An integrative analytical framework of water-energy-food security for sustainable development at the country scale: A case study of five Central Asian countries

Thoroughly understanding the security of water, energy and food (WEF) and the factors that influence them is essential for sustainable development management in any region. This study proposed a new analytical framework for WEF security evaluation in both individual sectors and the whole system, using the technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS) and four dimensions of security indicators: availability, self-sufficiency, productivity and accessibility. The internal relationships among the three sectors and the main factors influencing WEF security were analysed by Spearman’s rank correlation and radar graphs, respectively. The five countries in Central Asia (CA), which are experiencing WEF crises and facing great challenges in achieving their sustainable development goals (SDGs), were chosen as a case study in this paper. Our results showed that Kazakhstan attained the highest WEF security level, followed by Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan; Tajikistan exhibited the lowest security level from 2000 to 2014. Three types of internal relationships among the three sectors were identified: synergies, trade-offs and unclassified. The unclassified relationship type accounted for the largest share of 54% in CA, suggesting great potential for synergetic improvement among the three sectors. Approaches for improving the country WEF security based on our research are as follows: Kazakhstan should prioritize food allocation and supply, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan should increase energy and food production and raise the supply level and usage efficiency of water and food, Turkmenistan should increase the available water resources and food production and improve the supply level and usage efficiency of water and energy, and Uzbekistan should both increase the available amount and enhance the WEF management performance.