Chapter 18: An accounting framework recognising the complexity of the nexus

• Main Author: Giampietro, Mario (auth)
• Other Authors: Renner, Ansel (auth), Cadillo-Benalcazar, Juan J. (auth)
• Format: Electronic Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Cheltenham, UK Edward Elgar Publishing 2022
• Subjects: RND; MuSIASEM, complex systems, relational analysis, scale, openness, nexus security
• Online Access: DOAB: download the publication; DOAB: description of the publication

This chapter presents a structured approach to quantitative analysis of the water-energy-food resource nexus based on the multi-scale integrated analysis of societal and ecosystem metabolism (MuSIASEM) accounting framework. Concerning a social-ecological system of interest, the presented approach focuses on addressing: (i) system size and state; (ii) the environmental pressures associated with a particular size and state; (iii) the level of system openness, referring primarily to the role of externalization in the stabilization of both state and pressure; and (iv) the ecological impacts resulting from a localized contextualization of environmental pressures. An integrated toolkit consisting of four criteria of performance, four data matrices and four scopes/lenses is presented. The presented toolkit is proposed to be used by sustainability analysts. In illustrating the value-added of the toolkit, practical considerations and empirical results concerning agriculture in Europe are presented.