Conference on Balancing Technological and Institutional Solutions within Food-Energy-Water Systems

Washington State University, Pullman WA

Investigators

Abstract

Rapid human development has placed increasing stress on water, energy and agricultural resources. This growing stress has strengthened interdependencies between these sectors and intensified management complexity. A deeper understanding of the integrated nature of food-energy-water (FEW) systems has led to an increased awareness of how technological and institutional changes, directed at increasing productivity or efficiency in one system, can impact the economic, political and environmental security of the whole FEW system. The introduction of inexpensive pumping technology, for example, can lead to short-term gains in agricultural productivity but may quickly deplete groundwater resources, especially in the absence of strong governance of groundwater withdrawals, and undermine the security of the whole system. FEW management issues also emerge from the complexity of managing the system to address multiple interrelated and competing needs. Appropriate application of both technological and institutional solutions to FEW system challenges is critical to the successful management of each sector and across the system as a whole. FEW system managers must know when and how technological innovations need to be balanced with appropriate institutional change and vice versa. However, the relationships between technological and institutional approaches to addressing FEW system challenges and the ramifications of solution implementation across all sectors are poorly understood. Washington State University will host a three day conference to examine technological and institutional innovation within FEW system contexts and identify specific knowledge gaps requiring further scientific study. This workshop will move beyond understanding only the physical interdependencies within FEW systems; instead it will seek to 1) identify factors driving both technological and institutional innovations and their adoption, within and across FEW systems, and 2) characterize the implications of these interactions for policy and broader institutional design. Participants will be drawn from academia, industry, and government and will represent a diversity of disciplines, professions, and areas of FEW expertise. The diversity of experts in this workshop will be one of its primary strengths, fostering a synthesis of knowledge by creating an environment where specialized perspectives and insights from individuals can be integrated to better understand the couplings between technology and institutions across FEW systems in general. To facilitate such an endeavor, best practices learned from the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis and other successful interdisciplinary synthesis efforts will be employed.