This paper explores the place of technological interventions in the conceptualisation of the Water–Energy–Food Nexus (WEF Nexus). The focus is on the just infrastructure interventions required to decarbonise and adapt to the challenges of the climate crisis for sustainable livelihoods. We explore the overlap between two bodies of work, the WEF Nexus and Socio-Technical Systems, grown from different disciplinary perspectives, to scrutinise the extent to which there is a coherent synthesis of work that can examine infrastructure impacts and trade-offs in a WEF system. Following a systematic literature review and analysis, a framework is proposed for water and energy infrastructure interventions to both support sustainable development and recognise infrastructure’s role in a just and equitable society. This framework will support the creation of models that are less likely to miss vital components of a system or potential trade-offs and supports a multi-disciplinary approach to infrastructure interventions. | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) | This work was funded by the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC, Grant no. EP/V006592/1, UK) and the Belmont Forum under the project title Theory of Change Observatory on Disaster Resilience–TOCO DR. | Sustainability

The thermal demand in agri-food industries is characterised by its considerable variability, hindering the implementation of Solar Water Heating Systems (SWHS). The main objective of the study is to provide an overview of how consumption patterns influence the profitability and energy savings of SWHS in the sector, while also identifying additional key variables that affect their viability. For this purpose, approximately 1,300,000 cases have been examined, considering a wide range of consumption patterns, economic variables, and locations. Demand seasonality, weekly frequency and energy prices exhibit the greatest impact on the feasibility of SWHS. Uniformity of daily demand, location and investment cost are also determinants. Thus, single-day-per-week consumption patterns make SWHS unviable in most scenarios. However, with only three non-consecutive days, feasibility increases significantly, achieving paybacks of less than 5 years and energy savings of over 40 % when conditions are highly favorable. In strongly seasonal industries, the viability of SWHS is seriously compromised. The payback in patterns with a peak consumption in the early morning can double the value with uniform one (e.g., from 4 to 8 years in the most favorable scenarios at a price of 0.1 /kWh). The results tables reflecting payback and energy savings in thousands of different scenarios represent a valuable tool for decision-making in industries. By looking for the scenario with the most similar characteristics, it is possible to estimate the profitability and savings of the SWHS in a given industry, as well as the possible variations when changing the assumed variables.

Climate change is a phenomenon that significantly affects vulnerable societies by disrupting water, energy, and food security. Hence, to meet projected socioeconomic needs while ensuring the sustainable development of these resources, a multidisciplinary approach to managing water, energy, food, and the environment under climate change is essential. This chapter outlines and promotes the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus approach, a holistic methodology that is becoming highly prevalent for more effective resource usage and economic growth. Furthermore, in light of climate change adaptation, this chapter discusses what adaptation means in today’s climate-sensitive society and the possible impact on resource security. A basin-level review on climate change impacts on WEF resources in the Buffalo River catchment, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, was conducted, which revealed that impacts from water pressures imposed by climate change and incoherent management of water resources are anticipated to have an adverse impact on agricultural production and the energy sector. Findings also emphasize the significance of adapting to the WEF nexus’ systems thinking approach in resource management under climate change, which addresses synergies, trade-offs, and harmonisation of management strategies.

Smart integration of water, energy, agriculture, and environmental systems can create synergies, increase socio-economic benefits, and minimize environmental impact. However, effective planning of integrated water-energy-food-environment systems (iWEFEs) requires high resolution temporal and spatial data on various environmental and socioeconomic variables. Insufficient data availability and accessibility hampers the implementation of iWEFEs, particularly in remote areas of low- and middle-income countries. Addressing this gap, first, essential variables for the planning of iWEFEs are identified. Next, remote datasets are evaluated and selected regarding their suitability to serve for the planning of iWEFEs using a multi-criteria-analysis considering data accessibility, spatial coverage, spatial resolution, temporal resolution, and temporal coverage. Remote and in-situ data collection for the identified WEFE variables are implemented using a pilot case study of a smallholder farm in the data-scarce tropics of Costa Rica. The remote data collection is automated via APIs to open servers, data analysis and data visualization scripts, and complemented by an online survey. In-situ measurements are recommended to address data gaps in remote sensing, which are especially prevalent in the water domain. The research shall lay the foundation for free, open and automated data collection enabling the planning of iWEFEs worldwide.

