Review of water-energy-food Nexus tools to improve the Nexus modelling approach for integrated policy making

Kaddoura, Saeed; Khatib, Sameh El

doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2017.07.007

Cited by 186 publications

(82 citation statements)

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“…While a vast number of WEF nexus frameworks have emerged within less than a decade, agreement on key ingredients of this socioecological system has not been achieved (Albrecht et al, ; Allan et al, ; Allouche et al, ; Villamayor‐Tomas et al, ). In this respect, low consensus on methods (Kaddoura & El Khatib, ), conflicting interests (Fox & Sneddon, ; Lebel & Lebel, ), and scientific uncertainty make the WEF nexus a paradigmatic case for sustainability science (Boyd et al, ; Cash et al, ; Hurlbert & Gupta, ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Participatory Modeling Updates Expectations forIndividuals and Groups, Catalyzing BehaviorChange and Collective Action inWater‐Energy‐Food NexusGovernance

et al. 2019

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Participatory modeling is a potentially high-impact approach for catalyzing fundamental sustainability transformations. We test if participation in a group system dynamics modeling exercise increases participants' agency through a novel method to evaluate potential behavioral change using expectation measures. A water-energy-food nexus-a functionally interdependent but underconceptualized system with low consensus and high scientific uncertainty-was mapped, and its evolution simulated by 46 participants in three interventions in a region undergoing hydropower infrastructure development in Northeastern Cambodia. Participants' system-related expectations were measured before and after the interventions. Our results suggest that participants became significantly more optimistic about their individual agency to increase agricultural and fishing income and, interestingly, less likely to participate in local government development planning procedures. Findings also reveal how some uncertainties for multiple variables were reduced within and across the groups. Such converging expectations suggest that participatory modeling could contribute to making collective solutions and institutionalized agreements more likely. This research contributes to innovation in sustainability because it unpacks some underlying mechanics of how participatory processes can lead to new adaptive capacities, shared perspectives, and collective actions. Plain Language SummaryOur research contributes to understanding actionable knowledge for sustainability using a before-after intervention with fishing and farming community representatives in a situation of conflicting water, energy, food, and livelihoods priorities in rural Cambodia. We explain why reducing uncertainty and building consensus on action through participatory research could potentially catalyze new behavior that promotes sustainability and test how this happens in our intervention. The result is a new and much needed evaluation framework and method for behavioral change outcomes in sustainability interventions.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Participatory Modeling Updates Expectations forIndividuals and Groups, Catalyzing BehaviorChange and Collective Action inWater‐Energy‐Food NexusGovernance

et al. 2019

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“…For example, integrated indices could be developed paralleling indices that have been used in single systems such as the Wastewater Reuse Effectiveness Index (WREI) (Endo et al, 2015;Kurian, 2017). Such indices as well as new modeling tools being developed in the FEWS space (Daher and Mohtar, 2015;Kaddoura and El Khatib, 2017) could be instrumental in communicating complex synergies and tradeoffs between FEW system components to the public and decision makers.…”

Section: Creating Actionable Informationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Innovating at the food, water, and energy interface

Helmstedt

Stokes-Draut

Larsen

et al. 2018

Journal of Environmental Management

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Food, energy, and water (FEW) systems are inexorably linked. Earth's changing climate and increasing competition for finite land resources are creating and amplifying challenges at the FEW nexus. Managing FEW systems to mitigate these negative impacts and stresses is a pressing policy issue. The FEW interface is often managed as three independent systems, missing disruptive opportunities for streamlined integrated management. We contend that existing technologies can be reframed and emerging technologies can be harnessed for integrated FEW management, changing the way that each resource system operates within the broader system. We discuss solutions to three main challenges to integrating FEW system management: resolving spatiotemporal disconnections over multiple scales; closing resource loops; and creating actionable information. Sustainable resource management is critical for humanity, as well as for functioning trade systems and ecological health. Embracing integrated management in FEW systems would enable policy makers and managers to more efficiently and effectively secure critical resource systems in the face of global change.

