Tools and indices for WEF nexus analysis

Abstract

The water-energy-food (WEF) nexus is shown to be a highly interconnected, complex system, operating over multiple time scales, and at spatial scales from household to global. The key WEF nexus foci issues and challenges are known to be extremely diverse and change depending on the local situation and setting, the scale at which the nexus is analyzed, and even according to the sector used as the nexus entry point. As such, there are a multitude of approaches and methodologies for studying, assessing, and analyzing the nexus, which can be adopted to suit the specific case under investigation. There is no “silver bullet” modeling or methodological approach to studying the nexus. Some common and regularly employed nexus investigation approaches are outlined in this chapter, ranging from purely qualitative conceptual systems mapping aiming at getting a high-level understanding of nexus connections for a given study area, through to quantitative approaches including system dynamics modeling, agent-based modeling, life cycle assessment, and (multiregion) input-output modeling. Each approach has strengths and limitations, explored here, and the selected tool should address the research questions being considered as well as the goals of the study. In addition to tools and models, results need to be translated into “real-world” practicalities to have a better chance of being taken up and adopted. To this end, this chapter also introduces some indices and metrics that are often applied to communicate nexus results and messages to policymakers in a nontechnical language. This effort hopes to better disseminate and communicate the idea of integrated nexus thinking, especially in a policy- and decision-making domain.