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Perception and Representation of the Resource Nexus at the Interface between Society and the Natural Environment

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  • Mario Giampietro

    (Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
    ICREA, Pg. Lluís Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain)

Abstract

Recent years have seen an explosion of interest in the resource nexus. This has created the co-existence of different understandings and uses of the concept. In this regard, experiences in the EU H2020 project ‘Moving towards adaptive governance in complexity: Informing nexus security’ are consistent with findings reported in the literature: (i) The inconvenient message of the nexus is difficult to get across, it being incompatible with the currently dominant rosy narratives about sustainability. Indeed, from a historic perspective, the nexus can be seen as a revival of the ideological fight between cornucopians and neo-Malthusians; (ii) Silo structures in existing institutions are a problem for the governance of the nexus, and so is the resulting reductionist strategy of addressing and fixing one issue at the time; (iii) Scientific inquiry is currently not providing the quality inputs needed for a meaningful discussion of the resource nexus. Entanglement of resource flows is rooted in the complex metabolic pattern of social-ecological systems, the analysis of which requires a complex systems approach and relational analysis. Contemporary reductionist models simply make the nexus invisible to the analyst.

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  • Mario Giampietro, 2018. "Perception and Representation of the Resource Nexus at the Interface between Society and the Natural Environment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-17, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:7:p:2545-:d:158954
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    Cited by:

    1. Giampietro, Mario, 2019. "On the Circular Bioeconomy and Decoupling: Implications for Sustainable Growth," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 143-156.
    2. Naidoo, Dhesigen & Nhamo, Luxon & Mpandeli, Sylvester & Sobratee, Nafisa & Senzanje, Aidan & Liphadzi, Stanley & Slotow, Rob & Jacobson, Michael & Modi, Albert T. & Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe, 2021. "Operationalising the water-energy-food nexus through the theory of change," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    3. Claudio Cattaneo & Joan Marull & Enric Tello, 2018. "Landscape Agroecology. The Dysfunctionalities of Industrial Agriculture and the Loss of the Circular Bioeconomy in the Barcelona Region, 1956–2009," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-22, December.
    4. Martin, Nick & Talens-Peiró, Laura & Villalba-Méndez, Gara & Nebot-Medina, Rafael & Madrid-López, Cristina, 2023. "An energy future beyond climate neutrality: Comprehensive evaluations of transition pathways," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 331(C).
    5. Pérez-Sánchez, Laura & Giampietro, Mario & Velasco-Fernández, Raúl & Ripa, Maddalena, 2019. "Characterizing the metabolic pattern of urban systems using MuSIASEM: The case of Barcelona," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 13-22.
    6. Renner, Ansel & Cadillo-Benalcazar, Juan José & Benini, Lorenzo & Giampietro, Mario, 2020. "Environmental pressure of the European agricultural system: Anticipating the biophysical consequences of internalization," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    7. Alireza Taghdisian & Sandra G. F. Bukkens & Mario Giampietro, 2022. "A Societal Metabolism Approach to Effectively Analyze the Water–Energy–Food Nexus in an Agricultural Transboundary River Basin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-25, July.

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