Thematic Tracks

• Feb 7, 2014 | 1145 - 1345 hours
• Promoting Energy Efficiency in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) (In partnership with SDC)
  (Venue: Jehangir, Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi) Agenda |
  
  The MSME (micro, small and medium enterprise) sector plays a vital role in most industrialized and emerging economies. For example, MSMEs account for 99.5% of enterprises, 63% of employment and 54% of value addition in the industrial sector in Germany. In India, MSMEs contribute to 45% of manufacturing output, 40% of exports, and is the second largest employer after agriculture employing more than 80 million people. Hence, MSMEs help to catalyze the growth and development of a country's economy by mobilizing local capital, entrepreneurship and skills.
  
  In case of India, most of the MSME activities are geographically clustered. Within a cluster, there is a great deal of similarity in the level of technology, the operating practices, which means that the potential to develop standard solutions is large. There are several energy intensive MSME industrial sub-sectors such as foundry, forging, brick, glass and ceramics, textiles, paper, chemicals and so on. In these energy intensive sectors, the energy cost accounts for a major share of the operating cost. A large number of MSMEs in energy intensive sub-sectors employ inefficient conventional equipment/technology and operating practices leading to high consumption of fossil fuels and emissions of GHG (greenhouse gases). Adoption of energy efficient technologies and renewable energy in these units will substantially help in reducing fuel consumption and GHG emissions as well as increase their profitability and competitiveness. Over the last two decades, stakeholders (government, bilateral and multilateral agencies and financial institutions) have followed different approaches for promoting uptake of energy efficiency/low carbon technologies in MSMEs. These can be broadly classified into four approaches.
  
  Promoting demonstration and dissemination of cleaner technologies at the cluster level
  A method employed for propagating clean technological solutions among MSMEs is to showcase cleaner technologies through development and demonstration of customized solutions. There has been little innovation (research and development) on traditional processes used in MSMEs, nor are they studied in technical institutes and engineering colleges. MSMEs, in general, do not have the inherent technical capacity to undertake research activities that would help them improve their energy and environmental performance. This approach therefore focuses on developing tailor-made RDD&D (research, development, demonstration and diffusion) programmes for them. Through that it contributes towards increasing the capabilities of the stakeholders (entrepreneurs, supervisors, operators and local service providers) as a whole. A related approach has been to introduce best practices to save energy in small measures as a strategy for cluster upgradation intervention. Examples of this approach can be seen in the programmes supported by multilateral agencies with focus on cleaner production assistance, programmes of bilateral agencies in highly energy intensive MSMEs and by the government in its national development plans.
  
  Capacity building and awareness creation
  Another approach is to focus on widely disseminating energy efficiency (EE)/renewable energy (RE) technologies through awareness and capacity building programs both at the cluster and unit levels. Strengthening the knowledge of entrepreneurs and local service providers (LSPs) on proven EE/RE technologies will accelerate their uptake. The approach has shown that for building the skills of supervisors and operators, MSMEs require hand-holding and customised training programs on best operating practices (BOP). These capacity building programs need to be conducted at the unit level as MSMEs are reluctant to nominate their staff for cluster-level training programs. MSMEs often even do not maintain proper records of energy consumption at the equipment level. The lack of energy data monitoring with SMEs often leads to uninformed decision making among them, a factor which is often exploited by vendors and technology suppliers. This approach therefore often also undertakes efforts to collect and analyze energy consumption at the equipment level in order to identify BOP and developing energy consumption benchmarks for MSMEs. Most of the government programs and initiatives of multilateral/bilateral agencies have awareness and capacity building as a focus theme. For example, large initiatives with a focus on developing the capacities of MSME stakeholders – BMOs (business membership organisations), bankers, BDS (business development services) – have been undertaken.
  
  Financing schemes to promote adoption of cleaner technologies
  Another approach is to make available financing schemes for cleaner technology investments that combine the relatively high capital investments needed with an attractive payback period. Promotional schemes put in place by governmental institutions for financing investments in new/improved technology by MSME entrepreneurs have often cover part of the initial required outlay. A few banks have developed schemes that provide loans at reduced interest rates, some of which are part of the lines of credit supported by bilateral financial institutions.
  
  Policy instruments for energy efficiency
  An effective deployment of policy measures in the form of regulatory, economic and persuasive instruments together with judicial intervention have been an another approach for promoting adoption and deployment of energy efficient technologies in MSMEs.
  
