• Energy Research

Assurer des systèmes alimentaires résilients et des régimes alimentaires sains et durables pour tous nécessite une utilisation beaucoup plus élevée de l'eau. Cependant, les ressources en eau sont limitées, géographiquement dispersées, volatiles en raison du changement climatique et nécessaires à d'autres fonctions vitales, y compris les écosystèmes et les services qu'elles fournissent. Une bonne gouvernance pour des ressources en eau résilientes est un précurseur nécessaire pour décider des solutions, trouver des financements et fournir des infrastructures. Six attributs qui, ensemble, fournissent une base pour une bonne gouvernance afin de réduire les risques futurs liés à l'eau pour les systèmes alimentaires sont proposés. Ces attributs s'harmonisent dans leur double objectif d'intégrer l'apprentissage adaptatif et les nouvelles connaissances, et d'adopter les types de systèmes de gouvernance requis pour les systèmes alimentaires résilients à l'eau. Les attributs sont également fondés sur la nécessité de mieux reconnaître le rôle que jouent les écosystèmes naturels et sains dans les systèmes alimentaires. Les attributs sont énumérés ci-dessous et sont fondés sur des preuves scientifiques et la diversité de l'expérience collective et de l'expertise des parties prenantes travaillant à travers l'interface science-politique : adopter une pensée systémique interconnectée qui englobe la complexité de la façon dont nous produisons, distribuons et ajoutons de la valeur à la nourriture, y compris l'exploitation de l'expérience et de l'expertise des parties prenantes ; adopter une gouvernance inclusive à plusieurs niveaux et soutenir la participation inclusive ; permettre l'innovation continue, les nouvelles connaissances et l'apprentissage, et la diffusion de l'information ; intégrer la diversité et la redondance pour la résilience aux chocs ; assurer la préparation du système aux chocs ; et planifier à long terme. Cela nécessitera que les systèmes alimentaires et d'approvisionnement en eau travaillent ensemble de manière proactive pour créer un espace socialement et environnementalement juste qui tienne compte des besoins en eau et en nourriture des personnes, des écosystèmes qui sous-tendent nos systèmes alimentaires et des préoccupations plus larges en matière d'énergie et d'équité. Garantizar sistemas alimentarios resilientes y dietas saludables sostenibles para todos requiere un uso mucho mayor del agua, sin embargo, los recursos hídricos son finitos, geográficamente dispersos, volátiles bajo el cambio climático y necesarios para otras funciones vitales, incluidos los ecosistemas y los servicios que proporcionan. La buena gobernanza de los recursos hídricos resilientes es un precursor necesario para decidir sobre soluciones, obtener financiación y ofrecer infraestructura. Se proponen seis atributos que en conjunto proporcionan una base para la buena gobernanza a fin de reducir los riesgos futuros del agua para los sistemas alimentarios. Estos atributos encajan en su doble enfoque en la incorporación del aprendizaje adaptativo y los nuevos conocimientos, y la adopción de los tipos de sistemas de gobernanza necesarios para los sistemas alimentarios resilientes al agua. Los atributos también se basan en la necesidad de reconocer mejor el papel que desempeñan los ecosistemas naturales y saludables en los sistemas alimentarios. Los atributos se enumeran a continuación y se basan en la evidencia científica y la diversa experiencia colectiva y los conocimientos de las partes interesadas que trabajan a través de la interfaz ciencia-política: Adoptar un pensamiento de sistemas interconectados que abarque la complejidad de cómo producimos, distribuimos y agregamos valor a los alimentos, incluido el aprovechamiento de la experiencia y los conocimientos de las partes interesadas; adoptar una gobernanza inclusiva multinivel y apoyar la participación inclusiva; permitir la innovación continua, los nuevos conocimientos y el aprendizaje, y la difusión de información; incorporar diversidad y redundancia para la resiliencia a las crisis; garantizar la preparación del sistema para las crisis; y planificar a largo plazo. Esto requerirá que los sistemas de alimentos y agua trabajen juntos de manera proactiva hacia un espacio social y ambientalmente justo que considere las necesidades de agua y alimentos de las personas, los ecosistemas que sustentan nuestros sistemas alimentarios y las preocupaciones más amplias de energía y equidad. Ensuring resilient food systems and sustainable healthy diets for all requires much higher water use, however, water resources are finite, geographically dispersed, volatile under climate change, and required for other vital functions including ecosystems and the services they provide. Good governance for resilient water resources is a necessary precursor to deciding on solutions, sourcing finance, and delivering infrastructure. Six attributes that together provide a foundation for good governance to reduce future water risks to food systems are proposed. These attributes dovetail in their dual focus on incorporating adaptive learning and new knowledge, and adopting the types of governance systems required for water resilient food systems. The attributes are also founded in the need to greater recognise the role natural, healthy ecosystems play in food systems. The attributes are listed below and are grounded in scientific evidence and the diverse collective experience and expertise of stakeholders working across the science-policy interface: Adopting interconnected systems thinking that embraces the complexity of how we produce, distribute, and add value to food including harnessing the experience and expertise of stakeholders s; adopting multi-level inclusive governance and supporting inclusive participation; enabling continual innovation, new knowledge and learning, and information dissemination; incorporating diversity and redundancy for resilience to shocks; ensuring system preparedness to shocks; and planning for the long term. This will require food and water systems to pro-actively work together toward a socially and environmentally just space that considers the water and food needs of people, the ecosystems that underpin our food systems, and broader energy and equity concerns. يتطلب ضمان أنظمة غذائية مرنة وأنظمة غذائية صحية مستدامة للجميع استخدامًا للمياه أعلى بكثير، ومع ذلك، فإن موارد المياه محدودة ومتناثرة جغرافيًا ومتقلبة في ظل تغير المناخ، ومطلوبة للوظائف الحيوية الأخرى بما في ذلك النظم الإيكولوجية والخدمات التي تقدمها. تعد الحوكمة الرشيدة لموارد المياه المرنة مقدمة ضرورية لاتخاذ قرار بشأن الحلول، وتوفير التمويل، وتوفير البنية التحتية. تم اقتراح ست سمات توفر معًا أساسًا للحوكمة الرشيدة للحد من مخاطر المياه المستقبلية على النظم الغذائية. تتوافق هذه السمات في تركيزها المزدوج على دمج التعلم التكيفي والمعرفة الجديدة، واعتماد أنواع أنظمة الحوكمة المطلوبة للنظم الغذائية المرنة للمياه. وتستند السمات أيضًا إلى الحاجة إلى زيادة الاعتراف بالدور الذي تلعبه النظم الإيكولوجية الطبيعية والصحية في النظم الغذائية. السمات مدرجة أدناه وترتكز على الأدلة العلمية والخبرة والتجربة الجماعية المتنوعة لأصحاب المصلحة العاملين عبر واجهة العلوم والسياسات: اعتماد تفكير النظم المترابطة التي تتبنى تعقيد كيفية إنتاج وتوزيع وإضافة قيمة إلى الغذاء بما في ذلك تسخير تجربة وخبرات أصحاب المصلحة ؛ اعتماد حوكمة شاملة متعددة المستويات ودعم المشاركة الشاملة ؛ تمكين الابتكار المستمر والمعرفة الجديدة والتعلم ونشر المعلومات ؛ دمج التنوع والتكرار من أجل المرونة في مواجهة الصدمات ؛ ضمان استعداد النظام للصدمات ؛ والتخطيط على المدى الطويل. سيتطلب ذلك أن تعمل أنظمة الغذاء والمياه معًا بشكل استباقي نحو مساحة عادلة اجتماعيًا وبيئيًا تأخذ في الاعتبار الاحتياجات المائية والغذائية للناس، والنظم الإيكولوجية التي تدعم أنظمتنا الغذائية، ومخاوف أوسع بشأن الطاقة والإنصاف.

Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are particularly vulnerable to climate change, given dependence on agricultural production and limited adaptive capacity. Based on farm household and Participatory Rural Appraisal data collected from districts in various agroecological zones in Kenya, this paper examines farmers' perceptions of climate change, ongoing adaptation measures, and factors influencing farmers' decisions to adapt. The results show that households face considerable challenges in adapting to climate change. While many households have made small adjustments to their farming practices in response to climate change (in particular, changing planting decisions), few households are able to make more costly investments, for example in agroforestry or irrigation, although there is a desire to invest in such measures. This emphasizes the need for greater investments in rural and agricultural development to support the ability of households to make strategic, long-term decisions that affect their future well-being.

Mongolia’s projected warming is far above the global average and could exceed 5 ◦C by the end of the century. The reliance on pastoral livestock and rainfed agriculture along with its fragile ecosystems put Mongolia’s economy at risk of adverse climate change impacts, particularly from climate extreme events. Eighty percent of Mongolia’s agricultural sector is concentrated in animal husbandry with around one third of the population relying on this livelihood. Beyond livestock, food production is concentrated in few crops: wheat; potatoes; and three vegetables (cabbage, carrot, and turnip). Climate change does not only affect food production but can exacerbate malnutrition by removing food and nutrients in all stages of the food value chain. To identify perceived effects of climate change and measures to reduce climate change impacts in Mongolia’s’s key food value chains, we implemented focus group discussions with 214 livestock and vegetable producers, traders, and food consumers. We also conducted 30 key informant interviews at the soum, provincial, and national levels across four agroecosystems in three provinces. Based on this community engagement analysis, we identify in­ terventions that the government and private sector, including herders and farmers, should undertake to increase the food security and nutrition of the country’s prioritized food value chains under climate change.

This study identifies the major methods used by farmers to adapt to climate change in the Nile Basin of Ethiopia, the factors that affect their choice of method, and the barriers to adaptation. The methods identified include use of different crop varieties, tree planting, soil conservation, early and late planting, and irrigation. Results from the discrete choice model employed indicate that the level of education, gender, age, and wealth of the head of household; access to extension and credit; information on climate, social capital, agroecological settings, and temperature all influence farmers’ choices. The main barriers include lack of information on adaptation methods and financial constraints.

