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Project Topic
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Economic, societal and environmental security are interdependently related to the availability and fair access to natural resources, water, land, food and energy. All four elements (water, food, energy and ecosystems) are 1) highly dependent on each other, 2) crucial for human well-being, and 3) impacting social cohesion and source of geopolitical conflicts. In Mediterranean regions the water scarcity and land degradation do not match sound and sustainable agricultural practices and often the protection of ecosystems is in conflict with economic growth. NEXUS-NESS aims to interlink consolidated Water- Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus data, knowledge and tools and a three-fold Ecosystem component value (i.e. Environment, Economy and Engagement) to produce a comprehensive Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem (WEFE) Nexus-NESS Service (NNS). The NNS service includes best practices for achieving high environmental protection, sustainable economic growth while delivering optimal resource management for the Mediterranean regions. The NEXUS-NESS project has three main objectives: 1) Co-Produce WEFE Nexus management plans for fair and sustainable allocation of resources by applying the NNS into real case conditions through the four Multi-Actor diverse NEXUS Ecosystem Labs (NELs); 2) Operationalize the adoption of the WEFE Nexus by co-defining short- to long-term resource management plans and hands-on guidance through application, validation and demonstration actions in the four NELs 3) Enable mindset change for the effective adoption of WEFE Nexus through the implementation of Innovation Ecosystems of private sector, academic, public authorities and citizens in the 4 NELs through the Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) Roadmap and the six RRI dimensions (public engagement, open science, science education, gender issues, ethics and institutional change through governance). To achieve these three main objectives, the NEXUS-NESS consortium has specified 4 NELs where multi-actors (stakeholders, private sector, public authorities, academia and citizens) will be engaged in a Living Lab setting by applying the RRI Roadmap. The multi-actors will be identified, motivated and engaged to frame a new WEFE-Nexus vision for their common socio- economic-ecosystem situation, co-design and co-construct WEFE-Nexus management plans and solutions, apply these, measure them, adjust them and intensify them. The NEXUS-NESS 4 NELS are: 1) Coastal Tuscany, Italy: focusing on minimization of groundwater extraction and salinization through non-conventional irrigation via consortia and natural ponds as bioreactors; 2)Rio Daja, Spain: improve agroecosystem and rural life of viticulture and agriculture with improved water-energy use during irrigation. 3) Matrouh Coastal area, Egypt: reduce saline brackish groundwater, increase cultivation through responsible irrigation and apply the WEFE Nexus approach for increasing crop yields. 4) Oued Jir Watershed of Gabes, Tunisia: intensify sustainable agriculture by balancing efficient use of natural resources through novel irrigation and land management by educating the local population of the highly arid area. The multi-actors of the 4 NELs will be connected through Innovation Ecosystems for sustainable and long-lasting after the project WEFE Nexus application. The results of the 4 NELs will be distilled into hands-on guidance and best practices to enrich the EU Nexus Atlas, Green Deal and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) 2017-process to promote and mainstream the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem Nexus approach. NEXUS-NESS and its 4 NELs will demonstrate and validate the NNS through cross-sectorial Multi-Actor engagement, provide measurements and best practices, widely disseminate them to the PRIMA countries and collaborate with WEF Nexus projects by further enriching the WEFE-NEXUS Innovation Ecosystems for delivering optimal and environmentally sustainable and fair economic development.
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