  Key questions
  Past efforts using different approaches provides insights/experience in promoting energy efficiency in MSMEs and they also bring out reflection on challenges and opportunities that exist in the sector. Despite success of certain approaches, the experience shows that there is a need to develop and replicate them on a much larger scale for other energy intensive processes used in the MSME sector. It is indisputable that there is still a huge untapped potential for adoption energy efficient technologies and is also well articulated in the 12th Five Year Plan of the Government of India. Recognising the potential as well as the challenges, the central question for discussion in this thematic track is strategies needed for scaling-up energy efficiency in MSMEs.
  
  Therefore, the key questions are:
  » Which approaches (or a combination of them) has worked best under which circumstances?
  » What more can be done to upscale energy efficiency in MSMEs?
  » What kind of combinded approaches (RDD&D, financing, policy/regulatory and capacity/awareness building) can be forged to promote adoption/diffusion of cleaner/low carbon/energy efficient technologies in MSME sector?
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• How to Steer the Indian Innovation System towards Sustainability? (In partnership with AFD)
  (Venue: Mumtaz, Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi)
  
  In the framework of the editorial collaboration (A Planet for Life) existing since more than five years between AFD, TERI and IDDRI, a Track will be organised during Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (6–8 February) to discuss about the issues raised by the edition 2014 of the book in the Indian context. The objective of this discussion is to gather academics, entrepreneurs, policy–makers and international cooperation professionals on a topic of main interest that shapes current international debates, with the idea of finding ways of working together,
  
  This year, the book concentrates on the link between innovation and sustainable development, in coordination with the theme of the DSDS 2014 "Attaining Food, Water and Energy Security for All". In what seems to become a global interest for the question, TERI-AFD–IDDRI's initiative is echoed by an important number of other initiatives around the world that promote the role of innovation in shaping sustainable futures, for example, the priorities of the post–2015 UN Development Agenda, which sets science, technology and innovation as the main entry point in the global partnership for development beyond 2015, forums like African Forum – 100 innovations for sustainable development launched by the French government in Paris last November, etc.
  
  India has made an incredible breakthrough in the globalized economy of innovation. Over the last few years innovation has been highly promoted: the announcement of a decade of innovations (2010–2020), the initiation of a new Science, Technology and Innovation Policy in 2013, an increased allocation of $28 billion for science and technology in the 12th Five Year Plan and the creation of 50 centres of excellence. However, it faces many challenges, including: (1) strong sectoral and geographical concentration of innovation which excludes significant territories and sectors (especially rural territories and agriculture) (2) public innovation policies that, as in most BRICS nations, have mainly benefited multinational corporations that outsource but ultimately invest little in the country's innovation system, with few knock–on effects on the local industrial fabric (3) public policies that are overly focused on R&D (notably through a very generous tax policy), rather than considering the ecosystem of innovation in its entirety; and (4) an innovation system that has not significantly moved into green tech development. Moreover, despite its ambitious National Climate Plan and the massive development of renewables, India's reliance on coal will continue to increase until 2030. How can the Indian national innovation system be turned towards sustainability? What are the incentives that should be created for encouraging entrepreneurs to invest in attaining the challenges of food, energy and water security for all? To what extent frugal innovation models can represent opportunities for India?
  
  The issue now is to precise the modalities of operationalization of national policies, regional initiatives and international frameworks. In this regard, the experts of AFD, TERI and IDDRI have decided to focus the theme of the track on a concrete case study: India, and its ongoing and renewed efforts to steer its national innovation system towards sustainability.
  Agenda | Read more
• Special Interactive Session: How can legislators help tackle climate change? (In partnership with GLOBE International) (by invitation only)
• Water and Food Security (In partnership with UNDP)
  (Venue: Roshanara Hall, Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi) Agenda |
  
  The water track event during Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS) will focus on the water resource use and allocation in the agricultural sector, keeping in view the challenges associated with food security in the developing nations. The discussions will identify the key challenges in judicious use of water for food security and specifically deliberate on regional disparities in crop-water productivities as well as the trade dimensions of food and water security.
  
  Agriculture requires large quantities of water for irrigation. Water scarcity and stiff competition for water resource among different sectors have resulted in reduced water availability for irrigation. Hence, production of food, fiber, fuel and other industrial products with decreased water availability is a major challenge for both rain fed and irrigated agriculture. To overcome this challenge, improvement in water use efficiency (WUE) must be ensured.
  
