The water-energy-food (WEF) nexus is the subject of much research focusing on different aspects, a wide range of issues, and development of a variety of models and tools. This study takes a different approach by developing a holistic framework that concentrates on the spatial elements of continuity and change associated with WEF transition on national, regional, and international scale. The study also investigates the interconnected challenges that could affect these resources and the actions and polices that should be taken on different geographical scales to address these challenges. The results can help practitioners and policy makers gain a clearer understanding of the state of the knowledge when performing WEF nexus assessments at different geographical scales.

Urban communities are affected by population growth, urbanization and climate change, thus being vulnerable to food, energy and water demand. According to the United Nations, the world's population is expected to increase by 2 billion people in the next 30 years and 68% of them are projected to live in urban areas by then. At the same time, 1/3 of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year gets lost or wasted and still, 795 million people worldwide are malnourished. A sustainable Food, Energy, Water and Waste Nexus is urgent. The Moveable Nexus Project is aiming to give a solution to the FEW Nexus through urban design methods and agricultural practices by practicing the design method, the evaluation effect and the participation. The design method will be practiced through design charrettes and international workshops and the evaluation will be realized by a Food, Energy & Water consumption environmental footprint calculator. Finally, the participation phase will engage the stakeholders and the community at the Doha Living Lab. The Doha Living Lab will quantify the urban FEWW-fluxes through urban agriculture and will try to achieve sustainability in terms of food production, new crops and new production technology, water management, organic waste management, reuse and recycle. The Living Lab will also assess the needs of the community and the involved stakeholders, by engaging them in every process thus enhancing resilience among people and agri-food systems.

This article analyses water, food, and energy security in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries using the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus approach. The innovative focus is on identifying past and future development-based drivers of water-energy-food integration in the region. The study presents a critical review of WEF nexus in the Gulf region and identifies links to sustainable development in this area. It concludes that integrating water, energy, and food resources within the nexus is crucial for GCC nations to accomplish resource security and sustainable development.

The water-food nexus in the Middle East and Northern African (MENA) region is characterized by resource depletion, import dependence and environmental degradation. This contribution proposes that consumption awareness and resource circularity can be seen as a pathway to alleviate environmental problems and achieve long-term supply security in the water and food sectors. The chapter introduces wastewater recycling as a salient and highly relevant development in the MENA region. Current directions in using treated wastewater are analyzed. Furthermore, forerunner countries from different MENA sub-regions are briefly introduced with the focus on the particular characteristics and policy challenges in each of presented cases of wastewater reuse. Furthermore, crosscutting issues are presented. These include the need for addressing the large consumption footprints in MENA countries, the existence of distorting subsidies for agricultural water, the lack of communities' participation, the inadequacy of existing strategies and the suboptimal coordination mechanisms between water and food sectors. We suggest at the end of the paper some recommendations to policy makers in the region. | Scopus

Regions affected by resource scarcity, poverty, and land-use conflicts need to advocate the merits of practices strongly grounded in sustainable land management. This review paper provides an analysis of agroforestry as an integrated system embedded in complex relations between resource uses in the Water–Energy–Land–Food (WELF) nexus. Using the African Sahel region as a case study, the paper explains the need for understanding land management practices, such as agroforestry, through the lens of trade-offs and benefits inherent in the WELF nexus. Agroforestry practices are demonstrated to be valuable interventions leading to i) resilience to climate stresses, ii) water, energy, and food securities, iii) mitigation of resource-oriented harbingers of conflicts and iv) development opportunities. These goals can also yield valuable results in terms of promoting sustainable development, i.e. functional ecosystems, livelihoods, and human security. Two overarching sub-nexuses, namely agroforestry–food–energy and agroforestry–food–water–climate, are identified in the Sahelian context and conceptualized. Primarily, the trade-offs outlined within these sub-nexuses are fuelwood vs. crops, use of land for more forests vs. more cropping, and water availability for agroforestry vs. agroforestry impacts on the water cycle. Despite the positive outcomes and opportunities, agroforestry systems in the Sahel still face some challenges such as vague land use rights, inadequate capacities and lack of investments. Policy recommendations are synthesized at three levels. This synthesis involves remedies to lessen pressures at the interlinks of WELF resource use, overarching remedies in the two sub-nexuses, and remedies across all the sectors and issues for improving agroforestry outcomes. Optimal remedies stress the importance of choosing the right land, water and plant combinations as well as incorporating efficiency measures and alternative sources. A successful agroforestry system is characterized by a conducive environment at the farm level in terms of institutions, management, enhancing the farmer's capacity, and good infrastructure.

The COVID-19 pandemic offers an opportunity to examine the impacts of system-wide crises on key supply sectors such as water, energy and food. These sectors are becoming increasingly interlinked in environmental policy-making and with regard to achieving supply security. There is a pressing need for a systematization of impacts and responses beyond individual disruptions. This paper provides a holistic assessment of the implications of COVID-19 on the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus. First, it integrates the academic literature related to single cases and disruptions to provide a broader view of COVID-19 demand- and supply-side disruptions and immediate effects. Then, the major, long-term impact categories of medicalization/hygienization, (re)localization of production, and demand fluctuations are highlighted. These impacts result in priority cross-links such as irrigation, energy requirements for local food production, energy use for water and wastewater treatment, or water for energy use. Finally, sector-level insights on impacts and responses are provided, drawing from illustrative cases. The analysis of impacts of COVID-19 on the WEF nexus reflects heterogeneous experiences of short-term adaptations, and highlights the revaluation of the water-food-trade nexus. Revived debates on food sufficiency can benefit from green applications to minimize expected trade-offs. The current crisis also reveals some gaps in the WEF nexus debates with regard to the lack of risk-based perspectives and the need for a better consideration of spatial aspects in resource integration. Regarding resource-security issues in the WEF nexus, the COVID-19 stress test boosts debates concerning the adequacy of the production value chains (e.g., contingency and storage, diversification, and self-sufficiency) and the value of cross-border integration (e.g., trade, globalization, and aid). | Scopus

