The Interrelation Between Food, Water and Energy in the Island of Crete, Greece
Downloads
Water, energy and food are important resources for human well-being while their demand is expected to increase in the future. These resources are interrelated and interdependent while they are threatened from climate crisis and their unsustainable management. Climate change is expected to increase the water shortage in the island while climate change mitigation requires the extensive use of renewable energy sources, which are abundant in Crete, instead of fossil fuels. The study of their nexus and their synergies is neccessary for improving the sustainability in the island of Crete which hosts more than 6 million tourists annually. The nexus between water and energy, water and food and energy and food in Crete has been consecutively studied. The findings indicate a strong relationship between water to food, energy to food and energy to water. However the relationship between water to energy and food to water is weak in Crete. Our results could improve the management of these resources in Crete avoiding their undesired shortage in the future. The findings could be usefull to public and municipal authorities, to policy makers and to several stakeholders in the island who are related with these basic resources.
Rhouma, A., El Jeitany, J., Mohtar, R. & Gil, J.M. (2024). Trends in the Water–Energy–Food Nexus Research, Sustainability, 16, 1162. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16031162
Lazaro, L.L.B., Bellezoni, R.A., Puppim de Oliveira, J.A., Jacobi, P.R. & Giatti, L.L. (2022). Ten Years of Research on the Water-Energy-Food Nexus: An Analysis of Topics Evolution, Frontiers in Water, 4, 859891.
doi: 10.3389/frwa.2022.859891
Purwanto, A., Sušnik, J., Suryadi, F.X. & de Fraiture, C. (2021). Water-Energy-Food Nexus: Critical Review, Practical Applications, and Prospects for Future Research, Sustainability, 13, 1919. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041919
Simpson, G.B. & Jewitt, G.P.W. (2019). The Development of the Water-Energy-Food Nexus as a Framework for Achieving Resource Security: A Review, Frontiers in Environmental Science, 7, 8. doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2019.00008
The water-energy-food nexus, A new Approach in support of food security and sustainable agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2014. Available at:
D’Odorico, P., Davis, K. F., Rosa, L., Carr, J. A., Chiarelli, D., Dell’Angelo, J., et al. (2018). The global food-energy-water nexus. Reviews of Geophysics, 56, 456–531.
https://doi.org/10.1029/2017RG000591
Rezaei Kalvani, S. & Celico, F. (2024). Analysis of Pros and Cons in Using theWater–Energy–Food Nexus Approach to Assess Resource Security: A Review, Sustainability, 16,
https://doi.org/10.3390/su16072605
Albrecht, T.R., Crootof, A. & Scott, C.A. (2017). The water-energy-food nexus: A systematic review of methods for nexus assessment, Environmental Research Letters, 13, 043002. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aaa9c6
Hejnowicz, A.P., Thorn, J.P.R., Giraudo, M.E., Sallach, J.B., Hartley, S.E., Grugel, J. et al. (2022). Appraising the water-energy-food nexus from a sustainable development perspective: A maturing paradigm? Earth's Future, 10, e2021EF002622. https://doi. org/10.1029/2021EF002622
De Roo, A., Trichakis, I., Bisselink, B., Gelati, E., Pistocchi, A. & Gawlik, B. (2021). The Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem Nexus in the Mediterranean: Current Issues and Future Challenges, Frontiers in Climate, 3, 782553. doi: 10.3389/fclim.2021.782553
Lucca, E., El Jeitany, J., Castelli, G., Pacetti, T., Bresci, E., Nardi, F. & Caporali, E. (2023). A review of water-energy-food ecosystems nexus research in the Mediterranean: evolution gaps and applications, Environmental Research Letters, 18, 083001. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ace375
Rhouma, A., Seitfudem, G., El Jeitany, J., Pacetti, T., Brouwer, F. & Gil, J.M. (2025). Connecting the water footprint with the water-energy-food-ecosystems nexus concept and its added value in the Mediterranean, Environmental and Sustainability Indicators, 26, 100640.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indic.2025.100640
Quagliarotti, D.A.L. (2023). The water-energy-food nexus in the Mediterranean region in a scenario of polycrisis, Journal of Land Use, Mobility and Environment, 2, 109-122. DOI: https://doi.org/10.6093/1970-9870/10308
Farmandeh, E., Choobchian, S. & Karami, S. (2024). A critical review of quantifying water-energy-food nexus studies: what, why and how, Scientific Reports, Nature Portofolio, 14, 27310. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-79214-4
Li, W., Ward, P.J. & van Vesenbeeck, L. (2025). A critical review of quantifying water-energy-food nexus interactions, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 211, 115280. DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2024.115280
Position Paper on Water, Energy, Food, and Ecosystem (WEFE). Nexus and Sustainable development Goals (SDGs). Editors: C. Carmona-Moreno, C. Dondeynaz, M. Biedler, EUR 29509 EN, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2019, ISBN 978-92-79-98276-7, doi:10.2760/5295, JRC114177
Galaitsi, S., Veysey, J. & Huber-Lee, A. (2018). Where is the added value? A review of the water-energy-food nexus literature, Stockholm Environment Institute. Available at: https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/review-of-the-water-energy-food-nexus.pdf
Matenhauer Urbinatti, A., Benites-Lazaro, L.L., Monteiro de Carvalho, C. & Giatti, L.L. (2020). The conceptual basis of water-energy-food nexus governance: systematic literature review using network and discourse analysis, Journal of Integrative Environmental Sciences, 17(2), 21-43, DOI: 10.1080/1943815X.2020.1749086
Weitz, N., Strambo, C., Kemp-Benedict, E. & Nilsson, M. (2017). Governance in the water-energy-food nexus: Gaps and future research needs, Stockholm Environment Institute. Available at: https://mediamanager.sei.org/SEI-2017-WP-Nexus-Governance-Weitz.pdf
Hoolohan, C., Larkin, A., McLachlan, C., Falconer, R., Soutar, I., Suckling, J. et al. (2018). Engaging stakeholders in research to address water-energy-food (WEF) nexus challenges, Sustainability Science, 13, 1415-1426.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-018-0552-7
Bazzana, D., Comincioli, N., El Khoury, C., Nardi, F. & Vergalli, S. (2023). WEF Nexus Policy Review of Four Mediterranean Countries, Land, 12, 473. https://doi.org/10.3390/ land12020473
The water-energy-food security nexus in the western Mediterranean – Development and Sustainability in the 5+5 area, 2018.
Markantonis, V., Reynaud, A., Karabulut, A., El Hajj, R., Altinbilek, D., Awad, I.M. et al. (2019). Can the Implementation of the Water-Energy-Food Nexus Support Economic Growth in the Mediterranean Region? The Current Status and the Way Forward, Frontiers in Environmental Science, 7, 84. doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2019.00084
Albatayneh, A. (2023). Water energy food nexus to tackle climate change in the Eastern Mediterranean, Air, Soil and Water Research, 16, 1-12. DOI: 10.1177/11786221231170222
Vourdoubas, J. (2021). The water-energy nexus in the island of Crete, Greece, Environmental Management and Sustainable Development, 10(2), 44-57. doi:10.5296/emsd.v10i2.18504
Tzanakakis, V.A., Angelakis, A.N., Paranychianakis, N.Y., Dialynas, Y.G. & Tchobanoglous, G. (2020). Challenges and opportunities for sustainable management of water resources in the island of Crete, Greece, Water, 12, 1538. doi:10.3390/w12061538
