It is beyond doubt that the interconnectedness between food, energy, water security and environmental sustainability exists and is getting amplified with increased globalization. It has been recognized that efforts to address only one part of a systemic problem by neglecting other inherently interlinked aspects may not lead to desirable and sustainable outcomes. In this perspective, policy- and decision- making requires a nexus approach that reduces trade-offs and builds synergies across sectors, and helps to reduce costs and increase benefits for humans and nature compared to independent approaches to the management of water, energy, food and the environment. In the past, work related to the Nexus has looked at the interactions between water and food or water and energy, but there has been a reluctance to bring forward a broader systematic perspective that captures the multiple sectors and resource dependencies while understanding its cost to the environment if we neglect these linkages. This book is a compilation of thirteen papers published previously as a special issue of Water International, contains significant pieces of work on the W-E-F nexus focusing on relevant tools, solutions and governance at local and broader human scales.

Water, Energy and Food are the very basic necessities of human life and all the three of them are interconnected with each other, this connection being called the Water-Energy-Food nexus. Water is an inevitable element to energy and food systems to work. Water is essential for the growth of crops and produce energy and it consumes a lot of energy to treat and move water. Food and energy are equally dependent upon each other as well. This book highlights with various examples and case studies from around the World, the importance of this concept.

This will be the first textbook on the integration of food, energy and water systems (FEWS). In recent years, the world has seen a dramatic rise in interdisciplinary energy and environmental courses and degrees at the undergraduate and graduate levels. In the US for instance, the number and variety of such programs has increased significantly over the past decade, Simultaneously, national and international initiatives that integrate food, energy and water systems have been launched. This textbook provides a substantive introduction to the food-energy-water nexus suitable for use in higher level undergraduate and graduate level courses and for scholars moving into the field of nexus studies without a strong background in all three areas and the many aspects of nexus studies.

The world of development thinkers and practitioners is abuzz with a new lexicon: the idea of "the nexus" between water, food, and energy which is intuitively compelling. It promises better integration of multiple sectoral elements, a better transition to greener economies, and sustainable development. However, there appears to be little agreement on its precise meaning, whether it only complements existing environmental governance approaches or how it can be enhanced in national contexts. One current approach to the nexus treats it as a risk and security matter while another treats it within economic rationality addressing externalities across sector. A third perspective acknowledges it as a fundamentally political process requiring negotiation amongst different actors with distinct perceptions, interests, and practices. This perspective highlights the fact that technical solutions for improving coherence within the nexus may have unintended and negative impacts in other policy areas, such as poverty alleviation and education. The Water–Food–Energy Nexus: Power, Politics and Justice lays out the managerial-technical definitions of the nexus and challenges these conceptions by bringing to the forefront the politics of the nexus, around two key dimensions – a dynamic understanding of water–food–energy systems, and a normative positioning around nexus debates, in particular around social justice. The authors argue that a shift in nexus governance is required towards approaches where limits to control are acknowledged, and more reflexive/plural strategies adopted. This book will be of interest to academic researchers, policy makers, and practitioners in the fields of international development studies, environmental politics, and science and technology studies, as well as international relations.

This book presents readers with an integrated modeling approach for analyzing and understanding the interconnection of water, energy, and food resources and discusses the relationship between resilience and sustainability of the food- energy –water (FEW) system. Authors provide novel frameworks, models, and algorithms designed to balance the theoretical and applicative aspects of each chapter. The book covers an integrated modeling approach for FEW systems along with developed methods, codes, and planning tools for designing interdependent energy, water and food systems. In-depth chapters discuss the impact of renewable energy resources in FEW systems, sustainable design and operation, net zero energy buildings, and challenges and opportunities of the FEW nexus in the sustainable development of different countries. This book is useful for graduate students, researchers, and engineers seeking to understand how sustainable FEW systems contribute to the resilience of these systems and help policy and design makers allocate and prioritize resources in an integrated manner across the food, energy, and water sectors.

Due to global transformational trends, such as population growth, economic development and climate change, energy, water, land and human resources are increasingly under pressure to support societal development and to maintain necessary services. Decision makers need improved tools in order to be better informed about trade-offs and synergies between different development and management choices, and to help them identify options on how to sustainably manage resources. This report proposes a way to carry out a water-energy-food nexus assessment approach in order to: a) understand the interactions between water, energy and food systems in a given context, and b) evaluate the performance of a technical or policy intervention in this given context. The ultimate goal of the nexus assessment is to inform nexus related responses in terms of strategies, policy measures, planning and institutional set-up or interventions.

Global trends of population growth, rising living standards and the rapidly increasing urbanized world are increasing the demand on water, food and energy. Added to this is the growing threat of climate change which will have huge impacts on water and food availability. It is increasingly clear that there is no place in an interlinked world for isolated solutions aimed at just one sector. In recent years the "nexus" has emerged as a powerful concept to capture these inter-linkages of resources and is now a key feature of policy-making. This book is one of the first to provide a broad overview of both the science behind the nexus and the implications for policies and sustainable development. It brings together contributions by leading intergovernmental and governmental officials, industry, scientists and other stakeholder thinkers who are working to develop the approaches to the Nexus of water-food-energy and climate. It represents a major synthesis and state-of-the-art assessment of the Nexus by major players, in light of the adoption by the United Nations of the new Sustainable Development Goals and Targets in 2015. With a foreword by HRH the Prince of Wales

Exponential growth of the worldwide population requires increasing amounts of water, food, and energy. However, as the quantity of available fresh water and energy sources directly affecting cost of food production and transportation diminishes, technological solutions are necessary to secure sustainable supplies. In direct response to this reality, this book focuses on the water-energy-food nexus and describes in depth the challenges and processes involved in efficient water and energy production and management, wastewater treatment, and impact upon food and essential commodities. The book is organized into 4 sections on water, food, energy, and the future of sustainability, highlighting the interplay among these topics. The first section emphasizes water desalination, water management, and wastewater treatment. The second section discusses cereal processing, sustainable food security, bioenergy in food production, water and energy consumption in food processing, and mathematical modeling for food undergoing phase changes. The third section discusses fossil fuels, biofuels, synthetic fuels, renewable energy, and carbon capture. Finally, the book concludes with a discussion of the future of sustainability, including coverage of the role of molecular thermodynamics in developing processes and products, green engineering in process systems, petrochemical water splitting, petrochemical approaches to solar hydrogen generation, design and operation strategy of energy-efficient processes, and the sustainability of process, supply chain, and enterprise.

This book provides a survey of technologies available to tackle the problems associated with climate change in the energy, water and food security nexus with a special focus on the Middle East. It is divided into three main sections. The energy Section consists of six chapters, the water section of seven chapters and finally the food security section has six chapters. The individual chapters are authored by experts and provide discussions and in-depth views on the current status of each topic.

This book presents the proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Water Energy Food and Sustainability – ICoWEFS 2021, a major forum to foster innovation and exchange knowledge in the water-energy-food nexus, embracing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, bringing together leading academics, researchers and industrial experts. It contains the work of authors from 33 countries.