Open AccessFramework for Water Management in the Food-Energy-Water (FEW) Nexus in Mixed Land-Use Watersheds in Colombia
Author(s) -
Camilo Torres,
Margaret W. Gitau,
Jaime Andrés Lara-Borrero,
Diego Paredes
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
sustainability
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.612
H-Index - 85
ISSN - 2071-1050
DOI - 10.3390/su122410332
Subject(s) - nexus (standard) , watershed , water resources , work (physics) , land use , environmental resource management , water energy , geography , environmental planning , water resource management , environmental science , engineering , ecology , civil engineering , computer science , mechanical engineering , machine learning , biology , embedded system
The food-energy-water (FEW) nexus approach has emerged as an alternative for managing these resources more efficiently. Work from studies conducted in the FEW nexus in Latin America is scarce in the scholarly literature. This study aims to develop a framework for water management at the FEW Nexus, with a focus on Colombia. The study focuses on a typical mixed land-use watershed in the Andean region with specific objectives being to: (1) characterize the watershed with respect to land use, climate, water resources, and other factors pertinent to the nexus; (2) explore the relationship between factors in the FEW nexus that may affect water management in terms of quality and availability; and (3) propose a methodology for conducting a FEW Nexus analysis for watersheds located in the Andean region. The results indicate that the Pereira/Dosquebradas urban area has a significant impact on the FEW nexus components in the Otun River Watershed (ORW). Subsequently, an urban FEW nexus framework is proposed for its implementation at the watershed.