The water-energy-food nexus: enhancing adaptive capacity to complex global challenges

Abstract

Multiple intersecting factors place pressure on planetary systems on which society and ecosystems depend. Climate change and variability, resource use patterns, globalization viewed in terms of economic enterprise and environmental change, poverty and inequitable access to social services, as well as the international development enterprise itself, have led to a rethinking of development that solely addresses economic growth. Fulfilling the essential human aspirations for quality of life, meaningful education, productive and rewarding work, harmonious relations, and sustainable natural resource use requires ingenuity, foresight and adaptability.