The water–energy–food (WEF) nexus as a tool to develop climate change adaptation strategies: a case study of the Buffalo River Catchment, South Africa

The Buffalo River catchment in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, has limited water resource infrastructure development, and climate change is predicted to increase its water supply deficits by exacerbating water distribution inequalities. This study evaluates and optimises current climate change policy p...

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Autores principales: Dlamini, N., Senzanje, A., Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: IWA Publishing 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/138724
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author Dlamini, N.
Senzanje, A.
Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe
author_browse Dlamini, N.
Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe
Senzanje, A.
author_facet Dlamini, N.
Senzanje, A.
Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe
author_sort Dlamini, N.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The Buffalo River catchment in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, has limited water resource infrastructure development, and climate change is predicted to increase its water supply deficits by exacerbating water distribution inequalities. This study evaluates and optimises current climate change policy plans on the Buffalo River catchments water system to aid in assessing the sustainability of policies that address the aforementioned challenges. The water–energy–food (WEF) nexus approach, which encourages system thinking by considering interconnections among water, energy, and food resources when developing integrated natural resource management strategies, was used to perform the evaluation. The water system's reliability in meeting projected domestic, agricultural, and energy water demands under climate change conditions was used for gauging the sustainability of the development plans. Findings projected the existing water policy plans to increase the domestic water provision by >70% under climate change; however, the <3% increase in irrigation and energy generation water demand coverage yielded a significant contrast in reliability between densely populated areas and regions with extensive agricultural activities. The optimised policy plans, which improved water provision for all considered sectors increased by >20% under climate change, are thus recommended for future water resource management research and dialogue in the Buffalo River catchment.
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spelling CGSpace1387242025-12-08T10:11:39Z The water–energy–food (WEF) nexus as a tool to develop climate change adaptation strategies: a case study of the Buffalo River Catchment, South Africa Dlamini, N. Senzanje, A. Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe climate change adaptation strategies water allocation energy food systems nexus approaches river basin management water demand water supply irrigation water frameworks case studies The Buffalo River catchment in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, has limited water resource infrastructure development, and climate change is predicted to increase its water supply deficits by exacerbating water distribution inequalities. This study evaluates and optimises current climate change policy plans on the Buffalo River catchments water system to aid in assessing the sustainability of policies that address the aforementioned challenges. The water–energy–food (WEF) nexus approach, which encourages system thinking by considering interconnections among water, energy, and food resources when developing integrated natural resource management strategies, was used to perform the evaluation. The water system's reliability in meeting projected domestic, agricultural, and energy water demands under climate change conditions was used for gauging the sustainability of the development plans. Findings projected the existing water policy plans to increase the domestic water provision by >70% under climate change; however, the <3% increase in irrigation and energy generation water demand coverage yielded a significant contrast in reliability between densely populated areas and regions with extensive agricultural activities. The optimised policy plans, which improved water provision for all considered sectors increased by >20% under climate change, are thus recommended for future water resource management research and dialogue in the Buffalo River catchment. 2023-12-01 2024-01-31T14:54:16Z 2024-01-31T14:54:16Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/138724 en Open Access IWA Publishing Dlamini, N.; Senzanje, A.; Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe. 2023. The water–energy–food (WEF) nexus as a tool to develop climate change adaptation strategies: a case study of the Buffalo River Catchment, South Africa. Journal of Water and Climate Change, 14(12):4465-4488. [doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wcc.2023.263]
spellingShingle climate change adaptation
strategies
water allocation
energy
food systems
nexus approaches
river basin management
water demand
water supply
irrigation water
frameworks
case studies
Dlamini, N.
Senzanje, A.
Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe
The water–energy–food (WEF) nexus as a tool to develop climate change adaptation strategies: a case study of the Buffalo River Catchment, South Africa
title The water–energy–food (WEF) nexus as a tool to develop climate change adaptation strategies: a case study of the Buffalo River Catchment, South Africa
title_full The water–energy–food (WEF) nexus as a tool to develop climate change adaptation strategies: a case study of the Buffalo River Catchment, South Africa
title_fullStr The water–energy–food (WEF) nexus as a tool to develop climate change adaptation strategies: a case study of the Buffalo River Catchment, South Africa
title_full_unstemmed The water–energy–food (WEF) nexus as a tool to develop climate change adaptation strategies: a case study of the Buffalo River Catchment, South Africa
title_short The water–energy–food (WEF) nexus as a tool to develop climate change adaptation strategies: a case study of the Buffalo River Catchment, South Africa
title_sort water energy food wef nexus as a tool to develop climate change adaptation strategies a case study of the buffalo river catchment south africa
topic climate change adaptation
strategies
water allocation
energy
food systems
nexus approaches
river basin management
water demand
water supply
irrigation water
frameworks
case studies
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/138724
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