Sustainability indicators for evaluation of the Water-Energy-Food Nexus in urban agriculture

ABSTRACT

Application of the Water-Energy-Food Nexus system is essential for addressing Water-Energy-Food Security and Environmental Protection in urban agricultural areas. However, there is currently no standardized framework for measuring and comparing sustainability indicators in these areas using the WEF Nexus practices. This study proposes sustainability measurement indicators to evaluate the WEF Nexus sustainability. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was employed to identify the most crucial indicators for policymakers. The WEF nexus sustainability indicators were selected based on three dimensions of sustainability: social, environmental, and economic. The study focused on Varamin, a semi-arid city in Tehran that serves as a center for urban agriculture. Research results indicate that water-related components are crucial in arid and semi-arid regions. Based on the environmental sustainability indicators, pollution prevention, with a priority of 52.8%, is a critical component of sustainability. Finally, several key indicators are recommended for decision-makers to address sustainability. Allocating national budgets to create environmental policies and increasing public education on environmental issues are two priorities for achieving sustainability goals. However, future studies should utilize the Analytic Network Process (ANP), which enables interdependencies among decision components, as the AHP approach has some limitations.

Graphical abstract

KEYWORDS:

• Nexus approach
• water-energy-food
• urban agriculture
• sustainability
• AHP

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Iran National Science Foundation under Grant 96013434.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Iran National Science Foundation (INSF) [96013434].