Articles | Volume 376
https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-376-9-2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-376-9-2018
01 Feb 2018
 | 01 Feb 2018

The water–food–energy nexus in Pakistan: a biophysical and socio-economic challenge

Nicola Grigg, Tira Foran, Toni Darbas, Mac Kirby, Matthew J. Colloff, Mobin-ud-Din Ahmad, and Geoff Podger

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Cited articles

Ahmad, M.-D., Masih, I., and Giordano, M.: Constraints and opportunities for water savings and increasing productivity through Resource Conservation Technologies in Pakistan, Agr. Ecosyst. Environ., 187, 106–115, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2013.07.003, 2014. 
Ahmed, M., Riaz, K., Maqbool Khan, A., and Bibi, S.: Energy consumption–economic growth nexus for Pakistan: Taming the untamed, Renew. Sustain. Energ. Rev., 52, 890–896, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.07.063, 2015. 
Akhter, M.: The political ecology of the water scarcity/security nexus in the Indus Basin: decentering per capita water supply, in: Imagining Industan: Overcoming Water Insecurity in the Indus Basin, edited by: Adeel, Z. and Wirsing, R. G., Springer, Cham, 2–33, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32845-4_2, 2017. 
Allouche, J., Middleton, C., and Gyawali, D.: Nexus Nirvana or Nexus Nullity? A dynamic approach to security and sustainability in the water–energy–food nexus, STEPS Working Paper 63, STEPS Centre, Brighton, 2014. 
Allouche, J., Middleton, C., and Gyawali, D.: Technical Veil, Hidden Politics: Interrogating the Power Linkages behind the Nexus, Water Altern., 8, 610–626, 2015. 
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Short summary
We draw on previous work examining likely future water use and food availability in Pakistan and extend the analysis to consider hydropower generation and energy demand in food production. The biophysical limits of the water-energy-food nexus are just one piece of the picture. We also draw on critical social science and resilience or adaptation-oriented perspectives to consider options usually deemed out of scope for biophysical scientists or water, energy and agricultural authorities.