Abstract The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Nile is expected to influence many ecosystem services, such as flood regulation, hydro-electricity production, food supply, and habitat provision, among others. Understanding these impacts (positive and negative) requires a comprehensive evaluation framework. This study develops and applies an integrated simulation framework for assessing the impacts of the GERD on Sudan, focusing on the simultaneous economywide effects of riverine flood hazards, irrigation water supply, hydropower generation, and floodplain-dependent industries, namely traditional fired clay brick production. The simulation framework incorporates three models: a river infrastructure system model, a flood model, and a Computable General Equilibrium Model. Results indicate positive impacts for hydropower generation and flood control, marginal benefits for water supply to existing irrigation, and negative consequences for brick production and the construction sector. Assuming that the GERD starts its long-term operation in 2025, we find an overall positive economic impact on Sudan’s Gross Domestic Product in 2025, with an increase of up to just over 0.1%, subject to river flow conditions. Recognizing the differences in impacts across sectors and income groups, the study emphasizes the need for interventions that ameliorate negative effects. While the study captures several impacts, other effects on the environment, recession agriculture, and soil fertility require further investigation. Still, our findings underscore the importance of adopting an integrated simulation approach to dam evaluation, acknowledging the interconnected nature of water and related sectors in national economies.

ABSTRACTSoil erosion and subsequent land degradation undermine efforts to ensure food security and environmental sustainability in Ethiopia. The government of Ethiopia has implemented extensive soil and water conservation (SWC) programs in severely degraded and food-insecure areas of the country, in some cases integrated with subsequent or parallel irrigation development. However, the effectiveness of these interventions has not been extensively evaluated. This study, therefore, evaluates the performance and impacts of SWC practices in terms of improving vegetation greenness and reducing soil erosion in Feresmay watershed in Ethiopia. Long-term Landsat-based Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), and Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) were used for change-detection analysis before and after the implementation of various SWC interventions. The results revealed the positive impacts of SWC interventions in improving the vegetation greenness and soil erosion reduction although the outcome varied by intervention. Increased vegetation greenness was observed largely in areas where area closure with catchment treatment (ACCT) and impacts of irrigation (IRR) interventions are dominant, while relatively little impact was observed at the watershed level analysis. Although these interventions helped to reduce soil loss, the results highlighted the need for more SWC interventions to minimise further soil loss.

The ever-increasing demand for water, food, and energy is putting unsustainable pressure on natural resources worldwide, often leading to environmental degradation that, in turn, affect water, food, and energy security. The recognition of the complex interlinkages between multiple sectors has led to the creation of various holistic approaches to environmental decision making such as Integrated Natural Resources Management (INRM), Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), Virtual Water (VW), Water Footprint (WF) and lately the Food-EnergyEnvironment-Water nexus (WE2F). All these approaches aim to increase resource use efficiency and promote sustainability by increasing the cooperation between traditionally disjoint sectors, and mainly differ by the number and relative weights of the sectors included in their framework. They also suffer from the same face and the same barriers for implementation, some of which may never be fully overcome. The paper discusses the benefits of adopting a WE2F nexus approach in the Upper Niger Basin (UNB) and the Inner Niger Delta (IND), but also the multiple difficulties associated with its practical implementation. IWRM/WE2F initiatives in the UNB/IND such as the BAMGIRE project piloted by Wetlands International and funded by the Dutch Embassy in Mali to secure livelihoods and biodiversity in a changing environment, is taken as an example of partial success in the use of a nexus approach to watershed management. It was shown there are multiple barriers to the operational implementation of the WE2F. However, while a full understanding of all interlinkage between sectors may never be possible, data collection, scientific research and model development can improve our ability to understand the complex system in which we live, and hence take better decisions

The purpose of this review was to discuss challenges regarding model use in water energy food nexus analysis. Water, energy, and food (WEF) nexus analysis endeavors are relatively new. Modeling systems are just evolving and there are challenges that arise in performing high-quality analysis. We discuss many of these. Nexus modeling must represent and describe complex interrelationships among WEF systems. Modeling is a necessity as the nexus approach is about widening perspectives to unexplored levels. Nexus analysis systems must consider situations that vary from place to place and over time while integrating a family of models that address various components. Challenges arise in representing an appropriate geographic region while encompassing the relevant WEF using/producing activities along with heterogeneous, situation-specific, component interrelationships in a manner that supports decisions. Accounting for uncertainty and the evolution of population along with changes in biophysical, socioeconomic, economic, and climatic elements over time further compounds the challenge. In addition, challenges arise when one needs to describe previously unimplemented strategies both now and into an uncertain future represented by climate change, population growth, and other interacting forces. Comprehensive studies are needed to address these challenges and show the value of WEF nexus analysis. This paper addresses modeling-related challenges that arise when considering how to perform informative and accurate WEF nexus analyses.