The CEIGRAM-UPM Team of the European GoNEXUS Project (María Blanco, Imen Arfa and Adrián González Rosell), has recently published a Policy Brief addressing the governance of the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem Nexus (WEFE Nexus).  The document is addressed to policy makers in the Member States and the new European Commission 2024-2029. It highlights the need to address cross-sectoral challenges in a holistic manner and presents a series of solutions that, using a nexus approach, seek to achieve effective governance.

The WEFE Nexus represents a complex system of interactions, and sectoral challenges often have implications across several sectors of the nexus, therefore, comprehensive solutions that simultaneously address multiple sectors are needed. To mention one example, the promotion of alternative sources of water (desalinated and reclaimed) to address potential shortages in demand can also contribute to maintaining the ecological flow of rivers and lakes, relieving the pressure on them from agricultural activities. However, the energy demand for water treatment is often high.

Using a participatory approach, the research team has identified challenges facing the EU in relation to the WEFE Nexus. The challenges identified are: weak governance of the Nexus, increasing water scarcity, energy transition and reduction of Greenhouse Gas emissions and finally reconciling water, energy and food security with ecosystem conservation. To address these multi-sectoral challenges at different spatial scales, comprehensive nexus solutions are needed that are feasible in their implementation, sustainable over time, with concrete and measurable objectives, as well as socially desirable and accepted.

Among the promising policy solutions proposed in the Policy Brief are the need to invest to improve water use efficiency, enhance the development of non-conventional water sources, increase energy generation from renewable sources, improve energy efficiency, optimize fertilizer use, and implement nature-based solutions. Each of them has been briefly developed, pointing out the main challenges, specific measures and the regulatory frameworks that could favor them.

The full report is available at the following link: https://zenodo.org/records/13886325

More Info on the GoNEXUS Project: https://gonexus.eu/