Our planet has been changing rapidly driven by factors such as demographic growth, economic activities, expanded croplands, emergency events, and technological innovations. In 2015, a United Nations (UN) Resolution known as the 2030 Agenda signifies a universal commitment to accelerate progress towards the achievement of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in response to soaring consumption demands, resource scarcity, environmental contamination, and climate extremes. Among these 17 SDGs, some goals, including Goal 2 (Zero hunger), Goal 6 (Clean water and sanitation), Goal 7 (Affordable and clean energy), and Goal 13 (Climate action), are the central hubs for achieving other SDGs due to their extensive interlinkages between humans and ecosystems.
Although SDGs were formulated as individual goals, there are profound interdependences facilitating synergies and trade-offs between them. It is evidently unsustainable if some policies strengthen the security in one area, while compromising that in others. For instance, the delivery of sustainable water security by reducing demand-side activities will lead to trade-offs both in economic prosperity (SDGs 8 & 12) and human well-beings (SDGs 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, and 8), yet synergizing with environmental protection and conservation (SDGs 13, 14, and 15). In this regard, the question of how to map multiscale water-energy-food-land-climate (WEFLC) nexus empowers adequate actions to achieve SDGs in an integrated manner, particularly by prioritizing the key determinants for local governments and practitioners in developing and emerging countries. This Research Topic aims to present and disseminate recent advances in various subjects addressing mechanisms and approaches for the assessment of the WEFLC nexus at multiscales.
Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to:
• New approaches addressing extant gaps related to the WEFLC nexus interrelationship
• Applications of existing nexus approaches to integrated WEFLC sustainability assessments at different scales
• Developing sustainability scenarios or pathways within the WEFLC nexus framework at multiscales
• Mapping synergies and trade-offs between different SDGs involved in the WEFLC nexus
Our planet has been changing rapidly driven by factors such as demographic growth, economic activities, expanded croplands, emergency events, and technological innovations. In 2015, a United Nations (UN) Resolution known as the 2030 Agenda signifies a universal commitment to accelerate progress towards the achievement of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in response to soaring consumption demands, resource scarcity, environmental contamination, and climate extremes. Among these 17 SDGs, some goals, including Goal 2 (Zero hunger), Goal 6 (Clean water and sanitation), Goal 7 (Affordable and clean energy), and Goal 13 (Climate action), are the central hubs for achieving other SDGs due to their extensive interlinkages between humans and ecosystems.
Although SDGs were formulated as individual goals, there are profound interdependences facilitating synergies and trade-offs between them. It is evidently unsustainable if some policies strengthen the security in one area, while compromising that in others. For instance, the delivery of sustainable water security by reducing demand-side activities will lead to trade-offs both in economic prosperity (SDGs 8 & 12) and human well-beings (SDGs 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, and 8), yet synergizing with environmental protection and conservation (SDGs 13, 14, and 15). In this regard, the question of how to map multiscale water-energy-food-land-climate (WEFLC) nexus empowers adequate actions to achieve SDGs in an integrated manner, particularly by prioritizing the key determinants for local governments and practitioners in developing and emerging countries. This Research Topic aims to present and disseminate recent advances in various subjects addressing mechanisms and approaches for the assessment of the WEFLC nexus at multiscales.
Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to:
• New approaches addressing extant gaps related to the WEFLC nexus interrelationship
• Applications of existing nexus approaches to integrated WEFLC sustainability assessments at different scales
• Developing sustainability scenarios or pathways within the WEFLC nexus framework at multiscales
• Mapping synergies and trade-offs between different SDGs involved in the WEFLC nexus
