Tackling complexity: understanding the food-energy-environment nexus in Ethiopia's Lake Tana sub-basin

The study uses a nexus toolkit (WEAP and LEAP) to analyze the food-energy-environment nexus in Ethiopia's Lake Tana Subbasin, finding that agricultural intensification and energy transition are interdependent and potentially competitive. It identifies critical resource scarcity dilemmas regarding water availability and a 'biomass ceiling' where demand for food, fodder, and fuel matches the annual biomass increments of terrestrial ecosystems.

• Agricultural transformation and energy transition in the Lake Tana Subbasin are interdependent and may be competitive, as intensified agriculture increases energy reliance while the energy system remains heavily dependent on biomass from croplands.
• The region faces two primary resource scarcity dilemmas: water demand for energy, agriculture, and ecosystem services occasionally exceeds available supply, and the area is reaching a 'biomass ceiling' where biomass needs for fuel, fodder, and food equal the annual increments from terrestrial ecosystems.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2015). Tackling complexity: understanding the food-energy-environment nexus in Ethiopia's Lake Tana sub-basin. https://www.sei.org/publications/tackling-complexity-understanding-the-food-energy-environment-nexus-in-ethiopias-lake-tana-sub-basin/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Tackling complexity: understanding the food-energy-environment nexus in Ethiopia's Lake Tana sub-basin. 2015. https://www.sei.org/publications/tackling-complexity-understanding-the-food-energy-environment-nexus-in-ethiopias-lake-tana-sub-basin/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Tackling complexity: understanding the food-energy-environment nexus in Ethiopia's Lake Tana sub-basin |date=6 February 2015 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/tackling-complexity-understanding-the-food-energy-environment-nexus-in-ethiopias-lake-tana-sub-basin/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2015tackling, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Tackling complexity: understanding the food-energy-environment nexus in Ethiopia's Lake Tana sub-basin}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2015}, month = feb, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/tackling-complexity-understanding-the-food-energy-environment-nexus-in-ethiopias-lake-tana-sub-basin/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }