Complex-Systems Approaches to Food-Water-Energy Resilience

Owen Patterson

Abstract

This review examines complex-systems analysis of food-water-energy resilience. The organizing question is how feedback, substitution, thresholds, and unequal access can be represented without losing sector-specific constraints. Ten related scholarly sources are synthesized through a decision-centered framework spanning problem definition, mechanism, measurement, evaluation, implementation, and governance. The review does not invent experiments, pooled estimates, or unreported quantitative results. It instead evaluates the strength and transferability of the available evidence, with particular attention to optimizing one resource sector while displacing risk to another population or time horizon. The resulting framework links technical or empirical performance to explicit use conditions and identifies tests that should precede wider adoption in regional sustainability and resource-security planning.

Keywords

food-water-energy nexuscomplex systemsresiliencesustainabilitygovernance

References

Albrecht, T. R., Crootof, A., & Scott, C. A. (2018). The Water-Energy-Food Nexus: A systematic review of methods for nexus assessment. Environmental Research Letters, 13(4), 043002. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aaa9c6 DOI
Endo, A., Tsurita, I., Burnett, K., & Orencio, P. M. (2015). A review of the current state of research on the water, energy, and food nexus. Journal of Hydrology Regional Studies, 11, 20-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2015.11.010 DOI
Keairns, D. L., Darton, R. C., & Irabien, A. (2016). The Energy-Water-Food Nexus. Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, 7(1), 239-262. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-chembioeng-080615-033539 DOI
Leck, H., Conway, D., Bradshaw, M., & Rees, J. (2015). Tracing the Water–Energy–Food Nexus: Description, Theory and Practice. Geography Compass, 9(8), 445-460. https://doi.org/10.1111/gec3.12222 DOI
Melo, F. P. L., Parry, L., Brancalion, P. H. S., Pinto, S. R. R., Freitas, J., Manhães, A. P., Meli, P., Ganade, G., & Chazdon, R. L. (2020). Adding forests to the water–energy–food nexus. Nature Sustainability, 4(2), 85-92. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-00608-z DOI
Mpandeli, S., Naidoo, D., Mabhaudhi, T., Nhemachena, C., Nhamo, L., Liphadzi, S., Hlahla, S., & Modi, A. T. (2018). Climate Change Adaptation through the Water-Energy-Food Nexus in Southern Africa. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(10), 2306. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15102306 DOI
Schmidt, J. J., & Matthews, N. (2018). From state to system: Financialization and the water-energy-food-climate nexus. Geoforum, 91, 151-159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2018.03.001 DOI
Simpson, G. B., & Jewitt, G. P. W. (2019). The Development of the Water-Energy-Food Nexus as a Framework for Achieving Resource Security: A Review. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2019.00008 DOI
Weitz, N., Strambo, C., Kemp-Benedict, E., & Nilsson, M. (2017). Closing the governance gaps in the water-energy-food nexus: Insights from integrative governance. Global Environmental Change, 45, 165-173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2017.06.006 DOI
Zhang, X., & Vesselinov, V. V. (2016). Integrated modeling approach for optimal management of water, energy and food security nexus. Advances in Water Resources, 101, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2016.12.017 DOI

Publication details

Journal: Frontiers in Integrative Science
Volume: 1 (2026)
Article number: fis20260005
License: CC BY 4.0

[1] Albrecht, T. R., Crootof, A., & Scott, C. A. (2018). The Water-Energy-Food Nexus: A systematic review of methods for nexus assessment. Environmental Research Letters, 13(4), 043002. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aaa9c6 DOI

[2] Endo, A., Tsurita, I., Burnett, K., & Orencio, P. M. (2015). A review of the current state of research on the water, energy, and food nexus. Journal of Hydrology Regional Studies, 11, 20-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2015.11.010 DOI

[3] Keairns, D. L., Darton, R. C., & Irabien, A. (2016). The Energy-Water-Food Nexus. Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, 7(1), 239-262. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-chembioeng-080615-033539 DOI

[4] Leck, H., Conway, D., Bradshaw, M., & Rees, J. (2015). Tracing the Water–Energy–Food Nexus: Description, Theory and Practice. Geography Compass, 9(8), 445-460. https://doi.org/10.1111/gec3.12222 DOI

[5] Melo, F. P. L., Parry, L., Brancalion, P. H. S., Pinto, S. R. R., Freitas, J., Manhães, A. P., Meli, P., Ganade, G., & Chazdon, R. L. (2020). Adding forests to the water–energy–food nexus. Nature Sustainability, 4(2), 85-92. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-00608-z DOI

[6] Mpandeli, S., Naidoo, D., Mabhaudhi, T., Nhemachena, C., Nhamo, L., Liphadzi, S., Hlahla, S., & Modi, A. T. (2018). Climate Change Adaptation through the Water-Energy-Food Nexus in Southern Africa. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(10), 2306. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15102306 DOI

[7] Schmidt, J. J., & Matthews, N. (2018). From state to system: Financialization and the water-energy-food-climate nexus. Geoforum, 91, 151-159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2018.03.001 DOI

[8] Simpson, G. B., & Jewitt, G. P. W. (2019). The Development of the Water-Energy-Food Nexus as a Framework for Achieving Resource Security: A Review. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2019.00008 DOI

[9] Weitz, N., Strambo, C., Kemp-Benedict, E., & Nilsson, M. (2017). Closing the governance gaps in the water-energy-food nexus: Insights from integrative governance. Global Environmental Change, 45, 165-173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2017.06.006 DOI

[10] Zhang, X., & Vesselinov, V. V. (2016). Integrated modeling approach for optimal management of water, energy and food security nexus. Advances in Water Resources, 101, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2016.12.017 DOI