physics

Water, energy and food security nexus

Water, energy and food security nexus is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Water, energy and food security nexus rather than just read about it. In short: The water, energy and food security nexus according to the Food And Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), means that water security, energy security and food security are very much linked to one another, meaning that the actions in any one particular area often can have effects in one or both of the other areas. These three sectors (water, energy and food security nexus) are necessary for the benefit…

Key takeaways

Water, energy and food security nexus belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Water, energy and food security nexus to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Water, energy and food security nexus from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The water, energy and food security nexus according to the Food And Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), means that water security, energy security and food security are very much linked to one another, meaning that the actions in any one particular area often can have effects in one or both of the other areas. These three sectors (water, energy and food security nexus) are necessary for the benefit of human well-being, poverty reduction and sustainable development. As the world population is nearing 8 billion, increasing demands for basic services also rise, such as the growing desires for higher living standards and the need for more conscious stewardship of the vital resources required to achieve those services and these desires have become both more obvious and urgent. Water-food-energy connections lie at the heart of sustainable, economic and environmental development and protection. The demand for all three resources continues to grow for various reasons: a growing population, ongoing population movements from farms to cities, rising incomes, increased desire to spend those incomes on energy and water intensive goods/varying diets, international trade, urbanization and climate change. Water being a finite resource, but also the most abundant resource of the three sectors is the most exploited. Water is primarily used in forestry and fishery, agricultural production (in its entire agri-food supply chain) and is used to create and/or transfer energy in varying forms. In fact, agriculture is the largest user of freshwater, making it responsible for 70% of total global withdrawal, while more than one fourth of energy used worldwide is an input for food production, distribution, and use. In addition, food production and supply chain simultaneously utilize approximately 30% of the total energy that is used globally. The greater the capacity to pay for improved water, the more it will enable alternative water sources, such as desalination to bring water into urban areas from greater distances, such as desalinated seawater often requiring energy-intensive production and transport methods. Countries, food, water and energy industries, as well as other users can agree that the increasing use of more water, energy and land resources (food) have a great potential to face issues with environmental deterioration and even resource scarcity, as we can already see taking place in some parts of the developing world. The unbroken links between these sectors continues to demand well-integrated plans to protect food and water and food security.

Definitions The nexus approach is deemed necessary to design future, inherently interlinked systems from the starting point of planning in a holistic manner. Concepts such as integrated management consider at least one of the systems as an existing system and are therefore different from the nexus approach. This approach identifies the future systems as inherently interconnected. The nexus approach aims to highlight potential synergies and identify critical conflicts to be dealt with. Water security has been defined as "the reliable availability of an acceptable quantity and quality of water for health, livelihoods and production, coupled with an acceptable level of water-related risks". Energy security has been defined as "access to clean, reliable and affordable energy services for cooking and heating, lighting, communications and productive uses" (United Nations), and as "uninterrupted physical availability [of energy] at a price which is affordable, while respecting environment concerns". Food security is defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as "availability and access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet the dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life". Adequate food has also been defined as a human right. The emphasis on access in these definitions also implies that security is not so much about average (e.g., annual) availability of resources; it has to encompass variability and extreme situations such as droughts or price shocks, and the psychological resilience of the poor.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Water, energy and food security nexus

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Water, energy and food security nexus claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Water, energy and food security nexus before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Water, energy and food security nexus ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Water, energy and food security nexus

In research: Water, energy and food security nexus appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Water, energy and food security nexus in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Water, energy and food security nexus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Energy security, Food security, Water security, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Water, energy and food security nexus outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Water, energy and food security nexus in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Water, energy and food security nexus means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Water, energy and food security nexus out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Water, energy and food security nexus in simple terms?

Why does Water, energy and food security nexus matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Water, energy and food security nexus?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Water, energy and food security nexus.