The water–energy–food–environmental security nexus: moving the debate forward

Abstract

Sustainability scholars increasingly recognise that environmental and security challenges that societies face today cannot be understood in isolation from one another. The rising popularity of a nexus approach to water–energy–food–environmental security analysis reflects this trend. Yet, little is known about exactly how previously disconnected scholarship on water security, energy security, food security and environmental security have converged in this way—and how this convergence can become more holistic and analytically meaningful. This paper outlines major conceptual turns within the literature on these four concepts and reflects on the use of nexus analysis in sustainability science as well as ways forward from where we currently stand. A salient finding is that while a nexus approach suggests more integrated analyses, there is still a tendency for siloed approaches focussed on how, for example, water security connects to energy and food security rather than truly integrated approaches.