7. Research and Development to Bridge the Knowledge Gap

The Arab Region, among the driest regions in the world with less than 1.5 % of the world’s renewable water resources, hosts more than 5 % of the world’s population. It controls about 70 % of the world’s fossil oil reserves. Water security, energy security, and food security can no longer be dealt with in isolation in the Arab Region. It may be the most relevant region to a Water-Energy-Food Nexus approach for development. Research and development on the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus, and the extensive analysis of the water, energy, and food security linkages, is needed to bridge the knowledge gap on their inter-dependencies. Bridging this knowledge gap is essential to assist in policy making related to water, food, and energy planning. This chapter presents some of the research and development results on key policy elements related to the WEF Nexus in the Arab Region. It presents some data and information on some key WEF indicators that could help further research and development on the topic. This chapter considers some of the linkages between water, energy, and food in the Arab Region, addressing research needs for better policy decisions in selecting the appropriate water resource, the appropriate water use, the appropriate water and energy savings measures, and the appropriate food export-import strategies. The WEF nexus is addressed through filling the knowledge gap on the externalities directly or indirectly affecting the WEF security, such as non-conventional water resources, transboundary water resources, blue and green water comparative advantage, as well as food wastage and losses.