There are no purely sectoral solutions to the sustainable management of Water, Energy, Food and Ecosystem resources in the Mediterranean region. Moreover, as the COVID 19 pandemic and the migration flows in some parts of the region are dramatically showing,a  transformation of our current thinking and approaches is no longer an option, but a necessity. The key concept of the 2021 WEFE Nexus Science Advances Conference is “addressing interdependencies”. The Conference will analyse the role of science as driver of innovation and its interfacing with the policy and decision-making processes. It will recommend workable measures on how to integrate new paths in the research and planning of WEFE supply chains through a collaborative response across the Mediterranean region. Participants in the Conference will be scientists and practitioners, as well as social actors and decision makers from diverse WEFE sectors from the entire Mediterranean area, all brought together with the following common objectives:

  • Survey new approaches and modes of practice that can be applied to inform decisions, choose priorities and incentivize the cross-sectoral management of water, energy, food and ecosystem resources.
  • Promote the collection and documentation of WEFE Nexus best practices in the Mediterranean region and incorporate lessons learned in hands-on guidance for the development of sustainable operational targets, in line with the SDGs.
  • Elaborate on the role of a WEFE Nexus Community of Practice to stimulate cross-organisation collaboration and knowledge-sharing around demonstration projects in the Mediterranean region.

The Conference focuses on the Mediterranean dimension, but it is of broad interest to participants from outside the region sharing the same interests and wishing to learn from the Mediterranean experience. It is organized by the Joint Research Centre and the Directorate General Research and Innovation of the European Commission, the UfM-Union for the Mediterranean, the PRIMA-Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area, and the Cyprus Institute. The outcomes of the Conference will contribute to the objectives set out in the UfM Ministerial Declaration on Water, to the UfM Water Agenda (UfM Policy Framework of Actions 2030), to the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda of PRIMA, and to the actions proposed by the European Commission in the roadmap of the EU Green Deal.