Water, energy, and agriculture have been conventionally dealt with separately in investment planning. For each of these sectors, regulatory frameworks, organizations, and infrastructures have been put in place to address sector-specific challenges and demands. As the Middle East and North Africa works towards building a more sustainable future, a nexus approach that considers the risks and synergies among these sectors is needed. To demonstrate the added value of a nexus approach, this report applies scenario analysis and integrated assessment modelling of the water-energy-food nexus to the Middle East and North Africa. The analysis finds that water scarcity increases in all countries in the region over the coming decades, mostly due to growing demands. More importantly, the analysis finds that many countries in the region could run out of fossil groundwater by 2050 unless measures to curb unsustainable abstraction are implemented. The impacts of growing scarcity on agriculture are significant, with production projected to drop by 60 percent by 2050 in some countries. On the upside, reducing the dependence of the agricultural and energy sectors on water and transitioning to renewable energies can reduce water scarcity, at the same time reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Lance Heath et al., 'Climate and Security in Asia and the Pacific (Food, Water and Energy)', Advances in Global Change Research, pp.129-198, Springer Netherlands, 2013 | The impacts of increasing natural climate disasters are threatening food security in the Asia-Pacific region. Rice is Asia�??s most important staple food. Climate variability and change directly impact rice production, through changes in rainfall, temperature and CO2 concentrations. The key for sustainable rice crop is water management. Adaptation can occur through shifts of cropping to higher latitudes and can profit from river systems (via irrigation) so far not considered. New opportunities arise to produce more than one crop per year in cooler areas. Asian wheat production in 2005 represents about 43 % of the global total. Changes in agronomic practices, such as earlier plant dates and cultivar substitution will be required. Fisheries play a crucial role in providing food security with the contribution of fish to dietary animal protein being very high in the region �?? up to 90 % in small island developing states (SIDS). With the warming of the Pacific and Indian Oceans and increased acidification, marine ecosystems are presently under stress. Despite these trends, maintaining or enhancing food production from the sea is critical. However, future sustainability must be maintained whilst also securing biodiversity conservation. Improved fisheries management to address the existing non-climate threats remains paramount in the Indian and Pacific Oceans with sustainable management regimes being established. Climate-related impacts are expected to increase in magnitude over the coming decades, thus preliminary adaptation to climate change is valuable

PowerPoint presentation | Meeting: June 18-20, 2013 | Emerging issues due to intensive agriculture in the Punjab region are declining crop diversity; stagnation/slow growth in productivity; recent decline in rainfall; and depletion in groundwater resources. The project aimed to develop long term climate and socio-economic scenarios to inform water, energy and agriculture policy while reaching out to farmer cooperatives. Tensiometers were provided towards better understanding and use of watersheds, testing moisture retention and soil water balance. A mobile phone application was also developed. The presentation slides depict these applications and how they were utilized.

Water, energy, and agriculture have been conventionally dealt with separately in investment planning. For each of these sectors, regulatory frameworks, organizations, and infrastructures have been put in place to address sector-specific challenges and demands. As the Middle East and North Africa works towards building a more sustainable future, a nexus approach that considers the risks and synergies among these sectors is needed. To demonstrate the added value of a nexus approach, this report applies scenario analysis and integrated assessment modelling of the water-energy-food nexus to the Middle East and North Africa. The analysis finds that water scarcity increases in all countries in the region over the coming decades, mostly due to growing demands. More importantly, the analysis finds that many countries in the region could run out of fossil groundwater by 2050 unless measures to curb unsustainable abstraction are implemented. The impacts of growing scarcity on agriculture are significant, with production projected to drop by 60 percent by 2050 in some countries. On the upside, reducing the dependence of the agricultural and energy sectors on water and transitioning to renewable energies can reduce water scarcity, at the same time reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Water, energy, and agriculture have been conventionally dealt with separately in investment planning. For each of these sectors, regulatory frameworks, organizations, and infrastructures have been put in place to address sector-specific challenges and demands. As the Middle East and North Africa works towards building a more sustainable future, a nexus approach that considers the risks and synergies among these sectors is needed. To demonstrate the added value of a nexus approach, this report applies scenario analysis and integrated assessment modelling of the water-energy-food nexus to the Middle East and North Africa. The analysis finds that water scarcity increases in all countries in the region over the coming decades, mostly due to growing demands. More importantly, the analysis finds that many countries in the region could run out of fossil groundwater by 2050 unless measures to curb unsustainable abstraction are implemented. The impacts of growing scarcity on agriculture are significant, with production projected to drop by 60 percent by 2050 in some countries. On the upside, reducing the dependence of the agricultural and energy sectors on water and transitioning to renewable energies can reduce water scarcity, at the same time reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

S Huda, V Sadras, S P Wani, X Mei, 'Food Security and Climate Change in the Asia-Pacific Region: Evaluating Mismatch between Crop Development and Water Availability', International Journal of Bio-resource and Stress Management, vol. 2(2), pp.137-144, Puspa, 2011 | Phenological development is the single most important attribute of crop adaptation to shifting climates. Climate change may alter the rate of phenological development and the amount and distribution of rainfall during the growing season. These changes may in turn result in mismatch between water demand by crops and water availability from rainfall. This paper illustrates how an understanding of the impact of climate shifts on key crops will enable the Asia-Pacific farmers, community workers and policy agencies to better prepare and adapt to climate change. Strategies include changes to existing policy and practices, for example, timing of planting, managing rainwater resources, use of new varieties, disease management protocols, alternate crops and shift in geographic distribution of crops. An international project is described which combines a new analysis of realized changes in meteorological parameters, and use of estimates from published work on future climates to assess temporal shifts in crop phenology, likely shifts in the pattern of rain and water availability, mismatch between crop phenology and water availability, and the expected consequences of this mismatch for food security