Water-Energy-Food for Policymakers: What does it mean?

The document defines the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus as the combined demand for water, energy, and food, noting that traditional methods of meeting these needs are often unsustainable, leading to issues like climate change and groundwater depletion. It outlines IISD's strategy of using watershed-based management, ecological design, and stakeholder consultation to create practical solutions, specifically citing projects in Canada's Lake Winnipeg watershed and mining contexts in Suriname.

• The Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus is driven by increasing demand for these three essentials and the fact that traditional methods of meeting this demand are unsustainable, contributing to climate change, nutrient loading to waterways, and groundwater depletion.
• IISD implements WEF-inspired watershed-based management by integrating policy research, watershed modelling, stakeholder consultation, and ecological design to develop solutions for development interventions, including mining and agriculture.
• Specific examples of IISD's work on WEF security include the development of cattail-based value chains in Canada's Lake Winnipeg watershed and collaborating with stakeholders in Suriname regarding the impact of mining on WEF.

APA

Zubrycki,, D. R. B. Z. (2015). Water-Energy-Food for Policymakers: What does it mean? International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/guide/water-energy-food-policymakers-what-does-it-mean

Chicago

Zubrycki,, Dimple Roy,Livia Bizikova,Karla Zubrycki,Karla. Water-Energy-Food for Policymakers: What does it mean? International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2015. https://www.iisd.org/publications/guide/water-energy-food-policymakers-what-does-it-mean.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Zubrycki, |first1=Dimple Roy,Livia Bizikova,Karla Zubrycki,Karla |title=Water-Energy-Food for Policymakers: What does it mean? |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=29 January 2015 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/guide/water-energy-food-policymakers-what-does-it-mean |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{zubrycki2015waterenergyfood, author = {Zubrycki,, Dimple Roy,Livia Bizikova,Karla Zubrycki,Karla}, title = {{Water-Energy-Food for Policymakers: What does it mean?}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2015}, month = jan, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/guide/water-energy-food-policymakers-what-does-it-mean}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }