SIWI Side Event: Water-Related
Synergies and Trade-Offs

Sunday 17 August
Lunch Side Event

Convenors : Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden

Parallel global trends – population and economic growth, increasing energy demands, changing diets, etc. – increase the amount of water required for development. While increased agricultural production for food and bioenergy represent interesting new sources of income for rural farmers all over the world, these opportunities must take into account the water-constrained biophysical reality of the planet. For poverty and hunger alleviation, climate change mitigation and as a peak oil energy alternative, demand for water consumptive biomass is predicted to increase. With the increase of middle-class populations in the developing world, an increased demand for water intensive products (e.g. animal based foods) is likely.

Reducing fossil fuel use will increase demand for bioenergy production. While the second generation of bioethanol may be produced on wastelands or from cellulose, croplands may also be converted for their production. This increases competition for land and water resources. Climate change mitigation will increase the demand for biomass-based carbon sequestration. These increasing water requirements – whether green or blue – may generate serious conflicts of interest with other societal and ecological water needs. To navigate conflicts and find synergies, a systems approach is necessary.

The seminar seeks to clarify and assess options for striking trade-offs and exploring synergies between competing land and water demands against minimum ecosystem and resiliencebuilding water requirements. It will assess opportunities for using the Integrated Land/Water Resources Management approach for necessary compatibility analyses.