Applying the food–energy–water nexus concept at the local scale

Henry P. Huntington (), Jennifer I. Schmidt, Philip A. Loring, Erin Whitney, Srijan Aggarwal, Amanda G. Byrd, Subhabrata Dev, Aaron D. Dotson, Daisy Huang, Barbara Johnson, Justus Karenzi, Henry J. F. Penn, AlexAnna Salmon, Daniel J. Sambor, William E. Schnabel, Richard W. Wies and Michelle Wilber
Additional contact information
Henry P. Huntington: Huntington Consulting
Jennifer I. Schmidt: University of Alaska Anchorage
Philip A. Loring: University of Guelph
Erin Whitney: University of Alaska Fairbanks
Srijan Aggarwal: University of Alaska Fairbanks
Amanda G. Byrd: University of Alaska Fairbanks
Subhabrata Dev: University of Alaska Fairbanks
Aaron D. Dotson: University of Alaska Anchorage
Daisy Huang: University of Alaska Fairbanks
Barbara Johnson: University of Alaska Fairbanks
Justus Karenzi: University of Alaska Fairbanks
Henry J. F. Penn: University of Calgary
AlexAnna Salmon: Igiugig Village Council
Daniel J. Sambor: Stanford University
William E. Schnabel: University of Alaska Fairbanks
Richard W. Wies: University of Alaska Fairbanks
Michelle Wilber: University of Alaska Fairbanks

Nature Sustainability, 2021, vol. 4, issue 8, 672-679

Abstract: Abstract The food–energy–water (FEW) nexus describes interactions among domains that yield gains or trade-offs when analysed together rather than independently. In a project about renewable energy in rural Alaska communities, we applied this concept to examine the implications for sustainability and resilience. The FEW nexus provided a useful framework for identifying the cross-domain benefits of renewable energy, including gains in FEW security. However, other factors such as transportation and governance also play a major role in determining FEW security outcomes in rural Alaska. Here, we show the implications of our findings for theory and practice. The precise configurations of and relationships among FEW nexus components vary by place and time, and the range of factors involved further complicates the ability to develop a functional, systematic FEW model. Instead, we suggest how the FEW nexus may be applied conceptually to identify and understand cross-domain interactions that contribute to long-term sustainability and resilience.

Date: 2021
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-021-00719-1 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natsus:v:4:y:2021:i:8:d:10.1038_s41893-021-00719-1

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/natsustain/

DOI: 10.1038/s41893-021-00719-1

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Sustainability is currently edited by Monica Contestabile

More articles in Nature Sustainability from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().