IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v10y2018i7p2545-d158954.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Perception and Representation of the Resource Nexus at the Interface between Society and the Natural Environment

Author

Listed:
  • Mario Giampietro

    (Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
    ICREA, Pg. Lluís Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain)

Abstract

Recent years have seen an explosion of interest in the resource nexus. This has created the co-existence of different understandings and uses of the concept. In this regard, experiences in the EU H2020 project ‘Moving towards adaptive governance in complexity: Informing nexus security’ are consistent with findings reported in the literature: (i) The inconvenient message of the nexus is difficult to get across, it being incompatible with the currently dominant rosy narratives about sustainability. Indeed, from a historic perspective, the nexus can be seen as a revival of the ideological fight between cornucopians and neo-Malthusians; (ii) Silo structures in existing institutions are a problem for the governance of the nexus, and so is the resulting reductionist strategy of addressing and fixing one issue at the time; (iii) Scientific inquiry is currently not providing the quality inputs needed for a meaningful discussion of the resource nexus. Entanglement of resource flows is rooted in the complex metabolic pattern of social-ecological systems, the analysis of which requires a complex systems approach and relational analysis. Contemporary reductionist models simply make the nexus invisible to the analyst.

Suggested Citation

  • Mario Giampietro, 2018. "Perception and Representation of the Resource Nexus at the Interface between Society and the Natural Environment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-17, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:7:p:2545-:d:158954
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/7/2545/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/7/2545/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Howarth, Candice & Monasterolo, Irene, 2016. "Understanding barriers to decision making in the UK energy-food-water nexus: The added value of interdisciplinary approaches," Environmental Science & Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 53-60.
    2. Olmstead, Alan L. & Rhode, Paul W., 2001. "Reshaping The Landscape: The Impact And Diffusion Of The Tractor In American Agriculture, 1910–1960," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 61(3), pages 663-698, September.
    3. Mark Howells & Sebastian Hermann & Manuel Welsch & Morgan Bazilian & Rebecka Segerström & Thomas Alfstad & Dolf Gielen & Holger Rogner & Guenther Fischer & Harrij van Velthuizen & David Wiberg & Charl, 2013. "Integrated analysis of climate change, land-use, energy and water strategies," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 3(7), pages 621-626, July.
    4. Harry Verhoeven, 2015. "The nexus as a political commodity: agricultural development, water policy and elite rivalry in Egypt," International Journal of Water Resources Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(3), pages 360-374, September.
    5. Robert M. Solow, 1974. "The Economics of Resources or the Resources of Economics," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Chennat Gopalakrishnan (ed.), Classic Papers in Natural Resource Economics, chapter 12, pages 257-276, Palgrave Macmillan.
    6. Bazilian, Morgan & Rogner, Holger & Howells, Mark & Hermann, Sebastian & Arent, Douglas & Gielen, Dolf & Steduto, Pasquale & Mueller, Alexander & Komor, Paul & Tol, Richard S.J. & Yumkella, Kandeh K., 2011. "Considering the energy, water and food nexus: Towards an integrated modelling approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(12), pages 7896-7906.
    7. Khan, Zarrar & Linares, Pedro & García-González, Javier, 2017. "Integrating water and energy models for policy driven applications. A review of contemporary work and recommendations for future developments," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 1123-1138.
    8. Unknown, 2016. "Energy for Sustainable Development," Conference Proceedings 253270, Guru Arjan Dev Institute of Development Studies (IDSAsr).
    9. Wichelns, Dennis, 2017. "The water-energy-food nexus: Is the increasing attention warranted, from either a research or policy perspective?," Environmental Science & Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 113-123.
    10. Andy Stirling, 2014. "Transforming Power: social science and the politics of energy choices," SPRU Working Paper Series 2014-03, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Martin, Nick & Talens-Peiró, Laura & Villalba-Méndez, Gara & Nebot-Medina, Rafael & Madrid-López, Cristina, 2023. "An energy future beyond climate neutrality: Comprehensive evaluations of transition pathways," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 331(C).
    2. Pérez-Sánchez, Laura & Giampietro, Mario & Velasco-Fernández, Raúl & Ripa, Maddalena, 2019. "Characterizing the metabolic pattern of urban systems using MuSIASEM: The case of Barcelona," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 13-22.
    3. Renner, Ansel & Cadillo-Benalcazar, Juan José & Benini, Lorenzo & Giampietro, Mario, 2020. "Environmental pressure of the European agricultural system: Anticipating the biophysical consequences of internalization," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    4. Giampietro, Mario, 2019. "On the Circular Bioeconomy and Decoupling: Implications for Sustainable Growth," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 143-156.
    5. Perera, A.Chathurika S. & Davies, Peter J. & Graham, Petra L., 2024. "A global review of urban blue-green planning tools," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    6. Naidoo, Dhesigen & Nhamo, Luxon & Mpandeli, Sylvester & Sobratee, Nafisa & Senzanje, Aidan & Liphadzi, Stanley & Slotow, Rob & Jacobson, Michael & Modi, Albert T. & Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe, 2021. "Operationalising the water-energy-food nexus through the theory of change," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    7. Claudio Cattaneo & Joan Marull & Enric Tello, 2018. "Landscape Agroecology. The Dysfunctionalities of Industrial Agriculture and the Loss of the Circular Bioeconomy in the Barcelona Region, 1956–2009," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-22, December.
