Extended information about the cross-cutting project: Integrated Solutions for Water, Energy and Land (ISWEL)

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1 Extended information about the cross-cutting project: Integrated Solutions for Water, Energy and Land (ISWEL) 1. What was the process followed to establish the initiative? (one paragraph) Including when was the project initiated, where was the idea tabled, what was the process for project approval? The motivation for establishing the initiative was the need for an integrative approach to the nexus challenge, namely water, energy and land-use perspectives, in the context of the overall development such as technology and urbanization trends. Subsequently, in a meeting with the CEO of Global Environment Facility (GEF) and IIASA Directorate the idea was forged that this kind of scientific assessment can support GEF in implementing its funding cycle. The specific need that was identified, was to provide an integrative framing to individual projects funded by GEF. This led to the inclusion of two regional case studies and the analyses of nexus hot spots. The GEF follows a two-step project approval process where the GEF, the implementing agency (in this case UNIDO) and external advisors or stakeholders are involved in an iterative process to refine the proposal. The first step, the approval of the Project Identification Form (PIF) and Project Preparation Grant (PPG) for this project was obtained by GEF in February Following this approval, the partnership between GEF, UNIDO and IIASA was launched in March 2015 ( The PPG Grant allowed for a more detailed proposal development, including a feasibility analysis and a scoping workshop which was held in October The request for project endorsement by GEF was submitted in February 2016 and was followed by several review rounds both from GEF and UNIDO. The final approval by GEF was obtained in June 2016 and the project execution agreement with UNIDO was signed in October In parallel, the IIASA internal approvals and discussions at Council were conducted. 2. Who prepared the proposal and project conceptually? The project was co-designed by IIASA programs involved in close collaboration with the funding agencies, UNIDO and GEF, who provided comments in several review rounds in both steps of the approval process (see above). In addition, input on the proposal was sought in a scoping meeting involving external experts, stakeholders and representatives from the funding agencies. 3. Who leads the project currently? Including the name and program the person is appointed in ISWEL is led by the GEF-IIASA-UNIDO partnership. GEF is funding organization, UNIDO is the implementation agency and IIASA is responsible for executing the project as well as using internal resources to support its development. Within IIASA, four different programs are involved in the project execution: Energy (ENE), Water (WAT), Ecosystem Services and Management (ESM) and Transitions to New Technologies (TNT). The management structure set for ISWEL at IIASA includes: a project coordinator (Simon Langan, WAT), an executive management board, (composed of two representatives from each program i.e. Keywan Riahi and Volker Krey (ENE), Michael Obersteiner and Petr Havlik (ESM), Simon Langan and Yoshi Wada (WAT), Nebojsa Nakicenovic and Arnulf Grubler (TNT), and a full time dedicated project officer (Barbara Willaarts, Sustainability Nexus Cluster). Project coordinator and project officer manage the day to day issues, and once per month they meet with the executive team to report back and agree on strategic decisions. 4. Which programs contribute to the initiative and how?

2 Name of IIASA Number of staff involved Program in the initiative How they contribute? * WAT 8 6 staff members are contributing to research activities related to modelling and data analysis, and 2 others support the stakeholder process ENE 11 All staff are contributing to the research activities related to modelling and data analysis ESM 10 All staff members are contributing to the research activities related to modelling and data analysis. TNT 4 All staff supports research activities related to data analysis Sustainability Nexus Cluster 1 Project coordination and management and research activities related to stakeholder engagement *See further details below 5. What is the SQ of each current activities, outputs etc. Summary paragraph on the activities currently underway and planned for the remainder of the year. Detail of the status quo of the project is given in the reports submitted to UNIDO and GEF at inception (November 2016) and progress reports (February 2017). Both of these are included in the annex to this brief. The project is structured around four main components (see Figure 1). Ongoing efforts are focussed on: Method and Tool development (Component 1), Global Hotspot Analysis (Component 2), Design and organization of the stakeholder engagement (Component 3) and Dissemination of preliminary project results in scientific events (Component 3). - Progress in method and tool development are related with the development of new models (Global Hydrological Model Community Water Model), Hydro-Economic Model GLOBECHO ) and the update and upgrade of existing models (Global Energy-Economic Model MESSAGE and GLOBAL Agro-Economic model GLOBIOM). Efforts are also being put into the development of the integrated modelling platform ixmodeling Platform. - Progress in the assessment and analysis of global hotspot, including the preparation of global spatially explicit input data sources for water, energy and land, and of socioeconomic variables (urban and rural population and GDP). Preliminary results on these hotspots (mismatch between resource availability and use) will be available for October Progress in engagement refers to the development of a stakeholder strategy and the organization of the first regional meeting in each basin in collaboration with local partners in ZAMCOM (Zambezi River Basin Commission) and the Indus Forum). After initial discussions and anintroductory meeting, the first full consultation meeting in the Zambezi is planned for early September 2017 and November 2017 in the Indus basin. - Dissemination activities planned for this year include the attendance of ISWEL team members to at least five different scientific conferences (Vienna Energy Forum, May 2017, Japan Geosciences Union, May, Makuhari Messe; 4th Water Conference, September 2017, Waterloo; Impacts World, October 2017, Potsdam; American Geosciences Union fall meeting, December, New Orleans)