To elucidate the food-energy-water (FEW) nexus, the paper proposes a framework for multifunctional development objectives within the context of CPSs, integrating emergy analysis and the coupled coordination model. The article’s primary focus is on the utilization of blue and green water in the cultivation of a variety of food crops and the acquisition of purchased energy. The paper was evaluated according to three key indicators: stability, development, and sustainability. Furthermore, a quantitative evaluation of the trade-offs among the FEW nexus and its constituent sub-nexuses was conducted over the period from 2000 to 2022. The study revealed that China has witnessed an expansion in its total CPS inputs, with renewable inputs accounting for 32.89% and an average annual input-output ratio of 37.98%. The annual emergy values for food, energy, and water resources were 6.85 × 10²³ Sej, 1.43 × 10²³ Sej, and 7.91 × 10²² Sej, respectively. The annual growth rates were 2.16%, 2.11%, and 0.77%, respectively. The CPS exhibits an average proportion of green and blue water resources of 64.37% and 35.63%, respectively. The coupling coordination of the FEW nexus demonstrates a transition between years from mild dysfunctional recession to quality coordinated development, with the coordinated use of FEW resources increasing for maize, largely maintained for rice, and decreasing for wheat, soybean, and potato. The objective of this study is to provide differentiated strategies for regional food conservation and sustainable development worldwide.

The data collection objective was to map Colombian national policies and policy instruments related to land, water and food issues. The database presents detailed information on national policies and policy instruments such as, the policy sector, the objective, the year. This data collection were used to lead policy coherence analysis among and between land, water and food policy domains. Metodology: The methodology used was policy mapping

