WATER–ENERGY–FOOD NEXUS TOOL SELECTION AND APPLICATION OF TOOLS TO A REGIONAL CASE STUDY

Fatima Mansour, Majdi Abou Najm, Ali Yassine, Elena Najjar, Mahmoud Al-Hindi

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

    Abstract

    Energy, as an integral resource to everyday life, cannot be separated from the other resources involved in its extraction, production, and consumption. The water–energy–food nexus (WEFN) conceptualizes resource sustainability because it frames the interlinkages across sectors, accounting for resource flow across systems. Thus, future sustainable energy resource planning goes hand in hand with overall resource and environmental sustainability. This entails that systems be considered holistically, especially in the planning and production stages, and this can be achieved by applying tools that address the integrated WEFN. While the literature supports a growing number of these tools, the breadth of WEFN applications renders it difficult to determine which tools are suitable for different objectives and users. This work provides a systematic selection approach that applies multi-criteria decision making to determine which tool best fits a set of circumstances. The selection criteria are developed to reflect tool features as comprehensively as possible, accounting for: economic, social, and environmental factors, temporal/spatial scales, stakeholder inclusion, parameter comprehensiveness, and tool complexity, flexibility, and accessibility. Three unique user (scientific user, policymaker, and nontechnical stakeholder) scenarios are simulated via distinctive weighting schemes. Of an initial pool of 40 tools, four tools are selected across varied user scenarios. The selected tools are applied to a case study to better demonstrate how the tools differ in performance, as is appropriate for respective user objectives. Case study applications indicate that results are sensitive to assumptions and input data, and that the nature of results across tools differ significantly. The work is versatile in that selection criteria and weighting schemes can be more specifically tailored to cater to specific user needs. Once the WEFN approach is integrated into energy management, the overall perspective on sustainability will improve as advancement in one aspect does not come at the expense of another.

    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationEnergy Production and Management in the 21st Century V
    Subtitle of host publicationThe Quest for Sustainable Energy, EPM 2022
    EditorsStavros Syngellakis, Elena Magaril
    Pages93-103
    Number of pages11
    Volume255
    ISBN (Electronic)9781784664572
    DOIs
    StatePublished - 1 Aug 2022
    Event5th International Conference on Energy Production and Management: The Quest for Sustainable Energy, EPM 2022 - Virtual, Online, Estonia
    Duration: 23 May 202225 May 2022

    Conference

    Conference5th International Conference on Energy Production and Management: The Quest for Sustainable Energy, EPM 2022
    Country/TerritoryEstonia
    CityVirtual, Online
    Period23/05/2225/05/22

    Keywords

    • analytical hierarchy process
    • multi-criteria decision making
    • resource management
    • selection
    • sustainability
    • tools
    • water–energy–food nexus

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