Special Issue "Is the Nexus Approach a Way to Decode the Higher Order Interlinkages between the Water–Food–Energy–Health–Biodiversity?"

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Resources Management, Policy and Governance".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 March 2023 | Viewed by 3620

Special Issue Editor

Institute for Global Environmental Strategies | IGES, Natural Resources and Ecosystem Services (NRE), Kamiyamaguchi, Hayama, Kanagawa, Japan
Interests: hydrological modeling; urban water management; wastewater management; sustainable development goals
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Rapid global changes (e.g., population growth, land use land cover changes, climate change, urbanization, etc.), are giving a ripple effects on different natural resources like food, air, water, energy, and biodiversity.  These challenges are so much interlinked, that often one challenge leads to an increased chance of others. For example, water pollution leads to food insecurity and health issues, whereas unmanaged food production leads to water pollution and health issue.

Moreover, current management practices and policy interventions are mainly looking into one-way interaction and silos (e.eg water, food, agriculture, forest, etc.) rather than a holistic approach. With such policies, complex interlinkages between different sectors are often overlooked resulting in misinterpretation of interaction between humans and the environment. However, this trend is changing with the introduction of holistic policy frameworks such as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), One Earth, One Health, Planetary Health, etc. Hence, to address these complex issues, the nexus approach is vital in nature to transform our socio-economic well-being. It will also help to evaluate the nature of future frameworks in a more sustainable manner.

With the above background, this Special Issue will deal with the following issue:

  • How relevant existing scientific information is there to interpret nexus issues.
  • Is the nexus approach important to advance sustainable development on the earth?
  • Policy challenges and opportunities related to the nexus approach.

Dr. Pankaj Kumar
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 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

  • nexus
  • transformative changes
  • water-food-energy-health-biodiversity
  • natures future's framework
  • SDGs
  • planetary health
  • big data
  • hydrological simulation

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

Article
Novel Ensemble Machine Learning Modeling Approach for Groundwater Potential Mapping in Parbhani District of Maharashtra, India
Water 2023, 15(3), 419; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15030419 - 19 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 797
Abstract
Groundwater is an essential source of water especially in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. The demand for water due to exponential increase in population has created stresses on available groundwater resources. Further, climate change has affected the quantity of water globally. [...] Read more.
Groundwater is an essential source of water especially in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. The demand for water due to exponential increase in population has created stresses on available groundwater resources. Further, climate change has affected the quantity of water globally. Many parts of Indian cities are experiencing water scarcity. Thus, assessment of groundwater potential is necessary for sustainable utilization and management of water resources. We utilized a novel ensemble approach using artificial neural network multi-layer perceptron (ANN-MLP), random forest (RF), M5 prime (M5P) and support vector machine for regression (SMOReg) models for assessing groundwater potential in the Parbhani district of Maharashtra in India. Ten site-specific influencing factors, elevation, slope, aspect, drainage density, rainfall, water table depth, lineament density, land use land cover, geomorphology, and soil types, were integrated for preparation of groundwater potential zones. The results revealed that the largest area of the district was found under moderate category GWP zone followed by poor, good, very good and very poor. Spatial distribution of GWP zones showed that Poor GWPZs are spread over north, central and southern parts of the district. Very poor GWPZs are mostly found in the north-western and southern parts of the district. The study calls for policy implications to conserve and manage groundwater in these parts. The ensembled model has proved to be effective for assessment of GWP zones. The outcome of the study may help stakeholders efficiently utilize groundwater and devise suitable strategies for its management. Other geographical regions may find the methodology adopted in this study effective for groundwater potential assessment. Full article
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Article
Evaluation of the Impact of Drought and Saline Water Intrusion on Rice Yields in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam
Water 2022, 14(21), 3499; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14213499 - 01 Nov 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1102
Abstract
The Mekong delta is Vietnam’s premier rice growing region, forming the livelihood basis for millions of farmers. At the same time, the region is facing various challenges, ranging from extreme weather events, saline water intrusion, and other anthropogenic pressures. This study examines how [...] Read more.
The Mekong delta is Vietnam’s premier rice growing region, forming the livelihood basis for millions of farmers. At the same time, the region is facing various challenges, ranging from extreme weather events, saline water intrusion, and other anthropogenic pressures. This study examines how saline water intrusion and drought have affected rice yield in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD). Applying the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and the maximum and minimum values of annual average salinity, we spatially examine the effects of drought and saline water intrusion on rice yields over a 40-year period (1980–2019). Our results highlight that 42% of the natural land area of the VMD has experienced increased drought occurrence during the winter-spring (WS) rice cropping season, while certain inland regions have additionally experienced increased drought occurrence during the summer-autumn (SA) rice cropping season. The Tri Ton Station, which has a significant Sen’s slope of −0.025 and a p-value of 0.05, represents an upstream semi-mountainous part of the delta, indicative of a rising severity of reoccurring drought. It should be noted that the yield decreases during the summer-autumn season as the positive SPI_SA increases. Salinity, on the other hand, is associated with SPI_WS during the winter-spring season. Our results highlight the need for improved evidence-based planning and investments in priority adaptation for both sustainable water infrastructure and to improve system resilience. Full article
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Article
Water Accounting Using Satellite Products and Water Accounting Plus Framework in a Semi-Arid Betwa River Basin, India
Water 2022, 14(21), 3473; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14213473 - 30 Oct 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1422
Abstract
The emerging water crisis in India can be preempted by improving watershed management. The data scare regions need open access satellite observations to mitigate watershed problems. The water accounting plus (WA+) and open access earth observation datasets were applied to quantify the beneficial [...] Read more.
The emerging water crisis in India can be preempted by improving watershed management. The data scare regions need open access satellite observations to mitigate watershed problems. The water accounting plus (WA+) and open access earth observation datasets were applied to quantify the beneficial and non-beneficial water consumption in the Betwa River basin, Central India. The PERSIANN and CHIRPS precipitations were evaluated. Based on significant statistical relations with IMD rainfall, CHIRPS was found to be the best precipitation product. The seasonal water yield from PERSIANN depicts that the high water yield in the basin is associated with the July and August months of the monsoon season, with water yields of 240 mm/month and 120 mm/month, respectively, while CHIRPS showed higher water yields during the monsoon season, especially in July and August, with water yield amounts of 290 mm/month and 200 mm/month, respectively. The largest water consuming land use class is irrigated crops–cereals, which cover 62.06% of the total area of the basin. The amount of non-beneficial ET is almost twice the beneficial ET. The outcomes of this research will be helpful for sustainable water management, strategy development, and policy making. Full article
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