Singapore international energy week, 30 october 2014. The food energy water nexus in south africa youtube. Food energy water nsf innovations at the nexus of food. The wef nexus analytics platform does not replace but rather builds upon integrated water resource management, energy e. This waterfoodenergy nexus looks at the debate on resource scarcity, with new scientific findings that suggested humanity has exceeded the planetary boundaries, threatening its own safety. Over the last several years, the waterenergyfood wef nexus has emerged as an increasingly prominent global policy, governance and research agenda. Through a comprehensive search of the literature vetted by industry, government, the energy water food nexus. Pdf the waterenergyfood nexus and the transboundary. Waterenergyfood nexus framework for facilitating multi. D institute of strategic and international studies malaysia roundtable e. The foodenergywater nexus few nexus has emerged as a new way of understanding the interdependencies among food, energy and water systems, and as a new approach to integrating management and governance across sectors biggs et al. Although use of the nexus concept in research has been growing rapidly, little consideration has been afforded to determining how best to implement and assess it in practice endo et al. The water, energy, and food sectors each face their own specific supply risks and corresponding political challenges, but they are also interdependent as part of the water, energy and food security nexus wef nexus.
Enhancing adaptive capacity to complex global challenges christopher a. The current trend of water transmission system to the creation of dmas district metered areas offers great possibilities of nonstructural solutions that use existing data. This example highlights how elements of the nexus, whether food, water or energy security, take on different meanings at different levels of analysis, from the global to the local. Improved water, energy, and food security on a global level can be achieved through a nexus approachan approach that integrates management and governance across sectors and scales. Understanding waterenergyfood interlinkages and managing them holistically is critical to sustainability in the sector.
The emergent competition for water between the food and energy systems is increasingly recognized in the concept of the food energy water nexus. The water energy food nexus and climate change adaptation article pdf available in change and adaptation in socioecological systems 21 january 2015 with 1 reads how we measure. Enable research that will lead to innovative system and technological solutions to critical foodenergywater problems design decision support tools for cyber, social, andor physical systems develop realtime, cyberenabled interfaces and visualizations that improve understanding of the behavior of foodenergywater systems and increase. Hoff, 2011, attempts for a new perspective on problems of non sustainable developments that have supposedly put humanity at the brink of extinction. Apr 01, 2014 the food, energy water nexus is central to the sustainability of south africas future. Pdf the water energy food nexus and climate change. 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.
Of all natural resources, energy, water and food are most needed to sustain life on earth. This report examines the current state of knowledge about the ewf nexus. The waterfoodenergy nexus is emerging as a critical issue in asia and the pacific. Our consumption of food, water and energy directly or. Hoff, 2011, attempts for a new perspective on problems of nonsustainable developments that have supposedly put humanity at the brink of extinction. Food and agriculture organization of the united nations. Water energy food tradeoffs for the matagorda county buescher and kulat the project goal was to build a water energy food nexus based analytical framework to quantify the tradeoffs between the various tenants of the nexus, under multiple scenarios and across different ranges of water consumers in matagorda county. The agricultural sector, for example, consumes 70 percent of all freshwater worldwide. The food energy water nexus few nexus has emerged as a new way of understanding the interdependencies among food, energy and water systems, and as a new approach to integrating management and governance across sectors biggs et al. Feb 20, 20 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. The past few years have seen increasing awareness of energywater food nexus challenges, as marked by the growth in publications shown in figure 6.
The waterenergyfood wef nexus builds on the close linkages. But while some private enterprises in the agrifood sector understand the significance of the nexus and some have already seen competitive advantages in nexusdriven solutions for sustainable crop management, processing, distribution and retailing most do not. The waterenergy nexus is considered as one of the most important multidisciplinary challenges that the global growing water market has to face in the forthcoming years. Once all the major subject themes were identified, an intensive search strategy was framed and query formulation done using permutations and combination for the last 10 years 20052014 for 10 national and international. Field of study 11 water food energy nexus master of science in environmental engineering students of this fos are familiar with the close interactions and competing interests within the water food energy nexus and the need for a better recognition of these issues in decisionmaking. A system dynamics approach to integrated water and energy resources management.
