ESCWA Water Development Report 6 the Water, Energy and Food Security Nexus in the Arab Region
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Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia inable Developm usta ent S Human Rights e Ch Climat ange S 6 - D G G D - 7 S IWRM SE4ALL Water Energy Security Sustainable Security Agriculture & Trade Food Security SDG-2 ESCWA Water Development Report 6 The Water, Energy and Food Security Nexus in the Arab Region Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) ESCWA Water Development Report 6 The water, energy and food security nexus in the Arab region United Nations Beirut 2 © 2015 United Nations All rights reserved worldwide Requests to reproduce excerpts or to photocopy should be addressed to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), United Nations House, Riad El Solh Square, P.O. Box: 11-8575, Beirut, Lebanon. All other queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should also be addressed to ESCWA. E-mail: [email protected]; website: www.unescwa.org. The findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or official positions of the United Nations or its officials or Member States. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. References to dollars ($) are to United States dollars, unless otherwise stated. Symbols of the United Nations documents are composed of capital letters combined with figures. Mention of such a symbol indicates a reference to a United Nations document. E/ESCWA/SDPD/2015/2 ISSN. 1817-1990 ISBN: 978-92-1-128380-8 e-ISBN. 978-92-1-057634-5 15-00339 UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATION Sales No. E.16.II.L.1 iii CONTENTS Abbreviations vi Executive Summary ix Introduction 1 I. Framing the Water-Energy-Food Security Nexus 5 A. Understanding the nexus 5 B. Elaborating a water-energy-food security nexus within the context of sustainable development 15 C. A water-energy-food security nexus for the Arab region 21 II. The Nexus from a Shared-Basin Perspective 31 A. Overview 31 B. Euphrates river basin 34 C. Nile river basin 39 D. The Saq-Ram Aquifer System (West) 43 E. North-West Sahara Aquifer System 48 III. Energy and Water Interdependencies for Improved Services 53 A. Overview 53 B. Water use in energy and electricity production 57 C. Technology options for improved water-energy-food security 67 IV. Water and Energy for Food Security 73 A. Overview 73 B. Production and use of fertilizers for agriculture 77 C. Technology options in the agricultural sector to increase water and energy security 79 D. Investing abroad for increased food security 85 V. Conclusions and Recommendations 91 A. Implications of the nexus for integrated natural resources management 92 B. Insights for informing the Sustainable Development Goals 94 C. Recommendations 96 Bibliography 99 Endnotes 113 iv List of Tables 1. Types of cooling systems: advantages and disadvantages 61 2. Comparison of consumptive water use of various power plant technologies using various cooling methods 61 3. Solar and nuclear energy: qualitative comparative analysis 63 4. Energy used in selected desalination technologies 68 5. Smart agrifood systems: options for water and energy objectives 81 6. Smart agrifood systems: options for water and energy ecosystems 82 7. Foreign land investment involving Arab countries 86 8. Total renewable water resources and net virtual water import per capita per year in selected Arab countries 88 List of Figures 1. Selected conceptual frameworks for illustrating the natural resource nexus 7 2. The water-energy-food security nexus (Bonn 2011) 8 3. The water-energy-land nexus 9 4. The water-energy-food-ecosystems nexus 9 5. The ecosystem nexus 10 6. System diagram for risks associated with the water-energy-food nexus 11 7. The FAO appraoch to the water-energy-food nexus 12 8. Conceptual layout of the WBCSD water-energy-food-feed-fibre-climate nexus 13 9. Overview of the IISD nexus framework 14 10. The water-energy-food security nexus 23 11. NPK fertilizer consumption per hectare of cultivated land 78 12. Current and projected treated wastewater usage as per Jordan’s National Water Strategy, 2008-2022 85 List of Boxes 1. The Dublin Statement on Water and Sustainable Development 6 2. The future we want 20 3. Regional electricity networks for improved energy security 55 4. Computer-aided irrigation scheduling in Egypt 79 5. Irrigation systems in the United Arab Emirates 80 6. The buried diffuser irrigation method 80 v List of Maps 1. Shared surface water basins, surface water irrigated areas and dams with hydropower generation in the Arab region 32 