Scaling the nexus: towards integrated frameworks for analysing water, energy and food

McGrane, S. J. et al. (2019) Scaling the nexus: towards integrated frameworks for analysing water, energy and food. Geographical Journal, 185(4), pp. 419-431. (doi: 10.1111/geoj.12256)

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Abstract

The emergence of the water–energy–food (WEF) nexus has resulted in changes to the way we perceive our natural resources. Stressors such as climate change and population growth have highlighted the fragility of our WEF systems, necessitating integrated solutions across multiple scales. While a number of frameworks and analytical tools have been developed since 2011, a comprehensive WEF nexus tool remains elusive, hindered in part by our limited data and understanding of the interdependencies and connections across the WEF systems. To achieve this, the community of academics, practitioners and policy‐makers invested in WEF nexus research are addressing several critical areas that currently remain as barriers. First, the plurality of scales (e.g., spatial, temporal, institutional, jurisdictional) necessitates a more comprehensive effort to assess interdependencies between water, energy and food, from household to institutional and national levels. Second, and closely related to scale, a lack of available data often hinders our ability to quantify physical stocks and flows of resources. Overcoming these barriers necessitates engaging multiple stakeholders, and using experiences and local insights to better understand nexus dynamics in particular locations or scenarios, and we exemplify this with the inclusion of a UK‐based case study on exploring the nexus in a particular geographical area. We elucidate many challenges that have arisen across nexus research, including the impact of multiple scales in operation, and concomitantly, what impact these scales have on data accessibility. We assess some of the critical frameworks and tools that are applied by nexus researchers and articulate some of the steps required to develop from nexus thinking to an operationalisable concept, with a consistent focus on scale and data availability.

Item Type:Articles
Additional Information:Also funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Research Council of the UK.
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Scott, Professor Marian
Authors: McGrane, S. J., Acuto, M., Artioli, F., Chen, P.-Y., Comber, R., Cottee, J., Farr-Wharton, G., Green, N., Helfgott, A., Larcom, S., McCann, J. A., O'Reilly, P., Salmoral, G., Scott, M., Todman, L. C., van Gevelt, T., and Yan, X.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Mathematics and Statistics > Statistics
Journal Name:Geographical Journal
Publisher:Wiley
ISSN:0016-7398
ISSN (Online):1475-4959
Published Online:03 May 2018
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2018 The Authors
First Published:First published in Geographical Journal 185(4): 419-431
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

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Project CodeAward NoProject NamePrincipal InvestigatorFunder's NameFunder RefLead Dept
697071WEF WEBs mapping the water food energy nexusE Marian ScottEngineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)EP/N005600/1M&S - STATISTICS