River Basins // The Water-Energy-Food Nexus and the Transboundary Context: Insights from Large Asian Rivers

By Marko Keskinen, Joseph H. A. Guillaume, Mirja Kattelus, Miina Porkka, Timo A. Räsänen and Olli Varis. Based on a comparative analysis of three Asian regions — Central Asia, South Asia and the Mekong Region — and their related transboundary river basins, we propose that the transboundary context has three major implications: diversity of scales and perspectives, importance of state actors and importance of politics. Similarly, introducing the nexus as an approach in a transboundary context has a potential to provide new resources and approaches, alter existing actor dynamics and portray a richer picture of relationships. Overall, the significance of water-energy-food linkages and their direct impacts on water allocation mean that the nexus has the potential to complement existing approaches also in the transboundary river basins.