Call for Abstracts - Nexus 2014: Water, Food, Climate and Energy Conference, USA: March 4-7, 2014

Nexus 2014: Water, Food, Climate and Energy Conference
March 4–7, 2014

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC USA

The Water Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will host the Nexus 2014: Water, Food, Climate and Energy Conference on March 3-7, 2014.

The Conference will bring together researchers and practitioners working in government, civil society and business, focusing on the nexus approach. Building on the Water, Food and Energy Nexus Conference held in Bonn, Germany in 2011, this Conference aims to address the connected, but distinct, relationships between water, food, climate, energy, security, sustainability and development.

We are now accepting abstracts for poster and verbal presentations via the Conference website. The submission deadline is September 27, 2013.
During the next 17 years until 2030, we already know we will face:
•       Population growth: Expected to reach 8 billion by 2024 and 9 billion by 2050;
•       Economic prosperity: There will be a rising economic prosperity in some of the emerging economies particularly in India and China;
•       Increasing urban world: by 2030 over 60% of people will live in urban areas, which will increase to 70% by 2050.

These global impacts combined with climate change will mean:
•       Increased energy demand: global demand for energy by 30-40% by 2030;
•       Increased demand for food:  agriculture production to increase by 30-50% by 2030 to meet the global demand for food;
•       Increased need for water: Demand for water will exceed global availability by 40% in 2030.

The themes for the 2014 Conference will be:
•       Economics and Finance of the Nexus
•       Politics, Policy and Regulation
•       Ecosystem Approaches and Resilience
•       Resource Scarcity and Security
•       Remote Sensing and GIS Approaches

Through the Conference, participants will be able to examine cutting-edge research, debate emerging solutions, and explore the link between science and policy. Additionally, they will have the opportunity to build new, or strengthen existing, networks as well as join the Nexus Academic-Practitioner Network.

The conference participants will aim to:
•       Learn from relevant case studies & examine cutting-edge research
•       Identify future research areas
•       Debate emerging solutions
•       Identify how science can inform policy processes
•       Build new, or strengthen, existing networks
•       Launch the Nexus Academic-Practitioner Network
•       Input to the UN Sustainable Development Goals process

The co-Directors of the Conference are Felix Dodds, fellow at the Global Research Institute at UNC and associate fellow at the Tellus Institute, and Jamie Bartram, director of The Water Institute at UNC, supported by an International Advisory Committee (http://nexusconference.web.unc.edu/advisory-committee/ ).