Nairobi, Kenya — The inaugural CGIAR Science Week welcomed 13,600 participants from over 100 countries, gathering leading experts to explore innovative pathways for building sustainable, resilient, and equitable food systems. Representing the Central European bioeconomy community, Martin Kováč engaged with global leaders, highlighting the region's pivotal expertise in regenerative water and soil management.
In discussions with Mark Smith, Director General of IWMI (a CGIAR institute), Martin Kováč, leader of the expert platform Climate Club, National Trust in Slovakia and member of the BIOEAST Fresh Water-Based Bioeconomy thematic group, emphasized the relevance of Central Europe's pioneering work in the New Water Paradigm and its connection to BIOEAST's Freshwater-Based Bioeconomy Thematic SRIA. As CGIAR intensifies its focus on restoring green water systems to stabilize the global water cycle, synergies with Central European scientific and policy knowledge offer significant potential for collaboration. Notably, IWMI hosts the Secretariat of the Global Commission on the Economics of Water from March 2025.
During his visit, Martin Kováč participated in the panel discussion Building Water-Resilient Food Systems as part of Plenary Session 4 within the Growing Frontiers segment and established contact with representatives of the World Food Programme (WFP) Kenya and UN-Habitat. He appreciated the organized visit to the laboratories of the World Agroforestry Centre (CIFOR-ICRAF, a CGIAR center). His participation underscored the strategic importance of integrating regenerative water-soil-climate management — the WEFE Nexus — into global bioeconomy initiatives, a vision strongly shared by the BIOEAST Freshwater Based Bioeconomy working group and the European Alliance on Regenerative Agriculture (EARA).
Martin Kováč remarked: "This event reaffirmed the need for closer international cooperation to heal ecosystems and climate through local water and soil regeneration, laying the foundation for stable food systems and climate resilience."
All sessions and workshops from CGIAR Science Week are available for further study via the CGIAR YouTube channel: CGIAR YouTube.
