IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i15p6274-d394378.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sustainability Considerations in Water–Energy–Food Nexus Research in Irrigated Agriculture

Author

Listed:
  • Ahmad Hamidov

    (Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Eberswalder Straße 84, 15374 Müncheberg, Germany
    Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Agricultural Mechanization Engineers (TIIAME), Kary-Niyaziy 39, Tashkent 100000, Uzbekistan)

  • Katharina Helming

    (Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Eberswalder Straße 84, 15374 Müncheberg, Germany
    Faculty of Landscape Management and Nature Conservation, Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE), Schickler Straße 5, 16225 Eberswalde, Germany)

Abstract

Irrigated agriculture is essential to satisfying the globally increasing demand for food and bio-based products. Yet, in water scarce regions, water-use for irrigation aggravates the competition for the use of water for other purposes, such as energy production, drinking water and sanitation. Solutions for sustainable food production through irrigated agriculture require a systemic approach to assess benefits and trade-offs across sectors. Here, the water–energy–food (WEF) nexus has become an important concept in natural resource management. It has been conceptualized to analyze linkages and trade-offs between the three sectors, across temporal and spatial scales. However, the concept has so far mainly been conceptual, with little empirical evidence or proof of concept in real world cases. The objective of this paper was to take stock of the rapidly advancing literature on the WEF nexus in irrigated agriculture, and to analyze how the concept was actually implemented in research studies, and how the nexus between water, food and energy was actually dealt with. The study period ranges from 2011 to 2019, and includes 194 articles. Results showed that the WEF nexus is indeed very relevant in irrigated agriculture, and the respective literature makes up one third of all WEF nexus papers. Modeling and empirical research have caught up with conceptual synthesis studies during the last four years, thereby indicating that the WEF nexus concept is indeed increasingly operationalized. However, most studies addressed the WEF nexus from a perspective of either socioeconomic, technological or environmental categories, and they place one of the dimensions of water, food or energy into the foreground. To address sustainable development, there is a need to fully integrate across research disciplines and thematic dimensions. Such studies are only starting to emerge. These findings are an important evidence-base for future WEF nexus research on irrigated agriculture, in support of sustainable solutions for water scarce regions, especially in settings undergoing transformations.

