Research Article // Threats in Water–Energy–Food–Land Nexus by the 2022 Military and Economic Conflict
By G.-Fivos Sargentis and collegues. In this study, the WEF Nexus was used as an indicator to evaluate the social impacts of the current (2022) conflict and in particular the economic sanctions on Russia. The study found that cities, especially due to the large-scale urbanization in recent decades, are extremely vulnerable.
Prices of wheat and oil (January 2010, June 2022).
Abstract
The formation of societies is based on the dynamics of spatial clustering, which optimizes economies of scale in the management of the water–energy–food (WEF) nexus. Energy and food are determinant measures of prosperity. Using the WEF nexus as an indicator, we evaluate the social impacts of the current (2022) conflict and in particular the economic sanctions on Russia. As Russia and Ukraine are major global suppliers of energy sources, food, and fertilizers, new threats arise by their limitations and the rally of prices. By analyzing related data, we show the dramatic effects on society, and we note that cities, which depend on a wider area for energy and food supplies, are extremely vulnerable. This problem was substantially worsened due to the large-scale urbanization in recent decades, which increased the distance from food sources. We conjecture that the Western elites’ decision to sanction Russia dramatically transformed the global WEF equilibrium, which could probably lead to the collapse of social cohesion.
Published
September 2022
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Citation
Sargentis, G.-F.; Lagaros, N.D.; Cascella, G.L.; Koutsoyiannis, D. Threats in Water–Energy–Food–Land Nexus by the 2022 Military and Economic Conflict. Land 2022, 11, 1569. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11...
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Threats in Water–Energy–Food–Land Nexus by the 2022 Military and Economic Conflict
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