Special Issue "Sustainable Development and the Water–Energy–Food Nexus"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2022.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Janez Sušnik
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Land and Water Management Department, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, PO Box 3015, 2601DA Delft, The Netherlands
Interests: nexus analysis; water resources assessment; urban water supply security
Dr. Sara Masia
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Land and Water Management Department, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, PO Box 3015, 2601DA Delft, The Netherlands
Interests: Water–Energy–Food–Climate–Land–Ecosystem Nexus assessment, systems modeling and analysis; agricultural water management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, much interest has focused on the Water–Energy–Food (WEF) nexus. Studies have aimed to assess the nexus, both qualitatively and quantitatively, at a range of spatial and temporal scales, from months to decades and from household to global. In this regard, much progress has been made, with advances in many fields related to nexus research. However, there are clear gaps in our knowledge and understanding, including: i) the role of social science and governance and policy analysis in informing WEF nexus management, and how these approaches can be integrated with ‘quantitative’ methods; ii) the lack of integration of ecosystems and ecosystem service provision regarding nexus resources. This is a major oversight when sustainable development is concerned, and is a crucial gap to be filled in nexus studies; and iii) the relationship of the nexus to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), their monitoring, and their tracking. It has recently been suggested that all SDG targets cannot be met simultaneously, so there is a major research gap in understanding of SDG trade-offs to ensure optimal SDG target fulfilment.

This Special Issue calls for original research into the WEF nexus, particularly studies that start to address the major gaps mentioned above. Case studies, reviews, applied research, and theoretical research articles are welcome. Studies that demonstrate integration amongst nexus sectors and policy/governance, ecosystems, and the SDGs are particularly encouraged. Studies from developing countries or under-represented areas that satisfy these criteria are also strongly encouraged.

This Special Issue is open to submissions of original articles, subject to a rigorous peer review process, covering the recent debate on sustainable development in the WEF nexus, with a focus on integration and the role of social science, policy, and governance, the assessment of ecosystem services in a nexus context, and the relationship to the fulfilment of SDG targets. We look forward to transdisciplinary contributions from studies related to furthering the state-of-the-art of nexus-related research.

Dr. Janez Sušnik
Dr. Sara Masia
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • water–energy–food nexus
  • sustainable development
  • Sustainable Development Goals
  • ecosystem services
  • nexus policy and governance

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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Article
Impact of ICT Adoption and Governance Interaction on Food Security in West Africa
Sustainability 2021, 13(10), 5570; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13105570 - 17 May 2021
Viewed by 430
Abstract
The impact of the interaction of governance and information and communication technologies (ICT) adoption on food security in West Africa is investigated in this study. The study engaged the system generalised method of moments (GMM) approach on a panel data of 15 West [...] Read more.
The impact of the interaction of governance and information and communication technologies (ICT) adoption on food security in West Africa is investigated in this study. The study engaged the system generalised method of moments (GMM) approach on a panel data of 15 West African countries. The data used for the study are obtained from the world development indicators (WDI) and world governance indicators (WGI), for the period 2005 to 2018. The findings show that good governance (government effectiveness and efficient anti-corruption control) can boost food security by between 12% and 20%. Furthermore, the findings show that a 1% rise in ICT adoption may boost food security by 12% to 15%. In explaining the level of food security, the relationship between governance and ICT adoption is positive and significant. This implies that ICT and governance (government effectiveness) interaction may have about 15% positive influence on food security, while ICT and control of corruption interaction may positively influence the level of food security by 8%. The study concludes by recommending that to enhance food security in West Africa, effectiveness in governance and ICT adoption are crucial. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development and the Water–Energy–Food Nexus)

Review

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Review
Water-Energy-Food Nexus: Critical Review, Practical Applications, and Prospects for Future Research
Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 1919; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041919 - 10 Feb 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1430
Abstract
This paper presents knowledge gaps and critiques on the water–energy–food (WEF) nexus that have emerged since the concept of the WEF nexus was proposed by the World Economic Forum and the Bonn 2011 Conference. Furthermore, this study analyses current innovations on the WEF [...] Read more.
This paper presents knowledge gaps and critiques on the water–energy–food (WEF) nexus that have emerged since the concept of the WEF nexus was proposed by the World Economic Forum and the Bonn 2011 Conference. Furthermore, this study analyses current innovations on the WEF nexus concept, applications, and impacts during the period of 2012–2020. This begins by reviewing ten WEF nexus frameworks developed by international organizations and researchers. On this basis, several gaps and omissions in nexus frameworks are obvious in almost all developed frameworks. Studies that start to address some of these gaps are analysed, but they are relatively few and do not address all gaps. Several proposed improvements to nexus frameworks are identified to narrow the gaps and put the concept into practical implementation in WEF resources management and governance. Four principles and the perspective of “from local to global” for future WEF nexus framework development and analysis are suggested to ensure that the security of water, energy, and food resources can be achieved sustainably in local communities. This will improve the impact of national and global ambitions on WEF security. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development and the Water–Energy–Food Nexus)
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