2. Shared groundwater basins and groundwater irrigated areas in the Arab region 33 3. The Euphrates river basin with major dams and irrigated areas 36 4. The Nile river basin with surface water irrigated areas and major hydropower dams 40 5. The Saq-Ram Aquifer System exploitable area with irrigation areas and energy use for groundwater pumping 44 6. Water sources in selected Arab countries 69 vi Abbreviations AMCE Arab Ministerial Council on Electricity AMWC Arab Ministerial Water Council AOAD Arab Organization for Agricultural Development BCM Billion cubic metres BGR Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources BMZ Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development) CAMRE Council of Arab Ministers Responsible for the Environment CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women CFA Cooperative Framework Agreement CI Continental Intercalaire CLEW Climate, land, energy, and water CPV Concentrated photovoltaics CSP Concentrated solar power DESA Department of Economic and Social Affairs ECDPM European Centre for Development Policy Management ECE Economic Commission for Europe ESCWA Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FO Forward osmosis FR Fresnel reflector GAP Southeastern Anatolia Project GCC Gulf Cooperation Council GCCIA Gulf Cooperation Council Interconnection Authority GDI/DIE German Development Institute/Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik GDP Gross domestic product GIS Geographic information system GIZ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH GW Gigawatt GWP-Med Global Water Partnership Mediterranean Ha Hectare HCPV High Concentrated Photovoltaic IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency ICIMOD International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development IFPRI International Food Policy Research Institute vii IIASA International Institute for Applied System Analysis IISD International Institute for Sustainable Development IRENA International Renewable Energy Agency IWRM Integrated Water Resources Management K Potassium Koe Kilogram of oil equivalent KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden) Kw Kilowatt LCOE Levelized cost of electricity MCM Million cubic metres MDG Millennium Development Goal MED Multi-effect desalination MENA Middle East and North Africa MJ Megajoule MoAW Ministry of Agriculture and Water (Saudi Arabia) MoWE Ministry of Water and Electricity (Saudi Arabia) MoU Memorandum of understanding MSF Multi-stage flash MW Megawatt MWI Ministry of Water and Irrigation (Jordan) N Nitrogen NBI Nile Basin Initiative NEPCO National Electric Power Company (Jordan) NGO Non-governmental organization NWSAS North-Western Sahara Aquifer System ODI Overseas Development Institute OHCHR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights OSS Observatory for Sahara and the Sahel P Phosphate PT Parabolic trough PV Photovoltaic (solar) RBA Rights-based approach to development RO Reverse osmosis SD Solar dish SDC Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDG Sustainable Development Goal SE4All Sustainable Energy for All SEI Stockholm Environment Institute Sida Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency ST Solar tower TADCO Tabuk Agricultural Development Company TCF Trillion cubic feet viii TVC Thermal vapour compression UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNEP United Nations Environment Programme UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organization UNU United Nations University WBCSD World Business Council for Sustainable Development WEF Water-energy-food WEL Water-energy-land WHO World Health Organization ix Executive summary The sixth Water Development Report of the sustainable agriculture and trade within the context Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia of climate change. It can also help tackle complex (ESCWA) provides an analytical framework to help challenges that obstruct water, energy and food understand the water-energy-food security nexus in security, including shared water resources the Arab region. It considers climate change and management and decision-making related to the interlinkages that affect the achievement of of energy efficiency, in order to achieve food security water- energy-food (WEF) security and advances a despite water scarcity, land degradation and human rights approach to the Post-2015 development objectives. Sustainable Development Goals to ensure access to food, water and sustainable energy for all. Applying the water-energy-food security nexus in the Arab region requires a vision based on shared Arab States arguably have much