Bioenergy, food security and poverty reduction: trade-offs and synergies along the water–energy–food security nexus

Mirzabaev, Alisher; Guta, Dawit Diriba; Goedecke, Jann; Gaur, V.; Börner, Jan; Virchow, Detlef; Denich, Manfred; Braun, Joachim von

doi:10.1080/02508060.2015.1048924

Cited by 65 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…Human needs for water, energy and food synergies are geographically, culturally and economically diverse (Mirzabaev et al 2015, Cremades et al 2016. In some communities, nations or regions, growing more food is essential for survival, a basic human need, but in other regions energy to power machines and automobiles is an important developmental concern.…”

Section: Future Research Of the Wef Nexus And Contributions Of Hydrolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges in operationalizing the water–energy–food nexus

Liu

Yang

Cudennec

et al. 2017

Hydrological Sciences Journal

178

119

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Section: Future Research Of the Wef Nexus And Contributions Of Hydrolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges in operationalizing the water–energy–food nexus

Liu

Yang

Cudennec

et al. 2017

Hydrological Sciences Journal

178

119

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“…In addition to this, bioenergy has become a potential source by which to increase energy within the region. By 2050, model scenarios project bioenergy growth to reach 35% of the global primary energy, and by 2100, bioenergy will contribute 10 to 50% of the global primary energy [46,47]. This suggests that bioenergy will contribute directly to energy for irrigation in the near and distant future.…”

Section: Energy For Agriculturementioning

confidence: 99%

Prospects for Improving Irrigated Agriculture in Southern Africa: Linking Water, Energy and Food

Mabhaudhi

Mpandeli

Nhamo

et al. 2018

Water

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Increasing agricultural productivity has always been a prominent feature on the regional agenda due to a high incidence of food and nutrition insecurity. This review assessed the current status of irrigated agriculture in southern Africa from a water–energy–food (WEF) nexus perspective. Gaps and opportunities for improving irrigated agriculture within the context of the WEF nexus were also assessed in terms of the feasible limits to which they can be exploited. Southern Africa faces water scarcity, and climate projections show that member states will face increased physical and/or economic water scarcity by as early as 2025, which will have negative impacts on water, energy and food production. Recurrent droughts experienced across the region reaffirm the sensitive issues of food and energy insecurity as well as water scarcity. Projections of an increasing population within the region indicate increased water, energy and food demand. With agriculture already accounting for about 70% of water withdrawals, increasing the area under irrigation will place additional demand on already strained energy grids and scarce water resources. This poses the question—is increasing irrigated agriculture a solution to improving water access, food security and energy supply? While there are prospects for increasing the area under irrigation and subsequent improvement in agricultural productivity, adopting a WEF nexus approach in doing so would mitigate trade-offs and unintended consequences. Consideration of the WEF nexus in integrated resources planning and management eliminates the possibilities of transferring problems from one sector to other, as it manages synergies and trade-offs. While it is acknowledged that improving water productivity in irrigated agriculture could reduce water and energy use while increasing yield output, there is a need to decide how such savings would then be reallocated. Any intervention to increase the irrigated area should be done in the context of a WEF nexus analytical framework to guide policy and decision-making. Technical planning should evolve around the WEF nexus approach in setting targets, as WEF nexus indicators would reveal the performance and impact of proposed interventions on any of the three WEF nexus components.

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“…Meanwhile, major global trends, such as climate change and competing landuse patterns, restrict the ability of existing systems to meet growing demands in a reliable and affordable manner. These dynamics pose substantial risks to the sustainable development of bioenergy [10,11]. Therefore, the development of bioenergy must be sustainable, and thus, must comprehensively consider both climate change and landuse change within the "water-energy-food" nexus.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Sustainable Development of Bioenergy from Cassava within “Water-Energy-Food” Nexus Framework in China

Jiang

Chen

et al. 2018

Sustainability

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Bioenergy from cassava is a promising alternative energy source for both energy supply and the mitigation of greenhouse gases. However, major global trends, such as climate change and competing landuse patterns, pose substantial risks to the sustainable development of bioenergy. The main purpose of this study was to assess the sustainable development of bioenergy from cassava, considering landuse change and climate change with a biogeochemical process model within the "water-energy-food" nexus framework. The results showed that the land resources that were suitable for the development of cassava bioenergy have continuously decreased in China since 1990. At the same time, the climate has also undergone significant changes, with temperature showing an increasing trend, and precipitation showing a decreasing trend. With the influences of both landuse change and climate change, the total bioenergy of cassava showed a downward trend. In China, the potential bioenergy production for the year 1990, 2000, and 2010 was 6075 PJ, 5974 PJ, and 4399 PJ, respectively. Compared to 1990, the bioenergy production in 2010 decreased by 1676.40 million GJ, which equals 57 million tons of standard coal. In addition, the water footprint of bioenergy from cassava was discussed. After considering changes to landuse, climate, and water footprint, it was concluded that Guangxi was the most suitable place to develop cassava bioenergy, followed by Fujian, Guangdong, and Yunnan.

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Bioenergy, food security and poverty reduction: trade-offs and synergies along the water–energy–food security nexus

Cited by 65 publications

References 72 publications

Challenges in operationalizing the water–energy–food nexus

Challenges in operationalizing the water–energy–food nexus

Prospects for Improving Irrigated Agriculture in Southern Africa: Linking Water, Energy and Food

Assessing the Sustainable Development of Bioenergy from Cassava within “Water-Energy-Food” Nexus Framework in China

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