The approach to the energy, water, and food efw nexus normally depends on the perspective of the policymaker. To really benefit from the nexus approach in terms of resource use efficiency it is essential to understand, operationalize and. A comprehensive analysis of water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in energy production will be made, considering the water and carbon footprints of different forms of fuels and electricity and of energy transformation and storage. 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. A system dynamics approach to integrated water and energy. In this waterenergyfood wef nexus, actions in one system, or sector, affect the other two. Scott cullen, executive director of grace communications foundation. New perspectives on the water energy food nexus forum background note water, food and energy security are crucial for sustainable longterm economic growth and human wellbeing and there are strong linkages between all three. 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. Enable research that will lead to innovative system and technological solutions to critical food energy water problems design decision support tools for cyber, social, andor physical systems develop realtime, cyberenabled interfaces and visualizations that improve understanding of the behavior of food energy water systems and increase.
The nexus has been discussed, debated, researched, and advocated widely but the focus is often on the pairings of waterenergy or waterfood or energyfood. The waterfoodenergy nexus has emerged as one of the most important management challenges facing the sustainability agenda. Making governance work for waterenergyfood nexus approaches background food, water and energy systems are inextricably linked. A nexus approach can support the transition to a green economy, which aims, among other things, at resource use efficiency and greater policy coherence. Water, energy, food nexus thinking explained youtube. Policy brief on the food, water and energy interlinkages. Does program offices have addressed relevant aspects of the waterenergy nexus for many years.
The nexus approach highlights the interdependencies between achieving water, energy and food security for human wellbeing, e. The water energy food and ecosystem nexus wefe nexus flagship project addresses. One phd student will focus on the water energy nexus. New perspectives on the waterenergyfood nexus forum background note water, food and energy security are crucial for sustainable longterm economic growth and human wellbeing and there are strong linkages between all three. 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. Waterenergy linkages water and energy are interdependent as they are major consumers of one another. The past few years have seen increasing awareness of energywaterfood nexus challenges, as marked by the growth in publications shown in figure 6. The availability of fresh water is a major driver in food production. Security dhs is responsible to protect the nations diverse and complex critical infrastructure. Insights for the business community to address some of their questions. The waterenergyfoodclimate 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. To really benefit from the nexus approach in terms of resource use efficiency it is essential to understand, operationalize and practice the nexus of all three resources.
Unless all three elements of the system are in balance, communities cannot flourish. The water energy nexus is considered as one of the most important multidisciplinary challenges that the global growing water market has to face in the forthcoming years. Water is expressed in litres, nutritional energy is expressed in calories, and energy is expressed as the number of hours a 20watt bulb can run on an equal amount of energy. The water food energy nexus has emerged as one of the most important management challenges facing the sustainability agenda. Takeaways from the 2015 doe energywater nexus roundtable series. The water, energy and foodsecurity nexus approach, as advanced by the bonn2011 conference 2012a, b. By 2030, the nine billion people living on earth will need 30% more water, 40% more energy and 50% more food to survive. The waterenergyfood nexus food and agriculture organization. The nexus between food and water is made even more complex by the globalization of agriculture and rapid growth in food trade, which results in a massive virtual transfer of water among regions and. The water energyfood wef nexus is a policy and planning approach designed to manage tradeoffs and.
Thus food, water, and energy are inextricably linked and must be considered together as a system. Trends in the development of waterenergyfood nexus methods. New perspectives on the waterenergy food nexus forum background note water, food and energy security are crucial for sustainable longterm economic growth and human wellbeing and there are strong linkages between all three. Activities in one sector may influence or even constrain economic growth in the others. The water energy food wef nexus approach is an expression of tradeoffs, 1 synergies and resource optimization potential that is a function of the relationship between environmental resources, public service delivery and institutional and environmental risks kurian and ardakanian, 2015.
