Applying the food–energy–water nexus concept at the local scale

Huntington, Henry P.; Schmidt, Jennifer I.; Loring, Philip A.; Whitney, Erin; Aggarwal, Srijan; Byrd, Amanda; Dev, Subhabrata; Dotson, Aaron; Huang, Daisy; Johnson, Barbara; Karenzi, Justus; Penn, Henry; Salmon, AlexAnna; Sambor, Daniel J.; Schnabel, William; Wies, Richard; Wilber, Michelle

doi:10.1038/s41893-021-00719-1

Cited by 70 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Moreover, given the strong interrelations among WEF sectors, resource management without coordination may lead to unintended consequences. Naturally, a 'nexus' thinking has been widely accepted and increasingly valued by researchers (Hoff 2011, Scanlon et al 2017, Liu et al 2017, Huntington et al 2021.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamics of water-energy-food nexus interactions with climate change and policy options

Elshorbagy

Alam

2022

Environ. Res. Commun.

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Understanding the dynamics of water-energy-food (WEF) nexus interactions with climate change and human intervention helps inform policymaking. This study demonstrates the WEF nexus behavior under ensembles of climate change, transboundary inflows, and policy options, and evaluates the overall nexus performance using a previously developed system dynamics-based WEF nexus model—WEF-Sask. The climate scenarios include a baseline (1986-2014) and near-future climate projections (2021-2050). The approach is demonstrated through the case study of Saskatchewan, Canada. Results show that rising temperature with increased rainfall likely maintains reliable food and feed production. The climate scenarios characterized by a combination of moderate temperature increase and slightly less rainfall or higher temperature increase with slightly higher rainfall are easier to adapt to by irrigation expansion. However, such expansion uses a large amount of water resulting in reduced hydropower production. In contrast, higher temperature, combined with less rainfall, such as SSP370 (2.4 ℃, -6 mm), is difficult to adapt to by irrigation expansion. Renewable energy expansion, the most effective climate change mitigation option in Saskatchewan, leads to the best nexus performance during 2021-2050, reducing total water demand, groundwater demand, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and potentially increasing water available for food production. In this study, we recommend and use food and power production targets and provide an approach to assessing the impacts of hydroclimate and policy options on the WEF nexus, along with suggestions for adapting the agriculture and energy sectors to climate change.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamics of water-energy-food nexus interactions with climate change and policy options

Elshorbagy

Alam

2022

Environ. Res. Commun.

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“…The direct and indirect connections among water, energy, and food systems have given rise to the concept of the waterenergy-food (WEF) nexus (Hoff, 2011). Water, energy, and food are fundamental elements of sustainability and are included as three of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (Huntington et al, 2021). To accomplish a global agenda of sustainable development, it is needed to identify and act on synergies between the resources and the other SDGs while mediating trade-offs (Hopkins et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bayesian belief networks for the analysis of the controversial role of hydropower development in the antagonistic agrofood-fisheries nexus: A potential approach supporting sustainable development in the Guayas river basin (Ecuador)

Cock

Forio

Domínguez-Granda

et al. 2022

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Increasing anthropogenic activities are affecting water quality and related ecosystem services in river basins worldwide. There is a need to identify and act on synergies between the water-energy-food (WEF) elements and the other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) while mediating trade-offs. The Guayas river basin (GRB), one of the major watersheds in Ecuador, is being affected by increasing urbanization, agricultural and industrial activities. In this perspective paper, we indicate the WEF interactions in the GRB linked to the SDGs. A major challenge is the geographical distance between pressures and impacts, for which environmental and agricultural governance are key to support the needed change towards sustainable development. In particular, the realization of measures to reduce the pollutant input in upstream systems will need both legislative and financial means to solve downstream water quality problems. A Bayesian belief network (BBN) framework was developed in order to support sustainable decision making in the GRB. The discussed concepts can be applied to other river basins worldwide since, in many basins, very similar food production challenges need to be addressed.

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“…The extreme weather conditions, limited infrastructure, and relative isolation of remote locations in Alaska pose unique challenges to the reliability and sustainability of FEW systems. Within these communities, past experiences and current observations have shown that energy is a key driver of FEW security and sustainability [15,16]. For instance, in November 2014, a generator failure in one community in southwest Alaska resulted in residents' freezers thawing and significant losses of harvested food [17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Energy Distribution Modeling for Assessment and Optimal Distribution of Sustainable Energy for On-Grid Food, Energy, and Water Systems in Remote Microgrids

et al. 2021

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Food, energy, and water (FEW) are essential for human health and economic development. FEW systems are inextricably interlinked, yet individualized and variable. Consequently, an accurate assessment must include all available and proposed FEW components and their interconnections and consider scale, location, and scope. Remote Alaska locations are examples of isolated communities with limited infrastructure, accessibility, and extreme climate conditions. The resulting challenges for FEW reliability and sustainability create opportunities to obtain practical insights that may apply to other remote communities facing similar challenges. By creating energy distribution models (EDMs), a methodology is proposed, and a tool is developed to measure the impacts of renewable energy (RE) on small FEW systems connected to the microgrids of several Alaska communities. Observing the community FEW systems through an energy lens, three indices are used to measure FEW security: Energy–Water (EW), Energy–Food (EF), and Sustainable Energy (SE). The results indicate the impacts of RE on FEW infrastructure systems are highly seasonal, primarily because of the natural intermittence and seasonality of renewable resources. Overall, there is a large potential for RE integration to increase FEW security as well as a need for additional analysis and methods to further improve the resiliency of FEW systems in remote communities.

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Applying the food–energy–water nexus concept at the local scale

Cited by 70 publications

References 44 publications

Dynamics of water-energy-food nexus interactions with climate change and policy options

Dynamics of water-energy-food nexus interactions with climate change and policy options

Bayesian belief networks for the analysis of the controversial role of hydropower development in the antagonistic agrofood-fisheries nexus: A potential approach supporting sustainable development in the Guayas river basin (Ecuador)

Energy Distribution Modeling for Assessment and Optimal Distribution of Sustainable Energy for On-Grid Food, Energy, and Water Systems in Remote Microgrids

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