Illustrative: rain routed down a catchment to the flood plain, generated, with the intensity of a scenario rising and falling

Risk Academy, led by the Nexus Consortium · Course catalogue · Systems and Nexus Studies

Nexus-Based Risk Management

Water-energy-food-ecosystems nexus

Water-energy-food-ecosystems nexus, taught twice over: as the working methods of the field and as its frontier since 2024, with labs on the Academy's tools, open data and the Nexus Standards.

Core course Frontier course

The discipline

01Core course · L2 Intermediate

Water-energy-food-ecosystems nexus: foundations and practice

This area covers the interactions between water, energy, food and ecosystems: how a choice in one sector changes risk in the others, the trade-offs and synergies between them and how policies and investments can be made coherent.

Level
L2 Intermediate
Study time
about 24 hours (planning estimate)
Status
In authoring
Prerequisites
An L1 course in the area, or an entry review

Why now

Food security trends shape how water and energy choices translate into human risk across regions. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Progress on hunger continues, but Africa and new crises raise concerns: FAO Chief Economist, 21 July 2026

Learning outcomes

  1. Define water-energy-food nexus and the other key terms of the discipline and use them correctly in a written case
  2. Explain nexus thinking and its origins and water-energy links with a worked example and its source
  3. Apply the discipline's method to a documented case and explain each result with its source
  4. Analyse a named case against water-food links, stating evidence, date and limits

Modules

  1. Nexus thinking and its origins
    • Nexus thinking and its origins
    • Water-energy links
    • Water-food links
  2. Energy-food links
    • Energy-food links
    • Ecosystems in the nexus
    • Trade-offs and synergies
  3. Nexus governance
    • Nexus governance
    • Nexus indicators
  4. Lab: the discipline's method
    • Pumping groundwater costs energy in proportion to the depth it is lifted; the energy to grow a tonne of grain follows from the crop's water footprint, and when that electricity comes from thermal plants the energy consumes water in turn, so a water choice, an energy choice and a food choice are one choice seen three ways.
    • Work the method through a documented case and explain each result
    • Read the method's sources and stated values

Labs with Academy tools

Nexus Standards

Teaches

  • NRS-N7 Water-energy-food-health-biodiversity-infrastructure nexus coupling
  • NRS-N1 Water risk and resilience
  • NRS-N2 Energy risk and resilience
  • NRS-N3 Food and agriculture risk and resilience
  • NRS-M13 Method fabric: Water risk
  • NRS-M14 Method fabric: Food, agriculture and fisheries
  • NRS-M15 Method fabric: Energy risk

Relies on

  • NS-1 The UNI and the artefact catalogue
  • NS-16 UNI application profile (how articles, documents, code, data, APIs and interfaces carry the UNI)
  • NRS-C1 Risk vocabulary and ontology
  • NRS-C2 Risk assessment method
  • NRS-C3 Hazard, exposure, vulnerability and capacity data
  • NRS-C4 Risk data model, identifiers and exchange
  • NRS-C6 Systemic and cascading risk
  • NRS-C8 Evidence, uncertainty and provenance

Assessment

  • 40%Lab recordWork the discipline's method through a documented case and explain each result with its source and date
  • 40%Case memoApply the discipline's methods to a named place or organisation, stating evidence and limits
  • 20%Key terms checkShort answers on the key terms, marked against the definitions

Delivery

  • Self-paced online, with the labs in the browser
  • Cohort study over six to eight weeks, with a weekly lab review
  • Co-delivered with a partner institution, inside its own courses

Partner on this course

  • Co-teach a module and bring a current case from your work
  • Host a cohort for your learners, with your own schedule and review
  • Contribute a lab: a dataset your institution publishes openly, or a model
  • Review the course content and its references before it opens
  • Translate the course and adapt its cases to your region

How institutions and experts take part

In the Academy LMS

Course on the learning platform
Intermediate, 4 topics
Cohort group
A community group for each cohort of learners
Achievement
Recorded on completion of the assessed work

Open now in this discipline

References

  1. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Progress on hunger continues, but Africa and new crises raise concerns: FAO Chief Economist, 21 July 2026
  2. D'Odorico et al., The global food-energy-water nexus, 2018
  3. Mekonnen and Hoekstra, The green, blue and grey water footprint of crops and derived crop products, 2011
  4. Albrecht, Crootof and Scott, The water-energy-food nexus: a systematic review of methods for nexus assessment, 2018
02Live map

Water now in Mexico

Rain, flood water and root-zone soil moisture from NASA satellites and models, with long-term water stress, over Mexico.

The interactive map needs JavaScript; the layer list and sources are below.

Layers 2

Water now

Latest available

NASA GIBS / EOSDIS · ASTER GDEM (METI, NASA) · Blue Marble (NASA) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Natural Earth

Loading the latest NASA imagery.

