Case Studies // Examining the Water-Energy-Food Security- Ecosystem Nexus Approach in Nepal

Introduction

The Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem (WEFE) nexus approach has gained popularity recently because the security of natural resources is fundamental to human welfare. The WEFE nexus approach helps maximize synergy across water, energy, food, tenure, and livelihood security while minimizing trade-offs, particularly in terms of environmental damage, social costs, and economic losses. This approach centers on ensuring gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) in managing natural resources.

The WEFE nexus refers to the connections between four resource sectors: water, energy, food, and ecosystems. It involves the synergies, conflicts, and trade-offs that arise from how these resources are managed. The approach rejects isolated management practices and single-sector policies that lead to sectoral silos and non-sustainable practices. It aims to foster stakeholder integration and considers multiple solutions to create synergies among various sectors. By addressing both benefits and trade-offs comprehensively, the WEFE nexus approach seeks to avoid short-term solutions and instead promote long-term sustainability.

It emphasizes the importance of managing resources in a coordinated and integrated manner to ensure the overall well-being of ecosystems and human societies. Despite its strong theoretical foundation, the WEFE nexus has been criticized for lacking adequate practical examples and case studies. Specifically, in Nepal, the approach is relatively new, with no documented cases or dedicated projects designed with the WEFE nexus approach in mind. Therefore, despite its theoretical popularity, it remains in its infancy regarding its conceptualization and application at policy, institutional, and local levels.

To fill this gap, GREAT International, together with Governance Lab, has made a small attempt by inviting a group of researchers—namely Anita Shrestha, Anushiya Shrestha, Dinesh Bhuju, Gauri Shankar Bhandari, Kaustubh Thapa, Kushal Pokharel, Meena Bohara, Parshuram Niraula, Robindra Roy, Sagar Dhakal, and Sailesh Ranjitkar—to document several case studies in a short period with limited technical and financial resources. These case studies cover various themes, including community forestry, bio-energy, agro-forestry, agriculture and farming systems, nexus governance, protected area management, groundwater treatment systems, and more, to show the connections between various natural resource sectors in different configurations. While of all these case studies may not necessarily cover all key elements of a WEFE nexus approach, they provide an important opportunity to readers to critically review the cases and examine them in the context of opportunities and challenges they present in the application of the WEFE nexus approach.

This is the key value addition of this compendium of case studies.

Published 

2024

By

GREAT International

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