Dissertation (MSc (Geoinformatics))--University of Pretoria, 2023. | The challenge of meeting the growing demands for water, energy, and food is further complicated by the impact of climate and land use and land cover (LULC) change. The Mpumalanga Province where agricultural production compete with coal mining for land and water consumption is a prime example of challenges involved in sustaining the water, food, and energy. A more holistic understanding of LULC can help in managing competing land use objectives, leading to improved climate change adaptation strategies. The Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus is an effort to address challenges affecting WEF sectors by taking into consideration the inter-relatedness and interdependencies between these sectors to balance their perspectives and management. As a result, this study aimed to undertake a pragmatic approach that is based on geospatial analytical methods to support WEF nexus climate change adaptation in South Africa’s Mpumalanga Province. To achieve this, the study investigated the impact of LULC change on WEF resources by analyzing South African National Land Cover (SANLC) data from 1990, 2014, 2018 and 2020 using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing techniques. The study also located the recently completed and ongoing adaptation projects that contribute to the WEF nexus in the study area. As such, the logistic regression model was implemented using three scenarios to understand the drivers of the location of the WEF nexus-based climate change adaptation interventions or actions spanning from environmental to socio-economic drivers. Scenario 1: Model based on environmental variables only; Scenario 2: socio-economic variables only and scenario 3: combining environmental and socio-economic variables. Based on the understanding of the drivers and spatial estimation, a framework or model was developed to synthesize and prioritize potential areas of climate change adaptation intervention or action in Mpumalanga Province. The results of LULC change over the study period (1990 – 2020) show that the LULC areas under agriculture, built-up areas, mines and quarries increased from 18.84%, 2.33%, 0.61% in 1990 to 23.73%, 3.41% and 0.79% in 2020, respectively. While grasslands have decreased from 37.36% in 1990 to 30.39% in 2020. All of these changes have a direct impact on water supplies, energy sources, and food production. It was evident that more interventions were associated with areas of extreme climatic variables (e.g., drought related). All models were statistically significant, with Area Under the Curve (AUC) = 72% for scenario 1; 67% for scenario 2 and 73% for scenario 3. The results of the spatial estimation revealed that the northeastern region and northwestern region of the Mpumalanga Province should be prioritized for adaptation interventions. This work provided a broader view of the impact of resource use and management on the overall environment and societal well-being. The results obtained from this study indicate that the use of geospatial tools can be beneficial in the planning and prioritization of activities related to climate change adaptation. | Water Research Commission (WRC) | Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology | MSc (Geoinformatics) | Unrestricted | Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Abstract Household food and water insecurity has been previously associated with adverse health consequences in children. However, these relationships are understudied in middle‐income Latin American populations such as in Ecuador, where a high prevalence of food and water insecurity has been reported. Using cross‐sectional data from 2018 Ecuadorian National Health and Nutrition Survey, we examined the association of household food insecurity (HFI), household water insecurity (HWI), and concurrent HFI‐HWI with diarrhoea, respiratory illness (RI), and stunting in 20,510 children aged ≤59 months. HFI was measured using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale. HWI was defined when households responded negatively to one or more of four drinking water indicators. Maternal caregivers reported on child diarrhoea and RI episodes during the previous 2 weeks. Measured length or height was used to assess stunting. We constructed log‐binomial regression models to estimate the associations of HFI, HWI, and concurrent HFI‐HWI with child outcomes. Moderate‐severe HFI was associated with a higher prevalence of diarrhoea (PR = 1.39; 95% CI: 1.18, 1.63) and RI (PR = 1.34; 95% CI: 1.22, 1.47), HWI with a higher prevalence of RI (PR = 1.13; 95% CI: 1.04, 1.22), and concurrent HFI‐HWI with a higher prevalence of diarrhoea (PR = 1.30; 95% CI: 1.05, 1.62) and RI (PR = 1.45; 95% CI: 1.29, 1.62). Stunting was not associated with HFI, HWI nor concurrent HFI‐HWI. These findings suggest that HFI and HWI can independently and jointly act to negatively affect children's health. Policies and interventions aimed at alleviating both food and water insecurity are needed to bring sustained health improvements in Ecuadorian children.

Food, land, and water (FLW) systems are closely interlinked; actions in one system often impact the others. Enhancing the sustainability of these interconnected systems is crucial for advancing food security, sustainable livelihoods, rural development, environmental health, and climate resilience. Recognising these interlinkages, India is making significant policy efforts to achieve environmental, economic, and social well-being (PIB 2024a). However, the complexity and evolving nature of these interlinkages necessitate coherent policy efforts (CEEW and IWMI 2023). Policy coherence involves improving institutional coordination, leveraging policy synergies, and addressing trade-offs. It also entails enabling the convergence of resources and ensuring flexibility and adaptability to changes. Policy coherence promotes the inclusion of vulnerable groups, thereby advancing social inclusion and economic empowerment (CEEW and IWMI 2023). Therefore, it is critical for advancing national goals and unlocking opportunities to achieve global sustainable development targets. This report is part of a larger study examining policy coherence with regards to FLW systems in India at both the national and sub-national levels. The national-level study was guided by the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog, the apex public policy think-tank of the Government of India. The study yielded three important findings. First, it identified the most relevant national policies within the FLW policy landscape. Second, it highlighted the best practices and key lessons for achieving policy coherence across these policies. Third, it underscored the importance of implementing policy coherence in FLW systems at the state level, which is an important governance level for policy implementation. To drive meaningful progress at the sub-national level, it is essential to ensure policy coherence that aligns sub-national targets with broader national and global goals, such as the SDGs (UNSSC 2022, OECD n.d.a). Odisha is known for its emphasis on scientific, evidence-based policymaking, sustainable development, and convergent efforts. This study aims to better understand state-specific best practices and key lessons for improving policy coherence among Odisha’s most relevant policies on FLW systems. The study also offers actionable recommendations for enhancing policy coherence.