The Water-Energy-Food Nexus as an Adaptation Strategy for Achieving Sustainable Livelihoods at a Local Level

Sustainable irrigation technologies: a water-energy-food (WEF) nexus perspective towards achieving more crop per drop per joule per hectare

Sustainable agricultural intensification requires irrigation methods and strategies to minimize yield penalties while optimizing water, land and energy use efficiencies. We assessed, from a silo-based and integrated water-energy-food (WEF) nexus perspective, the performance of irrigation technologies in different agro-climatic regions. Secondary to this, we assessed the impact of adopting systematic approaches such as the WEF nexus on improving efficiency in irrigated agriculture through irrigation modernization. The evidence-based perspectives of silo-based performances individually considered the metrics of yield (Y), water use efficiency (WUE), and energy productivity (EP). The WEF nexus approach applied sustainability polygons to integrate the three metrics into a nexus index representing the holistic performance of the irrigation technologies. Silo-based performance in temperate regions suggests net gains for WUE (+1.10 kg m-3) and Y (+6.29 ton ha-1) when transitioning from furrow to sprinkler irrigation, with a net loss in EP (-3.82 ton MJ-1). There is potential for a net loss on EP (-3.33 ton MJ-1) when transitioning from furrow to drip system in temperate regions. The best performance of irrigation technologies in dry regions in water, energy and food silos was achieved by sprinkler, drip and furrow irrigation systems, respectively. Thus, appraising irrigation technologies from a silos perspective promotes individual silos, which renders an unsustainable picture of the performance of irrigation systems. The integrative WEF nexus approach successfully highlighted the trade-offs and synergies in the nexus of water, energy and food in irrigated agriculture. Drip irrigation led all irrigation technologies in WEF nexus performance in dry (21.44 unit2), tropical (23.98 unit2), and temperate regions (47.28 unit2). Overall, the irrigation modernization pathway to drip technology from either furrow or sprinkler systems improves irrigated agriculture's WEF nexus performance in all three regions for more crop per drop per joule per hectare under climate change. This can promote inclusive and sustainable irrigation development within the planetary boundaries.

Securing Land and Water for Food Production through Sustainable Land Reform: A Nexus Planning Perspective

Land and water are vital resources for sustaining rural livelihoods and are critical for rural development as they form the basis of agriculture, the main economic activity for rural communities. Nevertheless, in most developing countries, land and water resources are unevenly distributed due to historical and socio-economic imbalances, hence the need for land reform policies to address these disparities. However, redistributing land without considering the interconnectedness of land and socio-ecological systems can compound existing food and water insecurity challenges. This study used a mixed research method, integrating both quantitative and qualitative data, to develop a framework to guide policy and decision-makers to formulate coherent strategies towards sustainable land redistribution programmes and achieve the desired outcomes. The approach was vital for integrating the broad and intricate interlinkages between water, land, and environmental resources. Therefore, the framework is based on transformative and circular models for informing strategic policy decisions towards sustainable land redistribution. The focus was on South Africa’s land redistribution plans and the implications on water and food security and rural development. The developed framework is designed to ensure the sustainability of agrarian reform and rural economic development. It is framed to address land and water accessibility inequalities, promote water and food security, and enhance rural development. A sustainable land redistribution increases the adaptive capacity of rural communities to climate change, enhances their resilience, and provides pathways towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Where Will ‘Water-Energy-Food’ Research Go Next?—Visualisation Review and Prospect

Research on water, energy, and food (WEF) is gradually becoming a global research hotspot in response to threats caused by the overexploitation of resources. In this study, 13,202 documents were selected from the WoS database and CiteSpace to judge frontier development in WEF research. In this study, visualisation research was carried out in 1547 papers that are most relevant to WEF research. The results show that WEF research has gradually increased during the research period, especially since 2015. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, Hoff, and Bazilian have the greatest influence on the promotion of WEF research and there is significant cooperation between institutions and countries. The United States, China, and the United Kingdom were the main contributors. The WEF nexus has become the most important hotspot in WEF research. In this case, 823 papers focused on the WEF nexus were selected to demonstrate the research contents, frontiers and clusters, and methods of the WEF nexus. Applied researches on the WEF nexus, such as security issues and multi-objective optimisation are current frontiers. Some new topics such as the pandemic and geopolitics have not attracted enough attention relative to their potential importance. A comprehensive data platform for the inter-department of water, energy, and food subsystems should be constructed in the near future.