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“…Some researchers indicate that comprehensive thinking should be used to solve the problems and challenges between FEW and to serve the sustainable development of the social economy and resource environment [14,[18][19][20]. Some scientists compare the functions and deficiencies of the existing nexus modeling methods and aim to enable decision makers to determine the tools that best suit their research needs and goals [6,[21][22][23][24][25]. In quantitative studies, in the aspect of research scale, Willis et al develop a global Pardee RAND (nonprofit corporation in America at https://www.rand.org/) food-energy-water security index (FEW Index) to provide information for development agencies and others studying food, energy, and water resources [9].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatiotemporal Distribution and the Driving Force of the Food-Energy-Water Nexus Index in Zhangye, Northwest China

et al. 2020

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For more efficient development planning, food-energy-water (FEW) nexus indicators should be provided with higher spatial and temporal resolutions. This paper takes Zhangye, a typical oasis city in Northwest China's arid region, as an example, and uses the unweighted, geometric mean method to calculate a standardized, quantitative, and transparent estimation of the FEW nexus for each county. The role of influencing factors is also analyzed. The results showed that (1) the coordination of the FEW nexus in each county gradually increased from 2005 to 2015. Spatially, the distribution of the FEW nexus showed a tendency to be higher in the southwestern region and lower in the northeastern region. (2) Food security and water security were weaker than energy security. Specifically, there were more limitations to food accessibility, water availability, and water accessibility than for other indexes. (3) The FEW indexes are positively associated with per capita GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and negatively correlated with the average evaporation and altitude of each county (district). Decision makers should concentrate on combining industrial advantages, developing water-efficient ecological agriculture, and improving production quality to increase market competitiveness and should actively explore the international market.Since the Bonn conference of 2011 proposed the food-energy-water (FEW) nexus approach to increase efficiency, reduce trade-offs, build synergies, and improve governance across sectors, the FEW nexus have increasingly drawn worldwide attention [7,13,14]. From that point forward, research on FEW nexus has been reported in great detail. In particular, since 2016, an increasing number of papers related to FEW nexus have been published. There are both qualitative and quantitative studies. In terms of qualitative research, some scholars propose that water, energy, and food interact and have intricate interrelationships [15][16][17]. Some researchers indicate that comprehensive thinking should be used to solve the problems and challenges between FEW and to serve the sustainable development of the social economy and resource environment [14,[18][19][20]. Some scientists compare the functions and deficiencies of the existing nexus modeling methods and aim to enable decision makers to determine the tools that best suit their research needs and goals [6,[21][22][23][24][25]. In quantitative studies, in the aspect of research scale, Willis et al. develop a global Pardee RAND (nonprofit corporation in America at https://www.rand.org/) food-energy-water security index (FEW Index) to provide information for development agencies and others studying food, energy, and water resources [9]. Some scientists try to manage the water-energy-food nexus at the regional scale [11,26]. Some researchers quantify the water-energy-food nexus at the watershed scale [7,8,10,[27][28][29]. Li et al., Bai et al., and Wang et al. analyzed China's water-energy-food nexus at the national scale [2,30,31]. Gondhalekar and Ramsauer operationalize...

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Review of water-energy-food Nexus tools to improve the Nexus modelling approach for integrated policy making

Cited by 186 publications

References 1 publication

Participatory Modeling Updates Expectations forIndividuals and Groups, Catalyzing BehaviorChange and Collective Action inWater‐Energy‐Food NexusGovernance

Participatory Modeling Updates Expectations forIndividuals and Groups, Catalyzing BehaviorChange and Collective Action inWater‐Energy‐Food NexusGovernance

Innovating at the food, water, and energy interface

Spatiotemporal Distribution and the Driving Force of the Food-Energy-Water Nexus Index in Zhangye, Northwest China

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