Abstract
Integrated approaches to managing natural resources are increasingly
needed in a complex and interconnected world to meet growing demands
for water, energy, and food, while preserving ecosystem integrity and
promoting equitable access to resources. One such approach is the WaterEnergy-Food (WEF) Nexus, which offers a cross-sectoral framework to
navigate trade-offs and leverage synergies across interlinked sectors.
Although ecosystems were not originally considered a formal component
of the Nexus, their vital role in supporting water, energy, and food systems
-and in regulating the interactions between them- is gaining recognition
among Nexus scholars and practitioners. To review and discuss existing
efforts that integrate ecosystems into the WEF Nexus, we -a
multidisciplinary team of natural resource management researchers and
systems thinkers from the European network NEXUSNET COST Actionundertook a collaborative process of knowledge creation.
Researchers from both the Nexus and Ecosystems community were
involved in literature analysis, expert elicitation during workshops, and
collaborative writing. Our analysis revealed a wide range of concepts used
in the literature to represent “nature” within the Nexus, including terms like
“environment,” “ecosystems,” “ecosystem services,” and “biodiversity.”
Three main conceptual paradigms on the role of “nature” in the Nexus
were also isolated: (i) ecosystems as a fourth component of the Nexus, i.e.,
the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems (WEFE) Nexus; (ii) ecosystems as the
foundational layer underpinning the Nexus; and (iii) the WEF Nexus as a
central component of social-ecological systems (SES).
We put forward a WEFE Nexus hybrid paradigm that expands the mutual
interlinkages among water, energy and food to the entirety of SES, thus
acknowledging the social-ecological processes that are affected by and
affect the WEF Nexus. The hybrid paradigm represents a piece of common
and integrated knowledge that has emerged from the sharing of individual
viewpoints and mental models, ultimately providing researchers with
means to better understand the WEFE Nexus.
needed in a complex and interconnected world to meet growing demands
for water, energy, and food, while preserving ecosystem integrity and
promoting equitable access to resources. One such approach is the WaterEnergy-Food (WEF) Nexus, which offers a cross-sectoral framework to
navigate trade-offs and leverage synergies across interlinked sectors.
Although ecosystems were not originally considered a formal component
of the Nexus, their vital role in supporting water, energy, and food systems
-and in regulating the interactions between them- is gaining recognition
among Nexus scholars and practitioners. To review and discuss existing
efforts that integrate ecosystems into the WEF Nexus, we -a
multidisciplinary team of natural resource management researchers and
systems thinkers from the European network NEXUSNET COST Actionundertook a collaborative process of knowledge creation.
Researchers from both the Nexus and Ecosystems community were
involved in literature analysis, expert elicitation during workshops, and
collaborative writing. Our analysis revealed a wide range of concepts used
in the literature to represent “nature” within the Nexus, including terms like
“environment,” “ecosystems,” “ecosystem services,” and “biodiversity.”
Three main conceptual paradigms on the role of “nature” in the Nexus
were also isolated: (i) ecosystems as a fourth component of the Nexus, i.e.,
the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems (WEFE) Nexus; (ii) ecosystems as the
foundational layer underpinning the Nexus; and (iii) the WEF Nexus as a
central component of social-ecological systems (SES).
We put forward a WEFE Nexus hybrid paradigm that expands the mutual
interlinkages among water, energy and food to the entirety of SES, thus
acknowledging the social-ecological processes that are affected by and
affect the WEF Nexus. The hybrid paradigm represents a piece of common
and integrated knowledge that has emerged from the sharing of individual
viewpoints and mental models, ultimately providing researchers with
means to better understand the WEFE Nexus.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Building Resilience to Global Challenges |
| Subtitle of host publication | Book of Abstracts of the International Conference on the Water-Energy-Food Nexus for a low-carbon Economy in Europe & beyond |
| Editors | Chrysi Laspidou, Floor Brouwer, Giannis Adamos |
| Publisher | University of Thessaly |
| Pages | 22-25 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 978-618-5960-05-6 |
| Publication status | Published - 4 Jun 2025 |
| MoE publication type | Not Eligible |
| Event | International Conference on the Water-Energy-Food Nexus for a low-carbon Economy in Europe & beyond - Brussels, Belgium Duration: 4 Jun 2025 → 4 Jun 2025 |
Conference
| Conference | International Conference on the Water-Energy-Food Nexus for a low-carbon Economy in Europe & beyond |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | Belgium |
| City | Brussels |
| Period | 4/06/25 → 4/06/25 |