Building trust among stakeholders in the WEPS-NENA project

The project “Water efficiency, productivity and sustainability in the Near East and North Africa region” (WEPS-NENA), funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and implemented by FAO, aims to contribute to transformational change and strategic planning in managing natural resources in eight countries (Algeria, Egypt, Iran [Islamic Republic of], Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia). The project tested the use of an integrated water–food–energy–climate–ecosystem nexus model in Jordan and the Moroccan region of So, which was developed in a collaborative manner by the Stockholm Environment Institute and the Royal University of Stockholm with local stakeholders, including a dialogue process and close interaction for data collection and analysis between model developers and local practitioners. The project succeeded in generating the political will to enable key governmental bodies to engage in the process of shared learning, data sharing and knowledge creation. The project has demonstrated that a WEFE Nexus dialogue is an enabler to build trust among stakeholders, understanding and managing agreements and disagreements, and informing trade-offs, thus limiting the risk of conflicts.

FAO, CIHEAM, PRIMA Foundation and UfM. 2023. Sustainable agrifood systems in the Mediterranean – Levers for transformation. Rome, FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cc8220en

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