Abstract
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is replete with significant environmental resources including forests, water, land, and energy; although its transition to a bio-resource economy is yet to be actualized. Consequently, there are limited socio-economic gains from resource valorization. These challenges which stall progress towards the attainment of several interlinked sustainable development goals, are rooted, among others in resource governance defects. Furthermore, the persistence of knowledge fragmentation on resource governance shades possibilities for an in-depth theorizing of the nexus approach. In this light, two questions beg for answers: (i) To what extent are governance indicators captured in empirical studies on the nexus approach in SSA? (ii) What questions and approaches should inform future research on the nexus approach in SSA? To answer these questions, this paper systematically reviews 100 peer-reviewed articles (with 154 cases) that address governance questions in nexus studies within the broad framework of bioeconomy transitioning in SSA. Using the PROFOR analytical framework, our analysis reveals the following: (1) Although sub-regional variations exist in the application of nexus thinking, the overall emphasis in SSA is on first-level resource transformation. (2) With only 5% of studies explicitly mentioning the nexus approach, there is a strong indication for nexus thinking to be prioritized in future research. (3) While efficiency is the most recurrent in the literature (69%), its assurance in resource nexus and transformation is insignificant. (4) Interlinked questions of equity, participation, transparency, and conflict management have not been sufficiently addressed in studies on the nexus approach. The paper suggests an urgent need for in-depth, multi-country, and interdisciplinary research on these governance parameters in the nexus approach, as prerequisite to advancing the science–policy intercourse in nexus thinking in SSA.
Highlights
Population growth is exerting significant pressure on the earth’s finite environmental resources, forcing governments to search for approaches that guarantee sustainable resource use (Adekunle 2020)
Review highlights on the nexus approach in environmental resource management Sub‐regional variations
The increasing reliance on quasi-transformed or non-transformed natural resources to sustain the economy of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) signals a weak transition propensity to more stable economies
Summary
Population growth is exerting significant pressure on the earth’s finite environmental resources, forcing governments to search for approaches that guarantee sustainable resource use (Adekunle 2020). Growing unsustainable resource use and declining environmental quality remains a preoccupying global issue with several attendant effects, including food insecurity (IPCC 2014). As the trend continues amidst rising poverty levels, loss of livelihoods and significant outmigration, global interests through “bioeconomy” approaches are gaining grounds under different governance settings (UNEP 2014). Such approaches are expected to create interdependent and synergistic resource production and transformation systems (Hülsmann and Jampani 2021).
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