Research Article // A review of the water-energy-food nexus in Central Asia’s transboundary basins: trends, gaps and applications assessments
By Bamgboye et al. This review synthesizes 58 publications to evaluate how the WEFE nexus has been conceptualized and applied in Central Asia’s transboundary basins, revealing a strong water-centric focus, limited stakeholder engagement, and a need for more integrated, multi-scale and policy-relevant approaches.
Introduction
Transboundary water management challenges complicate resource governance in Central Asia (CA). Addressing these issues requiresintegrated approaches to manage shared water, energy and foodresources. The WEF nexus framework exploresthe links between these resources but remains an emerging processin CA, where poor water management has caused the desiccationof the region. This review of 58 WEF nexus publications shows thatresearch focuses mainly on water and multinational scales, withlimited attention to smaller scales. Stakeholders are often excluded,and methods remain quantitative despite scarce data. Thus, high-lighting the need for balanced methodological approaches, integration of smaller-scale analyses and enhanced stakeholder participation.
Published
06 November 2025
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International Journal of Water Resources Development