Advancing water and food security

Background

Strengthening water and food security under changing climate conditions will make the Arab region more water secure, food secure and climate resilient.

ESCWA is informing, advising and facilitating the engagement of Governments and local communities, including women and young people, in climate action to achieve water and food security.

This initiative aims to enhance policy coherence across the water and agricultural sectors through institutional mechanisms, provide informed policy guidance and risk analysis, expand the local knowledge base though science-based assessments and analysis of climate impacts on strategic sectors, and empower diverse communities through applied capacity-building initiatives, pilot projects and policy forums.

Our approach

Advancing water and food security in a climate change context is based on the following three pillars to generate scientific evidence, inform policy and build consensus on regional priority issues.

Public policy coherence

Increase coordination across the water, agriculture and other ministries to ensure policy coherence between national strategies and plans
Increase integration of agriculture in national climate change policies and actions
Expand research to better understand the climate-security nexus to inform action, particularly in water-scarce Arab countries and in those that rely heavily on agriculture and face recurrent cycles of conflict and crisis.

Localized knowledge base

Build the capacity of Governments to conduct climate change analysis for improved water resources management and agricultural productivity
Generate regional climate modelling outputs to inform local and basin-scale interventions
Expand the Regional Knowledge Hub to include more localized information, analysis and datasets

Public engagement

Improve access to climate services and analysis, including seasonal forecasts and climate predictions for smallholder farmers
Build consensus on priority actions for improved water security and food security to ensure climate resilience in the region
Increase global and regional awareness of climate challenges facing the region in terms of water-energy-food security