This book argues that a variety of policies will be required to create synergies between the water-energy-food nexus sectors while reducing trade-offs in the development of a green economy. Despite rising demand for water, energy and food globally, the governance of water-energy-food sectors has generally remained separate with limited attention placed on the interactions that exist between them. Brears provides readers with a series of in-depth case studies of leading cities, states, nations and regions of differing climates, lifestyles and income-levels from around the world that have implemented a variety of policy innovations to reduce water-energy-food nexus pressures and achieve green growth. The Green Economy and the Water-Energy-Food Nexus will be of interest to town and regional planners, resource conservation managers, policymakers, international companies and organisations interested in reducing water-energy-food nexus pressures, environmental NGOs, researchers, graduate and undergraduate students.

Global trends of population growth, rising living standards and the rapidly increasing urbanized world are increasing the demand on water, food and energy. Added to this is the growing threat of climate change which will have huge impacts on water and food availability. It is increasingly clear that there is no place in an interlinked world for isolated solutions aimed at just one sector. In recent years the "nexus" has emerged as a powerful concept to capture these inter-linkages of resources and is now a key feature of policy-making. This book is one of the first to provide a broad overview of both the science behind the nexus and the implications for policies and sustainable development. It brings together contributions by leading intergovernmental and governmental officials, industry, scientists and other stakeholder thinkers who are working to develop the approaches to the Nexus of water-food-energy and climate. It represents a major synthesis and state-of-the-art assessment of the Nexus by major players, in light of the adoption by the United Nations of the new Sustainable Development Goals and Targets in 2015. With a foreword by HRH the Prince of Wales

This collection critically engages the resource use nexus. Clearly, a nexus-approach to resource policy, planning and practice is essential if sustainable development goals are to be met. In particular, in an era of climate change, an integrated approach to water, energy and agriculture is imperative. Agriculture accounts for 70% of global water withdrawals, food production accounts for 30% of global energy use and a rising global population requires more of everything. As shown in this collection, scholars of resource development, governance and management are ‘nexus sensitive’, utilizing a sort of ‘nexus sensibility’ in their work as it focuses on the needs of people particularly, but not only, in the global South. Importantly, a nexus-approach presents academics and practitioners with a discursive space in which to shape policy through research, to deepen and improve understandings of the interconnections and impacts of particular types of resource use, and to critically reflect on actions taken in the name of the ‘nexus’.

It is becoming increasingly recognized that for the optimal sustainable development and use of natural resources, an integrated approach to water management, agriculture, food security and energy is required. This "nexus" is now the focus of major attention by researchers, policy-makers and practitioners. In this book, the authors show how these issues are being addressed in India as part of its economic development, and how these can provide lessons for other developing nations. They address the conflicting claims of water resources for irrigation and hydropower, where both are scarce at the national level for fostering water and energy security. They also consider the relationship between water for irrigated agriculture and household use and its impact on rural poverty. They identify weaknesses in the current hydropower development programme in India that are preventing it from being an ecologically sustainable, socially just and economically viable solution to meeting growing energy demand. The empirical analyses presented show the enormous scope for co-management of water, energy, agricultural growth and food security through appropriate technological interventions and market instruments.

Climate resilience, or the capacity of socio-ecological systems to adapt and upkeep their functions when facing physical-chemical stress, is a key feature of ecosystems and communities. As the risks and impacts of climate change become more intense and more visible, there is a need to foster a broader understanding of both the impacts of these disruptions to food, water, and energy supplies and to increase resilience at the national and local level. The Handbook of Climate Change Resilience comprises a diverse body of knowledge, united in the objective of building climate resilience in both the industralised and the developing world. This unique publication will assist scientists, decision-makers and community members to take action to make countries, regions and cities more resilient.

The book’s primary intention is to serve as a roadmap for professionals working in developing countries interested in the Nexus Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems (WEFE) approach. The book shows a multi-disciplinary approach, showcasing the importance of the proper use of Nexus WEFE when implementing certain development programs in regions around the globe. It can be presented as a manual for an individual that either wishes to implement intervention projects following the NEXUS approach or students interested in cooperation and development. The book begins with a general explanation of the theoretical concepts and implementation processes of Nexus WEFE and continues getting into case studies, explaining the importance of proper implementation and potential drawbacks and solutions to them. This book has a particular focus on the European Union cooperation policies when implementing such an approach in developing countries.

This book aims to contribute to the transdisciplinary study of the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus in cities and to help policy makers adopt a more integrated approach to natural resources management in urban environments to face the challenges and threats of climate change. This approach is based on a multidimensional scientific framework that seeks to understand the complex and non-linear interrelationships and interdependencies between water-energy-food under climate change and to generate solutions to reduce trade-offs among development goals and generate co-benefits that help encourage sustainable development and contribute to the achievement of SDGs, mainly SDG 11 (make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable) and SDG 13 (take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts). Governing the WEF nexus in cities is one of the greatest resource challenges of our time, as cities consume large amounts of WEF, but one that can also generate relevant alternatives with which to tackle climate change. To help fostering these alternatives, this book analyzes the governance, institutional and political economy factors that determine the effectiveness of the nexus approach and reviews the potential, the benefits and the policy implications of the adoption of the WEF nexus approach at the urban level. Through a series of hands-on cases, chapters in this book present the opportunities of the WEF nexus approach to achieve innovation and transformative change and discuss concrete areas of synergy and policy initiative to raise urban resilience. Water-Energy-Food Nexus and Climate Change in Cities will serve both as a guide for policy makers as well as a useful resource for students and researchers in fields such as urban studies, public health, environmental sciences, energy studies and public policy interested in learning how cities can represent possibilities to navigate and manage sustainability from local to global.