The nexus across water,energy and food (WEF): Learning from research,building on evidence,strengthening practice

While water-energy-food (WEF) Nexus is one of the most important, and widely investigated, environmental topics of our time, previous stock taking efforts possess notable limitations, namely (i) their focus is restricted to research articles, and (ii) there is less focus on nexus permutations that begin with energy and food. This paper assembled more than 900 documents and systematically categorized them according to more than 10 key parameters (e.g. scale, methods, limitations), to characterize approaches, achieved outcomes and presence of variables likely to support on-the-ground change. Our results reveal that WEF Nexus activities are often driven by the water sector, undertaken at global and national scale and authored by experts from diverse backgrounds. Among the utilized methods, modelling and review (i.e. systematic) are the most common. While climate change and governance are routinely considered in WEF Nexus documents, gender, stakeholders and capacity are not. These findings highlight areas for improvement in the design of WEF Nexus initiatives.     

Review of water-energy-food Nexus tools to improve the Nexus modelling approach for integrated policy making

The synergies and trade-offs between the water, energy, and food sectors are represented by the Water-Energy-Food Nexus. The Nexus Approach is an integrated decision making practice that can be used by policy makers to optimize these synergies and manage trade-offs. In this paper, the direction of the Nexus Approach regarding the development of modelling tools is explored. The objective of this paper is to review the existing Nexus modelling tools used for integrated policy making to determine and to help policy makers, practitioners, and agencies trying to implement the Nexus Approach to identify a tool that is most suited to their modelling needs. The predominant capabilities of the current tools lie in the understanding of Nexus complexity, consideration of financial elements in the tools, recognition of the importance of multiple Nexus Approach directions, incorporation of different time scales, and enhanced tool accessibility. The main limitations are the extensive data requirements of current tools, and the poor synergy between tools assessing individual Nexus areas. This enhanced overview of the existing tools allows policy makers to maximize the synergies between the Nexus areas, to avoid consumption dilemmas, and to facilitate sustainable development.     

电力行业水-能耦合关系研究综述

电力行业消耗了全球约8%的水资源,电力生产与输配过程中消耗的能源与水资源之间的相关关系被定义为电力行业水-能耦合关系.本文从电力行业水耗和节水潜力研究、电力生产与水资源空间分布匹配研究、电力行业水-能耦合关系与其他环境问题的关系研究三个角度对国际上相关文献的研究内容、研究方法和主要结论进行梳理.研究结果表明：冷却技术选择对电力行业的水-能耦合关系影响较大,电力生产的需水量与各地水资源禀赋在空间上不匹配,电力行业水-能耦合系统管理体系尚未建立且面临迫切的实际需求.     

干旱区水—能源—粮食纽带系统协同演化——以中国西北地区为例

水、能源、粮食是人类社会发展的基本保障,三者之间的紧密联系成为近年来国内外学者关注的重点。通过对水—能源—粮食纽带系统协同演化机制的探究,能更好地厘清三者之间的相互关系,对实现社会高质量发展具有重要意义。基于自组织理论,从水、能源、粮食三个角度构建理论模型,运用哈肯模型分阶段地对中国西北地区水—能源—粮食纽带系统协同发展的演化机制进行探究,并在此基础上分析水—能源—粮食纽带系统协同得分的时空分异规律。结果表明：（1）2000—2010年间,中国西北地区水—能源—粮食纽带系统协同演化的序参量是水资源子系统,其主导着整个系统的演化方向,而能源子系统、粮食子系统处于从属地位。在协同得分的时空变化规律上,西北五省区协同得分整体呈上升趋势,但各地区得分差距较大。（2）2011—2018年间,中国西北地区水—能源—粮食纽带系统协同演化的序参量是水资源子系统和能源子系统,两者共同主导着水—能源—粮食纽带系统的协同演化,粮食子系统则处于从属地位。在协同得分的时空变化规律上,西北五省区协同得分仍保持平稳上升趋势,省际间得分差距明显缩小。     

Water Use for Hydraulic Fracturing of Oil and Gas in the South Platte River Basin,Colorado

Water use for oil and gas development (i.e., hydraulic fracturing) is a concern in semiarid basins where water supply is often stressed to meet demands, and oil and gas production can exacerbate the situation. Understanding the impacts of water use for hydraulic fracturing (HF) on water availability in semiarid regions is critical for management and regulatory decisions. In the current work, we quantify water use for HF at several scales — from municipal to state‐wide — using the IHS Enerdeq database for the South Platte Basin. In addition, we estimate produced water (a by‐product of oil and gas production), using data from the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to explore reuse scenarios. The South Platte River Basin, located in northeastern Colorado, encompasses the Denver‐Metro area. The basin has one of the most productive oil and gas shale formations in Colorado, with much of the production occurring in Weld County. The basin has experienced higher horizontal drilling rates coupled with an increasing population. Results show water use for horizontal and vertical wells averages 11,000 and 1,000 m³, respectively. Water use for HF in the South Platte Basin totaled 0.63% of the basin's 2014 total water demand. For Weld County, water use for HF was 2.4% of total demand, and for the city of Greeley, water use was 7% of total demand. Produced water totaled 9.4 Mm³ in the basin for 2014, which represents 42% of the total water used for HF.     

