ENEON Food-Water-Energy Nexus Working Group

Charter

Vision

Providing the environmental intelligence required to address the Food-Water-Energy nexus in a holistic governance framework on European scale.

Mission

The mission of the FWEN Working Group of ENEON is to demonstrate that cross-domain and cross-discipline cooperation between Earth observation networks and communities analysing EOs can provide new information and improve the understanding of the complex Food-Water-Energy-Nexus (FWEN), and to improve decision support in the broad domain of the FWEN. To achieve this goal, the Working Group will

  • Use the observation inventory compiled in ConnectinGEO and the gap analysis methodology proposed by ConnectinGEO to identify potential stakeholders who can benefit from collaboration across disciplines and domains represented in ENEON and develop a compelling argument for the prioritization of FWEN-related observations and products.
  • Determine stakeholders, develop plans for further research and investigate regional, national and international funding opportunities to cover the gaps identified.
  • Analyze the cost saving potential of collaborations across previously segregated disciplines and domains

In addressing the FWEN under global and climate change, the WG will specifically consider indicators related to food, water and energy security. The recent very rapid changes in the phosphate and nitrogen cycle (e.g., Rockström et al., 2009, Rockström and Klun, 2015) associated with food production will also be considered. Taking into account that the rapidly increasing energy usage during the last roughly 100 years enabled the population growth that is now threatening food and water security, the WG will actually have to consider the Energy-Population-Food-Water-Nexus (EPFWN). The nexus approach will help to understanding the interdependencies between energy usage and availability, population growth, global change, food security, water security, and the global boundaries. Specific questions to be addressed by the WG are:

  • How can collaboration and coordination through ENEON help to inform about the FWEN and impacts in Europe?
  • Which SDGs relate to the FWEN and which are the relevant indicators?
  • What are the EVs needed to quantify these indicators and can ENEON help to quantify the indicators for these SDGs?
  • What ENEON products could support policy making that takes a nexus perspective?

The most relevant GEO Societal Benefit Areas (SBAs) are Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture; Water Resources Management: Agriculture, Water, Energy; and Energy and Mineral Resources Management. Also relevant are Biodiversity and Ecosystem Sustainability and Sustainable Urban Development. Disaster Resilience and Infrastructure and Transportation Management also have relevance to the FWEN. The WG will work with the SBA-specific initiatives and tasks in GEO to ensure consistency between the ENEON WG and relevant GEO activities.

Outcomes

The outcomes expected from the WG include a report characterizing the gaps that hamper the use of GEOSS in addressing complex issues and proposing actions to address these gaps. The report will identify the stakeholders of the FWEN who would are impacted by the identified gaps and who would benefit from actions addressing the gaps. The aim is to quantify the societal benefits and to estimate the benefit-to-cost ration. A particular focus will be on the potential contributions of ENEON in closing the gaps. The report will also describe the EVs relevant for the FWEN and assess to what spatial and temporal extent data for these EVs is available through ENEON.

An attempt will be made to identify at least one product that directly relates to the FWEN and that could be produced based on data provided by ENEON members. Prime candidates are quantification of SDG-related indicators that are relevant to the FWEN. The EVs related datasets will be identified and an inventory of these datasets will be compiled.