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Project Topic
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BONEX proposal addresses the Water, Energy, Food and Ecosystems Nexus (WEFE Nexus) in the Mediterranean Region (MedRegion). It aims to catalyse actions for WEFE implementation by improving policies and governance and their implementation in practice. The approach to achieve this objective will be the creation of a novel, robust, transdisciplinary and diagnostic, including exploitation and dissemination of final product with a focus in promoting inclusive innovation and upscaling at the national and the relevant hydrological scale. The framework and innovative WEFE Nexus solution approaches will be iteratively developed and tested in seven carefully selected Demonstration Projects covering a diversity of situations and challenges in the MedRegion. In doing so BONEX will ensure that results are truly replicable and that wide socio-ecological and cultural diversity of the MedRegion are well considered. BONEX framework will be developed throughout multi-actor processes, with close collaboration between all value chain relevant actors, such as water right holders, farmers’ organizations, businesses in the agrifood chain, public administration, technology providers, researchers, civil society organizations, and consumers. BONEX will contribute towards the achievement of several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 2 (zero hunger), SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation), SDG 7 (energy), SDG 12 (innovative forms of production), SDG 13 (fighting climate change), SDG 15 (healthy ecosystems), and SDG 17 (strengthening partnership for sustainable development). The BONEX framework will combine global applicability with strong local involvement, both by focusing in local context. BONEX will adopt a holistic view to integrate water accounting so that we account for ”real water savings” BONEX methodology will have the following phases: 1. Establishment of a replicable and adaptive transdisciplinary framework 2. Assessing a context-specific WEFE solution approaches (applied to seven demonstration cases), 3. Testing the combination of existing tools to assess trade-offs and synergies, 4. Scaling up WEFE Nexus practice, 5. Informing strategic policy processes and 6. Exploitation of results with close involvement of the private sector. The seven demonstration cases have been selected based upon the criteria of technological or local available infrastructure with a wide regional distribution covering socioeconomic and environmental representativity of the different Mediterranean WEFE conflicts. It also focuses on emerging or under development technologies that are already implemented in the region: a) water saving and conservation; b) wastewater reuse; c) desalination; d) solar irrigation; e) agrivoltaics and f) nature based solutions. Demonstration cases are: Alqueva (PRT), Axarquia (ESP), Bekaa (LIB), Wadi Mujib (JOR), Msaken (TUN), Souss Massa Basin (MAR) and Renana (ITA). BONEX will make explicit the trade-offs between WEFE components such as the increase of energy use linked to water saving (pressurize systems) or the treatment of non-conventional water resources (reclaimed wastewater, desalinization). Additionally, it will look for synergies in some technologies such as agrivoltaics of solar irrigation where farming and rural communities may improve production and wellbeing, but taking into consideration potential conflicts and risks (e.g. over abstraction induced by solar pumping). The novel WEFE Bridging Framework will be disseminated widely providing policymakers and practitioners with accessible tools to evaluate trade-offs and synergies and nexus solution approached transdisciplinary manner.
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