3 Figure 1. ISWEL timeline and summary of main meetings and activities planned for 2017 and beyond 6. Who are the primary partners outside IIASA (research and policy partners)? (to be listed in the written input) Name of partner Type of organisation (/Policy/Other) Other The Global Environment Facility UNIDO Other Zambezi River Commission Other Indus Forum David Grey (University of Oxford) Leena Srivastava (TERI University) Youba Sokona (International Institute for Environment and development) Financial contribution (Yes/No) YES 7. What are targets, plans etc. for the next 3 years? ISWEL overall goal is to develop an integrated framework to identify evidence-based policy and investment strategies that will inform decision making across the water, energy, and land-use sectors. This framework will be used to explore the challenges and opportunities different regions of the world face to jointly meet water, land and energy demands under different development pathways and provide a portfolio of cost-effective solutions. This assessment will be carried out at the global level and include regional case studies consisting of selected transboundary basins, which are facing multiple development and environmental challenges: the Zambezi and the Indus basins. Project started in November 2016 and will run until November The project is structured around four main components and the planned outcomes and outputs are:

4 Component 1. Development of a systems analysis framework for assessing solutions to nexus challenges Stakeholder-informed scenario capturing uncertainties in future trends and drivers, globally and in the two basins Outcome 1.1. Development of scenarios describing uncertainties in future trends and drivers Nexus modeling tool developed and presented with preliminary results: Tool will illuminate trade-offs among sectors and explore solutions for achieving multiple development objectives At least two stakeholder-informed regional change pathways per basin At least eight stakeholder informed solution and policy scenarios One stakeholder consultation in each basin Outcome 1.2 Method and tool development A completed nexus modelling tool Two presentations of the nexus modelling tool and preliminary assumptions and results (one in each basin) Component 2. Exploring nexus solutions at global and regional scales Outcome 2.1 Regional assessment of nexus challenges and solutions: Understanding of sectorial trade-offs, synergies, and solutions for meeting nexus challenges improved among regional stakeholders Tangible strategies for improving regional decision-making across sectors and borders Joint GEF-IIASA-UNIDO Summary for Policymakers (SPM) identified for two selected basins Outcome 2.2 Global nexus hotspots and transformation pathways: multi-sectorial vulnerability hotspots under different socioeconomic and hydro-climatic scenarios identified Global assessment of multi-sectorial hotspots Documentation and communication of key insights from global assessment in and transformation pathways publications and SPM; Inclusion of knowledge and data gaps in SPM Component 3. Capacity Building and Knowledge Management: Building the foundation for a knowledge and capacity network on nexus decision support Outcome 3.1 A foundation of a regional and global knowledge and capacity network established Establishment of connections and interactions among stakeholders from a wide array of institutions, sectors and countries; including expert advisory meetings Three total stakeholder meetings in each basin (includes consultation on study design) (~one per year) Number of informal expert advisory meetings conducted Outcome 3.2 Capacity building: Regional capacity for nexus assessment and solution identification improved Two capacity building workshops per basin, held concurrently with stakeholder meetings Two capacity building workshops per basin Exchange of scientists/experts with partner academic institutions, ministries and/or multilateral organizations At least one scientist/expert per basin Outcome 3.3 Knowledge dissemination: Infrastructure established to disseminate findings of the project Participation in high-level panels, conferences, and events Online database for sharing of scenario results Two experience notes shared via IW:Learn Joint GEF-IIASA-UNIDO Summary for policymakers Scientific publications and white papers Presentations at a minimum of three high level events per year Online database accessible and populated with scenario results One experience note per basincompleted for the IW: Learn platform Joint GEF-IIASA-UNIDO Summary for Policymakers (SPM) At least eight scientific publications and/or white papers submitted 8. What is the process for and timeline for reviewing the activities of the project? Include a short synopsis of any annual reviewing mechanisms, as well as external reviews. Project monitoring and evaluation in ISWEL comprises both internal and external review processes. Internal tracking of project milestones and accomplishments is done by IIASA through three different mechanism: 1) Executive Team meetings (monthly); 2) Activity meetings (every six weeks); and 3) Project meetings (every six months). External monitoring and evaluation includes: 1) Annual progress reporting to UNIDO and GEF, and 2) Annual meetings with the Project Steering Committee (PSC). The PSC is composed by at least one representative of the three partner organizations (GEF, IIASA, UNIDO) and three well known experts (David Grey, Leena Srivastava and Youba Sokona) who have a role in commenting on the policy relevance, budgetary and scientific content of the project. Elements of this are shown in component 4, Project Monitoring and Evaluation in Figure 1 in this report (above).

5 9. What criteria will be used to determine whether the project continues or is modified/terminated (if applicable). Are these formally documented? The main criterion for successful completion will be if ISWEL achieves its goals and planned outputs within the project lifetime. Project progress (including possible deviations) is monitored through annual reports and meetings with external funder (GEF). The GEF respond if they are satisfied with progress. The annual meetings with the PSC are also used to obtain advice on project performance and any possible deviations. Other criteria used to evaluate the performance of ISWEL include the IIASA Annual Review conducted by the Scientific Advisory Committee. Please attach the following to the response 1. Initial project proposal used to conceptualise and initiative the project (Project Proposal Attachment 1) 2. Are other project documents available? (Scoping Study, Attachment 2) 3. Any project annual plans, timelines etc. (GANTT chart, Attachment 3) 4. Annual reports (Inception Report and Progress Report 1, Attachment 4 and 5) 5. Project budget for 2016, 2017 and 2018 (if available).