A critical review of quantifying water-energy-food nexus interactions
The water-energy-food (WEF) nexus exemplifies the holistic, integrated, and interdisciplinary system approach, emphasizing mutual interactions between water, energy, and food resources. This study presents the first systematic review that critically evaluates the past progress of WEF nexus research...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | Inglés |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/173319 |
| _version_ | 1855541530556628992 |
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| author | Li, W. Ward, P. J. van Wesenbeeck, L. |
| author_browse | Li, W. Ward, P. J. van Wesenbeeck, L. |
| author_facet | Li, W. Ward, P. J. van Wesenbeeck, L. |
| author_sort | Li, W. |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | The water-energy-food (WEF) nexus exemplifies the holistic, integrated, and interdisciplinary system approach, emphasizing mutual interactions between water, energy, and food resources. This study presents the first systematic review that critically evaluates the past progress of WEF nexus research from the evidence-based lens of resource interactions, in terms of quantifying the types and the number of interactions studied. Using a novel classification, this review first classifies 834 WEF nexus interaction studies into four classes based on two axes: (1) The type of study (theoretical or empirical) and (2) The extent of resource interactions examined (all six interactions as a 'full' WEF nexus study or fewer interactions as a 'partial' WEF nexus study). Despite the proliferation of WEF nexus studies since 2011, no significant progress has been made towards including more resource interactions over time in either theoretical studies or empirical applications. Moreover, this review shows that: the number of resource interactions examined in empirical applications is much lower than in theoretical studies; the study of physical resource interactions remains dominant; environmental considerations are biased towards water quality and carbon emissions; and there is a misalignment between research questions and empirical methodologies. Further, this review identifies future directions and provides concrete recommendations for aligning future research to jointly achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2, 6, and 7. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace173319 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| publisherStr | Elsevier |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1733192025-10-26T13:02:36Z A critical review of quantifying water-energy-food nexus interactions Li, W. Ward, P. J. van Wesenbeeck, L. The water-energy-food (WEF) nexus exemplifies the holistic, integrated, and interdisciplinary system approach, emphasizing mutual interactions between water, energy, and food resources. This study presents the first systematic review that critically evaluates the past progress of WEF nexus research from the evidence-based lens of resource interactions, in terms of quantifying the types and the number of interactions studied. Using a novel classification, this review first classifies 834 WEF nexus interaction studies into four classes based on two axes: (1) The type of study (theoretical or empirical) and (2) The extent of resource interactions examined (all six interactions as a 'full' WEF nexus study or fewer interactions as a 'partial' WEF nexus study). Despite the proliferation of WEF nexus studies since 2011, no significant progress has been made towards including more resource interactions over time in either theoretical studies or empirical applications. Moreover, this review shows that: the number of resource interactions examined in empirical applications is much lower than in theoretical studies; the study of physical resource interactions remains dominant; environmental considerations are biased towards water quality and carbon emissions; and there is a misalignment between research questions and empirical methodologies. Further, this review identifies future directions and provides concrete recommendations for aligning future research to jointly achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2, 6, and 7. 2025-04 2025-02-21T06:08:58Z 2025-02-21T06:08:58Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/173319 en Open Access Elsevier Li, W.; Ward, P. J.; van Wesenbeeck, L. 2025. A critical review of quantifying water-energy-food nexus interactions. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 211:115280. [doi. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2024.115280] |
| spellingShingle | Li, W. Ward, P. J. van Wesenbeeck, L. A critical review of quantifying water-energy-food nexus interactions |
| title | A critical review of quantifying water-energy-food nexus interactions |
| title_full | A critical review of quantifying water-energy-food nexus interactions |
| title_fullStr | A critical review of quantifying water-energy-food nexus interactions |
| title_full_unstemmed | A critical review of quantifying water-energy-food nexus interactions |
| title_short | A critical review of quantifying water-energy-food nexus interactions |
| title_sort | critical review of quantifying water energy food nexus interactions |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/173319 |
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