The interdependence of water, energy, and food resources. Water utilities smart solution to improve water energy nexus for water supply systems by jorge helmbrechta, jordi pastorb and carolina moyac. Takeaways from the 2015 doe energywater nexus roundtable series does 2015 energywater nexus roundtable series engaged stakeholders from industry, academia, utilities, state and local governments, national laboratories, and other federal agencies in focused discussions about the energywater nexus. Chamber of commerce foundation corporate citizenship center is hosting the third in a series of roundtables, the energywaterfood nexus. This special issue will provide a platform for presenting the latest research results on the e. The nexus of food, energy and water already more than one billion people lack access to clean drinking water, sufficient food and electricity, and the global population is growing by some 80 million people every year. Water, food and energy are all basic resources underpinning development, not just in terms of poverty alleviation but also more sustained economic growth and social development. Global projections indicate that demand for freshwater, energy and food will increase significantly over. In this context, the waterenergyfood nexus has emerged as a key policy. Interdependencies between food, energy and water systems figure 5. The water system is an energy user mainly through electricity consumption for pumping fresh water, drainage and water table management, desalination, water treatment, and water distribution in farms and cities.
The past few years have seen increasing awareness of energy water food nexus challenges, as marked by the growth in publications shown in figure 6. Global change, grand challenges multiple intersecting factors place pressure on planetary systems on which society and ecosystems depend. 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. Waterenergyfood tradeoffs for the matagorda county buescher and kulat the project goal was to build a waterenergyfood nexus based analytical framework to quantify the tradeoffs between the various tenants of the nexus, under multiple scenarios and across different ranges of water consumers in matagorda county. Through a comprehensive search of the literature vetted by industry, government, the energywaterfood nexus. In addition, governance and climate change can guide the development of innovations and policies in the energy, water and food sectors, hence, are important aspects in the nexus analysis. The waterenergy nexus is integral to two policy priorities for doe.
The nexus regional dialogue programme nrd is a programme funded by the european. The interdependence of water, energy, and food resources in the asia pacific region hezri adnan, ph. The water food energy nexus is emerging as a critical issue in asia and the pacific. The waterenergyfood wef nexus approach is an expression of tradeoffs, 1 synergies and resource optimization potential that is a function of the relationship between environmental resources, public service delivery and institutional and environmental risks kurian and ardakanian, 2015. If it is a water perspective, then food and energy systems are users of the resource see hellegers, et al. Foodenergywater nexus by 2030 30% water 40% energy 50% food source. It is clear that solutions must be found to assure water security, thereby eliminating the immediate and increasing risk to food security, energy security, and economic growth and stability. Us perspective on the waterenergyfood nexus international. One phd student will focus on the waterenergy nexus. The water, energy and food security nexus approach, as advanced by the bonn2011 conference 2012a, b. Considering the energy, water, and food security nexus. The food, energy water nexus is central to the sustainability of south africas future. A case for conserving headwaters in the ekangala grasslands, wwf, 2011.
Nexus thinking considering the waterenergyfood nexu mdpi. The water and food strands of the nexus are inherently linked and have a longstanding record of codependency, resulting in cooperation but it is in the energy strand where the challenges for the uk and the balance for the nexus are going to be under most scrutiny. Water, food and energy are all basic resources underpinning development, not just in terms of poverty alleviation but also. This infographic presents typical values of water and energy consumed in the production of selected food items. This special issue will provide a platform for presenting the latest research results on the e wf nexus issues and identifying gaps remain. The roundtables identify the nexus risks to businesses, and examine why and how leadership from the private sector, in collaboration with key stakeholders, is critical to successfully managing the. The water energy food nexus is a topical subject for research and practice, reflecting the importance of these sectors for humankind and the complexity and magnitude of the challenges they are facing. A new approach in support of food security and sustainable agriculture. The waterenergyfood nexus is about understanding and managing these oftencompeting interests while also ensuring the integrity of ecosystems. Topics for discussion included the need to understand longterm impacts of the nexus on growth.