  Water being a state subject, the primary responsible for the planning, implementation, funding and management of water resources development falls on the Irrigation and Water Resources Department of respective States. The Inter-State Water Disputes Act of 1956 provides a framework for the resolution of possible conflicts. The Central Government is responsible for developing guidelines and policy for all the states as well as water management in the union territories. The three main institutions involved in water resources management are the Ministry of Water Resources, Planning Commission, and Ministry of Agriculture. India's National Water Policy emphasizes the need for river basin based planning of water use. Water allocation priority has been given to drinking water, followed by irrigation, hydropower, navigation and industrial or other uses. The National Water Policy clearly recognizes the issue of wastage and over-exploitation of water resources across sectors including agriculture.
  
  Food is a basic need, and food security is always an important issue worldwide. WUE is widely used as a metric for evaluating success of water management policy, analyzing the water saving performance of irrigation systems, and comparing different irrigation systems. The various ways for enhancing WUE in irrigated agriculture are to increase the output per unit of water (engineering, agronomic and management aspects), reduce losses of water to unusable sinks and reduce water degradation (environmental aspects), and reallocate water to higher priority uses (societal aspects). Specific examples of achieving WUE can be : Agronomic Approaches for crop management to enhance moisture conservation or to reduces water evaporation like crop residues, conservation tillage, plant spacing, etc.; Engineering Approaches like irrigation systems design to reduce application losses and/or improve distribution uniformity, furrow irrigation, pressurized irrigation etc.; Management Approaches like demand-based irrigation scheduling, participatory irrigation management, multi-use of water, and Institutional Approaches like participation in an irrigation district (or scheme) operation and maintenance, water pricing, demonstration plots, farmer' organizations etc.
  
  India could adopt best available technologies developed by countries like New Zealand, Australia or Israel for enhancing WUE in irrigation. New Zealand has developed a complete package for their irrigation industry, aiming to establish and encourage uptake of industry standards by the service industry. Alongside, they have also developed comprehensive training packages and information resources for irrigators to help improve their performance. Similarly, Australia has been able to manage efficient irrigation systems by minimizing loss of water in the system through runoff and deep percolation and by adoption of drip and sprinkler irrigation as well as correctly scheduling irrigation events. The sub-surface drip irrigation (SDI) system as well as irrigation scheduling and fertigation scheduling of Israel are some of the best models to adopt for efficient utilization of water resources.
  
  Future policy decisions to address the management of water resources in agriculture will be influenced by many diverse drivers. In developing countries like India, crop management, technology, climate variability, and energy costs for pumping water are particularly important. That is why sustainable management of water resources in agriculture requires a multidisciplinary approach that incorporates many disciplines of study to move towards more efficient management and use of water. In general, a comprehensive approach to resolving the inefficiencies of water use and the institutional reform processes that will govern them require inputs from policymakers, scientists, engineers, and farmers and the track event will provide the right platform for taking the discussions forward.
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• Feb 7, 2014 | 1700 - 1900 hours
• Role of Renewable Energy in Enhancing Energy Security in Developing Countries (In partnership with The UK Government) (Venue: Jehangir, Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi, India) Agenda |
  
  The rising price of coal, gas and oil in international market has led to greater discussions on energy security. Energy security means availability, affordability, and continuity of energy supplies for a country and can be analysed by evaluating energy imports, diversity of supplies, import security and energy costs. Energy security is directly linked to the economic growth, and in order to support economic growth and energy demand, nations need to diversify energy supplies by increasing import partners and expanding domestic production such as renewable energy sources. One way of defining energy security is by delineating different types of risks. The concept can be classified into two parts: long-term energy security – which is mainly linked to timely investments to supply energy in line with economic developments and environmental needs and Short-term energy security which focuses on the ability of the energy system to react promptly to sudden changes in the supply–demand balance. Moreover, the concept of energy security has expanded over the decades and now it has many dimensions such as energy access, import dependence, and geopolitical risks, among others.
  
  The current energy security system was created in response to the 1973 Arab oil embargo to ensure coordination among the industrialized countries in the event of a disruption in supply, encourage collaboration on energy policies, avoid bruising scrambles for supplies, and deter any future use of an "oil weapon" by exporters.
  
