ABSTRACT
The WEF nexus provides a valuable iterative platform to explore interactions between different components and identify possible policy solutions for achieving the SDGs. Like the SDGs, the nexus approach forces us to think about dynamic interrelations, synergies and socio-ecological issues that are vital to human survival and sustainable development (SD). The research on nexus thinking is substantial and extends over various research domains. However, it is dominated by technical and quantitative modelling dedicated to generating data, finding patterns to help determine decisions and make predictions about systems. These methods are essential, but they do not provide a complete picture. A focus on transdisciplinary systems thinking is also key to understand how stakeholders think and how decisions should be made. We know that achieving sustainability requires resource planning and management that goes beyond siloed thinking. We also know that the complexity of the WEF nexus approach requires transformative change in organisations in parallel with behaviours, governance practices and a genuine engagement by stakeholders to manage different perceptions and power relations. The nexus can thus be used to guide sustainable pathways, and by implication, the realisation of the SDGs, but it needs to show how to build more effective negotiating capacity, to support the development of alternative decisions and management strategies.
