GC31H-05
An integrated water-energy-food-livelihoods approach for assessing environmental livelihood security
Wednesday, 16 December 2015: 09:00
2022-2024 (Moscone West)
John Duncan1, Eloise M Biggs1, Bryan Boruff2, Eleanor Bruce3, Andreas Neef4, Kellie McNeill4, Floris Frederik van Ogtrop3, Billy Haworth3, Stephanie Duce3, Julia Horsley2, Natasha Pauli5, Jayne Curnow6 and Yukihiro Imanari7, (1)University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom, (2)University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia, (3)University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, (4)University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand, (5)University of Western Australia, School of Earth and Environment, Perth, Australia, (6)Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra, Australia, (7)Asia Pacific Network for Global Change Research, Kobe, Japan
Abstract:
Environmental livelihood security refers to the challenges of maintaining global food security and universal access to freshwater and energy to sustain livelihoods and promote inclusive economic growth, whilst sustaining key environmental systems’ functionality, particularly under variable climatic regimes. Environmental security is a concept complementary to sustainable development, and considers the increased vulnerability people have to certain environmental stresses, such as climatic change. Bridging links between the core component concepts of environmental security is integral to future human security, and in an attempt to create this bridge, the nexus approach to human protection has been created, where water resource availability underpins food, water and energy security. The water-energy-food nexus has an influential role in attaining human security, yet little research has made the link between the nexus and livelihoods. In this research we provide a critical appraisal of the synergies between water-energy-food nexus framings and sustainable livelihoods approaches, both of which aim to promote sustainable development. In regions where livelihoods are dependent on environmental conditions, the concept of sustainable development is critical for ensuring future environmental and human security. Given our appraisal we go on to develop an integrated framework for assessing environmental livelihood security of multiscale and multi-level systems. This framework provides a tangible approach for assessing changes in the water-energy-food-livelihood indicators of a system. Examples of where system applications may occur are discussed for the Southeast Asia and Oceania region. Our approach will be particularly useful for policy-makers to inform evidence-based decision-making, especially in localities where climate change increases the vulnerability of impoverished communities and extenuates environmental livelihood insecurity.
