G20 Foundation Publications Australia 2014 | Page 50

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DEVELOPMENT
DEVELOPMENT
Enhancing global
cooperation to address the
water-food-energy nexus
Suleiman J Al-Herbish, Director-General, OFID (OPEC Fund for
International Development)
In all our work, we
seek to ensure a balance
between economic
growth, social progress
and protection of the
environment
Food security, access to clean
water and access to modern
energy services are three
recurring themes in the debate
leading to the global community
agreeing on the post-2015
Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs). All three elements are
essential for human development.
And they are closely intertwined.
Water is needed for almost all
forms of energy production;
energy is needed to treat and
transport water; and both water
and energy are needed to grow
and produce food.
Traditionally, development planners
have often sought solutions to the
water, energy or food crises by
addressing each problem separately.
But tackling just one of the three
elements can aggravate one or both
of the others. A case in point is
the irresponsible expansion of the
production of first-generation biofuels
in the second half of the last decade,
which caused a huge rise in food
prices, especially in the developing
countries. This example was highlighted
in a special study, “Biofuels and Food
Security,” commissioned by OFID and
published in 2010.
It is a fact that the challenges posed to
sustainable development by the strong
inter-linkage between water, food and
energy are confronted by all parts of the
globe. However, some regions are more
exposed than others. For example, in sub-
Water-food-energy Nexus in action
© Ocean/Corbis
Saharan Africa, barely one-third of the
population has access to electricity, and
less than half has access to freshwater.
The situation is likely to worsen as the
availability of arable land (for agriculture
production) declines; as competition for
land and water intensifies; and as access
to energy becomes a pressing constraint
on economic growth.
As a development institution of almost
40-years’ standing, OFID has extensive
experience in addressing these connected
challenges. In addition, our activities have
covered other important sectors, including
education, health, rural development,
transportation, microfinance, industry and
telecommunications.
In all our work, we seek to ensure a balance
between economic growth, social progress
and protection of the environment.
However, we do give priority to ensuring
access to energy as an important element
of sustainable development.
This position is in response to the Third
OPEC Summit in November 2007, which
established the eradication of energy
poverty as a priority for OPEC aid
institutions. We were further convinced to
pursue this strategy by the fact that energy
access is a prerequisite to achieving the
Millennium Development Goals.
OFID has learned over the years that
for energy access to have a full impact
on sustainable development it has to be
related to the water and food dimensions.
The three sectors must be treated in
a holistic way—an approach that we
call the water-food-energy nexus. We
firmly believe that the challenges in
each of these areas can only be met by
addressing all of them together.
We recognize that strengthening supply
chains—including through coordinated
investments in energy and transport
infrastructure—will enable efficient
food processing and faster access to
markets. Improved transport, storage,
refrigeration and port facilities will
facilitate trade in food and non-food
products and reduce the costs of
fertilizers and other inputs. Such
conditions will lay the foundations for
agriculture to be an expanding, income-
generating and profitable business
sector in low-income countries where it
is the backbone of the economy.
Within the context of the SDGs,
interventions related to the water-food-
energy nexus will move higher up the
agenda of governments, development
finance institutions and project sponsors. It
is for this very reason that OFID’s strategic
direction for the next decade will place
more emphasis on enhancing investment
in the nexus. This means that increasing
our assistance to the development of
agriculture and water management,
alongside efforts to improve access to
energy, will continue to be a priority.
If we, as a global community, are to rise to
the challenges emanating from the nexus
– including the need for investment – a
concerted effort and pooling of resources
will be essential. In this regard, global
frameworks such as the UN’s Sustainable
Energy for All initiative (in which OFID is a
key player), and the G-20 itself (Indonesia
and Saudi Arabia, two of OFID’s 13 Member
Countries, are also G-20 members)
could play an important role. Only
by working together can we secure a
prosperous and sustainable future for our
world and its people. ■
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