The energy-water-food nexus: Concept, challenges and prospects

The energy-water-food nexus has increasingly drawn the attention of studies due to concerns about the future security of energy, water, and food and the inherent and undeniable relationship among them. Lack of knowledge of such systematic thinking will have unpredictable and conflicting results. In this paper, the definition and concept of the nexus as well as the impact of external factors on these systems in two physical and social categories were investigated and analyzed from different perspectives. Also, the empirical studies conducted on the energy-water-food nexus system at various scales were reviewed. Finally, the prospects and challenges of the energy-water-food nexus were fully examined. Each of the mentioned issues is a challenge in evaluating the sustainability and resiliency of a nexus system. The presence of different dimensions and aspects of evaluating a system such as economic, environmental, and sociological dimensions to evaluate the nexus system performance can also be challenging.