Land and water resources: balancing the needs for food and energy
14th Jannuary 2015
The seminar will address issue
related to conflicts and
large-scale land acquisitions
with contributions from:
Mario Giampietro, University Autonoma Barcellona
The Food-Energy-Water Nexus: A Multi-scale
Bioeconomic Perspective
Emma Li Johansson, University of Lund
Virtual
water exports from land acquisitions in Africa
Mario
Giampietro
> Bio
Mario Giampietro is ICREA Research Professor at the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA) of the Universitat Autōnoma de Barcelona (UAB). He is an expert in energy analysis and integrated assessment of sustainability issues, and the ‘father’ of the innovative scientific approach, Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism (MuSIASEM). He has more than 150 scientific publications and is author of several books.
> Abstract
The Food-Energy-Water Nexus: A
Multi-scale Bioeconomic Perspective
The nexus between energy, food, water, and land use has recently been put on the front burner of the sustainability discussion. The analysis of this nexus requires us to address the epistemological implications of complexity: How to integrate quantitative assessments referring to different dimensions and scales of analysis? The Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism (MuSIASEM), an innovative method of accounting, can be used to this purpose. Applications of this approach are presented, including scenarios of change for biofuel production from sugarcane in Mauritius and for the productive matrix in Ecuador.
Emma Li
Johansson
> Bio
Emma Li Johansson is a PhD student in Physical Geography and Ecosystem Analysis at Lund University. Her research is a multi-scale analysis of large-scale land acquisitions in Africa, and its socio-environmental effects, with a focus is particularly on water, and how a change in water use impacts on a global-to-local scale.
> Abstract
Virtual
water exports from land acquisitions in Africa
Since the early 2000s there has been a boom in long-term and large-scale land acquisitions globally. This study focuses on Africa since it’s the most targeted region. The areas that are currently in production are converted to water demand by using modeled results from LPJmL, and then visualized as virtual exports of water to the regions where the investing companies originate. The water consumption is then related to the water availability of the targeted area, to highlight areas where an increased water use is more and less suitable.
admission to the Seminar is free of charge, registration is required at: http://goo.gl/iDEU1p
a detailed programme of the seminar is enclosed.