Abstract
Abstract Water, energy, and food are primary resources on which human life is dependent. This paper presents a review of the water–energy–food (WEF) nexus considering the environmental impacts generated by humans' reliance on water, energy, and food for their subsistence. Our review assesses the WEF with respect to the agricultural, industrial, and urban sectors and their use of water, energy, and food. The multi-sectorial assessment addresses options for improved management that avoids or mitigates adverse impacts in the agricultural, industrial, and urban sectors. Activities such as the use of fertilizers and pesticides in the agricultural sector, for instance, cause water, air, and soil pollution, which leads to social calamities and environmental degradation. Therefore, examining the effects of mismanagement in one sector on other sectors from the perspective of the WEF nexus is necessary for improved resource management and environmental protection. A literature review revealed that factors or practices of resources use influence sectors differently and with varying degrees of effectiveness in reducing the environmental damage caused by resources use. Improved social awareness on resource consumption, the use of renewable energy, improved energy efficiency, the reduction of food waste, improved animal husbandry, and other factors involved in the WEF nexus are herein examined. This paper's analysis demonstrates that every action and manner of resource use in one sector also affects other sectors and their resources use, thus calling for a unified analysis of the WE nexus.
Highlights
Water, energy, and food are essential resources for the successful functioning of society
This study considers surface water and groundwater, soil, and climate, which affect water, energy, and food sources through a set of complex feedbacks and interactions. The review of such interactions in this study demonstrates that actions taken in the agricultural, industrial, and urban sectors influence the WEF nexus, and the consequences of such actions must be carefully assessed to avoid adverse and irreversible impacts that may negate short-term gains
Several authors have presented numerous interdisciplinary and specialized frameworks and approaches to achieve a dynamic and optimal balance of production and resource utilization in search of resource sustainability. It is in this realm that the WEF nexus approach performs well in achieving sound decisions, policy making, and management by simultaneously examining the relations that exist between the agricultural, industrial, and urban sectors
Summary
Energy, and food are essential resources for the successful functioning of society. A system so defined implies that the interactions between water, food, and energy can be considered as a system because changes in the amount of consumption and sources of each of these three resources affect the others. Providing water to meet growing human demand implies heavier reliance on resources (water, energy, and land) to meet human needs and demand food, which concomitant larger stress on the environment by increasing water diversions, pollution, and changes to the natural environment created by human activities. These environmental impacts must be considered in WEF nexus studies to achieve holistic and effective strategies for resource management. The WEF nexus must be understood and managed properly to maximize the underlying synergies and reduce or avoid adverse impacts from human reliance on water, energy, and food consumption
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