Suggested Citation

  • Ahmad Hamidov & Katharina Helming, 2020. "Sustainability Considerations in Water–Energy–Food Nexus Research in Irrigated Agriculture," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-20, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:15:p:6274-:d:394378
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/15/6274/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/15/6274/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rossella Vito & Alessandro Pagano & Ivan Portoghese & Raffaele Giordano & Michele Vurro & Umberto Fratino, 2019. "Integrated Approach for Supporting Sustainable Water Resources Management of Irrigation Based on the WEFN Framework," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 33(4), pages 1281-1295, March.
    2. Anik Bhaduri & Claudia Ringler & Ines Dombrowski & Rabi Mohtar & Waltina Scheumann, 2015. "Sustainability in the water-energy-food nexus," Water International, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(5-6), pages 723-732, September.
    3. Vanham, D., 2016. "Does the water footprint concept provide relevant information to address the water–food–energy–ecosystem nexus?," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 17(C), pages 298-307.
    4. Bieber, Niclas & Ker, Jen Ho & Wang, Xiaonan & Triantafyllidis, Charalampos & van Dam, Koen H. & Koppelaar, Rembrandt H.E.M. & Shah, Nilay, 2018. "Sustainable planning of the energy-water-food nexus using decision making tools," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 584-607.
    5. Mohammed Rachid Doukkali & Caroline Lejars, 2015. "Energy cost of irrigation policy in Morocco: a social accounting matrix assessment," International Journal of Water Resources Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(3), pages 422-435, September.
    6. Mirja Kattelus & Muhammad Mizanur Rahaman & Olli Varis, 2014. "Myanmar under reform: Emerging pressures on water, energy and food security," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 0(2), pages 85-98, May.
    7. Peng Zhang & Zihan Xu & Weiguo Fan & Jiahui Ren & Ranran Liu & Xiaobin Dong, 2019. "Structure Dynamics and Risk Assessment of Water-Energy-Food Nexus: A Water Footprint Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-18, February.
    8. Dave D. White & J. Leah Jones & Ross Maciejewski & Rimjhim Aggarwal & Giuseppe Mascaro, 2017. "Stakeholder Analysis for the Food-Energy-Water Nexus in Phoenix, Arizona: Implications for Nexus Governance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-21, November.
    9. Unknown, 2016. "Water Energy and Food Security Nexus," Conference Proceedings 253272, Guru Arjan Dev Institute of Development Studies (IDSAsr).
    10. Closas, Alvar & Rap, Edwin, 2017. "Solar-based groundwater pumping for irrigation: Sustainability, policies, and limitations," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 33-37.
    11. Valeria Jana Schwanitz & August Wierling & Payal Shah, 2017. "Assessing the Impact of Renewable Energy on Regional Sustainability—A Comparative Study of Sogn og Fjordane (Norway) and Okinawa (Japan)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-29, October.
    12. 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.
    13. Unknown, 2016. "Energy for Sustainable Development," Conference Proceedings 253270, Guru Arjan Dev Institute of Development Studies (IDSAsr).
    14. Echchelh, Alban & Hess, Tim & Sakrabani, Ruben, 2018. "Reusing oil and gas produced water for irrigation of food crops in drylands," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 124-134.
    15. Maria-Augusta Paim & Pablo Salas & Sören Lindner & Hector Pollitt & Jean-Francois Mercure & Neil R. Edwards & Jorge E. Viñuales, 2020. "Mainstreaming the Water-Energy-Food Nexus through nationally determined contributions (NDCs): the case of Brazil," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(2), pages 163-178, February.
    16. Bryce Hannibal & Kent Portney, 2019. "Correlates of Food–Energy–Water Nexus Awareness Among the American Public," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 100(3), pages 762-778, May.
    17. Wei Gao & Huai-Cheng Guo, 2014. "Nitrogen research at watershed scale: a bibliometric analysis during 1959–2011," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 99(3), pages 737-753, June.
    18. Athanasia-Tatiana Stamou & Peter Rutschmann, 2018. "Pareto Optimization of Water Resources Using the Nexus Approach," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 32(15), pages 5053-5065, December.
    19. Chen, Hong-Ge & Zhang, Y.-H. Percival, 2015. "New biorefineries and sustainable agriculture: Increased food, biofuels, and ecosystem security," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 117-132.
    20. Tatiana Ermolieva & Petr Havlík & Yuri Ermoliev & Aline Mosnier & Michael Obersteiner & David Leclère & Nikolay Khabarov & Hugo Valin & Wolf Reuter, 2016. "Integrated Management of Land Use Systems under Systemic Risks and Security Targets: A Stochastic Global Biosphere Management Model," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(3), pages 584-601, September.
    21. Valeria De Laurentiis & Dexter V.L. Hunt & Christopher D.F. Rogers, 2016. "Overcoming Food Security Challenges within an Energy/Water/Food Nexus (EWFN) Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-23, January.
    22. Aditi Mukherji & Arijit Das, 2014. "The political economy of metering agricultural tube wells in West Bengal, India," Water International, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(5), pages 671-685, September.
    23. Leah L. Bremer & Kim Falinski & Casey Ching & Christopher A. Wada & Kimberly M. Burnett & Kanekoa Kukea-Shultz & Nicholas Reppun & Gregory Chun & Kirsten L.L. Oleson & Tamara Ticktin, 2018. "Biocultural Restoration of Traditional Agriculture: Cultural, Environmental, and Economic Outcomes of Lo‘i Kalo Restoration in He‘eia, O‘ahu," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-21, November.
    24. 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.
    25. Amjath-Babu, T.S. & Sharma, Bikash & Brouwer, Roy & Rasul, Golam & Wahid, Shahriar M. & Neupane, Nilhari & Bhattarai, Utsav & Sieber, Stefan, 2019. "Integrated modelling of the impacts of hydropower projects on the water-food-energy nexus in a transboundary Himalayan river basin," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(C), pages 494-503.
    26. Caroline King & Hadi Jaafar, 2015. "Rapid assessment of the water-energy-food-climate nexus in six selected basins of North Africa and West Asia undergoing transitions and scarcity threats," International Journal of Water Resources Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(3), pages 343-359, September.
    27. Inas EL-Gafy & Neil Grigg & Reagan Waskom, 2017. "Water-Food-Energy: Nexus and Non-Nexus Approaches for Optimal Cropping Pattern," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 31(15), pages 4971-4980, December.
    28. Ravi, Sujith & Macknick, Jordan & Lobell, David & Field, Christopher & Ganesan, Karthik & Jain, Rishabh & Elchinger, Michael & Stoltenberg, Blaise, 2016. "Colocation opportunities for large solar infrastructures and agriculture in drylands," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 383-392.
    29. Dimitrios Zikos & Alevgul Sorman & Marisa Lau, 2015. "Beyond water security: asecuritisation and identity in Cyprus," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 309-326, September.
    30. Guy Jobbins & Jack Kalpakian & Abdelouahid Chriyaa & Ahmed Legrouri & El Houssine El Mzouri, 2015. "To what end? Drip irrigation and the water-energy-food nexus in Morocco," International Journal of Water Resources Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(3), pages 393-406, September.
    31. Amir Hatamkhani & Ali Moridi, 2019. "Multi-Objective Optimization of Hydropower and Agricultural Development at River Basin Scale," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 33(13), pages 4431-4450, October.
    32. Golam Rasul & Bikash Sharma, 2016. "The nexus approach to water–energy–food security: an option for adaptation to climate change," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(6), pages 682-702, August.
    33. Afreen Siddiqi & James L. Wescoat, 2013. "Energy use in large-scale irrigated agriculture in the Punjab province of Pakistan," Water International, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(5), pages 571-586, September.
    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. Viccaro, Mauro & Caniani, Donatella & Masi, Salvatore & Romano, Severino & Cozzi, Mario, 2022. "Biofuels or not biofuels? The “Nexus Thinking” in land suitability analysis for energy crops," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 1050-1064.
    2. Chia-Hsiang Chen & Kuo-Wei Yen, 2023. "Developing International Collaboration Indicators in Fisheries Remote Sensing Research to Achieve SDG 14 and 17," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-22, September.

