The video illuminates the environmental cost of food waste and presents a comprehensive overview of the negative effects of wasting food. A tremendous amount of water can be saved by reducing losses and waste of food. By curbing food waste, energy is saved and the emission of greenhouse gases can be reduced. Equally important, consumers can save a great deal of money by not letting their food go to waste.

The video will be screened during the UNEP Side Event “The Global Environmental Impact of Food Waste”. Read more on the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit website.

Watch the video directly

Watch the video in different languages

• German
• Spanish
• French
• Chinese
• Russian
• Arabic
• Portuguese

By declaring 2013 the International Year of Water Cooperation, the United Nations General Assembly recognises the broad benefits of cooperation in the water domain for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. This UNESCO publication has brought together a broad range of water professionals and stakeholders to share their knowledge and experiences. The chapters in this book reflect the progress and challenges encountered in the fields of water management and cooperation around the world.

Water has rarely been the root of conflicts, but it can be an exacerbating factor where social and political tensions already exist. But while transboundary cooperation has often been difficult, experience has shown that sharing a resource as precious as water can be a catalyst for cooperation rather than conflicts. In his contribution, Dr. Jägerskog argues why developing approaches that balance interdependencies of transboundary waters is a matter of high importance. His article also shows how qualitative cooperation, joint management and open communication is critical adequate management is for successful transboundary management.

• Read the article ”Transboundary water management – why it is important and why it needs to be developed” directly

• Read the digital version of “Free Flow – Reaching Water Security Trough Cooperation”

In an effort to strengthen the link between economics and water policy, in August 2012 the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) hosted the International Water Resource Economics Consortium (IWREC) 10th Annual meeting during the World Water Week in Stockholm. This special issue presents a selection of the papers presented at this meeting, which all illustrate some of the key challenges in applying economics to water resources management, requiring to credibly value both market and non-market costs and benefits, to estimate marginal costs of achieving differing levels of water quantity and quality, to model choices, including risks and uncertainties, and to relate to other disciplines so that there is mutual understanding as to the data and input–output relationships.

Explore all the papers of the Special Issue in the online directory of the journal.

On Wednesday July 10, SIWI’s Dr. Anders Jägerskog will take part as a panellist in a session on Sustainable Water Solutions held at the World Justice Forum in The Hague. The session will place an emphasis on better management of water resources, as well as sanitation and hygiene.

The panel will discuss the important improvements needed in order promote better access to safe drinking water; the role of technology and governments in water management and infrastructure; and the importance of water safety in order to meet the Millennium Development Goals.

Read more about the session here.

The World Justice Forum is a global gathering designed to improve the state of the world by engaging business, government, civil society, academic, and other leaders, focusing on shared learning and collaboration.

The video is a part of SIWI’s thematic video series, which serves to inform about our five thematic work areas and issues related to them. Visit the Thematic Videos section of our web to watch all videos.

The short film WASTE, which illuminates the environmental cost of food waste, has been launched today in connection with World Environment Day.

A tremendous amount of water can be saved by reducing losses and waste of food – as much as ten times the water flow in the Nile. By curbing food waste, energy is saved and the emission of greenhouse gases can be reduced. Equally important, consumers can save a great deal of money by not letting their food go to waste.

SIWI has been a pioneer in addressing the issue of food waste, and has together with IWMI and FAO raised the question in the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD). In 2008, SIWI released the report Saving Water from Field to Fork, which shows how the huge losses and waste of food have significant implications for water, energy, land-use, and generally contribute to environmental degradation. In the making of the film, SIWI has provided knowledge and advise on the linkages between food waste and water.

WASTE is a collaboration between SIWI, UNEP, WWF Germany and FAO. It builds on the film Taste the Waste of Water, which SIWI launched last year during the World Water Week in Stockholm. This new version has been translated into eight languages and presents a more comprehensive overview of the negative effects of food waste, in relation to a range of environmental aspects.

The film has been produced by Schnittstelle Thurn GbR. For further information, please contact Susanne Blech: susanne_blech@web.de or Jan Lundqvist: jan.lundqvist@siwi.org.

Watch the film in the different languages:
German
Spanish
French
Chinese
Russian
Arabic
Portuguese

The Brief proposes a working definition of water security and is intended to serve as a starting point for dialogue on water security in the UN system. The publication aims to capture the dynamic and constantly evolving dimensions of water and water-related issues, and offers a holistic outlook for addressing water challenges through the umbrella of water security.

Download the PDF, or read more about it on UN-Water’s website.

SIWI’s Anders Jägerskog discussed the opportunities and challenges surrounding international water cooperation with representatives from The Global Environment Facility, the World Bank and UNDP.

The seminar outcomes have been published on The Environmental Change and Security Program’s blog - follow the link to read all about the issues debated at the seminar.

The complexity of water resources systems can often be addressed by applying decision support systems (DSS) and models, which can transparently present the elements of the system and their interrelationships. A DSS for IWRM will typically include a database and processing environment, a knowledge and information system, a modelling and analysis framework, a socioeconomic modelling and analysis framework, and a communication framework.

There are many IWRM areas where models and DSSs can inform the process by allowing water managers to better characterise multiple factors and future uncertainties. This Technical Focus Paper provides for guidelines for elaborating and validating modelling/DSS tools to assist decision-makers in implementing IWRM.

Download the paper here.