This paper focuses on a collection of methods that can be used to analyze the water energy food wef nexus. Nexus thinking is a new way of thinking that recognises the crucial interdependence of water, energy and food a relationship that forms the core of the environment nexus project. Global projections indicate that demand for freshwater, energy and food will increase significantly over. With demand for the worlds three most precious resources only set to grow, a new approach must be put into action. In the manufacturing sector, energy and water are used to power, cool, and clean machines, mix materials, and in production processes. The first challenge in dealing with the waterenergyfood nexus is to understand it.
Analysis the water food energy nexus is the first step to assess the decision maker in developing and evaluating national strategies that take into account the nexus. It draws on the papers commissioned in this study, the interviews conducted as part of the research. The nexus approach aims to identify tradeoffs and synergies of water, energy, and food systems, internalize social and environmental impacts, and guide development of cross. The main objective of the current research is providing a method for the decision makers to analysis the water food energy nexus of the crop production system at the national level and carrying out a quantitative. An outlook on public institutions in the arab world 5 published by the issam fares institute for public policy and international affairs, american university of beirut. World economic forum 2011, the bonn 2011 nexus conference, the sixth world water forum, and world water week 2012, have urged an integrated approach to food, water, and. The waterenergyfood nexus is about understanding and managing these oftencompeting interests while also ensuring the integrity of ecosystems. Nexus approaches to global sustainable development this paper proposes a systematic procedure to explicitly quantify the contributions of nexus approaches to progress toward meeting the sustainable development goals and provides perspectives on future directions.
The water food energy nexus is central to sustainable development. Food, energy, and water transformative research opportunities in the mathematical and physical sciences the function of federal advisory committees is advisory only. Challenges and opportunities that frames an integrated challenge and opportunity space around the waterenergy nexus for the department and its partners, laying the foundation for future efforts. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the advisory committee. Appropriate legal nexus instruments and frame works for transboundary policy making and decisions. Insights for the business community e nergy, water, and food ewf are connected to the inputs and outputs of every business. The water food energy climate nexus and as a background paper to a major conference on the nexus in bonn 2011 called understanding the nexus. Consider how and where all three are used in the us as events like droughts, oil spills and fluctuating food prices make clear, the us cannot view these systems in isolation. Waterenergy nexus in the peoples republic of china and.
From silos to nexus water security, energy security, and food security are intimately linked. This water food energy nexus looks at the debate on resource scarcity, with new scientific findings that suggested humanity has exceeded the planetary boundaries, threatening its own safety. The water food energy nexus is an approach to consider the interactions between water, food and energy, while taking into account the synergies and tradeoffs that arise from the management of these three resources, and potential areas of conflict. This interconnectivity is illustrated by figure 6, a hybrid. The water, energy and food security nexus page 698 nexus in practice make it happen. Fao 2014, the water energy food nexus a new approach in support of food security and sustainable agriculture, food and agriculture organization of the united nations, pp. The work is overseen by the task force on the waterfoodenergy ecosystem nexus, including at the following meetings. Food and agriculture organization of the united nations. Methodologies for managing the energywaterfood nexus at.
Evaluations of food, energy and water few linkages are rapidly emerging in contemporary nexus studies. Firstly, the conceptual model adopted for the proposed framework is presented. This paper presents a quantitative assessment framework of the water, energy and food wef nexus. The water energy food climate nexus business leaders at the world economic forum annual meeting in 2008 set out a call to action on water, to raise awareness and develop a better understanding of how water is linked to economic growth across a nexus of issues and to make clear the water security challenge we face if a business. Water and food continues to draw international attention as one of the grand challenges of the 21 st century. The water and food nexus report research intelligence. Agriculture is the largest consumer of the worlds freshwater resources, and more than onequarter of the energy used.
