ABSTRACT
The value of the WEF nexus perspective to integration of sectors and actors that enables dialogue between different policy agendas has divided opinions for a decade. The WEF concept emerged from international dialogue at the World Economic Forum in the late 2000s amidst deep concerns about the water and food crisis, the effects of climate change and the volatility of food and energy prices at that time. Today the role of the nexus raises different concerns. Some commentators believe that the concept has a bright future but acknowledge that nexus research needs to expand beyond its current remit to include a focus on socioeconomic analysis and the key role of actors and institutions that shape access, distribution and use of WEF resources. Through an analysis of how integration has been initiated in practice at regional (e.g., EU Green Deal), national (e.g., Morocco and South Africa) and local levels, we demonstrate why the role of capacity building is central to promoting decision making and enhancing the potential for cooperation between and among all sectors. Building collaboration between sectors is about many things. It is about grappling with the environmental limits of each systems; it is about acknowledging that the nexus is present at many levels in our lives; and it is about recognising that a nexus approach is an evolving idea. There is no one fit all method/approach and each context (i.e., use a nexus perspective) needs its own contextualisation and scaling to tailor to each unique situation.
