Skip to main content

Water-Energy-Food Nexus and Sustainability

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
  • 26 Accesses

Definition

A generally agreed-upon definition of a nexus approach has not yet emerged (Avellan et al. 2017). Conceptually, a nexus describes the linking of multiple resource-use practices and serves to understand interrelations among such practices. In the view of Hoff (2011), the water-energy-food nexus focuses on achieving water, energy, and food security in an emerging green economy. Within that context, the WEF nexus aims to support the respective transition through achieving greater policy coherence and higher resource use efficiency. Through reducing tradeoffs and building synergies, the intentions of the WEF nexus are to increase the security of water, energy, and food, which would result in secure access for all the people (Hoff 2011).

Introduction

In September 2015, the United Nations adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Agenda 2030 which range from ending poverty in the world to gender issues. The 17 goals set as measurable variables comprise 169 concrete...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   849.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD   549.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Allouche J, Middleton C, Gyawal D (2014) Nexus nirvana or nexus nullity? A dynamic approach to security and sustainability in the water-energy-food nexus, STEPS Working Paper 63. STEPS Centre, Brighton. http://steps-centre.org/wp-content/uploads/Water-and-the-Nexus.pdf

  • Avellan T, Roidt M, Emmer A, von Koerber J, Schneider P, Raber W (2017) Making the water-soil-waste Nexus work: framing the boundaries of resource flows. Sustainability 9:1881. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9101881

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beisheim M (2013) Der »Nexus« Wasser-Energie-Nahrung – Wie mit vernetzten Versorgungsrisiken umgehen? (in German; The Water-Energy-Food Nexus – How to deal with linked supply risks), SWP

    Google Scholar 

  • Clay E (2002) Food security: concepts and measurement, paper for FAO expert consultation on trade and food security: conceptualising the linkages Rome, 11–12 July 2002. Published as Chapter 2 of Trade Reforms and Food Security: conceptualising the linkages. FAO, Rome, 2003

    Google Scholar 

  • DONRE An Giang (2017) Landscape survey of an giang (in Vietnamese). unpublished report

    Google Scholar 

  • de Strasser L, Lipponen A, Howells M, Stec S, Bréthaut C (2016) A methodology to assess the water energy food ecosystems nexus in transboundary river basins. Water 8:59. https://doi.org/10.3390/w8020059

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Endo A et al (2015) Methods of the water-energy-food Nexus. Water 7(10):5806–5830

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • European Commission (2012) Confronting scarcity: managing water, energy and land for inclusive and sustainable growth, Brussels 2012. European Report on Development, Brussels

    Google Scholar 

  • Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (1996) Report of the world food summit, 13–17 November 1996. http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/w3548e/w3548e00.htm

  • Gerlak AK, Mukhtarov F (2015) ‘Ways of knowing’ water: integrated water resources management and water security as complementary discourses. Int Environ Agreements: Polit Law Econ 15(3):257–272

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gleick PH (1998) The world’s water 1998–1999: the biennial report on freshwater resources. Island Press, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Gleick PH (2000) The changing water paradigm: a look at the twenty-first century water resources development. Water Int 25(1):127–138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Global Water Partnership GWP (2000) Integrated water resources management. TAC background papers No. 4, Stockholm. ISBN: 91-630-9229-8

    Google Scholar 

  • Heidhues F, Atsain A, Nyangito H, Padilla M, Ghersi G, Le Vallée J (2004) Development strategies and food and nutrition security in Africa: an assessment. 2020 discussion paper No. 38

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoff H (2011) Understanding the Nexus. Background Paper for the Bonn2011 conference: the water, energy and food security Nexus. Stockholm Environment Institute, Stockholm. http://sei-international.org/publications?pid=1977

    Google Scholar 

  • Howarth C, Monasterolo I (2016) Understanding barriers to decision making in the UK energy-food-water nexus: the added value of interdisciplinary approaches’. Environ Sci Pol 61:53–60

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hussey K, Pittock J (2012) The energy–water nexus: managing the links between energy and water for a sustainable future. Ecol Soc 17(1):31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • International Energy Agency (IEA) (2016) World energy outlook 2016 – executive summary, © OECD/IEA, 2016. http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/world-energy-outlook-2016%2D%2D-executive-summary%2D%2D-english-version.html

  • International Energy Agency (IEA) (2017) World energy outlook 2017 – executive summary, © OECD/IEA, 2017. http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/world-energy-outlook-2017%2D%2D-executive-summary%2D%2D-english-version.html

  • Karabulut A et al (2016) Mapping water provisioning services to support the ecosystem–water–food–energy nexus in the Danube river basin. Ecosyst Serv 17:278–292

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kurian M (2017) The water-energy-food Nexus- trade-offs, thresholds and transdisciplinary approaches to sustainable development. J Environ Sci Policy 68:97–106. Elsevier

