579
20.5 Conclusion/Summary
Conflict in all or parts of the food–energy–water nexus continues to be an evolving
realm, with a continuous influx of new parties, challenges, and creative solutions.
Although struggles within the USA are common, the reach of this nexus relationship is global in scope.
Climate impacts and weather variability act to increase the intensity of current
threats and introduce new issues to each sector. Furthermore, weak governance
institutions, transboundary issues, population increases, and cultural differences
provide contextual challenges in developing viable solutions.
The scales of conflicts range from individual to community, regional, and international levels, each with its own unique set of challenges and factors. Opportunities
to address conflict at varying scales offer creative ways to blend management directives with sustainable solutions.
Vital to the success of developing solutions is reliable collaboration among
involved parties. Dispute resolution techniques, such as facilitation and mediation,
present decision-makers and interested stakeholders with a platform to hear interests, concerns, and creative options for solving challenges. Complicated challenges
in the nexus will require continuous stakeholder engagement and a connection of
science to law, policy, metrics, and modeling systems. These are areas where training may be helpful, as may be hiring someone with process-related skills.
Key Points
• Conflicts among food, energy, and water sectors range from individuals to global
in scale.
• Minor changes to one sector can have profound impacts on the operations of the
other two due to their interrelatedness.
• Changes in climate can exasperate current conflicts and act as a threat multiplier
for the occurrence and intensity of future disputes.
• Weak institutional and governance factors, increasing populations, and transboundary issues act as additional human challenges to addressing conflicts
within the nexus.
• Dispute resolution techniques, such as facilitation, mediation, and arbitration,
offer avenues for solutions as opposed to litigation or escalating conflicts.
• A key attribute to reducing conflict is constructively engaging stakeholders to
participate in improving nexus relations; this takes process-based skills which
can be learned and are invaluable to anyone working within the nexus.
• Connecting decision-making with appropriate scientific factors or regulatory
policy is crucial for viable solutions to nexus conflicts (Jacobs 2002).
• Solution types can be specific to a particular scale or reach across a plethora of
continuums including, but not limited to, negotiations, public involvement in
regulatory policy development, community preparedness workshops, and global
agreements to implement change.
• Conflict in the food, energy, and water nexus continues to be a subject area worth
understanding better both within the USA and internationally. Each sector has a
20 Managing Human Conflicts
20.5 Conclusion/Summary
Conflict in all or parts of the food–energy–water nexus continues to be an evolving
realm, with a continuous influx of new parties, challenges, and creative solutions.
Although struggles within the USA are common, the reach of this nexus relationship is global in scope.
Climate impacts and weather variability act to increase the intensity of current
threats and introduce new issues to each sector. Furthermore, weak governance
institutions, transboundary issues, population increases, and cultural differences
provide contextual challenges in developing viable solutions.
The scales of conflicts range from individual to community, regional, and international levels, each with its own unique set of challenges and factors. Opportunities
to address conflict at varying scales offer creative ways to blend management directives with sustainable solutions.
Vital to the success of developing solutions is reliable collaboration among
involved parties. Dispute resolution techniques, such as facilitation and mediation,
present decision-makers and interested stakeholders with a platform to hear interests, concerns, and creative options for solving challenges. Complicated challenges
in the nexus will require continuous stakeholder engagement and a connection of
science to law, policy, metrics, and modeling systems. These are areas where training may be helpful, as may be hiring someone with process-related skills.
Key Points
• Conflicts among food, energy, and water sectors range from individuals to global
in scale.
• Minor changes to one sector can have profound impacts on the operations of the
other two due to their interrelatedness.
• Changes in climate can exasperate current conflicts and act as a threat multiplier
for the occurrence and intensity of future disputes.
• Weak institutional and governance factors, increasing populations, and transboundary issues act as additional human challenges to addressing conflicts
within the nexus.
• Dispute resolution techniques, such as facilitation, mediation, and arbitration,
offer avenues for solutions as opposed to litigation or escalating conflicts.
• A key attribute to reducing conflict is constructively engaging stakeholders to
participate in improving nexus relations; this takes process-based skills which
can be learned and are invaluable to anyone working within the nexus.
• Connecting decision-making with appropriate scientific factors or regulatory
policy is crucial for viable solutions to nexus conflicts (Jacobs 2002).
• Solution types can be specific to a particular scale or reach across a plethora of
continuums including, but not limited to, negotiations, public involvement in
regulatory policy development, community preparedness workshops, and global
agreements to implement change.
• Conflict in the food, energy, and water nexus continues to be a subject area worth
understanding better both within the USA and internationally. Each sector has a
20 Managing Human Conflicts