Cooperation for a Water Wise World – Partnerships for Sustainable Development

The document advocates for a multi-scale analysis of the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus to improve cooperative governance and resource management. It presents a continuum of assessment tools, ranging from qualitative index building and opportunity analysis to quantitative hydro-economic and integrated modelling (such as WEAP and LEAP). These tools are designed to identify trade-offs, mitigate supply bottlenecks, and support sustainable infrastructure planning in transboundary macro-regions and at the local level.

• Projections indicate significant increases in global demand for resources by 2050, with the need for higher quality and more nutritious foods expected to almost double and primary energy demand projected to rise by nearly 80 per cent.
• There is a systemic lack of data regarding water use within WEF nexus value chains at local and regional levels, and the energy production sector specifically lacks systematic accounting for consumptive water use during fuel extraction and refinement.
• Water constraints are already creating additional costs for the energy sector in several regions, including France, the Southeastern United States, China, and India.
• The document proposes a continuum of assessment tools for the WEF nexus, moving from qualitative approaches (like index building and the Transboundary Waters Opportunity Analysis) to quantitative, data-intensive modelling (such as integrated WEAP/LEAP and hydro-economic models).
• The Transboundary Waters Opportunity Analysis (TWO) has been applied in the Orange-Senque River basin in Southern Africa to help stakeholders identify WEF insecurities and convert them into development opportunities through efficient water use.
• Integrated modelling using WEAP and LEAP with GIS-based land-use models has been applied in California to explore trade-offs between water, land, and energy for biofuels, hydropower, and agricultural intensification.
• A modified Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) approach used in the Nile Equatorial Lakes Region supports cooperative infrastructure planning by treating social and environmental factors as equally important to technical and economic factors.
• Hydro-economic modelling in the Euphrates and Tigris region tested the hypothesis that cooperative management of water resources in relation to irrigated agriculture, hydropower, and ecosystem services can generate marginal benefits.

APA

A., J., J., C. T., K., L., & T., H. (2013). Cooperation for a Water Wise World – Partnerships for Sustainable Development. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-2013-WWW-Nexus-article.pdf

Chicago

A., Jägerskog,, Clausen, T. J., Lexén, K., and Holmgren, T. Cooperation for a Water Wise World – Partnerships for Sustainable Development. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2013. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-2013-WWW-Nexus-article.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=A. |first1=Jägerskog, |last2=J. |first2=Clausen, T. |last3=K. |first3=Lexén, |last4=T. |first4=Holmgren, |title=Cooperation for a Water Wise World – Partnerships for Sustainable Development |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=2013 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-2013-WWW-Nexus-article.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{a2013cooperation, author = {A., Jägerskog, and J., Clausen, T. and K., Lexén, and T., Holmgren,}, title = {{Cooperation for a Water Wise World – Partnerships for Sustainable Development}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2013}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-2013-WWW-Nexus-article.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }