Introduction to the Food, Energy and Water Nexus

The current population of our world according to the World Bank is about 7.6 billion people (2018). The United Nations expects our population to reach 9.8 billion by 2050 and then 11.2 billion by the year 2100 (if we are still around then or living on another planet that we can do the same things over again). Some other way to visualize this growth is around 130,000 people are being born each day across our globe. This does not take into account deaths per day but with people living longer lives due to health, medicine and living standards among many things, global population will continue to grow each year. Below are some graphs that illustrate this model.

This situation is expected to be exacerbated in the near future as 60 percent more food will need to be produced in order to feed the world population in 2050 (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). 

This statement is extremely important as we consider how much food that is and the tremendous growth of our population over the next 30 years. This relates to the issue of the Food, Energy, Water Nexus because as food production increases, so does the demand for energy and water consumption. We cannot just focus on how to provide more food for our population but how that will affect the entire nexus and global energy consumption. One thing that I have noticed in working in developing countries in Latin America and Southern Africa, is that the waste is tremendous and some of the major polluters for global warming and energy waste. The recycling programs and renewable energy resources is not easily accessible in these areas or even non-existent. This statement led me to focus more on creating sustainable ideas and solutions focusing on the developing countries and not just what we can do here in the United States.

The following diagram shows a simplified explanation of how the FEW nexus works. All of these things play an important role in the fight against climate change and sustainability. In an article from the Qatar Tribune, "The nexus approach, it is hoped, will more specifically consider the different dimensions of water, energy and food equally in order to devise solutions in the broader framework of sustainable development."

“We need leaders who will bring insights from each domain where dysfunction is being dealt with and combine them into a broad suite of interleaving overlapping, combinatorially dynamic best practices.”

 

This statement from Dr. Culhane at University of South Florida resonated with me as we are going into a new election in a few months and leadership roles. It is extremely important to have people in leadership who have a well versed knowledge of various subjects or places people around them that can speak into this. When we are leading from a single lane of knowledge or subject, we can forget how all our decisions and actions will affect other aspects of that role and our communities. A holistic approach to development and the FEW nexus is the new policy framework and “hot” topic in today’s political world. Having a holistic view of our environment and development brings in the system thinking process as well to all that we do. As a program director and measurement and evaluation coordinator for an international NGO, it is important to think of how our programs address all these topics. Working with Children’s Cup has provided opportunities to be a leader in that sense of thinking critically to produce programs that provide holistic development to our future generations in developing countries. Our programs not just address education, or food security or provide medical support, but various aspects of a child’s growth is implemented into these programs as a sort of “nexus” program framework.

 

If you haven't had a chance to watch this show on Netflix, I highly recommend checking it out as Zac Efron (Yes, High School Musical dude) explores the FEW nexus all over the globe and some new and exciting ways we are fighting climate change. It also brings back a fresh perspective of how we can look at some of the past techniques and things we did to bring back to modernize and support global warming and the FEW nexus. This is a great way to bring in a fresh perspective and make it entertaining for younger generations and mainstream audiences.

Call to Action: Purchase a nice reusable water bottle and get rid of using plastic bottles from the store. See how much more water and money and trash you save by doing this. Comment below and share your experience with this or some other small ways and actions we can take to build a better future and environment for generations to come.