Presentation on 'Water-Energy: Innovation & Partnerships' by Engin Koncagul, Programme Officer, World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) at 2014 UN-Water Annual International Zaragoza Conference. Preparing for World Water Day 2014: Partnerships for improving water and energy access, efficiency and sustainability. 13-16 January 2014.

1. Water-Energy:
Innovation&Partnerships
An overview presentation by Engin KONCAGÜL
WWAP Programme Officer
15 January 2014, Zaragoza

2. Interlinkages
• By 2035, worldwide energy
demand is projected to grow
by more than one-third and
demand for electricity is
expected to grow by 70%.
• Global water demand in
terms of water withdrawals is
projected to increase by
some 55% by 2050.
• By 2030, half of world
population will be living in
areas of high water stress.

3. Towards a nexus approach
• Challenges are well known, but have so far been addressed in
isolation, within sectoral boundaries.
• If water, energy (and food) security are to be simultaneously
achieved, decision-makers, including those responsible for only a
single sector, need to consider broader influences and cross-sectoral
impacts.
• We must strive for innovative policies incorporating new political and
economic frameworks and integrated institutions.
– Water development and management programmes, if planned
properly, can serve multiple functions, from contributing to energy and
food production to helping communities adapt to climate change.
• A nexus approach to sectoral management, through enhanced
dialogue, collaboration and coordination, is needed to ensure that
co-benefits and trade-offs are considered and that appropriate
safeguards are put in place.

4. World Water Development Report
(WWDR) 2014
• Innovative approaches:
– Cross-sector cooperation to leverage possible synergies,
– integrated planning for water and energy to decrease costs and ensure
sustainability,
– assessing trade-offs at the national level, demand-side
interventions, and decentralized services.
• Enabling Environment:
– Developing coherent national policies and creation of legal and
institutional frameworks,
– Ensuring reliable data and statistics to make and monitor decisions,
– Encouraging awareness through education, training and public
information media,
– Ensuring availability of finance,
– Supporting innovation and research into technological development.

5. SOLUTIONS&OPPORTUNITIES:
CASE STUDIES
• Case studies featured in the WWDR highlights
innovative approaches to water-energy nexus:
– Solar powered seawater desalination plants in Saudi
Arabia,
– Drinking water hydropower stations in Vienna,
– Water and electricity utility companies collaborating to
improve efficiency in production and delivery in Austin,
– Generating charcoal and biogas from wastewater in Japan,
– Energy self sufficient wastewater treatment plant in
Vienna.

6. PANELISTS
• Mark Smith: The International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
• Enrique Playan: European Joint
Programming Initiative (JPI)
• Paul Yillia: International Institute for Applied
Systems Analysis (IIASA)
• Prof. Paolo Fulignati: University of Pisa, Italy

7. The International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
• The world's oldest and largest global
environmental network dedicated to finding
"pragmatic solutions to most pressing
environment and development challenges"
• Supports scientific research and builds
partnerships:
– More than 1,000 government, NGO and private sector
member organizations,
– 11,000 volunteer scientists in more than 160
countries.

8. The International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
• IUCN is leading the ‘Nexus Dialogue on Water
Infrastructure Solutions’ to bring together key actors
from all three sectors to build partnerships needed to
take practical, collaborative steps in creating and
implementing water infrastructure solutions that will
accelerate action on optimisation of the nexus.
• Delivery of a series of three regional workshops: Africa
(May 2013), Latin America (September 2013) and Asia
(scheduled for March 2014) to identify:
– Practical steps to develop solutions,
– Technical, institutional, financing and political barriers.

9. European Joint Programming Initiative
(JPI)
• The objective of joint programming is to ‘increase the
value of relevant national and EU research and
development funding by concerted and joint
planning, implementation and evaluation of national
research programmes’.
• Supports implementation of one European Research
area to generate European solutions.

10. Water JPI
Partner (19+1)
Observer (5)
Total (24+1)
IE
UK
Harmonize national
water R-D-I activities
Involve 2/3 of public
R-D-I investment
FI
NO
SE
EE
LV
DK
NL
BE
EC
PL
DE
MD
AT
FR
HU
RO
IT
ES
PT
TR
EL
CY
IL

11. European Joint Programming Initiative
(JPI)
Research and innovation agenda includes:
Maintaining Ecosystem Sustainability,
Developing safe water systems for the
• The grand challenge:
“Achieving Sustainable
Water Systems for a
Sustainable Economy
in Europe and Abroad”
citizens,
Promoting competitiveness in the water
industry,
Implementing a water-wise bio-based
economy,
Closing the water cycle gap.

12. International Institute for Applied
Systems Analysis (IIASA)
IIASA conducts policy-oriented research into problems
that are too large or too complex to be solved by a single
country or academic discipline.
- A research hub bringing together a wide spectrum of
scientists,
- Research network extending to 65 countries,
- Systems analysis put into the service of society to
improve human and social wellbeing and protect
ecosystems.

13. International Institute for Applied
Systems Analysis (IIASA)
- Ongoing research partnership with UNESCO to develop
a Scenarios project on “Water Futures and Solutions”,
- In-depth examination of a selected set of drivers which
have an impact on use of water resources.

14. Italy-Umbria Region
• A science-based tool for integrating
geothermal resources into regional energy
planning
– Sustainable and environmentally friendly energy.