Reviews Future of Food: Journal on Food, Agriculture and Society, 7(2) The Water-Food-Energy Nexus: Power, Politics and Justice A Review by Saniya Ramzan (original) (raw)
Related papers
Nexus approaches to global sustainable development
Nature Sustainability, 2018
With global population projected to exceed nine billion and per capita buying power expected to more than double by 2050, global challenges such as reducing food insecurity, water scarcity and fossil energy use, as well as improving human health and protecting the environment, are increasingly pressing and deeply interconnected 1. Major threats, such as climate change and its likely social, political and economic consequences compound the challenges and add further interlinkages 2. To address global challenges and threats, the United Nations has set 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030, including the provision of sufficient food, energy and water for all 3. But taking the SDG agenda seriously, and operationalizing it on the ground, is far from straightforward. Achieving the SDGs requires all relevant stakeholders to work together and manage the synergies and trade-offs among different management or governance sectors (for example, food, health, water and energy) 4. Although focused expertise and management remain important, traditional 'silo' approaches by specialized institutions and agencies alone cannot effectively address the linked challenges. Consider, for example, the Aral Sea. River water that had flowed into the Aral Sea was diverted to create irrigated desert croplands but also led to a substantial loss of a productive fishery as the lake dried and shrank to a tenth of its original size 5. These major impacts were avoidable. Well-made canals and efficient irrigation could have allowed agriculture to flourish while protecting the lake's biodiversity so that it provided a sustainable fishery 6. New integrated approaches and tools are needed to address the challenges posed by multiple and often conflicting human needs and demands, and to achieve the SDGs successfully. Numerous approaches have been developed to help address these issues, including the concepts of natural capital and ecosystem services 7,8 , quan-tification of environmental footprints 9 and planetary boundaries 10 , integrated water resource management and 'soft path' approaches to improve water use efficiency 11 , multifunctional landscapes 12 and integrated ecosystem management 13. Each of these concepts has multiple dimensions and is valuable for addressing some of the SDGs, and they can be extended to address synergies and trade-offs among sectors 14. The nexus concept builds on many of these approaches by emphasizing the importance of understanding connections, syn-ergies and trade-offs. The word nexus (from the Latin nectare, to connect 15) has long been used in philosophy, cell biology and economics , to refer to approaches that address the linkages between multiple distinct entities 16. Nexus terminology was first used in the natural resource realm in 1983 under the Food-Energy Nexus Programme, which sought integrated solutions to food and energy scarcity 16. Since then, it has been applied most frequently to studying connections among food, water and energy, sometimes with the addition of issues like biodiversity protection and human health, or within specific framings such as responding to climate change. Although the term can be overused 17,18 , we argue it is valuable to avoid the natural tendency to retreat into intellectual and institutional silos. Compared with previous integrated concepts, there has been a stronger demand for operationalization and solution-orientation by resource managers, policy makers and other stakeholders. With broad interest and impetus, there is an opportunity for co-development of actionable knowledge from nexus assessments for problem solving such as simultaneously achieving multiple SDGs (Table 1). Cross-sectoral integration is a major issue for both nexus approaches and SDGs. Many global challenges, though interconnected, have been addressed singly, at times reducing one problem while exacerbating others. Nexus approaches simultaneously examine interactions among multiple sectors. Recent quantitative studies have revealed that nexus approaches can uncover synergies and detect trade-offs among sectors. If well implemented, nexus approaches have the potential to reduce negative surprises and promote integrated planning, management and governance. However, application and implementation of nexus approaches are in their infancy. No studies have explicitly quantified the contributions of nexus approaches to progress toward meeting the Sustainable Development Goals. To further implement nexus approaches and realize their potential, we propose a systematic procedure and provide perspectives on future directions. These include expanding nexus frameworks that consider interactions among more sectors, across scales, between
Sustainable development as the ultimate target of adopting a nexus approach to resources management
2020
Resource productivity and sustainable development: Challenges and limitations The United Nations' Agenda for Sustainable Development underlines 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with 169 targets. The lack of holistic knowledge on the interdependency between the SDGs and an interpretation of cause-and-effect relationships that connect the SDGs enormously challenges national policymakers that must implement that are in charge of implementing the 2030 agenda at the national level and achieving the goals across environmental, economic, and social dimensions (Griggs et al. 2017; Dörgo et al. 2018). The international scientific community started to measure the trade-offs and synergies between SDGs. For this exercise, it proved helpful to make use of the concept of the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus, which showed that when addressing challenges like water, energy and food security, integrated approaches to resources management across these sectors should be used and dependent resources considered equally (Hoff 2011). The WEF nexus concept is now starting to be implemented