Opportunities for an Integrated Water-Energy-Food Nexus approach in the MENA region: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon & Tunisia

Through integrated management and governance, the Water-Energy-Food Nexus (WEFN) approach has the potential to improve resource use efficiency while decreasing pressures on the environment and natural resources. However, few, if any, countries in the South Mediterranean region have made progress in adopting such an approach, which is urgently needed, given the serious challenges they face. This policy brief examines the interlinkages between the water, energy and food/agriculture sectors in selected South Med countries namely, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Tunisia, as well as the main environmental challenges these countries face. The brief calls for the adoption of the WEFN approach which will bring significant benefits for the region in its pursuit of attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and mandates of the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement. Improving and strengthening governance and institutional structures in the region will enable more effective and integrated resource management. This requires examining existing national institutional arrangements for better understanding of the weaknesses that obstruct the implementation of the WEFN approach in each country of the southern Mediterranean. A transition to “resource-efficient” economies where societies value water, energy and food resources and their efficient management through the WEFN approach and participate in decision-making processes is evidently crucial.