| Project Detail |
The socio-environmental impacts of the water-energy-food nexus
Water, energy and food are critical resources for human existence. However, their accessibility is increasingly challenging in various regions due to factors such as climate change, conflicts and other complexities. Such limitations can significantly impact ecosystems, diminish populations and compromise overall quality of life. The absence of comprehensive frameworks for understanding the impact of these resource constraints on populations hampers the development of effective interventions. Supported by the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions programme, the FNIT project will address this gap by analysing the water-energy-food nexus and its ramifications on populations, environments and societies. Focused on the transboundary basins of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, the project will examine critical issues such as climate change, migration and gender vulnerability.
This proposal responds to the need for a comprehensive framework to analyze the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus and its impacts on socio-environmental issues. The framework will address such complex issues in the transboundary region of the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers Basin (ETRB), with a focus on climate change, migration, and gender vulnerabilities. The FNIT project will determine the effects of WEF trade-offs on socio-environmental issues by considering various stakeholder viewpoints, generating future scenarios, and assessing long-term risks. This project employs qualitative and quantitative methodologies based on four steps: 1) a diagnostic assessment of the ETRB region’s current situation; 2) scenario planning to generate robust future scenarios; 3) social network analysis to assess socio-environmental impacts; and, 4) integrated nexus governance to achieve systemic integrative outcomes. The FNIT project aims to involve a broad range of stakeholders from the four countries of the ETRB region, e.g. Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. The participatory approach develops systemic thinking, citizen science, and science diplomacy while minimizing the potential for international conflicts. The results, including the framework, scenarios, and vitalization tools, serve as a fundamental cornerstone and invaluable strategic resource for nexus analysis. These tools, focusing on socio-environmental issues, provide policymakers with a holistic perspective on transboundary matters, helping to mitigate inequality and displacement risks and democratizing policy insights. These results are designed for ease of use with publicly available and open-source data. Additionally, FNIT plays a pivotal role in assisting the European Union in identifying potential socio-environmental risks from the ETBR region that threaten Europes socio-economic sectors in the future. |