and is recognised as an essential tool for achieving and monitoring progress towards SDGs (Bleischwitz et al. 2018; Hülsmann & Ardakanian 2018). Nevertheless, the WEF is still challenged by a few limitations, in particular concerning comprehensive coverage of the interlinkages between sectors and resources (Albrecht et al. 2018). Besides, nexus assessments are only starting to address all dimensions of sustainability, including the environmental aspect, one primary reason being that ecosystem services (WEF-E) are hardly reflected in nexus tools (Hülsmann et al. 2019). This chapter aims to highlight the necessity of including innovative tools in the assessment of the WEF nexus approach to adopt resources management to achieve Sustainable development. To effectively counteract the potential trade-offs across SDGs, holistic ecosystem management and sustainable practices are required to increase resource productivity. Sector-oriented resource management often neglects the potential impacts (trade-offs and synergies
Sustainability
There is a growing interest in the literature on the theme of the water–energy–food nexus, as there is growing recognition that sectors that share natural resources have interdependent and interconnected systems. Despite the widespread popularity of nexus thinking, it still lacks standardized procedures and methodologies to assist in its development. Therefore, this paper proposes, from a literature review, a systematic procedure to assist in the development of management models based on nexus thinking. To this end, 304 papers were analyzed using the following criteria: nexus concept, type of approach, geographic scale, elements in the nexus system, application context, and types of assessment methods and tools. The results of the review served as the basis for determining the procedure, which consisted of four steps: (a) understanding nexus thinking, (b) identification of composing variables, (c) evaluation (diagnosis and prognosis), and (d) decision-making. In addition to the stan...
Routledge Handbook of the Resource Nexus
Routledge eBooks, 2017
Demand for natural resources has grown rapidly for decades, and is expected to continue growing. These trends lead to repercussions, risks, and threats for humans and ecosystems at different scales. The challenges of sustainable resource management and governance are on numerous agendas, ranging from the G7 and G20 summits to UNEP's International Resource Panel, World Economic Forum, SDG implementation, and a growing community of international scholars. Research highlights the importance of accounting for the interdependencies of resource use and sustainability goals such as eliminating hunger, mitigating climate change, and expanding energy access. There is a need to understand interdependencies and the feasibility of more integrated approaches. Debate is often framed in terms of a "nexus" between water, energy, and food (sometimes including other resources). 1 The main aim of this handbook is to come to grips with what the nexus 2 is about, provide a reference textbook with an overview, and a survey on emerging and cutting-edge research, and application of the concept. This handbook enables readers to understand (Part I), measure (Part II), assess and model (Part III), compare political economies (Part IV), learn from applications (Part V), and upscale solutions (Part VI). The handbook's six parts and 32 chapters are carefully organized around these aims. As a whole, the handbook seeks to combine analytical rigor with attempts to be transformativei.e. shaping transformations towards sustainabilityin realms of research and knowledge-making, as well as practice and implementation.
The nexus approach to water–energy–food security: an option for adaptation to climate change
Developing countries face a difficult challenge in meeting the growing demands for food, water, and energy, which is further compounded by climate change. Effective adaptation to change requires the efficient use of land, water, energy, and other vital resources, and coordinated efforts to minimize trade-offs and maximize synergies. However, as in many developing countries, the policy process in South Asia generally follows a sectoral approach that does not take into account the interconnections and interdependence among the three sectors. Although the concept of a water–energy–food nexus is gaining currency, and adaptation to climate change has become an urgent need, little effort has been made so far to understand the linkages between the nexus perspective and adaptation to climate change. Using the Hindu Kush Himalayan region as an example, this article seeks to increase understanding of the interlinkages in the water, energy, and food nexus, explains why it is important to consider this nexus in the context of adaptation responses, and argues that focusing on trade-offs and synergies using a nexus approach could facilitate greater climate change adaptation and help ensure food, water, and energy security by enhancing resource use efficiency and encouraging greater policy coherence. It concludes that a nexus-based adaption approach – which integrates a nexus perspective into climate change adaptation plans and an adaptation perspective into development plans – is crucial for effective adaptation. The article provides a conceptual framework for considering the nexus approach in relation to climate change adaptation, discusses the potential synergies, trade-offs, and offers a broader framework for making adaptation responses more effective. Policy relevance This article draws attention to the importance of the interlinkages in the water, energy, and food nexus, and the implications for sustainable development and adaptation. The potential synergies and complementarities among the sectors should be used to guide formulation of effective adaptation options. The issues highlight the need for a shift in policy approaches from a sectoral focus, which can result in competing and counterproductive actions, to an integrated approach with policy coherence among the sectors that uses knowledge of the interlinkages to maximize gain, optimize trade-offs, and avoid negative impacts.