  Developing countries' energy needs will continue to grow in the future to foster economic as well as social development, with a resultant increase in import of fuels. As mentioned earlier, many of the risks associated with such integration into global markets can be alleviated with increased domestic production in the form of renewable energy. Also the past several years have highlighted the need to expand the concept of energy security into two critical dimensions: the recognition of the globalization of the energy security system, which can be achieved especially by engaging China and India, and the acknowledgment of the fact that the entire energy supply chain needs to be protected.
  
  Other aspects reflecting energy security such as power blackouts as well as chronic shortages of electric power have raised worries about the reliability of electricity supply systems. The vulnerabilities also include threats of terrorism, political turmoil, armed conflict, piracy and natural disasters.
  
  Renewable energy has high potential, but at a global level it has been sparsely tapped so far. For instance, in case of India wind energy could soon supply 5 GW annually to fight chronic power shortages in the country (Global Wind Energy Council, 2012). Up to 89 GW of wind power could be installed by 2020, up from current 18 GW. This would additionally attract around $16.5 billion of annual investment to the sector, create 179,000 new jobs and save 179 tons of CO₂ annually. Further, wind is already cost–competitive with heavily subsidized fossil fuel based energy in several Indian states, and this will get cheaper over time. Also the recent Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission with a target of 20 GW by 2020 is a key institutional innovation for expanding solar energy in the country.
  
  The role of renewable energy can be assessed against the critical energy security dimensions (Vivoda, 2010). Renewables enhance diversification (by fuel type, source); enhance domestic electricity production and reduce fuel import requirements and transport requirements; are not affected by geopolitical instability; improve access to energy; are modular and relatively easy to set up; are widely (though unevenly) distributed and their use for electricity generation can minimise both transmission losses and costs when they are located close to the demand load of end–users; have zero fuel cost over the life of the system (except plantation based biomass energy), have no associated fuel transportation requirement ; mitigate externalities brought upon by traditional, supply-oriented energy security school of thought (although it is argued that solar energy's land requirement is an externality, land transformation by solar energy power generation is small compared to hydroelectric power generation, and is comparable with coal and nuclear energy power generation when life-cycle transformations are considered (Sukhatme, 2012) etc. Across sectors renewables also provide significant assistance to heating, electricity and transportation.
  
  This discussion will address energy planning at a country level, with a focus on renewable energy's contribution. While making long term plans for energy security, has there been sufficient attention given to renewable energy? Is there sufficient role of renewable energy in long term energy demand projections? Even though renewables diversify the energy mix and is a domestically available resource is renewable energy being considered seriously in Integrated Energy Policy?
  
  Bibliography
  
  Central Statistics Office. (2013). Energy Statistics. Retrieved August 23, 2013, from MINISTRY OF STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION: http://mospi.nic.in/mospi_new/upload/Energy_Statistics_2013.pdf
  
  Global Wind Energy Council. (2012). India Wind Energy Outlook. Retrieved August 23, 2013, from Global Wind Energy Council: http://www.gwec.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/India-Wind-Energy-Outlook-2012.pdf
  
  Sukhatme, S. (2012). Is land really a constraint for the utilization of solar energy in India? Current Science, General Articles, 163-168.
  
  Vivoda, V. (2010). Evaluating energy security in the Asia-Pacific region:a novel methodological approach. Energy Policy, 5258-5263.
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• Food, Water, Energy Nexus: Approaches to Securing Nutrition for Vulnerable Populations (In partnership with ADB)
  (Venue: Mumtaz, Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi)
  
  The world is undergoing major physical, social, and economic transitions from earlier periods when populations roughly matched then available resources and is now moving towards new global conditions which require new thinking about the nexus of food, water, energy, and climate. The transitions are happening so fast that the training and mindset of most senior planners and managers have long since been overtaken by these equilibrium shifts; and well–tried solutions to food, water, and energy management of the past are no longer viable. Moreover, since these transitions involve long-term commitments of land, water, and mineral resources they are essentially irreversible. These major transitions are the "urban population transition;" the second is the "nutrition transition;" the third is the "climate transition;" fourth is the "energy transition;" and the fifth is the "agricultural transition."
  
