Participatory development of indicators to support WEFE Nexus management in the Mediterranean

Summarizing the various dimensions of the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem (WEFE) Nexus and articulating their interconnections through indicators can improve the understanding of the Nexus among both experts and stakeholders without specialized knowledge, supporting the transition towards implementing a WEFE Nexus approach for effective management of socio-ecological systems. As part of the EU PRIMA-funded project NEXUS-NESS, a participatory approach has been devised for identifying indicators related to the WEFE Nexus. The project's objective is to collaboratively develop WEFE Nexus management strategies within four Living Labs, designated as Nexus Ecosystem Labs (NELs), situated in distinct Mediterranean countries (namely, Egypt, Italy, Spain, and Tunisia). To achieve this, the concept of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) has been implemented through the RRI Roadmap (The RRI Roadmap©™ is under the ownership of XPRO Consulting Limited) methodology to establish a stakeholders’ participatory and interactive process. This involves active engagement between societal stakeholders and scientists, fostering knowledge-sharing and co-defining the indicators used to represent the WEFE Nexus within the NELs. Specifically, the work done has led to the formulation of a comprehensive inventory of WEFE Nexus indicators, applicable across all NELs. Additionally, a simplified representation has been developed to provide a preliminary assessment of the Nexus within the NELs under current conditions and future scenarios. Subsequently, a matrix approach has been devised to systematically map and evaluate all interconnections within the WEFE Nexus within a given NEL, utilizing indicators tailored to the specific needs of that NEL and its stakeholders.These indicators will play a crucial role in assessing the advantages and trade-offs associated with proposed solutions to the main Nexus-related challenges identified within the NEL. Furthermore, they will support the cost-benefit analysis, serving as a pivotal element in the identification of the most suitable WEFE Nexus-based management strategies. The methodology can be applied to any waterbody that wishes to develop a WEFE Nexus management strategy and achieve ownership and willingness for change by the waterbody’s stakeholders.