城市食物-能源-水关联关系:概念框架与研究展望

食物、能源和水(Food, Energy and Water, FEW)是人类生存与发展不可或缺的基础性资源,且三者之间存在密切的关联关系(Nexus),即其中任何一项资源的生产与供给均依赖于另外两项资源。FEW关联关系作为应对全球人口增长、资源短缺和生态环境恶化等问题的系统性管理理念,已引起国际学术界与实践管理领域的广泛关注。然而,目前对FEW关联关系仍然缺乏统一和清晰的界定,现有研究大多是基于不同角度理解与量化"关联关系"。城市作为全球资源消费的主阵地,其FEW关联关系更为复杂,亟待建立针对城市生态系统的概念框架。对FEW关联关系的发展历程、概念表述以及研究方法等方面进行全面回顾和系统分析。在此基础上,从"资源依存"、"资源供给"和"系统集成"等3个视角构建了城市FEW关联关系的概念框架,并进一步阐述FEW关联关系未来研究的重点方向——"系统性表征"、"时空演化"与"协同管理",为城市优化资源配置,实现集成管理提供一种新思路和定量化的参考依据。

Urban food-energy-water (FEW) nexus: conceptual frameworks and prospects

Food, energy, and water (FEW) are three kinds of essential and indispensable resources to human beings. Moreover, they are interlinked with one another, and changing the components of one system may lead to ripple effects (desired or undesired) on the other two systems. Currently, the FEW nexus is increasingly concerned by scholars and policy makers. The FEW nexus is a key concept to address the issues of population boom, resource scarcity, and environmental degradation. However, there still lacks consistent and explicit cognitions of the FEW nexus. Most of existing studies focus on the characterization and quantification of the FEW nexus from multiple perspectives. Little attention is paid to the universal experience in synergy management, especially for urban systems. Cities are critical carriers of the population and economic activities and are also important contributors to the FEW consumption. They are essential for the sustainable development and are thus inextricable parts of the FEW nexus. However, urban FEW nexus has been rarely concerned by existing studies. This study presented a comprehensive review to track the progress of the FEW nexus. We also proposed a three-dimensional conceptual framework of the urban FEW nexus to achieve urban sustainable development goals, including resource interdependency, resource provision, and system integration. Finally, we discussed future directions of urban FEW nexus studies.