Drag to move. Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll, pinch or the buttons to zoom; hover for the values under the pointer; reset returns to the region.

Water now, framed on Mexico.Satellite and model products as NASA publishes them, each with its own date. They are indicators, not assessments of any place.

Data: NASA GIBS · ASTER GDEM · Blue Marble · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Natural Earth · NASA EONETSources and licences

  • We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • GPM IMERG precipitation, NASA Precipitation Processing System; distributed by the NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • VIIRS near-real-time products (flood, land surface temperature, snow cover, corrected reflectance), NASA LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • SMAP Level 4 soil moisture and snow mass, NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office; distributed by the NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center DAAC; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • GRACE and GRACE-FO JPL mascon solution, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory; distributed by the NASA Physical Oceanography DAAC (PO.DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • GHRSST Level 4 MUR analyses, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory; distributed by the NASA Physical Oceanography DAAC (PO.DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • ASTER GDEM is a product of METI and NASA (ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003, NASA LP DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). Cite as: NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Spacesystems and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team (2019). ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003. doi:10.5067/ASTER/ASTGTM.003. NASA open data
  • Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com. Public domain
  • © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), via NASA GIBS (coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). ODbL
  • Blue Marble, NASA Earth Observatory; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • Context on the globe and flat map: coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names from NASA GIBS reference layers (OpenStreetMap data, ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors); Blue Marble imagery as an optional base; 3D terrain and the elevation read-out from the ASTER GDEM elevation colour index (5 m to 200 m classes, exaggerated for legibility). Boundaries are drawn as published and imply no position on any territory.
  • Globe: MapLibre GL JS 6.9.1, BSD-3-Clause, © MapLibre contributors.
  • Live events: NASA Earth Observatory Natural Event Tracker (EONET); events are indicative and keep their original source links.
  • NASA GIBS: We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS).
  • River discharge forecast, 30 days with range (GloFAS via Open-Meteo): Contains modified Copernicus Emergency Management Service information 2026; not a flood warning.
  • Past year, daily temperature (ERA5 via Open-Meteo): Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
  • Past year, daily temperature and sunshine (NASA POWER): These data were obtained from the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) POWER Project funded through the NASA Earth Science/Applied Science Program..
  • Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (https://open-meteo.com/), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
  • Optional layers (13 sources in the layer list: live, forecast, observed and context) print their provider credit on the map and here when switched on; forecasts are model output and derived indices are estimates.

Layers and dates

  • Precipitation rate, daily mean: GPM IMERG, NASA GES DISC · 12 Oct 2026
  • Flood water, 3-day composite: VIIRS Global Flood Product, NASA LANCE · 14 Oct 2026
  • Root-zone soil moisture, 0 to 100 cm: SMAP Level 4, NASA NSIDC DAAC · 11 Oct 2026
  • Snow cover: VIIRS NOAA-20 NDSI, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026
  • Water storage anomaly, monthly: GRACE-FO JPL mascons, NASA JPL PO.DAAC · July 2022
  • Sea surface temperature anomaly: GHRSST MUR25, NASA JPL PO.DAAC · 12 Oct 2026
  • True colour: VIIRS NOAA-20 corrected reflectance, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026

03How learning runs

How learning runs, as a process you can run

Select a scenario and press Play: course, pathway, practice, faculty, cells and record.

04What is changing

Frontier course · L3 advanced, programme courses and standards

Water-energy-food-ecosystems nexus: frontier methods

The methods, data, tools and studies that changed water-energy-food-ecosystems nexus between 2024 and 2026, taught by reproducing them on open data.

Level
L3 Advanced
Study time
about 28 hours (planning estimate)
Status
Planned
Prerequisites
Water-energy-food-ecosystems nexus: foundations and practice; Working knowledge of a scripting language (Python or R) for the labs

Why now

Food security trends shape how water and energy choices translate into human risk across regions. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Progress on hunger continues, but Africa and new crises raise concerns: FAO Chief Economist, 21 July 2026

Learning outcomes

  1. Explain what changed in water-energy-food-ecosystems nexus since 2024 and cite the studies, data or rules behind each change
  2. Reproduce SOFI 2026 shows hunger falling globally but rising concern in Africa on open data and state the uncertainty of the result
  3. Evaluate a 2024 to 2026 study: its question, data, method, limits and what it changes for practice
  4. Design an analysis that combines a frontier method with the faculty's instruments, and justify each choice

