The Water-Food-Energy-Climate Nexus in Global Drylands
The contributions to this special issue were peer-reviewed presentations to the International “Conference on the Water-Energy-Food Nexus in Drylands,” held in Rabat, Morocco, in 11–13 June 2014. This conference happened in the context of a partnership between OCP Policy Center, the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB), and King’s College London and Texas A&M, gathering high-level international experts to discuss the impacts of climate change and water scarcity, and potential solutions in the fields of agriculture, water management, agro-business and energy. The 30 researchers from across the Arab world, Europe and Africa discussed the nexus in a highly engaging format, and focused on the gap found between science and policy making.
The nexus concept may hold a number of promises for dryland economies if its scientific recommendations are fully understood and sensibly integrated into policy. However, this will not be an easy task for decision makers in the years ahead. This special issue is a first contribution to the debate that will hopefully inform policy makers of opportunities related to the World Economic Forum’s nexus concept. More importantly, it seeks to launch a debate on the concept and the future of natural resources management in dryland economies. It is hoped by the editors that scientists and policy makers will be able to grasp the nexus concept not only to manage resources in an integrated way but also to see the need to cooperate across borders and private-sector supply chains to solve the environmental challenges of the future.
List of articles:
1. The water-food-energy nexus : an introduction to nexus concepts and some conceptual and operational problems, by Tony Allan, Martin Keulertz & Eckart Woertz
2. Financial challenges of the nexus: pathways for investment in water, energy and agriculture in the Arab World, by Martin Keulertz & Eckart Woertz
3. Food-water security and vitual water trade in the Middle East and North Africa, by Marta Antonelli & Stefania Tamea
4. Rapid assessment of the water-energy-food-climate nexus in six selected basins of North Africa and West Asia undergoing transitions and scarcity threats, by Caroline King & Hadi Jaafar
5. The nexus as a political commodity: agricultural development, water policy and elite rivalry in Egypt, by Harry Verhoeven
6. Nexus meets crisis: a review of conflict, natural resources and the humanitarian response in Darfur with reference to the water-energy-food nexus, by Brendan Bromwich
7. To what end? Drip irrigation and the water-energy food nexus in Morocco, by Guy Jobbins, Jack Kalpakian, Abdelouahid Chriyaa, Ahmed Legrouri & El Houssine El Mzouri
8. Virtual-water content of agricultural production and food trade balance of Tunisia, by Jamel Chahed, Mustapha Besbes & Abdelkader Hamdane
9. Energy cost of irrigation policy in Morocco: a social accounting matrix assessment, by Mohammed Rachid Doukkali & Caroline Lejars