The Centre for Sustainable Development at Qatar University (QU) organised a virtual workshop on Food-Energy-Water-Waste (FEWW) nexus, bringing researchers and local stakeholders under one roof to discuss the pressing issues regarding the sustainable use of natural resources in Qatar.
The event provided a platform to showcase current best-practices in food security, waste management, and sustainable use of energy and water across local industries, as well as technological advances which could be implemented to improve the food-energy-water-waste nexus for sustainable development of Qatar. Stakeholders from government, industry, and academia, including the Ministry of Environment and Municipality, Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (Qeeri), Qatar Fertiliser Company (Qafco), Baladna and Suez, all participated in the event.
Prof Ibrahim al-Kaabi, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences said, “Food security, water conservation, renewable energies and waste management are among the most important factors that must be addressed for an integrated and sustainable management of resources. The study of the interconnectedness between them leads to increase the efficiency of their use.”
Prof Ahmad Ayesh, acting director of the Centre for Sustainable Development said, “We were very happy to see the different parties collaborating through this event. We have already started some new initiatives based on the workshop’s outcomes, which will foster more dialogue and collaboration to sustainably address the Food-Energy-Water-Waste Nexus in Qatar.”
This sentiment was also shared by the participants. One of the opening speakers, Mark Velders, technical lead at the Qatar National Food Security Programme, said, “Building sustainable food solutions for Qatar was an ambition we all shared in this workshop. It was an exciting and inspiring experience.”