Toward Water, Energy, and Food Security in Rural Indonesia: A Review

Indonesia is an archipelago with significant variations in natural resources, infrastructure, socioeconomic, culture, human resource capacity, accessibility, and access to financial and technical assistance. In this situation, integrated and unique efforts are needed to manage natural resources and build synergy between their protection and utilization to achieve water, energy, and food (WEF) security in accordance with the SDG targets. This paper analyzes the implementations of the WEF nexus in rural Indonesia by examining existing legal frameworks and other related policies, journals, textbooks, and publications. We explore factors influencing the success and failure of the implementation of the WEF nexus approaches from technical, socioeconomic, cultural, political, and institutional perspectives of the rural development framework.

Resilience and Sustainability of the Water Sector during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented socio-economic changes, ushering in a “new (ab)normal” way of living and human interaction. The water sector was not spared from the effects of the pandemic, a period in which the sector had to adapt rapidly and continue providing innovative water and sanitation solutions. This study unpacks and interrogates approaches, products, and services adopted by the water sector in response to the unprecedented lockdowns, heralding novel terrains, and fundamental paradigm shifts, both at the community and the workplace. The study highlights the wider societal perspective regarding the water and sanitation challenges that grappled society before, during, after, and beyond the pandemic. The premise is to provide plausible transitional pathways towards a new (ab)normal in adopting new models, as evidenced by the dismantling of the normal way of conducting business at the workplace and human interaction in an era inundated with social media, virtual communication, and disruptive technologies, which have transitioned absolutely everything into a virtual way of life. As such, the novel approaches have fast-tracked a transition into the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR), with significant trade-offs to traditional business models and human interactions.

Operationalising the water-energy-food nexus through the theory of change

The water-energy-food (WEF) nexus facilitates understanding of the intricate and dynamic interlinkages among the three resources. Its implementation can enhance resource securities and sustainable development. Despite its potential, full adoption of the approach has been hindered by a lack of actionable strategies to guide its practical application. This is attributed to (i) poor data (ii) lack of empirical evidence, (iii) inadequate analytical tools, and (iv) lack of clarity on applicable spatial scale. This study undertook a literature review, coupled with systemic analyses of a WEF nexus analytical model, whose outputs were used as a basis to develop a Theory of Change, an iterative outline for operationalising the approach in the context of southern Africa. The consultative and iterative Theory of Change culminated with the formulation of pathways to (i) overcome the barriers impeding WEF nexus operationalisation, (ii) mitigation of trade-offs while enhancing synergies towards attaining simultaneous resource securities, (iii) poverty alleviation and reduction of inequalities, and (iv) reconciling policy with implementation scale. The WEF nexus operationalisation outcomes are linked to Sustainable Development Goals 2 (zero hunger), 6 (clean water and sanitation), and 7 (affordable and clean energy), with synergies to SDGs 1 (no poverty), 5 (gender equality), 8 (decent work and economic growth), 12 (responsible consumption and production), 13 (climate action), 14 (life below water), and 15 (life on land). Operationalising the WEF nexus through an interactive process can inform sustainable pathways towards resource security, job and wealth creation, improved livelihoods and well-being, and regional integration.

Environmental Services: A New Approach Toward Addressing Sustainable Development Goals in Sub-Saharan Africa

The physical environment provides resources and specific types of environmental services relevant to the maintenance of human livelihoods globally and with specific reference to sub-Saharan Africa, including soils, food, and water systems. Previous studies on the shared nexus of such resources commonly view these as self-contained systems operating independent of their physical contexts provided by landscape-scale geomorphology and its related processes. This study critically examines the viewpoints adopted by such nexus studies with specific reference to sub-Saharan Africa, arguing that these studies are reductive, considering only the shared disciplinary overlap (nexus) and not their wider contexts, and are based on only a limited understanding of the workings of physical systems. This study argues that considering the attributes of the physical landscape and its provision of environmental services provides a broader and scientifically-informed context for understanding of interlinked issues such as relationships between soil–food–water systems. Framing such “nexus” studies in this wider context can derive a better understanding of the connections between different elements such as soil, food, and water, amongst others, and with respect to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. The concept of environmental services is therefore a more powerful tool to examine both the connections between physical and human environmental processes and properties in sub-Saharan Africa, and to address overarching environmental issues such as land degradation, soil erosion loss, water scarcity, and impacts of climate change.