Food and water: Securing vital resources

Access to water and food is critical to societal stability and is a key national and global security issue. The impact of water and food insecurity, compounded by climate change, migration and conflict, can have a destabilising affect, triggering wider crises and transcending national boundaries.  

At UNGA 79, the Spanish government, Community Jameel, Chatham House, Almar Water Solutions and the MIT Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS) are bringing together policy makers, academics and the defence sector on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly 79 to discuss the levers that link water stress and food insecurity to global instability, with a specific focus on international trade and security.

The discussion will showcase the work that the Spanish government is undertaking to preserve its own water resources and its strategy internationally. The event will also remarks from feature remarks from the CEO of Almar Water Solutions - a division of Abdul Latif Jameel Energy, insights from Chatham House's research as part of the UK-funded Fair Water Footprints Partnership on tackling global trade-related water risks, as well as a preview of the soon-to-be released data from the Jameel Index for Food trade and Vulnerability - an MIT platform on the implications of climate change on the trade of food.