Sustainable Water Resources Management, 2022
The twenty-first century is witnessing an explosion in global population, environmental changes, agricultural land disintegration, hunger, and geopolitical instabilities. It is difficult to manage these conditions or standardize improvement systems without thinking of the three main elements or subsystems that are necessary for any meaningful development-namely water (W), energy (E), and food (F). These key elements form what is globally agreed upon as the "WEF Nexus." While considering them, one should think about the other key factors that influence WEF Nexus, including population's growth, impacts of environmental changes (including climate change), moderation and adaptation regimes to climate change and climate resilience, loss of biodiversity, and sustainable nature. Together, the WEF Nexus subsystems represent a framework to ensure environmental protection that should be seen as an ethical and socioeconomic obligation. Issues, such as protection of water resources, and strategies and management tools or mechanisms for the use of water assets and agricultural innovations under the obligations of sustainable use, are investigated in this paper. Attention is paid to the relationship between water and food (WF Nexus) or water for food security in various world regions, including the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, Central Asia countries and the Caucasus, China, Africa, and Canada. This paper also presents analyses of a great number of up-to-date publications regarding the "Nexus" perspective and its applications and limitations. This paper suggests that the Nexus' approach, in its different concepts (WEF, WE, WF and EF), can promote sustainable development and improve the quality of life of communities, while preserving natural, human, and social capital, addressing sustainability challenges, and protecting natural resources and the environment for long-term use.
Exploring nexus policy insights for water-energy-food resilient communities
Sustainability Nexus Forum , 2024
This paper provides a non-exhaustive overview of the main policies of the European Green Deal from the perspective of the water, energy and food Nexus, seeking for correlations, developments, actions and commandments that are intended to fulfil the prognoses designed by the Agreement., It covers the main public policies being implemented in the fields of water, energy and food in order to address any interlinkages among the policies already applied under a Nexus approach. The paper also points out some considerations over the European Union's legal framework into the Nexus for water-related challenges' perspectives. The goal is to facilitate the collaboration with stakeholders to gain deeper insights into how the interconnected relationship between water, energy, and food promotes policy alignment in the realms of these resources, facilitating Europe's shift towards a circular and eco-friendly economy.
Frontiers in Water
Rapid population growth along with increased rates of economic growth around the globe are placing valuable natural resources, water in particular, under unprecedented stress; this in turn drives the pursuit of innovative tools to support integrated Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus management. This paper presents a framework for the integrated management of the WEF nexus, which brings together four separate models that address the less well-examined socio-anthropological aspects of the nexus. The proposed framework provides insight into the human element as part of the wider ecosystem in terms of socio-cultural and economic activities, the laws and policies that govern these activities, as well as their potential socio-economic impacts and consequences. This paper outlines each individual model, before going on to present a conceptual framework for the integration of the various models for the purpose of supporting more robust decision-making. The framework, which is grounded in system...
Governance and Management of the Nexus: Structures and Institutional Capacities
Change and Adaptation in Socio-Ecological Systems, 2015
globally, demanding higher consumption of energy resources; water is being overused or contaminated through both energy and food production schemes; and climate change is further pushing the planet towards environmental tipping points. Moreover, the linkages between water systems, food production, and energy systems are intertwined, which has resulted in scientific and political action to define and refine how we are addressing this nexus. Governance of this nexus is a key concern, and given the challenges and increasing attention aimed at nexus-based problems, what model for management and governance will be most efficient and equitable in each respective context? If anything is certain it is that paradigms representing segmented, rigid policies benefitting socially elite groups must be usurped and replaced by more interdependent, flexible, and equitable systems of governance and management. Sectors must cross-reference the respective needs and demands of multiple resources users, overcome tradeoffs and social barriers, and respond and adapt to new barriers. And networks must reorganize to better support more marginalized sectors such as the environment. This chapter lays out the challenges to governance in the WE -F nexus and provides concrete tools and recommendations for how to address these constraints.