Modules

  1. SOFI 2026 shows hunger falling globally but rising concern in Africa
    • FAO reports SOFI 2026 estimates 645 million people faced hunger in 2025, 7.8 per cent of the world, and Africa's hungry outnumber Asia's for the first time; 2.69 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet.
    • Food security trends shape how water and energy choices translate into human risk across regions.
    • Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 21 July 2026
  2. IPBES approved its nexus assessment of biodiversity, water, food and health
    • IPBES approved the Nexus Assessment on interlinkages among biodiversity, water, food and health, prepared by 165 experts from 57 countries over three years, covering trends, future interactions, policy options and finance.
    • It is a global intergovernmental assessment built around nexus interactions, giving evidence on trade-offs and synergies.
    • IPBES, 16 December 2024
  3. Global Commission urges governing the water cycle as a common good
    • The Global Commission on the Economics of Water's final report argues the water cycle, including green water, must be governed as a global common good, warning that over half of food production lies where water storage is projected to decline.
    • It ties water risk directly to food, climate and economic risk, the core of nexus analysis.
    • Global Commission on the Economics of Water, 1 October 2024
  4. Reproduction lab
    • Extend the discipline's method with one frontier method and compare its results
    • State the uncertainty and the limits of the result
    • Peer review against a shared checklist

Labs with Academy tools

Nexus Standards

Teaches

  • NRS-N7 Water-energy-food-health-biodiversity-infrastructure nexus coupling
  • NRS-N1 Water risk and resilience
  • NRS-N2 Energy risk and resilience
  • NRS-N3 Food and agriculture risk and resilience
  • NRS-M13 Method fabric: Water risk
  • NRS-M14 Method fabric: Food, agriculture and fisheries
  • NRS-M15 Method fabric: Energy risk

Relies on

  • NS-1 The UNI and the artefact catalogue
  • NS-16 UNI application profile (how articles, documents, code, data, APIs and interfaces carry the UNI)
  • NRS-C1 Risk vocabulary and ontology
  • NRS-C2 Risk assessment method
  • NRS-C3 Hazard, exposure, vulnerability and capacity data
  • NRS-C4 Risk data model, identifiers and exchange
  • NRS-C6 Systemic and cascading risk
  • NRS-C8 Evidence, uncertainty and provenance

Assessment

  • 50%Method reproductionReproduce one frontier method on open data and state the uncertainty of the result
  • 30%Study reviewA critical review of a 2024 to 2026 study: question, data, method, limits, what it changes
  • 20%Peer reviewReview two other learners' reproductions against a shared checklist

Delivery

  • Self-paced online, with the labs in the browser
  • Cohort study over six to eight weeks, with a weekly lab review
  • Co-delivered with a partner institution, inside its own courses

Partner on this course

  • Co-teach a module and bring a current case from your work
  • Host a cohort for your learners, with your own schedule and review
  • Contribute a lab: a dataset your institution publishes openly, or a model
  • Review the course content and its references before it opens
  • Translate the course and adapt its cases to your region

How institutions and experts take part

In the Academy LMS

Course on the learning platform
Expert, 4 topics
Cohort group
A community group for each cohort of learners
Achievement
Recorded on completion of the assessed work

Open now in this discipline

References

  1. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Progress on hunger continues, but Africa and new crises raise concerns: FAO Chief Economist, 21 July 2026
  2. IPBES, Thematic Assessment Report on the Interlinkages among Biodiversity, Water, Food and Health, 16 December 2024
  3. Global Commission on the Economics of Water, The Economics of Water: Valuing the Hydrological Cycle as a Global Common Good, 1 October 2024
  4. D'Odorico et al., The global food-energy-water nexus, 2018
  5. Mekonnen and Hoekstra, The green, blue and grey water footprint of crops and derived crop products, 2011
  6. Albrecht, Crootof and Scott, The water-energy-food nexus: a systematic review of methods for nexus assessment, 2018
05Take part

Take part in the work

Start from who you are.

06Questions

Questions, answers and key terms

Is the course free?
Yes. Every course and learning material of Risk Academy, led by the Nexus Consortium, is free to study, self-paced or with a cohort. Ordinary participation has no fee; paid work, internships and fellowships are separate arrangements.
What does completing a course give me?
A completion record: the course, its version, the date and what was assessed, private by default and shared by you. It stacks into discipline, department and programme achievements. A record states what was studied and assessed and does not certify competence; it is not a licence, a professional title or an employment status.
Where do the data and the places come from?
Every faculty teaches on a twin of a real place built from open data; each layer carries its provider, licence and date, and every result on the Academy states its source. Maps and figures are indicators for teaching, never an assessment of a place.
How do I take part beyond the course?
Form a competence cell of three to seven people, study a shared pathway, take a supervised assignment in the National Working Groups, or bring a cohort from your institution. For organisations.

Key terms

Term

Water-energy-food nexus

The interdependence of water, energy and food security and the need to manage them together.

Term

Trade-off

A gain in one sector that comes at a cost in another.

Term

Synergy

An action that brings benefits in more than one sector.

Term

Embedded water

The water used to produce a good, also called virtual water.

ReportsContribute

Contribute evidence from this page.

Reports is the Consortium's quarterly publication. What you know about this subject can become evidence, a case or a correction in the next edition, credited to you and published under CC BY 4.0 where it is your own work.

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