A Nexus Approach for the MENA Region—From Concept to Knowledge to Action

Holger Hoff,Kerstin Fritzsche,Robert Schultz,Gül Özerol,Fatima Ezzahra Mengoub,Nadim Farajalla,Guy Jobbins,Rana El Hajj,Anne Ulrich,Sajed Aqel Alrahaife,Kerstin Lohr

doi:10.3389/fenvs.2019.00048

Abstract

There is wide agreement that a nexus or integrated approach to managing and governing natural resources such as land, water, and energy can improve environmental, climate, human, and political security. However, few if any countries in the MENA region have made progress in implementing such an approach. There appear to be several constraints inhibiting the development and adoption of nexus approaches. These constraints include strong sectoral silos, insufficient incentives for integrated planning and policy making at all levels, and limited vision, knowledge, and practical experience to guide successful implementation. In turn, the limited implementation and hence lack of empirical evidence of a nexus approach, which could demonstrate its benefits, does little to strengthen political will for the development of adequate incentives, structures, and procedures. Against this backdrop, this paper presents five case studies which take an integrated approach, in three MENA countries, namely Jordan, Lebanon, and Morocco. Based on an analytical framework developed here, the paper analyses and compares the success factors for nexus implementation, and also for transfer and upscaling. The analysis emphasizes the need for appropriate framework conditions, targeted investments and pioneering actors, to make integrated approaches across sectors and levels work. With the evidence presented, the paper aims to set in motion a positive or virtuous cycle of generating more nexus evidence, improved framework conditions, further nexus implementation on the ground, and from that even more nexus evidence. Finally, the paper contributes to overcoming the repeated requests for better definition and conceptualization of the nexus, which often has slowed down adoption of the concept.

Highlights

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is characterized by extreme water as well as land scarcity, low resource use efficiencies despite growing urgency (Sullivan, 2013; Waterbury, 2017) and increasing human insecurities—being the only region in the world with decreasing food security (FAO, 2015)
There is very limited progress so far in the operationalization of the nexus concept in policy making and its implementation on the ground (Leck et al, 2015). This implementation challenge is critical in the MENA region, where several constraints contribute to this dilemma, such as insufficient incentives, limited vision, knowledge, and experience to guide technology development and investment, and in particular the absence of concrete examples and applied practices (Mansour et al, 2017; Weitz et al, 2017a)
Jobbins et al (2015) come to the conclusion that nexus approaches are not per se pro-poor and ask: is “the reduction of trade-offs between water, energy and food security considered an end in itself, or does it support higher-level social goals such as the reduction of poverty?” For this paper we argue that the nexus can help to achieve better social and economic outcomes while reducing pressure on natural resources and the environment—so called “decoupling,” e.g., through enhancing resource use efficiencies across resources, through integrated management and governance and policy coherence

Summary

A Nexus Approach for the MENA Region—From Concept to Knowledge to Action

There appear to be several constraints inhibiting the development and adoption of nexus approaches These constraints include strong sectoral silos, insufficient incentives for integrated planning and policy making at all levels, and limited vision, knowledge, and practical experience to guide successful implementation. The limited implementation and lack of empirical evidence of a nexus approach, which could demonstrate its benefits, does little to strengthen political will for the development of adequate incentives, structures, and procedures. Against this backdrop, this paper presents five case studies which take an integrated approach, in three MENA countries, namely Jordan, Lebanon, and Morocco.

INTRODUCTION

LITERATURE REVIEW

Findings

CONCLUSION