Case study of Water-Energy-Food Nexus management in Northwest China

Water, energy, and food constitute essential resources crucial for human survival and development. Water security, energy security, and food security are critical issues related to human sustainable development. Northwest China is endowed with abundant energy and mineral resources. Simultaneously, the region serves as a significant reserve base for grain production in China. However, Northwest China faces challenges related to water scarcity. The rapid increase in water demand for energy development and agricultural production intensifies competition for water resources among food and energy. Water scarcity has emerged as a significant constraint on the development of the energy and food industries in the region. Given the interrelated, mutually restrictive, and interdependent nature of water, energy, and food, scientifically revealing and coordinating the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) interaction in Northwest China holds great scientific significance. To address this, we selected two cases in Northwest China: Ningdong Energy and Chemical Industry Base and Yulin City. Firstly, we proposed and developed an agent-based water–energy–food model based on MESA library for Ningdong Energy and Chemical Base. This model aims to simulate the complex dynamic interactions in the supply and demand process of WEF sectors under different scenarios. Secondly, for Yulin City, we constructed a Water-Energy-Food Integrated Management Model to deal with multiple Uncertainties, called IMMU-WEF model. This model was employed to explore the water resources allocation mode, agricultural planting structure, energy exploitation and production mode in Yulin City under uncertain conditions. Through the two cases, we aim to provide a valuable reference for the management of WEF nexus in Northwest China. This has significant implications for ensuring the sustainable economic and social development of Northwest China.   Keywords: Water-energy-food nexus; multi-agent based modeling; IMMU-WEF model; Northwest China