Water, energy and food nexus of Indus Water Treaty (IWT) is presented in the light of water governance. The water governance doctrine refers to social, economic, administrative and political systems influencing the transboundary water use and management. Water governance means who gets what water, when and how much, and who has the right to water related benefits. Indus Water Treaty is cited to be one of the few successful settlements of boundary water basin conflicts that has stood the test of times since last six decades. Riparian states have opportunities of harvesting water, power and agriculture by compliance to accords in letter and spirit. IWT restrains both (India) and lower (Pakistan) riparian from pulling out of accord from fear of deadly consequences. IWT is founded on World Bank’s professionally prepared comprehensive terms and conditions keeping in mind future regional developments. This treaty has given control of three eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas and Sutlej) to India and three western rivers (Indus, Jhelum and Chenab) to Pakistan. IWT gives both countries genuine share of eastern/western waters for domestic use, agriculture and electricity generation using Run-of-River Plants, subject to observing minimum level of water flow into lower riparian at Head Marala Barrage. Water, energy and food nexus of this treaty bonds upper and lower riparian to comply with water governance principles. Upper riparian diverted 34 million acre feet (MAF) water out of eastern rivers before entering into Pakistan and launched run-of-river power plants spree on western rivers in last two decades. Restricting water flow to lower riparian in the name of pond filling needs attention. Unrestricted use of water in run-of-river power plants is pointed out to be a limiting factor in Indus Water Treaty. Continuum of cooperation has room for collaboration under Indus Water Treaty. India and Pakistan can sort out disputes by dialogue, in light of rights and needs, rather Harmon Doctrine.

A humongous amount of food goes to waste yearly. The use of renewable energy sources is encouraged to reduce global warming. Food waste as a source of energy and water as a food-water-energy nexus has shown to be a viable source of renewable energy. This paper proposes a food waste recycling system that uses a mechanical presser to the extraction of moisture from the food waste with its desiccate being fed to an anaerobic digester to produce biogas. Literature on the topic is reviewed and the benefits and limitations of the system are also discussed.

Water, energy, and agriculture have been conventionally dealt with separately in investment planning. For each of these sectors, regulatory frameworks, organizations, and infrastructures have been put in place to address sector-specific challenges and demands. As the Middle East and North Africa works towards building a more sustainable future, a nexus approach that considers the risks and synergies among these sectors is needed. To demonstrate the added value of a nexus approach, this report applies scenario analysis and integrated assessment modelling of the water-energy-food nexus to the Middle East and North Africa. The analysis finds that water scarcity increases in all countries in the region over the coming decades, mostly due to growing demands. More importantly, the analysis finds that many countries in the region could run out of fossil groundwater by 2050 unless measures to curb unsustainable abstraction are implemented. The impacts of growing scarcity on agriculture are significant, with production projected to drop by 60 percent by 2050 in some countries. On the upside, reducing the dependence of the agricultural and energy sectors on water and transitioning to renewable energies can reduce water scarcity, at the same time reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The role of water quality, particularly its impact on health, environment and wider well-being, are rarely acknowledged in the water–energy–food (WEF) nexus. Here we demonstrate the necessity to include water quality within the water dimension of the WEF nexus to address complex and multi-disciplinary challenges facing humanity. Firstly, we demonstrate the impact of water quality on the energy and food dimensions of the WEF nexus and vice versa at multiple scales, from households to cities, regions and transboundary basins. Secondly, we use examples to demonstrate how including water quality would have augmented and improved the WEF analysis and its application. Finally, we encourage hydrological scientists to promote relevant water quality research as addressing WEF nexus challenges. To make tangible progress, we propose that analysis of water quality interactions focuses initially on WEF nexus “hotspots,” such as cities, semi-arid areas, and areas dependent on groundwater or climate change-threatened meltwater.

Throughout the world, much food produced is wasted. The resource impact of producing wasted food is substantial; however, little is known about the energy and water consumed in managing food waste after it has been disposed. Herein, we characterize food waste within the Food-Energy-Water (FEW) nexus and parse the differential FEW effects of producing uneaten food and managing food loss and waste. We find that various food waste management options, such as waste prevention, landfilling, composting, anaerobic digestion, and incineration, present variable pathways for FEW impacts and opportunities. Furthermore, comprehensive sustainable management of food waste will involve varied mechanisms and actors at multiple levels of governance and at the level of individual consumers. To address the complex food waste problem, we therefore propose a “food-waste-systems” approach to optimize resources within the FEW nexus. Such a framework may be applied to devise strategies that, for instance, minimize the amount of edible food that is wasted, foster efficient use of energy and water in the food production process, and simultaneously reduce pollution externalities and create opportunities from recycled energy and nutrients. Characterization of FEW nexus impacts of wasted food, including descriptions of dynamic feedback behaviors, presents a significant research gap and a priority for future work. Large-scale decision making requires more complete understanding of food waste and its management within the FEW nexus, particularly regarding post-disposal impacts related to water.

Many studies examine the correlation between the use of resources such as water, energy and land, and the production of food. These nexus studies focus predominantly on large scale systems, often considering the social dimensions only in terms of access to resources and participation in the decision-making process, rather than individual attitudes and behaviours with respect to resource use. Such a concept of the nexus is relevant to urban agriculture (UA), but it requires customisation to the particular characteristics of growing food in cities, which is practiced mainly at a small scale and produces not only food but also considerable social, economic, and environmental co-benefits. To this end, this paper proposes a new conceptual basis for a UA Nexus, together with an assessment methodology that explicitly includes social dimensions in addition to food, energy and water. The conceptual basis introduces People, together with Food, Energy and Water, as a fundamental factor of the UA Nexus. On this basis, a methodology is developed measuring not only resource efficiency and food production but also motivations and health benefits. It comprises a combination of methods such as diaries of everyday UA practices, a database of UA activities, life cycle assessment (LCA), and material flow analysis to connect investigations developed at a garden scale to the city scale. A case study shows an application of the methodology.

International water law, which regulates the uses of international watercourses that are situated partly in different States, is a highly topical sector of law. In 2014, two conventions covering the subject matter entered into force globally. At the same time, a water-food-energy nexus has become part and parcel of the development canon that emphasises the importance of the complex relationship between water, energy and food. In this article, it is discussed whether international water law supports the water-food-energy nexus approach, which aims to reconcile the different water uses in international basins. The analysis also covers the human rights to water and food from the nexus viewpoint. The legal regime of the Mekong River is used as an example of the possibilities and challenges of the nexus approach in international water law. It is concluded that despite its deficiencies international water law provides a very useful platform for the cooperation between States and different sectors that aim at guaranteeing water, food and energy security.