The Stream, August 28: Stockholm and the Nexus

This year’s Stockholm International Water Week is placing a particular focus on minimizing food waste and increasing water efficiency through agriculture and irrigation, among other methods, Bloomberg reported.

During talks in Stockholm on Monday, the United Nations called upon the G20 to minimize food and water waste. The leaders emphasized the need for action, especially as food prices continue to rise, according to Reuters.

Research into water is growing at a faster rate than many other disciplines, according to a report by Elsevier and the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI). “Water resources research is growing at a rate of 9.2% per year, while research into food and water is growing by 4.7% each year,” Elsevier wrote in a press release, published in The Wall Street Journal MarketWatch.

With the global population expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, leading water scientists from SIWI and other organizations have predicted that a shift toward vegetarian lifestyles may be necessary for sustainability, The Guardian reported.

A study co-authored by Stuart Orr, freshwater manager at WWF International, details the potentially detrimental effects of dam building on the Mekong basin’s fish, which serve as the primary protein source for 60 million people in the region. The report explores how the dams would create a shift toward land food sources, putting a strain on water.

This video from The Guardian sponsor and brewing company SABMiller visualizes nexus thinking to explain the interdependence of water, food, and energy resources.

Food & Water Watch executive director Wenonah Hauter speaks out against the Environmental Defense Fund for accepting $US 6 million from Bloomberg Philanthropies to promote fracking regulations. Read her statement here.

More people in Rwanda have mobile phone subscriptions than clean freshwater access, electricity, or a bank account, with 45 percent of citizens carrying a cell phone, according to AllAfrica.

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