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lal R (2013) Climate-strategic agriculture and the water-soil-waste nexus. J Plant Nutr Soil Sci 176(4):479–493. https://doi.org/10.1002/jpln.201300189

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lawford R et al (2013) Basin perspectives on the water–energy–food security Nexus. Curr Opin Environ Sustain 5(6):607–616

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leach M, Scoones I, Stirling A (2010) Dynamic sustainabilities: technology, environment, and social justice. Earthscan, Abingdon

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Leck H, Conway D, Bradshaw M, Rees J (2015) Tracing the water-energy-food Nexus: description, theory and practice: tracing the water-energy-food Nexus. Geogr Compass 9(8):445–460

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLellan BC (2017) The minerals-energy Nexus: past, present and future. In: Matsumoto M et al (eds) Sustainability through innovation in product life cycle design, EcoProduction. Springer, Japan, pp 619–631. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0471-1_42

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Obersteiner M et al (2016) Assessing the land resource–food price nexus of the sustainable development goals. Sci Adv 2:e1501499. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1501499

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pérez-Escamilla R (2017) Food security and the 2015–2030 sustainable development goals: from human to planetary health: perspectives and opinions. Curr Dev Nutr 1(7):e000513. https://doi.org/10.3945/cdn.117.000513

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Renn O, Dreyer M, Klinke A, Schweizer P-J (2007) Systemische Risiken: Charakterisierung, Management und Integration in eine aktive Nachhaltigkeitspolitik. In: Beckenbach F et al (eds) Soziale Nachhaltigkeit, Marburg 2007. Jahrbuch Ökologische Ökonomik, Marburg, vol 5. pp 157–188

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider P, Folkens L, Busch M (2018) The teaching-research-practice Nexus as framework for the implementation of sustainability in curricula in higher education. In: Leal Filho W (ed) Implementing sustainability in the curriculum of universities, World sustainability series. Springer, Cham, pp 113–135. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70281-0_8. ISBN: 978-3-319-70280-3 (online first)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik Deutsches Institut für Internationale Politik und Sicherheit. ISSN 1611-6372. Available online: https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/165075/2013_S11_bsh.pdf. Accessed 16 Dec 2017

  • United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (UN-DESA) (2011) World population prospects: the 2010 revision, volume I: comprehensive tables. United Nations, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations Economic Commission for Europe UNECE (2014) UNECE task force on water-food-energy- ecosystems. 2014. Water-food-energy-ecosystems nexus for reconciling different uses in transboundary river basins – UNECE water convention draft methodology

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations Economic Commission for Europe UNECE (2016) Reconciling resource uses in transboundary basins: assessment of the water-food-energy-ecosystems nexus in the Sava River Basin. United Nations, New York/Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) (2017) How close are we to #ZeroHunger? The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2017, http://www.fao.org/state-of-food-security-nutrition/en/

  • United Nations University UNU-FLORES (2015) “The nexus approach to environmental resources’ management,” 2015. [Online]. Available: https://flores.unu.edu/en/research/nexus. Accessed 11 May 2017

  • United Nations University UNU-INWEH (2013) Water security & the global water agenda – a UN-water analytical brief. ISBN: 978-92-808-6038-2

    Google Scholar 

  • UN-Water (2013) UN-water analytical brief on water security and the global water agenda. United Nations University, Hamilton

    Google Scholar 

  • UN-Water (2016) Water and sanitation inter-linkages across the 2030 agenda for sustainable development. UN-Water, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • von Braun J, Mirzabaev A (2016) Nexus scientific research: theory and approach serving sustainable development. In: Dodds F, Bartam J (eds) The water, food, energy and climate nexus: challenges and an agenda for action. Routledge, Abingdon, pp 58–71

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker RV, Beck MB, Hall JW, Dawson RJ, Heidrich O (2014) The energy-water-food nexus: strategic analysis of technologies for transforming the urban metabolism. J Environ Manag 141:104–115

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Economic Forum (2011) Water security: the water-food-energy-climate Nexus. Island Press, Washington, DC/Covelo/London. ISBN-13: 978-1-59726-735-9

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • World Economic Forum (2012) Global risks 2012. An initiative of the risk response network. World Economic Forum, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • World Economic Forum (2018) Global Risks 2018, 13th edn. An Initiative of the Risk Response Network, Geneva. ISBN: 978-1-944835-15-6

    Google Scholar 

  • Yillia PT (2016) Water Energy Food Nexus: ausarbeitung der Möglichkeiten, Herausforderungen und Synergien bei der Umsetzung der Ziele der nachhaltigen Entwicklung (SDG). Österr Wasser Abfallwirtschaft 68(3–4):86–98. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00506-016-0297-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Petra Schneider .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Section Editor information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Schneider, P., Avellan, T., Le Hung, A. (2019). Water-Energy-Food Nexus and Sustainability. In: Leal Filho, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sustainability in Higher Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11352-0_474

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics