Nexus in Europe // Coordination of Sectoral Interests in the Nexus Between Water, Energy and Agriculture: Mechanisms and Interests in Germany
By Sabine Blumstein, Annika Kramer and Alexander Carius. The interdependencies in the exploitation and protection of natural resources and in the safe provisioning of water, energy and food is of increasing importance in the German context. The political structure to handle these topics is coordinated along subject-specific sectors, contrary to the Nexus approach. This structure restricts handling of these topics to the formulation of mostly sector-specific objectives and measures. The objective of this commissioned study from the GIZ is to investigate the handling of conflicts of interest and potential synergies within the water-energy-food security Nexus in Germany.
Principally, mechanisms and instruments are analysed which are made available within legislative procedures and policy-making processes for the coordination of different aims and interests (framework perspective). The interactions between water, energy and agriculture have been increasingly researched in a scientific manner in past years. Conversely, the question concerning existing circumstances of intersectoral coordination in the Nexus prism in political processes has rarely been analysed. Against this background, this study prepares a concrete example of Germany that is useable for guidance, consultation and training programmes.
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Published
March 2017