1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Research Background Food, water, and energy are essential resources for human existence and development, as they form the basis for all human life and the evolution of all soc[.]
1 CHAPTER INTRODUCTION Research Background Food, water, and energy are essential resources for human existence and development, as they form the basis for all human life and the evolution of all societies Nowadays, water, food, and energy shape complex inter-connections in different ways Water is essential for agricultural cultivation and food production, and is a fundamental input for energy (electricity) generation Meanwhile, energy is critical for water processing and transportation Similarly, energy is fundamental for food production and all operations across the entire food supply chain, from cultivation to production and transportation The inter-linkages between these resources have become increasingly complicated with the increasing scarcity of such natural resources as water, land, and primary energy resources, including coal and oil “Agriculture is both an energy user and energy supplier through biofuels” (IHE Delft, 2018) Agriculture, especially food production and energy (electricity) generation from hydropower are highly land- and water-intensive, both agriculture and energy are getting to over-consume the available land and water of the country Other types of energy generation sources—for example, coal, oil, gas, and nuclear—would also impact water quality and reservoir FAO (2014) reported that food production consumes up to 70% of global water use, and 30% of global energy use Looking forward to 2030, global energy, food, and water demands are estimated to increase by 30% (IEA, 2017), 50% (FAO, 2017), and 55% (OECD, 2012), respectively Major contribution to this growth will come from rapid population and economic growth, and urbanisation (Hoff, 2011) By 2025, water supply is estimated to decrease globally, to below 1,700 cubic meters per person annually, and two-thirds of the world population might live under water-stressed conditions—less than 500 cubic meters per person annually—while developing countries will be impacted the most (UN Water, 2012) The existing institutions and policy settings for energy, food and water sectors emphasize maximizing sectoral outputs and efficiency to support economic growth However, policies deployed in a particular sector impact other sectors These institution and