The concept of Nexus management is gaining increasing attention in the scientific community as it emphasizes the mutual interdependencies among different sectors (typically Water, Energy, Food and Ecosystems − WEFE), overcoming the ‘silo’ approach that usually characterizes the management of natural resources along with a rather water-centered perspective. Supporting a comprehensive understanding of the cross-sectoral interdependencies and influences among sectors is a cutting-edge research issue, specifically as far as the production of ‘actionable’ knowledge for policy makers is concerned. Despite its success, the actual implementation of the Nexus holistic approach is still hampered by several barriers. Starting from the analysis of those barriers, this work describes a methodological approach based on Qualitative System Dynamic Model (and specifically Causal Loop Diagram – CLD), capable of enabling the transition from Nexus thinking to Nexus doing. The methodological approach maps and describes the dynamic evolution of complex WEFE Nexus systems, and proposes an innovative ‘leverage analysis’ – based on graph theory measures – for identifying policy interventions capable of impacting system state and potential evolution. The proposed approach is highly participatory as stakeholders engagement is facilitated throughout the modelling process. Besides a description of the methodology, the present work provides also full details on the results of its implementation in two different case studies in Europe.

中文翻译：

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弥合水-能源-食物-生态系统关系思维和关系行为之间差距的因果循环图：来自两个案例研究的证据


Nexus 管理的概念在科学界越来越受到关注，因为它强调不同部门（通常是水、能源、食品和生态系统 - WEFE）之间的相互依存关系，克服了通常以自然资源管理为特征的“孤岛”方法以及相当以水为中心的视角。支持对各部门之间跨部门相互依存关系和影响的全面理解是一个前沿的研究问题，特别是就为政策制定者生产“可操作”的知识而言。尽管取得了成功，但 Nexus 整体方法的实际实施仍然受到几个障碍的阻碍。从对这些障碍的分析开始，这项工作描述了一种基于定性系统动态模型（特别是因果循环图 – CLD）的方法论方法，能够实现从 Nexus 思维到 Nexus 行动的过渡。该方法绘制和描述了复杂的 WEFE Nexus 系统的动态演变，并提出了一种基于图论测量的创新“杠杆分析”，用于识别能够影响系统状态和潜在演变的政策干预。所提出的方法是高度参与性的，因为在整个建模过程中促进了利益相关者的参与。除了对方法的描述外，本研究还提供了在欧洲两个不同案例研究中实施结果的完整细节。