Conference
UN 2023 Water Conference: Make water pivotal in food systems
Water plays a crucial role in our daily livelihoods and food systems worldwide.
It has been recognized as an enabler for transformations of food systems. However it is not yet pivotal in the design of the objectives and goals of our food systems, neither is it connected to the other parts.
This side-events aims to bring the role of water in food systems to the front, to allow food system stakeholders to better understand the importance of water and hence think and act differently on water use and allocation. Solutions pathways will be sought for moving forward both SDG2 as well as SDG6 simultaneously.
During this side-event user stories from different countries will highlight the water challenges related to food systems and possible solution pathways. These solution pathways will be further discuss with experts in the field and transformed into actions for different sectors.
| Time (EST) | What |
| 2:00 pm | Welcome by the moderator Mr. Ivo Demmers – Director of the Netherlands Food Partnership and introduction speech by Ms. Kitty van der Heijden – Director General International Cooperation at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
| 2:05 pm | Setting the scene: stories around water and food from various countries |
| H.E. Mr. Zahid Faruk – Minister of Water Resources of Bangladesh | |
| Dr. Marc García – Head of the Water Commission of the Jucar River Basin Authority | |
| 2:20 pm | The role of water in food systems: presentation |
| Prof. Petra Hellegers - Full Professor and Chair of the Water Resources Management group of Wageningen University and Research | |
| 2:30 pm | Potential solution pathways and actions to make water pivotal in food systems: expert panel discussion |
| Ms. Fiona Simson - President at National Farmers Federation and Commissioner and Chair at Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research | |
| Mr. Coen van Iwaarden – Senior Advisor Sustainable Business at Nature’s Pride | |
| Dr. Maurice Hall - Vice President of the Climate Resilient Water Systems Program at the Environmental Defense Fund | |
| Ms. Sibi Lawson-Marriott - Senior Regional Advisor For Food Systems Eastern Africa at World Food Program | |
| Dr. Shakuntala Thilsted - Director for Nutrition, Health and Food Security Impact Area Platform at CGIAR | |
| 3:00 pm | Commitments from the partners: presentation and short videos |
| 3:10 pm | Closing speech by H.R.H Prince Jaime de Bourbon de Parme – Climate Envoy of the Netherlands |
