Unlocking the Sustainability Potential of the Water-Energy-Food Nexus Through Systems Thinking Approach
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Management".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2025 | Viewed by 53
Special Issue Editors
Interests: water-energy-food nexus; water-soil-waste nexus; environmental assessment; sustainable resource management; ecosystem services; circular economy; climate adaptation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus represents a complex, interrelated framework for addressing global sustainability challenges, including resource scarcity and climate change. This special issue highlights the importance of a systems thinking approach to understand and fully leverage these interdependencies.
Resource scarcity, driven by climate change, population growth, and unsustainable practices, necessitates innovative solutions that optimize water, energy, and food resources. Multifunctionality is highlighted as a key principle, where resources are utilized for multiple purposes, enhancing overall efficiency and sustainability. For example, integrating agricultural practices with water management can improve crop yields while conserving water. Additionally, adopting nature-based solutions—such as restoring wetlands or implementing agroforestry—offers effective strategies for addressing these interconnected challenges. These solutions provide ecosystem services and enhance resilience against environmental stressors.
The purpose of this Special Issue is dedicated to the following topics, but not limited to:
- dimensions of the Water-Energy-Food Nexus and its challenges
- facilitate the understanding of complex systems
- quantify the material flows of complex systems
- potential for nature-based solutions in Water-Energy-Food Nexus applications
- potential for multifunctionality in Water-Energy-Food Nexus applications
- potential for AI in Water-Energy-Food Nexus applications
- water security under climate change
- energy security and energy dependency
- food security and population development
Prof. Dr. Petra Schneider
Dr. Mohammad Mozumder
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- water-energy-food nexus
- resource scarcity mitigation
- climate adaptation
- multifunctionality
- nature-based solutions
- systems thinking
- complex systems
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