One Swallow Does Not Make a Summer: Siloes, Trade-Offs and Synergies in the Water-Energy-Food Nexus

Mathew Kurian,Graham Alabaster,Bryce Hannibal,Adelaide Nardocci,Rizaldi Boer,Christopher Scott,Kent Portney,V. Ratna Reddy

doi:10.3389/fenvs.2019.00032

Abstract

Synergies are required to ensure coordination between UN agencies (on norms and indicators), Member States (on coherence of policy instruments) and consumers (on perceptions of safety and affordability of services) to advance the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 6.3 which focusses on reuse of wastewater. In this paper we employ theoretical insights derived from an agent-based modeling approach to undertake a critical examination of the recent UN-WATER directive on SDG target 6.3 and advocate for an improved understanding of factors that determine whether and how effective wastewater reuse will be possible while accommodating for regional variation and institutional change. We demonstrate that by applying the Nexus approach it is feasible to overcome siloes by forging concepts of trade-offs and synergies to draw out coupled perspectives of bio-physical and institutional dimensions of water-energy-food interactions. By employing this proposition, the paper advocates for place-based observatories as a mechanism that can support valorization of data and methodological assumptions as a precursor to robust monitoring of the SDG's. The systematic use of literature reviews and expert opinion to develop and pilot-test composite indices via place-based observatories raises the prospect of a data light approach to monitoring SDGs; specifically, what are the merits of relying on extensive survey data compared to composite indices that while being amenable to supporting benchmarking and scenario analysis can provide the insight needed to inform decision-making and robust monitoring of global goals?

Highlights

The gulf between theory and practice in Global Public Goods Research1 has become apparent in recent years
Despite the efficiency gains that could arise from overcoming administrative siloes combined billing has not succeeded because this would require the Water Boards and private companies to give up some of their autonomy with regards to their sources of financing
These examples outlined above highlight a key issue that speaks to the question posed by this Special Issue: Achieving Water-Energy-Food Nexus Sustainability- a Science and Data Need or a Need for Integrated Public Policy?: there is a lack of understanding of the institutional pathways for adoption of the results of controlled experiments and case studies

Summary

Introduction

The gulf between theory and practice in Global Public Goods Research1 has become apparent in recent years. Section Monitoring Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 6.3 on Wastewater Reuse: Method, Data and Applications of Agent Based Modeling highlights the applications of trade-off analysis in delineating the role of financing, institutional capacity and information in fostering synergies in environmental planning and management.

Results

Conclusion