  This thematic track discusses the most salient problems arising from these global transitions that can be ameliorated by specific policy instruments in the short term. Some problems are very important, like climate change, but are not ready to be dealt with by short–term measures; others can, and should be dealt with immediately, like price reform, but are inherently politically too difficult to resolve in the short-run. Nevertheless this pragmatic approach still leaves a range of policy changes that could be implemented in the short–run. These range from policies encouraging "making agriculture a business not a means of subsistence," or promoting "farmers and marketing cooperatives leading to more equitable and efficient food chains," or encouraging land aggregation to take advantage of new technologies," or promoting "commercialization of farming by encouraging Agribiz Parks," in addition to the usual policies of encouraging improving technical efficiencies for agriculture and food production.
  
  The stakes involved in not adapting to the great global transitions are enormous. A misguided choice of technology or policy in the near future could set in train a whole set of circumstances that may be difficult to change later. For example, relying on small farm agriculture to provide for the future food supply of many heavily populated developing countries may lead to exhaustion of water and land resources due to inefficiencies in the production process and food chains under traditional agriculture, may lead to increasing the already huge rural to urban migration, and may lead to food importation strategies to sustain the feeding of large cities which would further impoverish the rural populations. Reducing the inefficiencies in the food chain cannot be considered independent of energy policy and agricultural commodity trade policies. Caring for all of the inter-sectoral policies in the face of a very uncertain climate future is extremely difficult to articulate and harder yet to make future plans. Hence, the motivation for the timeliness of stimulating public discussions of complex science–technology–political issues underlying these big issues, and to help in the way the issues are defined.
  Agenda | Read more
• Roundtable on Way Forward for Sustainable Mining in India
  (Venue: Sheesh Mahal, Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi) Agenda |
  
  India's mining sector has the potential to contribute over Rs. 11 lakh crore to the GDP and to create jobs in excess of 1.5 crore by 2025. That makes for impressive reading. But, looking at the headwinds that the sector has been facing, especially over the last two or three years, the question to be asked is: Will India ever find a way to fully exploit the potential offered by its abundance of natural resources?
  
  Mining, whether for metals, non–metallic minerals, or energy, is a critical source for meeting the daily living needs of seven billion people on Planet Earth. It's often overlooked but the fact of the matter is that without mining it would be impossible to provide the goods, services and infrastructure that enable income generation and creation of new livelihoods to lift a large mass of our population out of poverty.
  
  What has prevented India from developing a world class mining industry? Three reasons:
  
  – Antiquated laws that discourage investment
  – The belief that mining and environmental protection cannot co-exist.
  – A feeling that the known distribution of minerals is what needs to be managed to meet the needs of future generations.
  So, mining metals is required for development and to lift the population out of poverty. The issue is
  
  How do we ensure availability of these natural resources with the least damage to the environment?
  
  The TERI Round-Table on "Mining within the Sustainable Development Framework" on February 7, 2014, in New Delhi, will:
  
  » Critically examine recent mining sector developments in India
  » Examine how these issues have been dealt with internationally
  » Deliberate on the best way forward for India to develop mining practices within the Sustainable Development Framework
  
  The Round-Table will be attended by:
  
  » International mining experts
  » Indian mining leaders
  » Industry Associations like FIMI
  » Bureaucrats and policymakers
  » IBM
  » ICMM
  » ERM
  » NEERI
  » Law Society
  
  Sustainability and Mining
  
  Sustainable development is about "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." It is about pursuing economic growth while preserving, indeed enhancing, our natural resources.
  
  India's rapid economic growth of the past couple of decades, while it has lifted millions out of poverty, has allegedly been accompanied by accelerated depletion of natural resources and rapid deterioration in environment quality. Even after six decades of effort to support development and growth, the dimensions of poverty in India is staggering. India is ranked 127th in the Human Development Index. As such, poverty and destitution affects the well-being of us all.
  
  The fact that rapid economic growth is the only realistic means to lift the poor out of extreme poverty and the fact that most economic activities depend on product and services provided by the ecosystems, necessitates the ushering of a new business paradigm which enables rapid economic growth without compromising the capacity of the ecosystem to sustain, nurture and fuel economic development and human well-being.
  
  Inevitably Mining sector is going to play an increasingly important role in ensuring rapid economic growth in the field of energy feedstock, i.e. oil, natural gas, coal, shale gas, etc. as well as metallic and non-metallic minerals.
  
  The current debate on mining is focused on the socio-environmental sustainability of mining operations. Issues of environmental sustainability are being addressed within a legislative framework already available, and issues relate to addressing and appropriateness of this framework. Issues of social acceptance are more complex and need to be addressed equitably, transparently & democratically; with the full cooperation and participation of the local community.
  