    8. Alireza Taghdisian & Sandra G. F. Bukkens & Mario Giampietro, 2022. "A Societal Metabolism Approach to Effectively Analyze the Water–Energy–Food Nexus in an Agricultural Transboundary River Basin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-25, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Märker, Carolin & Venghaus, Sandra & Hake, Jürgen-Friedrich, 2018. "Integrated governance for the food–energy–water nexus – The scope of action for institutional change," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 290-300.
    2. Ding, Tao & Liang, Liang & Zhou, Kaile & Yang, Min & Wei, Yuqi, 2020. "Water-energy nexus: The origin, development and prospect," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 419(C).
    3. Cássia Juliana Fernandes Torres & Camilla Hellen Peixoto de Lima & Bárbara Suzart de Almeida Goodwin & Terencio Rebello de Aguiar Junior & Andrea Sousa Fontes & Daniel Veras Ribeiro & Rodrigo Saldanha, 2019. "A Literature Review to Propose a Systematic Procedure to Develop “Nexus Thinking” Considering the Water–Energy–Food Nexus," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-32, December.
    4. Lucia de Strasser, 2017. "Calling for Nexus Thinking in Africa’s Energy Planning," ESP: Energy Scenarios and Policy 263161, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    5. Alireza Taghdisian & Sandra G. F. Bukkens & Mario Giampietro, 2022. "A Societal Metabolism Approach to Effectively Analyze the Water–Energy–Food Nexus in an Agricultural Transboundary River Basin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-25, July.
    6. Hongfang Li & Huixiao Wang & Yaxue Yang & Ruxin Zhao, 2021. "Regional Coordination and Security of Water–Energy–Food Symbiosis in Northeastern China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-19, January.
    7. Caiado Couto, Lilia & Campos, Luiza C. & da Fonseca-Zang, Warde & Zang, Joachim & Bleischwitz, Raimund, 2021. "Water, waste, energy and food nexus in Brazil: Identifying a resource interlinkage research agenda through a systematic review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    8. Giampietro, Mario, 2019. "On the Circular Bioeconomy and Decoupling: Implications for Sustainable Growth," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 143-156.
    9. Wang, Xue-Chao & Jiang, Peng & Yang, Lan & Fan, Yee Van & Klemeš, Jiří Jaromír & Wang, Yutao, 2021. "Extended water-energy nexus contribution to environmentally-related sustainable development goals," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    10. Detlef Müller-Mahn & Million Gebreyes, 2019. "Controversial Connections: The Water-Energy-Food Nexus in the Blue Nile Basin of Ethiopia," Land, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-20, September.
    11. Hubert Hirwa & Qiuying Zhang & Yunfeng Qiao & Yu Peng & Peifang Leng & Chao Tian & Sayidjakhon Khasanov & Fadong Li & Alphonse Kayiranga & Fabien Muhirwa & Auguste Cesar Itangishaka & Gabriel Habiyare, 2021. "Insights on Water and Climate Change in the Greater Horn of Africa: Connecting Virtual Water and Water-Energy-Food-Biodiversity-Health Nexus," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-22, June.
    12. Di Felice, Louisa Jane & Ripa, Maddalena & Giampietro, Mario, 2019. "An alternative to market-oriented energy models: Nexus patterns across hierarchical levels," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 431-443.
    13. Khan, Zarrar & Linares, Pedro & Rutten, Martine & Parkinson, Simon & Johnson, Nils & García-González, Javier, 2018. "Spatial and temporal synchronization of water and energy systems: Towards a single integrated optimization model for long-term resource planning," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 499-517.
    14. Lazaro, Lira Luz Benites & Giatti, Leandro Luiz & Bermann, Celio & Giarolla, Angelica & Ometto, Jean, 2021. "Policy and governance dynamics in the water-energy-food-land nexus of biofuels: Proposing a qualitative analysis model," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    15. Aries Purwanto & Janez Sušnik & Franciscus X. Suryadi & Charlotte de Fraiture, 2021. "Water-Energy-Food Nexus: Critical Review, Practical Applications, and Prospects for Future Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-17, February.
    16. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Hoang, Thi Hong Van & Mahalik, Mantu Kumar & Roubaud, David, 2017. "Energy consumption, financial development and economic growth in India: New evidence from a nonlinear and asymmetric analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 199-212.
    17. Grzegorz Ślusarz & Barbara Gołębiewska & Marek Cierpiał-Wolan & Jarosław Gołębiewski & Dariusz Twaróg & Sebastian Wójcik, 2021. "Regional Diversification of Potential, Production and Efficiency of Use of Biogas and Biomass in Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-20, January.
    18. Koh, Rachel & Kern, Jordan & Galelli, Stefano, 2022. "Hard-coupling water and power system models increases the complementarity of renewable energy sources," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 321(C).
    19. Ingrid Boas & Frank Biermann & Norichika Kanie, 2016. "Cross-sectoral strategies in global sustainability governance: towards a nexus approach," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 449-464, June.
    20. Dai, Jiangyu & Wu, Shiqiang & Han, Guoyi & Weinberg, Josh & Xie, Xinghua & Wu, Xiufeng & Song, Xingqiang & Jia, Benyou & Xue, Wanyun & Yang, Qianqian, 2018. "Water-energy nexus: A review of methods and tools for macro-assessment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 393-408.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:7:p:2545-:d:158954. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.