Introduction to the water-energy-food nexus

Making explicit the interconnections between water, energy and food and the search for strategies to manage our natural resources sustainably are key for the Handbook on the water-energy-food nexus. Action from science, policy, business and civil society is needed to effectively deal with trade-offs between these resources and search for policies to deal with environmental pressures. The chapter presents multiple reviews on the water-energy-food nexus literature and does emphasise research on the nexus is largely driven by resource scarcity and the related risks to the economy and society as large. Understanding the interlinkages and the feedback loops between the different water-energy-food systems enable to consider the nexus as a complex system. Game based learning through serious games involving practitioners and policy makers is a means for understanding policies and their impacts. Such gaming is proposed as a means for nexus performance assessment and stakeholder engagement. This chapter does introduce the contributions in the Handbook on the water-energy-food nexus with a balanced mix of conceptual chapters and more grounded empirical studies.