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Advanced Perspectives on the Water–Energy–Food Nexus

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water-Energy Nexus".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 December 2025 | Viewed by 492

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
College of Agricultural Science and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
Interests: water–energy–food nexus; multi-objective modelling; water resource allocation; decision-making; uncertaintyrigation planning management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, China
Interests: water–energy–food nexus; virtual water; water management; climate change; water use efficiency
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural Water Conservancy, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
Interests: water efficiency assessment; water footprint; paddy field; non-point source pollution; water use efficiency

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural Water Conservancy, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
Interests: water footprint; agricultural water management; irrigation; virtual water; water use efficiency
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Water, energy, and food are foundational pillars of human survival, economic development, and ecological balance. The growing demand for natural resources caused by burgeoning population, progressive urbanization, and changing climate, security access to water, energy, and food, is becoming an increasingly pressing issue. Water–energy–food (WEF) nexus plays an important role in addressing such sustainability challenges. While the interdependencies among water, energy, and food systems are widely acknowledged, integrated management remains a formidable challenge. Traditional sectoral policies often exacerbate WEF trade-offs—for instance, bioenergy expansion may compromise water security or irrigation intensification may increase energy scarcity—while climate change amplifies these tensions through cascading risks across scales. Emerging technological and methodological advances offer transformative potential. Transdisciplinary approaches bridge the divide between technical solutions and socio-political realities. These developments demand frameworks that harmonize resource productivity with distributive justice—a gap this Special Issue seeks to address.

In this Special Issue, we welcome original research papers, critical reviews, and case studies that advance the WEF nexus. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Bridging policy silos: cross-sectoral governance for the WEF nexus management;
  • Efficiency–equity synergies: metrics and governance pathways in WEF nexus systems;
  • Climate-resilient WEF systems: adaptive strategies under uncertainty;
  • Cascading risk in WEF networks: modeling interdependencies and mitigation strategies;
  • AI-integrated decision support systems for WEF trade-offs;
  • Circular bioeconomy innovations associated with wastewater and bioenergy.

We look forward to your contributions.

Dr. Qiong Yue
Dr. Guohua He
Dr. Mengyang Wu
Prof. Dr. Xinchun Cao
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 submissions that pass pre-check are 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. Water 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 2600 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
  • integrated management
  • cross-sectoral policy
  • climate resilience
  • cascading risk

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

29 pages, 8743 KiB  
Article
Coupled Simulation of the Water–Food–Energy–Ecology System Under Extreme Drought Events: A Case Study of Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei, China
by Huanyu Chang, Naren Fang, Yongqiang Cao, Jiaqi Yao and Zhen Hong
Water 2025, 17(14), 2103; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17142103 - 15 Jul 2025
Viewed by 376
Abstract
The Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region is one of China’s most water-scarce yet economically vital areas, facing increasing challenges due to climate change and intensive human activities. This study develops an integrated Water–Food–Energy–Ecology (WFEE) simulation and regulation model to assess the system’s stability under coordinated [...] Read more.
The Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region is one of China’s most water-scarce yet economically vital areas, facing increasing challenges due to climate change and intensive human activities. This study develops an integrated Water–Food–Energy–Ecology (WFEE) simulation and regulation model to assess the system’s stability under coordinated development scenarios and extreme climate stress. A 500-year precipitation series was reconstructed using historical drought and flood records combined with wavelet analysis and machine learning models (Random Forest and Support Vector Regression). Results show that during the reconstructed historical megadrought (1633–1647), with average precipitation anomalies reaching −20% to −27%, leading to a regional water shortage rate of 16.9%, food self-sufficiency as low as 44.7%, and a critical reduction in ecological river discharge. Under future recommended scenario with enhanced water conservation, reclaimed water reuse, and expanded inter-basin transfers, the region could maintain a water shortage rate of 2.6%, achieve 69.3% food self-sufficiency, and support ecological water demand. However, long-term water resource degradation could still reduce food self-sufficiency to 62.9% and ecological outflows by 20%. The findings provide insights into adaptive water management, highlight the vulnerability of highly coupled systems to prolonged droughts, and support regional policy decisions on resilience-oriented water infrastructure planning. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Perspectives on the Water–Energy–Food Nexus)
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