOs and local authorities for improving household efficiency and for providing access to basic services of water and sanitation.

e) Policy research and innovation for improved understanding of the nexus and technological innovation.

Abengoa: Water for refrigeration.Dialogs

BP: Water accounting with Universities

Structure of the conference

• Day 1: Setting the stage: Scenarios, challenges, responses, inter-linkages, partnerships and the road ahead towards World water Day and beyond

• Day 2: a) Making the case for planning and investments; and b) industry partnerships.

• Day 3: a) Local partnerships (utilities and Las/NGOs); and b) Research and innovation.

• Others• Side events: on World Water Day, World Water Week, Nexus challenges and

solutions in Spain; legal issues. • Technical Visits: SAIH, Ecocity Zaragoza; Villar de los Navarros; Canal Gestion

We will be looking at how partners can collaborate more effectively?

• By building institutional capacity

• Advocating and assisting in the integration of energy efficiency considerations in water and water considerations in energy

• Promoting energy-efficient technologies and practices,

• Increasing education and awareness concerning energy efficiency and environmentally sound water and energy systems

• Developing innovative financing mechanisms.

And at concrete forms of promoting partnerships

• Funding

“The European Commission Joint Programming Initiative aims to ‘increase the value of relevant national and EU R&D funding by concerted and joint planning, implementation and evaluation of national research programs’. The Joint Programming Initiative is a contribution to the reduction of fragmentation of efforts by Member States and mobilization of skills, knowledge and resources, with a view to strengthening Europe's leadership and competitiveness on water research and innovation. These challenges are being implemented through different activities. Calls for proposals of collaborative projects is an important type of activity in the Water JPI.”

• Creating multi-stakeholders action groups

“The European Innovation Partnership on Water (EIP Water) is a bottom-up initiative that facilitates the development of innovative solutions to address major European and global water while at the same time creating market opportunities for these innovations, both inside and outside of Europe. The EIP Water aims to remove barriers by advancing and leveraging existing solutions. In its implementation phase, the EIP Water will promote and initiate collaborative processes for change and innovation in the water sector across the public and private sector, non-governmental organizations and the general public, forming Multi-stakeholder Action Groups”.

• Establishing dialogues

Creating dialogue spaces among the two communities and with Governments (IWA/IUCN)

The expected outcomes• Preparing for World Water day 2014

• Partnership generation, ideas an exchange of experiences

• Case studies, video interviews, information briefs and other materials for Wordl Water Day 2014.

• Sharing knowledge and draw lessons from existing experience.

The conference design• An open event (through webcast and Twitter);• An interactive event (though the design in interview style plenary and

facilitated game and working group sessions);• An all inclusive event (so that all of us will be given the opportunity to

have their say in plenary and in small and very small groups); • Inspiring (through the examples provided by the actors in partnesrhips) • And specially as a learning space about how to make cooperation

happen (by being given an opportunity of reflecting on our own experience and enough time for enquiring on the how to improve cooperation)

• A practical event with a focus on “take home” lessons on what would work for us.

Engaging all in the conference

Panel discussions Sharing and reflecting on what helped in successful experiences

Overview presenters Providing insights and examples for all to discuss and reflect on

Panel Conveners as facilitators

To help Focus on results, Key Points & Animation

Questions and Answers Open discussion and exchange

RecapTo highlight to key ideas

Side events

(5)

To provide a platform to know more about host country experiences and about other key events forthcoming

EARLY MORNINGS

Field Visits

(5)

To show inspiring solutions on on “water and energy”

A Communicating ConferenceCommunications at the Conference:• Daily newsletter• Webcast (via Conference website) and video of the Conference• Twitter • Interviews• Video Interviews• Press conferences and press notes• Press articles • The Blog

On the Conference website you can find:• Information briefs• Summaries of cases• Interviews• Reader

The Road Ahead in 2014!!!• 20-22 January, Abu Dhabi, World Future Energy Summit,

Joint Closing Session with IWS - The Water-Energy Nexus (Thirsty Energy)

• 06–08 Feb 14, 14TH DELHI SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT SUMMIT, “Attaining Energy, Water and Food Security for All”, New Delhi/India

• 03–07 Mar 14, Chapell Hill (USA) , “Nexus 2014: Water, Food, Climate and Energy Conference”, Chapel Hill/USA

• 20-21 of March TOKIO: World water Day (Tokio) and 22 of March in Kumamoto City http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/

• 07–09 May 14 Québec City/CanadaI, International Forum on Integrated Water Management: “Tools for Action!”,.

• 19–20 May 14,Bonn/Germany INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, “Sustainability in the Water-Energy-Food Nexus”, Bonn/Germany

• 21–23 May 14, Mexico NEXUS CONFERENCE, IWA Water, Energy and Climate Conference 2014

• 31 August to 5th of September, Stockholm World Water Week ENERGY AND WATER

• 1–13 Nov 14, Beijing/China: INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, “Solutions for the Nexus”, Beijing/China

We would like to ask you… • To contribute to the Lessons Learnt Document

• To provide comments on the information briefs.

• To provide comments/insights/ideas for World Water Day and World water Week

• To use this opportunity to engage!

Most important: we hope this conference will have an IMPACT for your work and

collaboration

with “take home” practical ways for improving partnerships!