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to analyze fruits, vegetables, water and soil for organochlorine pesticide (OCP) residues and to assess the food exposure of these pesticides in Qatar. Design/methodology/approach: Pesticides were quantified in dates, leafy vegetables, fruiting vegetables, water and soil samples using a gas chromatography-electron capture detector and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. These pesticides were α-benzene hexachloride (BHC), ß-BHC, heptachlor, aldrin, g-chlordane, endosulfan I, α-chlordane, dieldrin, endrin and methoxychlor. Additionally, food exposure risk assessment was performed by estimating daily intakes of OCP. Findings: Most analyzed samples contained at least one OCP residue. Endosulfan was the only pesticide that was not detected. The concentrations of OCP in samples were below the maximum residue level (MRL) except endosulfan. Among all the samples analyzed, ˜18% of those exceeded the MRL with respect to the concentrations of methoxychlor and heptachlor. Only intake of methoxychlor (0.018 mg/day) exceeded the MRL (0.01 mg/day). Dates and fruiting vegetables were likely to pose a higher risk than leafy vegetables because they contained heptachlor, endrin and methoxychlor. Leafy vegetables might pose a greater risk than dates and fruiting vegetables because of the presence of β-BHC and dieldrin. Originality/value: Eight out of ten OCPs that were measured were found to be below the MRL. These pesticides should be eliminated from the food supply based on the Qatar National Implementation Plan of the Stockholm Convention in 2010. Based on the intake risk assessment, overall, the intake of OCP may not pose a major risk to human health as the concentrations of OCP were below MRL, except methoxychlor. Water and soil are the potential sources of contamination of OCP in foods that were tested in Qatar. To limit the health risks associated with OCPs, there is a need for close monitoring of food and agricultural practices and the types of pesticides imported into Qatar.

Supply systems for water, energy and food in the Gulf region are becoming highly interlinked. In the last decades, interdependence was evident in the increase of coproduction plants and the cross-sectoral resource use footprints. In light of increasing integration due to growing scarcities, the construction of mega projects for coproduction, and the use of renewables across sectors, the security notion can be revisited. This paper proposes a view of the resource supply security based on the systems' characteristics under change and their ability to deal with risks and shocks (resilience). It introduces internal and external risk factors for the water, energy and food supply systems in the Gulf region and highlights recent knowledge on such risks. Further, the paper explains the vulnerability of supply systems to planning risks like scale, integration intensity and level of service provisions together with risks related to growth, technology, market and climate. In light of such insecurities, we stress the importance of investing in risk management and resilience policies in infrastructure planning. Response measures to future risks can focus on options like storage, knowledge, diversification and, importantly, promoting regional cooperation and synergies from common infrastructure planning between countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). | This research was funded by Qatar University, grant number: QUST-CAS-SPR-2017-24. The publication of this article was funded by the Qatar National Library. | Scopus

The Water-Energy-Food nexus (WEF nexus) has emerged as a colossal environmental debate on how to improve the sustainability and resilience of resource systems. This debate has been inclusive of different disciplines and methodological approaches that have improved our understanding of the tight interconnectedness between the resource systems, and have highlighted the need for great coordination across the respective sectors. Following a decade of growing global attention toward WEF nexus-related challenges and opportunities, particularly after the Bonn Conference and World Economic Forum in 2011, the resulting body of academic literature has coined an area of study that mainly relies on decision support tools, models, simulations, stakeholder engagement, and policy analyses for guiding integrative resource planning, governance and policy-making across the WEF sectors. However, 10 years is a short period in the lifespan of a useful paradigm for sustainability, resource security or integrated management-as the WEF nexus is often understood to be. One can expect the WEF nexus to continue motivating a fruitful knowledge production, resulting in innovative perspectives that will arguably have wider implications for our understanding of resource security as well as the global sustainability agenda. This Special Topic invited scientists and experts to provide contributions that synthesize key lessons learned from the WEF nexus literature, expand current knowledge through innovative, cross-cutting approaches, present salient cases or provide policy-relevant reviews. The resulting set of seven highly interesting articles can be introduced in the following three subsets: (1) reviews of the WEF nexus interim insights; (2) examples of emerging topics; (3) policy-relevant integrated frameworks.

With increasing demands and pressures on energy, food, and water resources in the region of the Eastern Nile basin, development projects and also potential for conflict along the Nile waters have increased. This study presents data on resource use patterns and reviews literature on the cooperation potential between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia in the sectors of water, energy, and food. It introduces the resource use profiles of the countries in the three sectors and summarizes common challenges to resource security and in regard to cross‐cutting issues, such as climate risks and land degradation. The study also highlights the issues for transboundary cooperation using resources within and beyond the Nile. It emphasizes the importance of regional integration, using current country‐specific potentials for easing river‐sharing conflicts and fostering human development of riparian countries.