ABSTRACT
It has long been recognized that water, energy and food are interdependent. The
interconnections between these resources in planning and policy have been a long-standing
issue explored in the literature (see e.g. Allan, 1997; Batliwala, 1982; Greeley, 1987;
Keeney &Wood, 1977; Sachs, 1984). The water-energy-food (WEF) nexus has also been
promoted by the international community: in 2011, the World Economic Forum and a
conference held in Bonn both recognized the interdependence of water, energy and food
security (Hoff, 2011; Waughray, 2011). Both argued that these should not be treated in
separate silos by policy and planners, concluding that although problems are systemic, it is
the world’s poor who are most at risk from the scarcity and mismanagement of water,
energy and food.
