Resource Security (SL IB Geography)

• Proposed at the Bonn Nexus Conference in 2011, the water, food and energy (WFE) nexus refers to the connections or links between the consumption and supply of natural resources
• Changes in any of the three resource areas will impact the security of the others
• If resources are to be sustainably managed, then an understanding of the links and interactions is essential 
  • The WFE nexus helps stakeholders such as governments, international organisations, TNCs and research establishments achieve this

What are water, food and energy security?

• Resource security refers to the ability of a country to maintain a reliable and sustainable flow of resources to maintain the living standards of its population
  • Water security is sufficient water of high enough quality to meet the population's needs
  • Food security is access to a diet of sufficient quantity and quality to meet daily health needs and allow people to lead an active life 
  • Energy security is an available, affordable energy supply which is uninterrupted

Water security

• By 2050, global water demand is predicted to increase by 20–25% 
• In 2023, almost 50% of the world's population faced high water stress for at least one month
• There are different levels of water shortage - these are water stress and water scarcity:
  • Water stress occurs when the supply of water is below 1700m³ a year per person
  • Water scarcity is when the supply is below 1000m³ a year per person
• According to the World Resources Institute, 25 countries faced extremely high levels of water stress in 2023
• This affects over 25% of the world's population
• More than 80% of the water available to agricultural, domestic and industrial users is withdrawn annually
• Leaves businesses, farms and communities vulnerable to scarcity

Food security

• Large spatial variations exist in food security
  • North America, Europe, Japan and Australasia are the regions considered most food secure
  • The greatest risk of food insecurity is in sub-Saharan Africa, Afghanistan and Haiti
• Climate change and growing population are increasing the risk to food security in many regions of the world
• The UN estimates that the number of people in 'hunger emergencies' has increased from 135 million in 2019 to 345 million in 2022
  • Global food prices are rising; 23% higher in 2023 than in 2021
  • World grain reserves are lower than they have been for 14 years
  • Women and girls account for 70% of the people suffering hunger
  • Globally, approximately 783 million people are suffering from severe hunger
• In more developed countries, there is often a food surplus and large amounts of food waste

Energy security

• An energy gap is when a country cannot meet the demand for energy using its resources
• When countries have an energy gap, they have to import energy to meet the demand
• Having an energy gap means that a country is not energy-secure
• Fossil fuels still supply over 80% of the world's energy and account for 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions
• According to the International Energy Agency, 775 million people do not have access to electricity
  • The majority of these people live in Sub-Saharan Africa

The WFE nexus

Examples of the interactions in the WFE nexus

• The interactions between food, energy and water may contribute to food, energy and water insecurity because they reduce the amount of the resource which is available
• This may be due to:
  • Increased use of the resource
  • Pollution of the resource

Global examples of interactions in the WFE nexus

• A lack of available water to cool power plants in India led to the loss of 8.2 terawatt hours (TWh) of energy because the power plants could not function
• In Europe the land used to grow biofuels could be used to produce for an estimated 120 million people

Interactions of Food, Energy and Water Resources

Resource	Food	Energy	Water
Food production and its impact on energy and water security		Energy is used to grow, transport and process food; this accounts for 30% of global energy use (FAO, 2011). Most of this is used in food processing and transport Increased demand for food increases the use of energy. New technology, such as hydroponics, uses more energy for light and heat	Over 70% of freshwater withdrawals are for use in agriculture (FAO, 2023) Pollution from livestock, fertilisers and pesticides enters water sources, reducing freshwater availability Food processing uses large quantities of water
Energy and its impact on food and water security	Growth of biofuels and solar farms uses land which could be used for growing crops Mining and drilling for fossil fuels creates waste, which can pollute farmland		Use of water for energy production and cooling  Fracking uses large quantities of water combined with chemicals The construction of dams for HEP reduces discharge downstream but can improve water security in some areas
Water and its impact on food and energy security	Increased urbanisation increases the demand for water, reducing the amount available for food growth	High energy consumption from desalination Energy is used for treating waste water and abstraction of groundwater Water shortages will impact energy generation due to a lack of water for cooling

Value of the nexus concept

• Resources and resource security do not exist in isolation, they are all linked 
  • The nexus concept acknowledges these connections and interactions
• It views energy, food and water security as of equal importance
• The WFE nexus provides a framework, enabling integrated solutions to be developed

Challenges for the nexus concept

• Resource management crosses international boundaries, making stakeholder cooperation essential to the success of resource management
• The participation of stakeholders is not equal, governments and TNCs have more power than local communities
• The balance between food, energy and water security is not always achieved when the main focus of projects is on one particular issue