China's rapid increase in food imports has repercussions for China's and global resources. This study reviews the recent literature on China's virtual water and land trade through food trade, presents updated results for 2000–2015, and makes projections for 2030. The results show that the increased imports of virtual water and land have significantly eased pressure on these resources in China. Soybean imports have been the main contributor towards China's domestic savings of virtual water and land. China's food trade has increasingly contributed towards global savings of virtual water and land. Our projections suggest that the trend in savings of domestic and global virtual water and land will continue, with significant variations due to changes in resource use efficiency.

[Departement_IRSTEA]Ecotechnologies [TR1_IRSTEA]SPEE | To reduce the proliferation of bacteria inside food plants, cleaning and disinfection are performed daily following production. These operations are followed by drying during which the drying rate should be as high as possible. This study shows the influence of a dehumidifier on the water mass evolution on surfaces during the drying of a food plant. The temperature, relative humidity and water mass evolution were monitored under two conditions: with and without a dehumidifier. Comparison of the results shows that the drying rate is about 1.5 times higher when a dehumidifier is used. These data were used to develop a simplified heat and mass transfer model allowing the prediction of the temperature and drying rate at different locations. The results can help the manufacturer to evaluate the benefits of a dehumidifier and consider the use of other devices to achieve better airflow distribution or greater heat supply for certain surfaces.

Modern bioenergy is a core ingredient of sustainable economic development as it plays an important rolein poverty reduction and green growth. This makes bioenergy innovations critical, especially in developingcountries where many households and rural communities rely on traditional bioenergy. Managing themultiple tradeoffs among bioenergy use, agricultural productivity, and ecosystem functions is a majordevelopment challenge. Addressing this challenge requires the identification of the drivers, tradeoffs andimpacts of bioenergy production, trade and use in the Water, Energy and Food Security Nexus. The keyobjective of this paper is to provide an analytical framework and assess the track record of policy actions tostimulate modern bioenergy innovation in order to achieve multiple-win outcomes in terms of povertyalleviation, improved health and gender empowerment and environmental sustainability. We begin bydescribing the global trends and drivers in bioenergy production, trade and use. Secondly, we review thestate of the art on impacts and links of bioenergy with the other Nexus components. Thirdly, we suggest aconceptual framework for evaluating the synergies and tradeoffs of bioenergy with other bioeconomic andeconomic activities along the Nexus. Follow-up empirical research at household and community levels inseveral developing countries will be based on this framework. Finally, a discussion on the conceptualframework is enriched by insights on the relevant actors, the tools and mechanisms specific to these actorsfor catalyzing innovations in the bioenergy for development.

Water security is a concept with several aspects and dimensions. We identify four such dimensions, each consisting of two complementary aspects: direct-indirect, macro-micro, technical-political, and peace-conflict. We investigate this idea with a case study focusing on one aspect along each dimension. The case analyzes the indirect role of water for food security at global scale, using quantitative spatial approach. We find such a case particularly interesting, as food production is the planet’s biggest anthropogenic water user and food security is thus in many ways interwoven to water security. We analyze where water scarcity hampers food production, and how food trade influences this interplay. We also consider how societal resilience relates to these themes, and identify regions that face particular challenges in this regard. With this we systematize the concept of water security and link it with to issues of vulnerability, resilience, and, ultimately, sustainability.

This article illustrates a method for applying the water-food-energy nexus approach to propose an optimal cropping pattern. The proposed cropping pattern maximizes economic water and energy productivity and minimizes water and energy use. Through this method a water-food-energy nexus index is applied. A case study from Egypt is applied to illustrate the method.

