Confronting scarcity. Managing water, energy and land for inclusive and sustainable growth

Providing universal access to water and energy and ensuring food security remain fundamental development challenges. Some 0.9bn people lack access to safe water, close to 1bnn are undernourished and 1.5bn have no source of electricity. At then same time the context in which resources need to be managed is changing rapidly. The scarcity of natural resources on which the world depends has been a matter of heated debate since the club of Rome published its first report, the limits to Growth, in 1972.

Now, 40 years later, there is incontrovertible evidence that some planetary boundaries are being reached or transgressed. Carbon in the atmosphere is the most evident, but there are also emerging problems with regard to fossil-based energy, water, the oceans and land. This sets a new context for the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), specifically to halve hunger (MDG 1) and ensure environmental sustainability (MDG 7).

This 3rd European Report on Development (ERD) focuses on water, energy and land (WEL), three crucial resources for development. It examines the constraints on each, the interrelationships between them and then considers how they can be managed together to promote growth in developing countries that is both socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable. The Report urges institutional change and a more integrated approach to tackling the world's challenges.

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Supported by the European Commission and seven Member States (Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom), the European Report on Development (ERD) is the main output of the "Mobilising European Research for Development Policies" initiative. This flagship report is published since 2009, with the aim of stimulating debate and research on topics of major relevance for development, as well as to enhance the European perspective in the international development arena.

The first three editions of the ERD focused respectively on "Overcoming fragility in Africa: forging a new European approach" (ERD 2009), "Social protection for inclusive development: a new perspective in EU co-operation with Africa" (ERD 2010) and "Confronting scarcity: Managing water, energy and land for inclusive and sustainable growth" (ERD 2011/2012).

The fourth edition, "Post-2015: Global Action for an Inclusive and Sustainable Future" was launched on 9 April 2013.

Website: European Report on Development (ERD) http://www.erd-report.eu/erd/index.html

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