Dr hayes is the project manager for the international water security network and is leading a work package investigating the waterenergyfood nexus. This assessment under the unece water convention has parallels with the national policy dialogues process through which a crosssectoral and stakeholder approach is also being implemented. Can nexus thinking alleviate global water, food and. Tools for analyzing the waterfoodenergy ecosystems nexus. This report can be obtained from the issam fares institute for public policy and. Adequate methods are needed to study the connections among food consumption and production, energy and water, and environmental impacts. The food energy water nexus understanding south africas. Water, food and energy nexus challenges 6 impact on energy the food sector currently accounts for around 30% of the worlds total energy consumption. The connection between the systems is known as the water energy food nexus. Discussion on the water, energy and food security nexus, the challenges of meeting future demands and maintaining the services provided by the environment was central to the recent bonn2011. Processes technologies and challenges green chemistry and chemical engineering pdf for free. Can nexus thinking alleviate global water, food and energy pressures. The methods for interdisciplinary research approaches can be used to unify a collection of related variables, visualize the research problem, evaluate the issue, and. This report proposes a way to carry out a waterenergyfood nexus assessment approach in order.
Tools for analyzing the waterfoodenergyecosystems nexus. Challenges in operationalizing the waterenergyfood nexus. A quantitative assessment framework for water, energy and. As an overview, the chapter can only touch on key issues, highlighting certain actors, forces and factors in contemporary africaasian relations. There are numerous ways in which the three strands of water, energy and food overlap. The waterfoodenergy nexus pdf green chemistry, energy.
The energy water food nexus concept should be an integrated part of future policy making and decisions in the energy, water and food sectors. Pdf the water energy food nexus and climate change. Global workshop on the waterfoodenergyecosystems nexus. Marketplace of methodologies and approaches, and their application, pdf pdf spa. The past few years have seen increasing awareness of energywaterfood nexus challenges, as marked by the growth in publications shown in figure 6. Position paper on water, energy, food and ecosystems wefe. Pdf examining the water energy food nexus in jordan. Pdf on oct 1, 2016, mohammad alsaidi and others published water, energy and food nexus in egypt nexus country profile find, read. Integrated scenarios to support analysis of the food. The water, energy and food security nexus according to the food and agriculture organisation of the united nations fao, means that water security, energy security and food security are very much linked to one another, meaning that the actions in any one particular area often can have effects in one or both of the other areas. Towards a practical planning and decisionsupport framework for landscape investment and risk management 4 motives and drivers to integrate wef in the literature, a number of authors emphasize that the worlds food, water and energy resources are already. The energy water food nexus concept should be applied on all levels from local to global. Food and energy are equally dependent upon each other.
The waterenergyfood wef nexus builds on the close linkages between these. Look at the resource scarcity through a water energy food nexus lens. The chemistry connection provides todays scientists with the background information necessary to fully understand the inextricable link between food, energy and water and how this conceptual framework should form the basis for all contemporary research and development in chemistry in particular, and the sciences in. Of all natural resources, energy, water and food are most needed to sustain life on earth. Position paper on water, energy, food and ecosystems wefe nexus and sustainable development goals sdgs 12 2. The proposed approach allows integrated quantitative assessments by considering all the wef intersectoral linkages and the competing demand for wef resources to evaluate future development scenarios. The waterenergyfood nexus reports, articles, research. In particular, they were interested in understanding how energy, water, and food ewf interact in one systemthe so called ewf nexus. Understanding and managing the complex interactions between water, energy and food water, energy and food are essential for human wellbeing, poverty reduction and sustainable development. Since 2008, concerns about the wef nexus have motivated many discussions regarding new approaches for managing water, energy and foodland resources. Demand for all three is increasing, driven by a rising global population, rapid urbanization, changing diets and economic growth. As an important step toward the understanding of the water food energy climate nexus, the world economic forum water initiative helped publish this book, which collects perspectives on the common water challenges we share from government leaders, religious groups, business, nongovernmental organizations, academics, entrepreneurs, financial experts, journalists, trade specialists.
The water and food nexus trends and development of the research landscape. Waterenergyfood nexus sustainable development the united. At its 24th session, the committee on agriculture faos main technical advisory committee approved faos water governance for agriculture and food security programme, specifically mentioning the waterenergyfood nexus. Pdf water, energy and food nexus in egypt nexus country profile. A joint program of stanford woods institute for the environment.
Understanding the waterenergyfood nexus in a warming. Waterenergy nexus in the peoples republic of china and emerging issues was prepared by pradeep perera of east asia department of the asian development bank under the guidance of ashok bhargava, director, energy division, east asia department, adb. This paper demonstrates, from a food consumption perspective, the potential of life cycle thinking in understanding the complex and often hidden linkages between few systems. A new approach in support of food security and sustainable agriculture.
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