Measures to Establish the Water-Energy-Food Nexus for Agricultural Resource Management

Abstract

 The scarcity of water, energy and food resources and the instability of their supply and demand have increased the interdependence among different resources, and the uncertainty of individual resource management policies and their unintended effect have been generated, leading to a higher significance of the integrated management of resources. – The rapid economic growth, the growing demand for biofuel, urbanization, globalization, and climate change since the 1950s have triggered the increase in resource consumption and undermined the stable supply and demand. – The individual use of resources and the introduction of cost-effective technologies affect the supply and demand of other resources.

 The water-energy-food nexus is a concept presented as a decision-making tool for the integrated resource management with context-specific features. – The discussion over the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus has continued, while its accurate concept has not been defined yet. – The components of the nexus, their correlations and external factors can differ depending on the purpose and target of research. – Unlike traditional resource management methods, the nexus considers the correlations between different resources and helps sustainable management according to variable factors of each type of resource.

 The importance of the WEF nexus is growing due to the changes in the domestic agricultural production structure, but the relevant discussion is still focused on the conceptual aspect. The resource-related policies have been established individually by each ministry and department, while there is also lack of data and consistency between materials, hindering the introduction of the nexus. – Korea is short of studies of institutions that would implement policies based on the WEF nexus and changes in systems related to resource management. – The data on domestic farm households lack the information on sustainability and agricultural resource management and lack time and spatial consistency.

 To introduce the WEF nexus in the country, it is crucial to connect the biophysical model and the agricultural model, build a database through joint research between academic institutions and relevant organizations, and provide user-friendly information. – Such efforts include the analysis of optimized distribution of limited resources by using the biophysical and economic models, the creation of a consistent and useful database through joint research, and the provision of analysis results that can be easily utilized by policymakers and stakeholders.