Systematic Literature Review of the Water-EnergyFood Nexus: An Overview of the Field.

Abstract

Water, energy and food are vital resources for human well-being, poverty reduction, and sustainable development; In addition to their own individual complexity, they are interrelated since food production requires water and energy, water management (extraction, treatment and redistribution) requires energy, and hydroelectric energy production (the main source of energy in Paraguay) requires water. The interconnection of these resources is known as the Water-Energy-Food Nexus (WEF Nexus), a framework that captures the interrelationships, synergies and trade-offs between the demand for water, energy and food in the context of emerging threats and limitations. sustainable development in particular regions or systems. Water, energy, and food are limited but critical resources for human and natural systems; and they are running out at a faster rate than the planet can replenish. Therefore, the Water-Energy-Food Nexus (WEF Nexus) has become an essential approach to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2, 6 and 7. This work presents an exhaustive and systematic review of the literature on the Water Energy-Food Nexus of the last decade, addressing the articles published in journals, conferences and technical reports where the case studies carried out, the proposed methodologies and the types are analyzed. of data that are required in the different models; which allows to have a clear overview of the current situation worldwide with respect to the WEF Nexus. As a complementary contribution, a methodological proposal is presented for the beginning of the study of the WEF Nexus for countries with emerging economies with a multi-criteria approach, taking the Republic of Paraguay as a case study.