How can rural mountain communities improve their water, energy and food security in contexts of growing resource pressure, competition and uncertainty?

This new Issue Brief from the Center for Development and Environment explores whether a water-energy-food nexus approach offers a way to identify forward-looking options and policies to strengthen the livelihoods and resilience of people living in our changing mountains. 


Article Abstract

Many rural mountain communities in developing countries face major difficulties in meeting basic needs for water, clean energy, and healthy food, not to mention strengthening economic and social development. Local and global changes – such as population growth, climate change, and overuse of natural resources – shape and sometimes constrain these communities’ water, energy, and food security. Increasing resource demands from nearby urban and lowland areas compound the challenges.

How can rural mountain communities improve their water, energy and food security in contexts of growing resource pressure, competition, and uncertainty? Does a water–energy–food (WEF) nexus approach offer a way to identify forward-looking options and policies to strengthen their livelihoods and resilience? This Issue Brief argues that a WEF nexus assessment can be beneficial when conducted in a participatory process that effectively engages and empowers mountain communities with a view to fostering equal access to water, energy, and food, and enhancing the diversity and depth of mountain communities’ livelihood options.

The suggested participatory process aids stakeholders in assessing the status and trends of WEF systems in mountains, in identifying governance and technical options, and in negotiating alternative scenarios. It promotes the sharing of relevant knowledge and addressing diverging interests and power relations. It helps to build stakeholders’ capacity to implement cross-sectoral strategies and policies effectively, thus facilitating transformative change towards increased water, energy, and food security in mountains.


Read in Full

Wymann von Dach, S. & Fleiner, R. 'Shaping the water– energy–food nexus for resilient mountain livelihoods.' Issue Brief on Sustainable Mountain Development (2019). Bern, Switzerland: Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), with Bern Open Publishing (BOP): https://boris.unibe.ch/131606/1/Issue_Brief_Mountain_WEF_Nexus.pdf


 

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