IAEA Interactive Lab Debate at the European Development Days 2016

What do food and water insecurity, limited access to healthcare, climate change and land degradation have in common? Nuclear techniques can help address all these priority areas for international action under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The connection between global challenges, sustainable development and nuclear technologies was the focus of an IAEA panel discussion yesterday at the 2016 European Development Days (EDD), marking the first time the IAEA held an event at the forum.

The panel was moderated by Martin Nesirky, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Vienna. The panelists included:

• Mohammed Yassin, Head of the Forestry Research Centre of Morocco's High Commission of Forest and Water and Combatting Desertification;
• Andreas Richter, Director of the University of Vienna's Austrian Polar Research Institute;
• David Osborn, Director of the IAEA's Environment Laboratories; and
• Ana Raffo-Caiado, Director of Division and Programme Support and Coordination at the IAEA's Technical Cooperation Department.

In addition to the Interactive Lab Debate, the IAEA also participated in the EDD Global Village, showcasing three projects conducted through the Agency's Technical Cooperation Programme and its Joint FAO/IAEA Programme on Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture. These projects are Tackling Soil Erosion in Vietnam, Supporting Food Safety Controls in Chile, and Fighting the Zika Outbreak in Latin America and Caribbean Countries Through the Sterile Insect Technique.