    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. Adenike K. Opejin & Rimjhim M. Aggarwal & Dave D. White & J. Leah Jones & Ross Maciejewski & Giuseppe Mascaro & Hessam S. Sarjoughian, 2020. "A Bibliometric Analysis of Food-Energy-Water Nexus Literature," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-18, February.
    2. White, David J. & Hubacek, Klaus & Feng, Kuishuang & Sun, Laixiang & Meng, Bo, 2018. "The Water-Energy-Food Nexus in East Asia: A tele-connected value chain analysis using inter-regional input-output analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 550-567.
    3. Joel O. Botai & Christina M. Botai & Katlego P. Ncongwane & Sylvester Mpandeli & Luxon Nhamo & Muthoni Masinde & Abiodun M. Adeola & Michael G. Mengistu & Henerica Tazvinga & Miriam D. Murambadoro & S, 2021. "A Review of the Water–Energy–Food Nexus Research in Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-26, February.
    4. Cinthia Soto Golcher & Ingrid J Visseren-Hamakers, 2018. "Framing and integration in the global forest, agriculture and climate change nexus," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 36(8), pages 1415-1436, December.
    5. Víctor Correa-Porcel & Laura Piedra-Muñoz & Emilio Galdeano-Gómez, 2021. "Water–Energy–Food Nexus in the Agri-Food Sector: Research Trends and Innovating Practices," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-31, December.
    6. 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.
    7. Sadeghi, Seyed Hamidreza & Sharifi Moghadam, Ehsan & Delavar, Majid & Zarghami, Mahdi, 2020. "Application of water-energy-food nexus approach for designating optimal agricultural management pattern at a watershed scale," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 233(C).
    8. Sriroop Chaudhuri & Mimi Roy & Louis M. McDonald & Yves Emendack, 2021. "Reflections on farmers’ social networks: a means for sustainable agricultural development?," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 2973-3008, March.
    9. 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.
    10. Hannibal, Bryce & Portney, Kent, 2020. "The impact of water scarcity on support for hydraulic fracturing regulation: A water-energy nexus study," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    11. Chrysaida-Aliki Papadopoulou & Maria P. Papadopoulou & Chrysi Laspidou & Stefania Munaretto & Floor Brouwer, 2020. "Towards a Low-Carbon Economy: A Nexus-Oriented Policy Coherence Analysis in Greece," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-22, January.
    12. Pritee Sharma & Salla Nithyanth Kumar, 2020. "The global governance of water, energy, and food nexus: allocation and access for competing demands," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 377-391, June.
    13. Zhang, Tong & Tan, Qian & Yu, Xiaoning & Zhang, Shan, 2020. "Synergy assessment and optimization for water-energy-food nexus: Modeling and application," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    14. Pritee Sharma & Salla Nithyanth Kumar, 0. "The global governance of water, energy, and food nexus: allocation and access for competing demands," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-15.
    15. Cholho Song & Sea Jin Kim & Jooyeon Moon & Soo Jeong Lee & Wona Lee & Nahui Kim & Sonam Wangyel Wang & Woo-Kyun Lee, 2017. "Classification of Global Land Development Phases by Forest and GDP Changes for Appropriate Land Management in the Mid-Latitude," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-16, August.
    16. Bazzana, Davide & Zaitchik, Benjamin & Gilioli, Gianni, 2020. "Impact of water and energy infrastructure on local well-being: an agent-based analysis of the water-energy-food nexus," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 165-176.
    17. 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.
    18. Kennedy Muthee & Lalisa Duguma & Judith Nzyoka & Peter Minang, 2021. "Ecosystem-Based Adaptation Practices as a Nature-Based Solution to Promote Water-Energy-Food Nexus Balance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-17, January.
    19. Chihhao Fan & Chun-Yueh Lin & Ming-Che Hu, 2019. "Empirical Framework for a Relative Sustainability Evaluation of Urbanization on the Water–Energy–Food Nexus Using Simultaneous Equation Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-18, March.
    20. Dave D. White & J. Leah Jones & Ross Maciejewski & Rimjhim Aggarwal & Giuseppe Mascaro, 2017. "Stakeholder Analysis for the Food-Energy-Water Nexus in Phoenix, Arizona: Implications for Nexus Governance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-21, November.

    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:12:y:2020:i:15:p:6274-:d:394378. 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.