prosperity by 2030 (UNDP 2018). All SDGs by
design are an integrated set of global priorities
and objectives that are fundamentally interdependent (ICSU 2017). Three SDGs are of special
interest with regard to the water-energy-food
(WEF) nexus: (1) end hunger, achieve food
security and improved nutrition, and promote
sustainable agriculture (SDG2); (2) ensure
availability and sustainable management of water
and sanitation for all (SDG6); and (3) ensure
access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and
modern energy for all (SDG7) (Ringler et al.
2016). These goals are interlinked and cannot be
dealt with separately (ICSU 2017). For instance,
increases in food production require large additional water and energy resources. However,
improved access to conventional or renewable
energy depends on the use of larger amounts of
water. In turn, access to safe water will require
both increased amounts of water and more
energy to treat this water to safe standards.
Competition over the same resources (land,
water, energy) may result in trade-offs between
all three of these SDGs. Consequently, all of
these improvements require political will, significant investments, and institutional capacity
(Ringler et al. 2016). There is no consensus
among scholars on the definition of the nexus
approach for analyzing the inter-linkage of
resources. By considering the concepts of synergy and trade-offs, the nexus perspective
emphasizes the inter-relatedness and interdependencies of environmental resources and their
transitions and fluxes across spatial scales and
between components of a system (Kurian et al.
2016). As UNU-FLORES (nd) summarizes:
“Instead of just looking at individual components, the functioning, productivity, and management of a complex system are taken into
consideration. In such complex systems, there
are trade-offs as well as facilitation and amplification between the different components.” The
nexus perspective covers varying dimensions,
such as (a) large dams and the nexus of hydropower generation, irrigation water provision, and
environmental deterioration, (b) wastewater
reuse for peri-urban agriculture, (c) the nexus of
waste remediation, resource recovery, and water
reuse, (d) renewable energy and the water-land
nexus, and (e) biofuels and food trade-offs or
complementarities. One of the important aspects
of the nexus perspective is the groundwater irrigation power nexus (Scott et al. 2015), which is
the focus of this study. The depletion of
groundwater resources and the overexploitation
of aquifers is a threat to the sustainable development of human communities and biodiversity.
A NASA study in 2015 shows that 21 of the
world’s 37 largest aquifers have passed sustainability tipping points (Richey et al. 2015).
Modern groundwater extraction is energy
intensive and commonly subsidized by governments. In contrast, practical old traditional
groundwater extraction systems, such as qanats,
which are common in the Middle East, use
gravity to carry groundwater to the surface via
underground tunnels without using energy
(Jomehpour 2009). However, nowadays groundwater is mainly extracted with tube wells using
electricity or diesel pumps to lift water to the
surface. The relationship between energy and
water is two-way: water can be used to produce
energy and energy is used to pump groundwater
(Zilberman et al. 2008). Energy is needed for
pumping water from groundwater aquifers or
rivers for domestic or industrial use, as well as
food production. As water levels drop, more
energy is required for pumping. These relationships represent an important central issue in the
water-energy-food nexus (Coates et al. 2012).
Instead of direct subsidies for water, farmers often
receive electricity subsidies, which results in an
overuse of both energy and water in groundwaterirrigated agriculture (Theesfeld 2010). The overexploitation of groundwater is a threat to the
sustainable development of rural and urban areas,
especially in arid and semi-arid regions. In order
to avoid a possible resistance from rural communities receiving energy subsidies for irrigation,
some scholars suggest other approaches to deal
with groundwater depletion caused by supplying
energy without changing energy prices. An
alternative option to energy price increases could
be the intelligent scheduling and management of
a rationed power supply for agricultural consumers (Shah et al. 2004). This could be an
108
T. Jamali Jaghdani and V. Kvartiuk
design are an integrated set of global priorities
and objectives that are fundamentally interdependent (ICSU 2017). Three SDGs are of special
interest with regard to the water-energy-food
(WEF) nexus: (1) end hunger, achieve food
security and improved nutrition, and promote
sustainable agriculture (SDG2); (2) ensure
availability and sustainable management of water
and sanitation for all (SDG6); and (3) ensure
access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and
modern energy for all (SDG7) (Ringler et al.
2016). These goals are interlinked and cannot be
dealt with separately (ICSU 2017). For instance,
increases in food production require large additional water and energy resources. However,
improved access to conventional or renewable
energy depends on the use of larger amounts of
water. In turn, access to safe water will require
both increased amounts of water and more
energy to treat this water to safe standards.
Competition over the same resources (land,
water, energy) may result in trade-offs between
all three of these SDGs. Consequently, all of
these improvements require political will, significant investments, and institutional capacity
(Ringler et al. 2016). There is no consensus
among scholars on the definition of the nexus
approach for analyzing the inter-linkage of
resources. By considering the concepts of synergy and trade-offs, the nexus perspective
emphasizes the inter-relatedness and interdependencies of environmental resources and their
transitions and fluxes across spatial scales and
between components of a system (Kurian et al.
2016). As UNU-FLORES (nd) summarizes:
“Instead of just looking at individual components, the functioning, productivity, and management of a complex system are taken into
consideration. In such complex systems, there
are trade-offs as well as facilitation and amplification between the different components.” The
nexus perspective covers varying dimensions,
such as (a) large dams and the nexus of hydropower generation, irrigation water provision, and
environmental deterioration, (b) wastewater
reuse for peri-urban agriculture, (c) the nexus of
waste remediation, resource recovery, and water
reuse, (d) renewable energy and the water-land
nexus, and (e) biofuels and food trade-offs or
complementarities. One of the important aspects
of the nexus perspective is the groundwater irrigation power nexus (Scott et al. 2015), which is
the focus of this study. The depletion of
groundwater resources and the overexploitation
of aquifers is a threat to the sustainable development of human communities and biodiversity.
A NASA study in 2015 shows that 21 of the
world’s 37 largest aquifers have passed sustainability tipping points (Richey et al. 2015).
Modern groundwater extraction is energy
intensive and commonly subsidized by governments. In contrast, practical old traditional
groundwater extraction systems, such as qanats,
which are common in the Middle East, use
gravity to carry groundwater to the surface via
underground tunnels without using energy
(Jomehpour 2009). However, nowadays groundwater is mainly extracted with tube wells using
electricity or diesel pumps to lift water to the
surface. The relationship between energy and
water is two-way: water can be used to produce
energy and energy is used to pump groundwater
(Zilberman et al. 2008). Energy is needed for
pumping water from groundwater aquifers or
rivers for domestic or industrial use, as well as
food production. As water levels drop, more
energy is required for pumping. These relationships represent an important central issue in the
water-energy-food nexus (Coates et al. 2012).
Instead of direct subsidies for water, farmers often
receive electricity subsidies, which results in an
overuse of both energy and water in groundwaterirrigated agriculture (Theesfeld 2010). The overexploitation of groundwater is a threat to the
sustainable development of rural and urban areas,
especially in arid and semi-arid regions. In order
to avoid a possible resistance from rural communities receiving energy subsidies for irrigation,
some scholars suggest other approaches to deal
with groundwater depletion caused by supplying
energy without changing energy prices. An
alternative option to energy price increases could
be the intelligent scheduling and management of
a rationed power supply for agricultural consumers (Shah et al. 2004). This could be an
108
T. Jamali Jaghdani and V. Kvartiuk