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Appraising the Water‐Energy‐Food Nexus From a Sustainable Development Perspective: A Maturing Paradigm?

Hejnowicz, A. P.; Thorn, J. P. R.; Giraudo, M. E.; Sallach, J. B.; Hartley, S. E.; Grugel, J.; Pueppke, S. G.; Emberson, L.

Appraising the Water‐Energy‐Food Nexus From a Sustainable Development Perspective: A Maturing Paradigm? Thumbnail


Authors

A. P. Hejnowicz

J. P. R. Thorn

J. B. Sallach

S. E. Hartley

J. Grugel

S. G. Pueppke

L. Emberson



Contributors

A.P. Hejnowicz
Researcher

J.P.R. Thorn
Researcher

J.B. Sallach
Researcher

S.E. Hartley
Project Leader

J. Grugel
Project Leader

S.G. Pueppke
Project Leader

L. Emberson
Project Leader

Abstract

The water-energy-food (WEF) nexus is a prominent approach for addressing today's sustainable development challenges. In our critical appraisal of the WEF, covering different approaches, drivers, enablers, and applications, we emphasize the situation across the Global South (Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean). Here, WEF research covers at least 23 focal domains. We find that the nexus is still a maturing paradigm primarily rooted in a physical and natural sciences framing, which is itself embedded in a neoliberal securities narrative. While providing insights and tools to address the systemic interdependencies between resource sectors whose exploitation, degradation, and sub-optimal management contribute to (un)sustainable development, there is still insufficient engagement with social, political, and economic dimensions. Progress related to climate, urbanization, and resource consumption is encouraging, but while governance and finance are central enablers of current and future nexus systems, gaps remain in relation to implementation and operationalization. Harnessing the nexus for sustainable development across the Global South means recognizing that it is more than a biophysical system, but also a multi-scale complex of people, institutions, and infrastructure, affected by history and context. Addressing this complexity requires alternative and possibly challenging perspectives to counter dominant narratives, and manage problems associated with policy integration, trade-offs, and winners and losers. We outline 10 emergent research areas that we think can contribute to this endeavor and enable the nexus to be a stronger policy force.

Citation

Hejnowicz, A. P., Thorn, J. P. R., Giraudo, M. E., Sallach, J. B., Hartley, S. E., Grugel, J., …Emberson, L. (2022). Appraising the Water‐Energy‐Food Nexus From a Sustainable Development Perspective: A Maturing Paradigm?. Earth's Future, 10(12), Article e2021EF002622. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021ef002622

Journal Article Type Review
Acceptance Date Oct 14, 2022
Online Publication Date Dec 20, 2022
Publication Date 2022-12
Deposit Date Aug 30, 2023
Publicly Available Date Aug 30, 2023
Journal Earth's Future
Electronic ISSN 2328-4277
Publisher Wiley Open Access
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 10
Issue 12
Article Number e2021EF002622
DOI https://doi.org/10.1029/2021ef002622
Keywords Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous); General Environmental Science
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1726728
Publisher URL https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/23284277
Additional Information Received: 2021-12-27; Accepted: 2022-10-14; Published: 2022-12-20

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Licence
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Copyright Statement
© 2022 The Authors. Earth's Future published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Geophysical Union.

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.





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