This study used Wood-Based Activated Carbon Fibers Paperboard (WACFP) to investigate the water activity (Aw), color difference (sup deltaE*) change, and percent weight with various Aw foods in the environment systems at the relative humidity of (RH) 90 and 40% and temperature of 25degC, which were expected to be references for food moisture-proof material. From the Aw result, WACFPs was 0.47-0.50, which was lower than the habitat for general microorganisms. WACFP with 40% wood-based activated carbon fibers (WACFs) had better stability for high, intermediate, and low Aw foods (HAwF, MAwF, and LAwF) in the RH 90 or 40% environment than the other specimens. In the RH 90% environment, the hygroscopic ability of WACFP was 4.49-6.18%; while that at RH 40% was 1.69-2.20%. According to the simulation results of WACFPs, as food moisture-proof material in HAwF, MAwF, and LAwF in the RH 90% environment, WACFPs had a good stability in MAwF. The Aw change was 0.02-0.03, the sup deltaE* change was 1.24-2.70, and the percent weight was -0.26-0.31%. In terms of RH 40%, better stability occurred in HAwF, where the difference of Aw was 0.02-0.03, the sup deltaE* change was 1.23-2.83, and the percent weight was -1.22 - -1.24%. The developed WACFP; therefore, can be an optional food moisture-proof material for different Aw food systems.

The escalating human demand for food, water, energy, fibres and minerals have resulted in increasing commercial pressures on land and water resources, which are partly reflected by the recent increase in transnational land investments. Studies have shown that many of the land-water issues associated with land acquisitions are directly related to the areas of energy and food production. This paper explores the land-water-energy-food nexus in relation to large-scale farmland investments pursued by investors from European countries. The analysis is based on a “resource assessment approach” which evaluates the linkages between land acquisitions for agricultural (including both energy and food production) and forestry purposes, and the availability of land and water in the target countries. To that end, the water appropriated by agricultural and forestry productions is quantitatively assessed and its impact on water resource availability is analysed. The analysis is meant to provide useful information to investors from EU countries and policy makers on aspects of resource acquisition, scarcity, and access to promote responsible land investments in the target countries.

At global scale, the majority of world water withdrawal is for the agricultural sector, with differences among countries depending on the relevance of agri-food sector in the economy. Virtual water and water footprint could be useful to express the impact on the water resources of each production process and good with the objective to lead to a sustainable use of water at a global level. International trade could be connected to the virtual water flows, in fact through commodities importation, water poor countries can save their own water resources. The present paper focuses on the bilateral virtual water flows connected to the top ten agri-food products traded between Italy and China. Comparing the virtual water flow related to the top 10 agri-food products, the virtual water flow from Italy to China is bigger than the water flow in the opposite direction. Moreover, the composition of virtual water flows is different; Italy imports significant amounts of grey water from China, depending on the different environmental strategies adopted by the two selected countries. This difference could be also related to the fact that traded commodities are very different; the 91% of virtual water imported by Italy is connected to crops products, while the 95% of virtual water imported by China is related to the animal products. Considering national water saving and global water saving, appears that Italy imports virtual water from China while China exerts pressure on its water resources to supply the exports to Italy. This result at global scale implies a global water loss of 129.29millionm3 because, in general, the agri-food products are traded from the area with lower water productivity to the area with the higher water productivity.

Dams provide numerous economic benefits and can mitigate the adverse impacts of water variability and extreme climate events. However, such large-scale water infrastructure has also caused significant social and environmental costs, prompting calls for alternative, nature-based solutions. WLE suggests that collections of built and natural infrastructure, combined with participatory management approaches, can support water and food security, while enhancing livelihoods and environmental outcomes.

We use an innovative methodology to model the socioeconomic linkages between water, energy, and food in the East Nile Basin. Based upon a theoretical nexus framework, the methodology is expanded into a quantifiable modeling suite that under-lies the analysis of each of three country case studies. The advantages are that, despite resource shortages being a challenge, the modeling suite aids in devising policies and strategies that formulate these sectoral interdependencies and provide the evidence-based research results necessary for their design in a way that exploits synergies existing across sectors, countries, and regions (Al-Zubari n.d.). This paper lays out the methodology and gives an example of an application and scenarios by focusing on three countries in the East Nile Basin. This methodology paper will be followed by three individual country case studies that highlight the water, energy, and food nexus for each.