Policy brief 18

“Nexus thinking” is an approach that recognizes the critical interdependence of food, energy and water in an increasingly resource constrained world. Understanding and improving how these resources are managed and used is critical, especially in the face of climate change. There is a critical need to equip individuals and institutions with research, capacity-building and new tools to plan for a better and climate-resilient future.

To address a specific gap, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has been using conventional approaches, policy and investment assessments along with forecasting tools. The analyses conducted are often comparatively static (mostly employing linear approaches) and narrowly focused on a sector or a specific set of thematic indicators. Instead, a systemic, nexus approach is needed that takes into account social, economic and environmental indicators within a sector, and link them across sectors to generate dynamic projections that make it possible to estimate policy outcomes for all economic actors.