SEI INITIATIVE

The SEI Initiative on the Water, Energy and Food Nexus aims to improve sustainable development by formalizing the interdependencies between water, energy, and agriculture. The initiative is structured around three themes: governing the nexus, understanding the nexus, and implementing the nexus. To achieve this, SEI utilizes a 'nexus toolkit' combining the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) system and the Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning (LEAP) system to quantify development paths and policy impacts. The initiative applies this framework to specific case studies: in Myanmar, it focuses on sustainable river basin development amidst a transition toward universal electricity access by 2030; in Zambia, it seeks to align conflicting sectoral targets in national policy frameworks; and in Colombia, it focuses on balancing sustainable development in the Rio Cravo Sur watershed within the Orinoco region.

• The SEI Initiative utilizes a unique 'nexus toolkit' that links the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) system and the Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning (LEAP) system, allowing practitioners to jointly analyze energy and agriculture production, water supply, and environmental impacts.
• In Myanmar, the initiative addresses the challenge of providing universal electricity access by 2030, noting that while hydropower potential is high, dam development could displace thousands of households and harm ecosystems, while biofuel plantations may threaten food security and water allocation.
• In Zambia, the initiative identifies conflicts within the national policy framework where intensified agricultural systems intended to halt deforestation may negatively impact fisheries and sustainable water use.
• In Colombia, the initiative focuses on the Orinoco region, specifically the Rio Cravo Sur watershed, to coordinate national development plans for petroleum, biofuels, livestock, and irrigated agriculture with local objectives and biodiversity conservation.
• The initiative's governance theme seeks to identify synergies and trade-offs between sector policies and explore institutional arrangements to improve policy coherence, coordination, integration, and planning.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2015). SEI INITIATIVE. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-initiative-nexus-2015.pdf

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. SEI INITIATIVE. 2015. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-initiative-nexus-2015.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=SEI INITIATIVE |date=2015 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-initiative-nexus-2015.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2015sei, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{SEI INITIATIVE}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2015}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-initiative-nexus-2015.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }