The water–energy–food–land (WEFL) nexus has gained significant traction as a framework for understanding resource interdependencies and informing climate policy. However, despite growing academic interest, nexus research remains dominated by top-down, technocratic, and quantitative approaches focused on efficiency and resource security at global and national scales, while local and community-level dimensions, including questions of social equity, power, and adaptive capacity, remain largely underexplored (Terrapon-Pfaff et al., 2018; Ringler et al., 2013). This is the central gap this poster addresses.
In this poster i would like to conceptualise a multi-level framework that maps how WEFL nexus thinking operates and what it prioritises, at three scales: global, national, and local/community, with aim to develop a systems map that places nexus thinking explicitly within the complex web of natural and societal dynamics constituting climate futures and proposes design principles for a bottom-up application of nexus thinking.
Most existing WEFL nexus frameworks treat resource management as a technical optimization problem, neglecting the social and political structures that determine who benefits from nexus interventions and who remains vulnerable (Allouche et al., 2015; Middleton et al., 2015). Moreover, dominant nexus framings at global and national scales often reproduce scarcity and security narratives that favour large-scale infrastructure solutions, while overlooking local livelihoods, adaptive capacity, and justice (de Grenade et al., 2016). As Weitz et al. (2021) argue through their “Five Ws” reflexive framework, asking not only what is connected in the nexus but also where, when, and for whom is essential for actionable, socially grounded nexus research.
My idea for poster is to conclude with a set of concrete design principles for how nexus thinking, if restructured bottom-up, could function as a meaningful tool for resource efficiency and shaping desired climate future.
References:
- Weitz, N., Huber-Lee, A., Nilsson, M., Davis, M., Hoff, H., & Andréasson, K. (2021). The Five Ws of the water–energy–food nexus: A reflexive approach to nexus research. Frontiers in Water, 3, 729722.
- Allouche, J., Middleton, C., & Gyawali, D. (2015). Nexus nirvana or nexus nullity? A dynamic approach to security and sustainability in the water–energy–food nexus. STEPS Working Paper 63. STEPS Centre.
- Middleton, C., Allouche, J., Gyawali, D., & Allen, S. (2015). The rise and implications of the water–energy–food nexus in Southeast Asia through an environmental justice lens. Water Alternatives, 8(1), 627–654.
- Wiegleb, V., & Bruns, A. (2018). What is driving the water–energy–food nexus? Discourses, knowledge, and politics of an emerging resource governance concept. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 6, 128.
- Terrapon-Pfaff, J., Ortiz, W., Dienst, C., & Gröne, M.-C. (2018). Energising the WEF nexus to enhance sustainable development at local level. Journal of Environmental Management, 223, 409–416.
- de Grenade, R., House-Peters, L., Scott, C. A., Thapa, B., Mills-Novoa, M., Gerlak, A., & Verbist, K. (2016). The nexus: Reconsidering environmental security and adaptive capacity. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 21, 15–21.
- Ringler, C., Bhaduri, A., & Lawford, R. (2013). The nexus across water, energy, land and food (WELF): Potential for improved resource use efficiency? Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 5(6), 617–624.
- Yupanqui, C., Dias, N., Goodarzi, M. R., Sharma, S., Vagheei, H., & Mohtar, R. (2025). A review of water-energy-food nexus frameworks, models, challenges and future opportunities to create an integrated, national security-based development index. Energy Nexus, 18, 100409.