The Water-Energy-Food Nexus in Arid Regions

Keulertz, Martin; Sowers, Jeannie L.; Woertz, Eckart; Mohtar, Rabi H.

doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199335084.013.28

Cited by 16 publications

(18 citation statements)

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“…Extreme pressure on the already scarce groundwater resources in the GCC countries has occurred as a consequence of rapid population growth, urbanization, industrialization, and agricultural production since the 1970s [21,56]. Therefore, currently the Gulf countries are mainly relying on the desalinated water supply to assure their water demands [6]. However, water production via the desalination process has markedly increased energy consumption.…”

Section: Water Securitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…desalinated water supply to assure their water demands [6]. However, water production via the desalination process has markedly increased energy consumption.…”

Section: Water Securitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, many researchers have chosen to study only two sectors of the FEW system at a time. The water-energy nexus, originally studied by Gleick [5], has received more attention than the other inter-linkage sectors, e.g., the water-food nexus and then the energy-food nexus [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Review of the 21st Century Challenges in the Food-Energy-Water Security in the Middle East

Hameed

Moradkhani

Ahmadalipour

et al. 2019

Water

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Developing countries have experienced significant challenges in meeting their needs for food, energy, and water security. This paper presents a country-level review of the current issues associated with Food-Energy-Water (FEW) security in the Middle East. In this study, sixteen countries in the Middle East are studied, namely Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Egypt, Turkey, and the Arabian Peninsula (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia (KSA), United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Yemen). Here, we conduct a comprehensive assessment to study and evaluate the emerging drivers of FEW systems in the region. The investigated drivers include water security, extreme events, economic growth, urbanization, population growth, poverty, and political stability. The results suggest that most of the studied countries are facing FEW resource insecurity or weak planning/management strategies. Our evaluation further revealed the current status of each country with respect to each factor, and suggested that climatic and socioeconomic factors have contributed to the subsequent stress on FEW resources, specifically on the water sector. In general, and with respect to the water-energy security, it was found that energy production in the Middle East is highly constrained by water deficiency, drought, and/or economic growth. The water-food security in the region is mainly affected by drought, water scarcity, population growth, urbanization, and/or political unrest.

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Section: Water Securitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…desalinated water supply to assure their water demands [6]. However, water production via the desalination process has markedly increased energy consumption.…”

Section: Water Securitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Review of the 21st Century Challenges in the Food-Energy-Water Security in the Middle East

Hameed

Moradkhani

Ahmadalipour

et al. 2019

Water

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“…The conventional approach to studying the water‐energy nexus and infrastructure has sought to demonstrate how water and energy infrastructure are tightly linked. Water infrastructure cannot be grasped without understanding energy inputs and conversely, one cannot understand energy infrastructure without taking into account water inputs and availability (Keulertz, Sowers, Woertz, & Mohtar, 2018; Weinthal, Vengosh, & Neville, 2018). Infrastructure for water production, purification, and delivery depends upon energy inputs.…”

Section: The Water‐energy Nexus and Infrastructurementioning

confidence: 99%

The water‐energy nexus in the Middle East: Infrastructure, development, and conflict

Weinthal

Sowers

2020

WIREs Water

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Water and energy are closely linked in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) through coupled networks of infrastructure. This review explores the water‐energy nexus of infrastructure to explicate different patterns of development and de‐development in the MENA. First, the review highlights why states, donors, and firms have long built large‐scale coupled water‐energy infrastructures to provide urban services, expand irrigated agriculture, and foster development. Yet, too often the adverse social and environmental impacts from the construction of dams, water conveyance structures, groundwater mining, and desalination plants have been overlooked. We then examine the water‐energy nexus through infrastructure for the most important users of water and energy in the MENA region: urban populations and the agricultural sector. Third, the review illustrates that while investments in water and energy infrastructure generated significant gains in human development for much for of the region, the post‐2011 wars reversed many of these development gains in conflict‐affected countries through the destruction and deterioration of water‐energy infrastructures. The unprecedented displacement of populations within and across borders has also created new challenges for host communities, where infrastructures for providing water and energy services were already overstretched. The review further highlights the growing role of humanitarian assistance in providing water and energy services to refugees, internally displaced populations, and host communities. Overall, this review examines how the nexus of water and energy infrastructure shapes human security, livelihoods, and political economies in the MENA region. This article is categorized under: Human Water > Water Governance Engineering Water > Planning Water

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“…An array of policy prescriptions are gaining traction globally for addressing systemic water risks, including: technology‐based increases in irrigation water‐use efficiency (World Economic Forum Water Initiative, ), public‐private partnerships (PPPs) in irrigation infrastructure (Mandri‐Perrott & Bisbey, ), multipurpose operation of hydropower reservoirs (Branche, ), and the establishment of markets to allocate water (Grafton et al, ). Although these approaches may have been successful in certain contexts, positive translations and outcomes are not guaranteed in new ones (Keulertz et al, ). Water governance networks respond in dynamic and often unexpected ways to national policy interventions.…”

Section: Management and Governance Of Water Risks Within Complex Foodmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decision‐Making for Systemic Water Risks: Insights From a Participatory Risk Assessment Process in Vietnam

et al. 2018

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Systemic threats to food‐energy‐environment‐water systems require national policy responses. Yet complete control of these complex systems is impossible and attempts to mitigate systemic risks can generate unexpected feedback effects. Perverse outcomes from national policy can emerge from the diverse responses of decision‐makers across different levels and scales of resource governance. Participatory risk assessment processes can help planners to understand subnational dynamics and ensure that policies do not undermine the resilience of social‐ecological systems and infrastructure networks. Researchers can play an important role in participatory processes as both technical specialists and brokers of stakeholder knowledge on the feedbacks generated by systemic risks and policy decisions. Here, we evaluate the use of causal modeling and participatory risk assessment to develop national policy on systemic water risks. We present an application of the Risks and Options Assessment for Decision‐Making (ROAD) process to a district of Vietnam where national agricultural water reforms are being piloted. The methods and results of this project provide general insights about how to support resilient decision‐making, including the transfer of knowledge across administrative levels, identification of feedback effects, and the effective implementation of risk assessment processes.

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The Water-Energy-Food Nexus in Arid Regions

Cited by 16 publications

References 0 publications

A Review of the 21st Century Challenges in the Food-Energy-Water Security in the Middle East

A Review of the 21st Century Challenges in the Food-Energy-Water Security in the Middle East

The water‐energy nexus in the Middle East: Infrastructure, development, and conflict

Decision‐Making for Systemic Water Risks: Insights From a Participatory Risk Assessment Process in Vietnam

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