Water–energy–food (WEF) Nexus Tool 2.0: guiding integrative resource planning and decision-making

Abstract

The paper introduces a framework and set of methodologies that define the linkages between the interconnected resources of water, energy and food, and enable explicit corresponding quantifications. The paper presents a new water–energy–food (WEF) Nexus modelling tool (WEF Nexus Tool 2.0) based on that framework which offers a common platform for scientists and policy-makers to evaluate scenarios and identify sustainable national resource allocation strategies. The tool is applied to a case study focusing on Qatar, a hyper-arid Gulf country.

Keywords:

• modelling tool
• integrated policy
• sustainability index
• water and food security
• nexus
• Qatar

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Qatar National Food Security Programme (QNFSP) leadership, Qatar’s Ministry of Environment, and the Qatar Foundation for facilitating data access used in the case study. The authors also express their appreciation to Purdue University, where the original framework was conceptualized.

Notes

1. WEF Nexus Tool 2.0 © is a public tool developed by Daher and Mohtar in 2012. The tool can be accessed at wefnexustool.org/. Users can create their own account and build scenarios to assess different resource allocation strategies.