Abstract
This chapter addresses the resource nexus, a concept that has recently become quite popular. It is often framed as a water-energy-food nexus and discussed at international organisations, within infrastructure planning units and among actors on the ground concerned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. The chapter seeks to clarify a common understanding of what the concept entails and proposes an augmented five-node nexus, which includes materials and land. We define the nexus as a set of context-specific interlinkages between critical natural resources used as inputs into socio-economic systems of provision. Furthermore, we discuss how the nexus fits into the narratives of resource efficiency and eco-innovation. The chapter argues in favour of the complementary strengths of both and gives an outlook on governance options.
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Notes
- 1.
See also the Future Earth Knowledge Action Network on the nexus at: http://futureearth.org/future-earth-water-energy-food-nexus; the work of the UK nexus network at: http://www.thenexusnetwork.org; or one of the origins: http://www.water-energy-food.org
- 2.
See e.g. the excellent work done by the EU’s eco-innovation observatory at: www.eco-innovation.eu
- 3.
- 4.
See the excellent work by the Resource Governance Institute at: http://www.resourcegovernance.org/, albeit it is yet weak at nexus eco-innovations.
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Acknowledgements
This contribution acknowledges funding from the EU project Inno4SD (www.inno4sd.net, grant agreement no 641974) and benefited from discussions with Will McDowall.
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Bleischwitz, R., Miedzinski, M. (2018). The Resource Nexus and Resource Efficiency: What a Nexus Perspective Adds to the Story. In: Lehmann, H. (eds) Factor X. Eco-Efficiency in Industry and Science, vol 32. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50079-9_12
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