The water-energy-food nexus: Trade-offs,thresholds and transdisciplinary approaches to sustainable development

Global challenges have exacerbated a search for solutions to poverty and environmental degradation. Integration it was argued would help address the twin challenge. Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) was supposed to be that magic bullet and was embraced by scientists because of the clinical efficiency with which it argued for integrated analysis of sectors and resources and of systems and scale conditions. This paper argues that effective implementation of the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus can be supported by robust science. The corollary that robust science automatically leads to effective implementation is not always known to be true. The nexus approach sheds light on the challenges of implementation by introducing concepts of trade-offs and thresholds and consequently emphasizes the importance of transdisciplinary approaches to sustainable development. This paper reviews the results of recent research to offer tentative answers to the following questions: (a) Why is the governance dimension important to undertake an integrated analysis of water-energy-food challenges? (b) What does the nexus approach connote in normative and institutional terms? (c) What does implementation mean in nexus terms? (d) How can we establish if the nexus approach is an improvement over business as usual? and (e) What tools are available that would enable translation of results of scientific research to create an evidence base that would enable decision makers to act in support of sustainable development?     

Between environmental and ecological democracy: theory and practice at the democracy-environment nexus

ABSTRACT

Concepts of ecological and environmental democracy seek to reconcile two normative ideals: ensuring environmental sustainability while safeguarding democracy. These ideals are frequently conceived as being in conflict, as democracy is perceived as too slow and cumbersome to deliver the urgent large-scale collective action needed to tackle environmental problems. Theories addressing the democracy-environment nexus can be situated on a spectrum from theories of ecological democracy that are more critical of existing liberal democratic institutions to theories of environmental democracy that call for reforming rather than radically transforming or dismantling those institutions. This article reviews theoretical and empirical scholarship on the democracy-environment nexus. We find continued theoretical and empirical diversity in the field, as well as vibrant debates on democratising global environmental politics, local material practices, and non-human representation. We argue for stronger dialogue between environmental political theory and empirical, policy-oriented research on democracy and sustainability, as well as further exploration of complementarities between ecological and environmental democracy. We identify four main areas of challenge and opportunity for theory and practice: public participation and populism; technocracy and expertise; governance across scales; and ecological rights and limits.     

基于系统投入产出和生态网络分析的能源-水耦合关系与协同管理研究——以湖北省为例

能源和水资源之间存在紧密的耦合关系。以往的资源管理政策往往只关注单一资源,忽略了两者的关联性。为促进能源和水资源综合管理,有必要开展能源-水耦合关系和协同管理研究。从社会经济网络视角出发,论文综合运用系统投入产出和生态网络分析方法,构建了湖北省2007和2012年能源-水耦合网络核算框架。结果表明：1）2012年湖北体现能源最终消费量为14 304.93万tce,体现水资源最终消费量为346.66亿m³,相比2007年分别增长52.26%和7.89%,其中,体现在最终使用中能源与水资源流有近50%来自制造业;2）2007年湖北省水资源网络和能源网络的循环率都约为2.71%,与2007年相比,2012年水资源网络循环率显著增长至4.23%~4.40%,而能源网络循环率则变化较小;3）能源网络和水资源网络的系统鲁棒性都偏向于冗余度更高、效率更低的一侧;4）由于能源-水耦合网络的引入,2007—2012年间,在能源和水资源网络中,电力、热力生产和供应部门对于大多数部门的控制都呈现不同程度的增强趋势。研究辨识了能源与水资源协同管理的关键部门和路径,为湖北省能源和水资源可持续利用提供了理论与数据支撑。     

Risk,vulnerability, and pragmatic inevitability: the conflict–disaster nexus and urban governance in Johannesburg,South Africa

This paper spotlights post-disaster relief provision in Johannesburg, South Africa, following the floods of 2016 in a bid to explore how local government and non-governmental actors in the country conceive of compounding vulnerability and conflict within urban disaster governance. It reveals the diverse strategies employed to navigate violent conflict during the cyclical occurrence of disaster and reconstruction that the predominantly migrant population experiences in the Setswetla informal settlement, adjacent to the Alexandra township in northern Johannesburg. Rendered visible in moments of disaster and recovery are the spatial politics and multidimensional nature of conflict. These phenomena unfold across various levels of urban governance and in the affected community and effectively construct a disaster citizenship that makes risk reduction and community cohesion impossible in the eyes of disaster managers. This research, based on a set of expert interviews, integrates conflict and disaster studies to shed light on how the conflict–disaster interface materialises, and is operationalised, in an urban setting.     

考虑“水—土—能—碳”关联的我国工农业碳排放效率及减排潜力研究

考虑“水—土—能—碳”关联，本文将水土资源要素纳入投入变量，构建了我国工农业碳排放效率投入产出测度指标，运用考虑非期望产出的SBM-undesirable模型计算我国29个省份2004—2017年农业、工业部门碳排放效率，利用乘法逆转法计算碳减排潜力并对影响碳排放的投入产出因素进行分析。结果表明：研究期内我国整体农业、工业碳排放效率均呈波动下降趋势，各年的农业碳排放效率均高于工业碳排放效率，江苏、山东等7省份农业碳排放效率以及北京、天津工业碳排放效率最优；各省份农业、工业减排潜力和规模具有显著差异，山西、甘肃的农业、工业碳减排均具有较大潜力；我国绝大多数省份均存在农业、工业的资源能源投入冗余和非期望产出冗余，土地资源投入过剩是影响农业碳排放效率的最重要因素，水资源投入过剩是影响工业碳排放效率的最重要因素。碳排放效率较低省份应积极开展技术创新，发展低碳技术，提高水土资源和能源利用效率，减少碳排放。