  The TERI Round-Table will discuss the way out of the mining impasse and whether mining within the sustainable development framework is just a utopian concept.
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• Extreme Risks, Vulnerabilities, and Community-Based Adaptation in India (EVA): A Pilot Study (Supported by the Norwegian Embassy) (Venue: Roshanara Hall, Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi) Agenda |
  
  This event is on the preliminary findings from a two-year Indo-Norwegian research and capacity development project titled, 'Extreme Risks, Vulnerabilities and Community–Based Adaptation in India (EVA)'. The findings draw upon empirical data from rural communities in Jalna District in the dryland region of Marathwada of Maharashtra and provide assessments of impacts and vulnerabilities to extreme risks of agriculture and water resources and insights into how rural communities have been able to withstand and respond to the recent drought and changes in monsoon patterns.
  
  One of the main highlights of the event would be the launch of a booklet presenting the scope and activities being undertaken in this project along with some preliminary results. The booklet outlines research approaches utilized to study Community-based Adaptation (CBA). It draws some early lessons about potential avenues for local adaptation strategies to future climate extremes and what considerations and challenges these raise for coordination and convergence in the governance system at local and state levels. It also explains how the government and non-governmental agencies at state and district levels have responded and enabled or constrained community-level initiatives. The booklet is intended for development practitioners, researchers, and policy\-makers interested in climate change and rural development challenges in Maharashtra.
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• Feb 8, 2014 | 1130 - 1330 hours
• Adaptive Development for the Sustainability for Asia Research and Practice (In partnership with Keio University, IGES & TERI University) (Venue: Jehangir, Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi)
  
  TERI/TERI University, in collaboration with IGES: Institute for Global Environmental Strategies and Keio University Graduate School of Media and Governance, will organize a session focusing on the science-policy interface for climate change adaptation and environmental risk reduction during the 14Delhi Sustainable Development Summit on 6-8 February, 2014 at New Delhi.
  
  The aim will be to build interfaces for science, policy, government, industry, and local communities, focusing on energy, food, and water. This will be through experience sharing and prospects for sustainability in Asia-Pacific countries. Participation of institutes of higher education and research is expected. Project-based learning, field-based learning and action research to promote sustainability in the region will be focus of this session. The end goal is to share educational contents based on innovative ideas, pedagogy, methods, tools, and systems as the common platform for young leaders and entrepreneurs.
  
  Academic knowledge becomes a powerful tool only when combined with fieldwork where practical skills can be acquired. In order to respond to real challenges at global as well as local levels, collaboration across disciplinary lines and national boundaries is required. The session will be a multi-layered discussion forum to bring stakeholders from different sectors with a common objective towards sustainability in Asia-Pacific countries in particular and the entire world in general. This will be a meeting place for like-minded academic institutions and research organizations. For businesses, this will be the entry point to a search for collaboration with an academic layer. For governments, this will serve as a source different viewpoints. For local communities, this is the place where innovative leaders for climate change adaptation and environmental risk reduction can be found.
  Agenda | Read more
• Key Lessons from CDKN-START Research on Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation in South Asia (In partnership with CDKN & START) (Venue: Mumtaz Hall, Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi) Agenda |
  
  1. Background
  
  Recognizing the high exposure of South Asia countries to climate change risks and the growing threats from natural disasters, the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) is leading an innovative programme of research, technical assistance and knowledge management to support regional countries in upgrading risk management skills and planning capacities. A strategic priority for enabling this ambition is to improve the harmonisation and integration of disaster risk management, climate change adaptation, and development policy. Understanding the barriers to achieving such integration, and identifying solutions to the existing challenges, is therefore a priority focus in CDKN supported research in the region.
  
  It is with the imperative to improve understanding of such critical factors and trends that CDKN and partner START International issued a regional research call in 2012. This programme enables collaborative research in the area of adaptive capacity, climate change, and disaster risk reduction in South Asia under the theme of integrating disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation for resilient development.
  
  Under this broad research theme, the sub-themes specific to this programme are:
  
  1. Institutional arrangements and governance structures that influence the degree of flexibility and sustainability of DRR across varying scales.
  2. Policy innovations that promote convergence of DRR and CCA into policy and practice at varying scales.
  3. The changing nature of development factors, which shape vulnerability to disasters.
  
