Analysis and Assessment of the Water-Food-Energy Nexus in the MENA Region Utilizing the Index Approach and Considering the Sustainable Development Goals

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region's food, water, and energy resources are facing significant stress. It is predictable that there will be increasing demand for these resources in the upcoming years. Due to the interface between the three sectors, the nexus approach allows for more integrated and effective planning, policymaking, scrutinizing, and evaluation related to the three sectors’ strategies. This chapter encapsulates the concept of the Water-Food-Energy Nexus (WFEN) and its challenges. It illustrates a set of indicators and indices that decision-makers can use as a methodology framework tool to assign priorities toward sustainable development goals. The first section of the chapter illustrates the concepts of the water, food, and energy nexus (WFEN), demonstrates some of the challenges faced by the WFEN sectors in the MENA region, discusses the relationship between the WFEN and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and provides examples of the application of the WFEN nexus approach. The second section of the chapter gives a picture of a set of indicators and indices that can be applied to analyze and evaluate the sustainability of the water, food, and energy sectors. The framework and application of a significant water, food, and energy index that considers their security and efficiency are illustrated. The index considers six dimensions that are: (i) availability, (ii) accessibility, (iii) utilization, (iv) stability for assessing WFE security, (v) consumption, and (vi) impact dimensions for evaluating the WFE efficiency of the MENA region. This index is based on quantitative data and is represented by a single numeric number that can be applied to compared and evaluated countries or regions.