5.1 Overview on the Nexus Assessment Procedure
5.1.1 Nexus Assessment Procedure according to FAO, 2014
Source: Flammini, A., Puri, M., Pluschke, L. & Dubois, O (2014), ‘Walking the Nexus Talk: Assessing the Water-Energy-Food Nexus, FAO 2014.
Flammini et al. (2014) provide a nice overview on how to assess Nexus complexity in their FAO report “Walking the Nexus”. After a qualitative system analysis, we should quantitatively evaluate the system components. It consists of the following steps:
- The current state and pressures on natural and human resources systems
- Expected demands, trends and drivers on resources systems
- Interconnections between water, energy and food systems
- Different sectoral goals, policies and strategies in regard to water, energy and food; this includes an analysis of the degree of coordination and coherence of policies, as well as the extent of regulation of uses
- Planned investments, acquisitions, reforms and large-scale infrastructure
- Key stakeholders, decision-makers and user groups
This assessment is necessary not only to understand the interconnections between the different sectors, but also to identify potential response options (e.g. new policies, regulations, incentives, technical interventions, etc.) to reduce trade-offs and maximise synergies. The assessment process should always be accompanied by a dialogue to include stakeholders in each step of the process to identify societal priorities and create ownership.
5.1.2 Relevance of Spatial Scales
Nexus interconnections are assessed at different scales:
Global scale: e.g. food and energy market prices, virtual water
Basin scale: e.g. water resources availability
National scale: e.g. energy supply grid data
Provincial/community scale: e.g. agricultural census data and food production
The quantitative analysis and the use of tools relies on data that are observed at different spatial scales. This section presents typical scales for Nexus related data and information. To enable a Nexus assessment at the desired scale, it is therefore necessary to make the information of different Nexus sectors comparable.
5.1.3 Categories of Nexus System Assessment Tools
Qualitative and visualisation tools
Governance analysis tools
Semi-quantitative Nexus system assessment
Quantitative assessment tools- Modelling tools
There are different methods of how to approach Nexus conflicts and trade-offs. There are reasons related to policy and governance for these differences.
While visualisation tools help to qualitatively conceptualise the main components and their respective relevance in the system, Nexus assessment tools usually evaluate the weight of each component in a quantitative manner based on Nexus indicators, and compare them to the other components.
Models typically use monthly time series for variables such as water, yields, agricultural areas, climate and energy production to simulate determined target variables depending on different inputs. They can be used to assess the sensitive components of a system (where changes in one component cause significant changes in the others) and to simulate future scenarios for decision support in planning.
Regional, national and local regulations play a strong role in how resources are managed. Therefore it is important to assess the existing policy framework. Policy framework tools assess these regulations and policies, with the aim to identify policies or missing policies which hinder a sustainable Nexus planning process.
Governance analysis tools aim at assessing the institutions and persons involved in Nexus decisions as well as the (missing) communication processes hindering a sustainable Nexus planning process.
References
Flammini, A., Puri, M., Pluschke, L. & Dubois, O (2014), ‘Walking the Nexus Talk: Assessing the Water-Energy-Food Nexus in the Context of the Sustainable Energy for All Initiative’, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome. Available at: http://www.fao.org/publications/card/en/c/f065f1d5-2dda-4df7-8df3-4defb5a098c8/