  Implicit in these sub-themes is the need to understand how recent disasters can serve to inform future decision-making and enhance adaptive capacity. What were important failures and successes, and what needs to change in current policies, institutions, and governance structures to build adaptive capacity for disaster risk management given future climate change?
  
  2. The Learning Forum
  
  Six collaborative research projects are funded under the programme involving researchers from India, Nepal, and Pakistan. Near the end of the grant period, CDKN and START are organizing a three day research Learning Forum that brings together all 6 project teams for knowledge sharing and capacity building for communicating research. The objectives of the Forum are 1) for research grant PIs and others to share, interpret and synthesize research findings; 2) to collaboratively identify further research priorities; and 3) to devise strategies for enhancing communication between science, policy and practice.
  
  The Forum is organized around specific issues that emerge from the supported projects' investigations as they relate to the research themes in the South Asian context. The forum also features targeted training sessions such as preparation of communication materials for scientific and non–scientific audiences and/or a "write-shop" exercise aimed at building participants' manuscript preparation and proposal writing skills.
  
  An important output of the Forum will be a paper (or papers) that synthesize Forum discussions and priority recommendations across the research projects.
  
  3. Participation in the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit
  
  An integral part of the Learning Forum involves engagement with policy makers and other stakeholders who will benefit from the knowledge gained from the six research projects. These interactions support the movement of knowledge gained to informed action on disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. Participation in the DSDS provides an entry point for reaching the policy makers and other stakeholders that can be informed by the results, outcomes, and recommendations of the research projects. In addition, the co-investigators of the research projects can receive feedback on how their research can be communicated and synthesized in a useful way to support such decision making.
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• High Level Dialogue on Energy, Water and Food Security (In partnership with Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd.)
  (Venue: Sheesh Mahal, Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi)
  
  The High Level Dialogue during the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS) will focus on enhancing water use efficiency, keeping in view the challenges associated with sustainable use of natural resources, and energy and food security in the developing nations in general and India in particular. The discussions will identify the challenges and opportunities in achieving energy, water and food security and specifically deliberate on regional disparities in crop-water productivity as well as efficiency.
  
  Water plays an important role in energy security of a country due to its use in production of electricity, mining and refining fuel for vital uses. Similarly, energy plays a key role in equitable and efficient distribution of water. Water resources are facing increasing stress in the face of the growing population, urbanisation and the ever increasing demand for energy and food. Water, energy and food are inextricably linked and water scarcity would destabilize the balance. With increasing complexities of peaking demand, inefficient use and added risks due to climate change, the prospective water availability scenario is set to be the greatest challenge of the 21st century.
  
  Water for energy currently amounts to about 8% of global water withdrawals. Food production and supply chain is responsible for around 30% of total global energy demand. Food production is the largest user of water at the global level, responsible for 80–90% of consumptive blue water use. In 2050, with 9.2 billion people sharing the planet, it is expected that there will be a 70% increase in agricultural demand for food and 40% energy demand increase. Yet by 2030, the world will confront water supply shortage of approximately 40%.
  
  Addressing the current and future challenges of food security is largely dependent on improving the agricultural water productivity as well as using new and improved technologies to increase yields, utilize inputs more efficiently and diversify to more sustainable and higher value cropping patterns. There is a need to adopt a more holistic approach in addressing the emerging challenges taking into consideration the technical, social and economic aspects of the above issues. This would necessitate comprehensive research to be carried out on the themes of water use efficiency at the farm level, different water conservation and regeneration practices along with more efficient farm system practices. In order to achieve this goal, TERI, in association with Jain Irrigations Systems Ltd.is setting up a Resource Centre on Water Use Efficiency with a focus on enhancing water use efficiency.
  
  Sustainable management of water resources in agriculture and all other sectors requires a multidisciplinary approach that incorporates many disciplines of study to move towards more efficient management and use of water. In general, a comprehensive approach to resolving the inefficiencies of water use and the institutional reform processes that will govern them require inputs from policymakers, scientists, engineers, farmers and civil society institutions. This high level dialogue will provide the right platform for taking the discussions forward.
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• First TERI-ICCT lecture: Transportation Should Never Be Addressed in Isolation!
  (Venue: Roshanara, Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi)
  
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  Agenda

DSDS 2014 Thematic Track Partners