Resources gaps facing the MENA region, including access to water, food, energy, nutrition and health care, are expected to increase with demographic and climate changes. These highly interlinked primary resources carry high risks and vulnerability. Understanding these risks and vulnerabilities through quantifying them to better understand the complex system of systems they represent is crucial and requires multi-disciplinary work that includes the technologies, science, policies, health, communication, and economics, at local process and system level scales.
VisionTo make AUB a regional hub for innovations in water-energy-food-health nexus and interconnectedness in renewable resources in arid and semiarid regions.
Goals- Increase collaborations among various faculties/schools and research and policy units on campus on issues related to primary renewable resources.
- Increase the knowledge level of the Water-Energy-Food-Health Nexus system.
- Develop a critical mass of inter-disciplinary teams across faculties at AUB that allow them to be more competitive for large scale external funding.
- Expand research, education, and capacity development opportunities at AREC under WEFRAH.
- Expand regional and international cooperation.
Key Research Questions that WEFRAH answers- How to increase the resilience of the human and earth systems in arid and semi-arid environments?
- How to understand and better manage their complex system of systems of primary resources?
WEFRAH intends to build capacity for AUB in this crucial area. Seed funding is expected to create capacity for sustained external funding from research, foundation, development, and private sectors.
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