The Water-Energy- Food (WEF) Nexus: Building Resilience in the Caribbean

05/02/2025

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The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) offers the virtual course “Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus: Building Resilience in the Caribbean”, which is delivered in asynchronous mode. Participants will be able to review the content and study at their own pace.

Recognizing the need to promote appropriate adaptation measures and to strengthen the resilience of agri-food systems and livelihoods, the Government of Mexico, in partnership with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and FAO, launched the Mexico-CARICOM-FAO Initiative "Cooperation for Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change in the Caribbean” (Resilient Caribbean Initiative).

Under this Initiative, FAO implemented the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus sub-project in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Jamaica and Saint Kitts and Nevis. These Small Island Development States (SIDS) face multiple challenges, including a very high food import rate, increasing scarcity of freshwater resources, and a dependency on imported fossil fuels to meet the rising energy demand associated with groundwater extraction and seawater desalination. 
The course objective is to strengthen the capacities of decision makers at various levels to plan beyond sectors when developing new policies, investments, regulations, and incentives.

This course is intended for Officers of the Ministries of Agriculture, Environment, Energy, and Water Resources in Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Jamaica, and Saint Kitts & Nevis; staff of relevant industry actors such as utility operators and planning agencies, including in other (Caribbean) SIDS; and other relevant stakeholders, including farmers. 
In sum, the Water-Energy- Food nexus: Creating Resilience in the Caribbean course will allow participants to learn about ways to promote a paradigm shift towards a holistic and coherent approach on water, land, nutrient, and energy resource management in the Caribbean at the local, national, and regional levels. The proposed approach and solutions may be replicated in other SIDS.

Course Sheet:

Name: Water-Energy- Food nexus: Building Resilience in the Caribbean 

Code: WEF202411

Language: English

Course Type: Self-paced

Course Length: 15 chronological hours

Start date: February 5, 2025

Audience:

• Officers of the Ministries of Agriculture (including their Extension Divisions), Environment, Energy, and Water Resources in Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Jamaica and Saint Kitts & Nevis.
• Staff of relevant industry actors such as utility operators and planning agencies, including in other (Caribbean) SIDS. Other relevant stakeholders, including farmers.

General objective:

To strengthen the capacities of decision makers at various levels to plan beyond sectors when developing new policies, investments, regulations, and incentives.

Specific objectives:

• Show the vulnerabilities of SIDS concerning water, energy, and food security, and the beneficial interaction between water, energy, and food in the Caribbean islands.
  
• Explain the beneficial interaction between water, energy and food in Caribbean SIDS.
  
• Identify the techniques of the water, energy, and food component and the constraints and needs for joint implementation interventions in each of the three components - the WEF nexus - in the Caribbean.
  
• Promote advocacy for WEF interventions through policy and business engagement.

Content:

Unit 1: WEF insecurity in the Caribbean: issues, causes and potential solutions

• The fragility of Caribbean SIDS and why cross-sectoral approaches are important.
  
• Climate change, greenhouse gas emissions and how it exacerbates the fragilities of SIDS.
  
• Water (in)security (volume and quality) and governance in Caribbean SIDS. 
  
• Energy (in)security in Caribbean SIDS. 
  
• Food (in)security and nutrition in Caribbean SIDS (availability, access, utilization, stability).

Unit 2: Integration and implementation of the WEF concept in the Caribbean

• The water-energy-food nexus concept: benefits and trade-offs.
  
• WEF nexus solutions.
  
• Implementation of the WEF approach: case studies.
  
• Monitoring and evaluation of WEF nexus interventions.
  

Better to which it belongs:

• BP1: Innovation for sustainable agriculture production.
• BE1: Climate change mitigating and adapted agri-food systems.

Responsible Officer: Jacinto Buenfil - Policy Officer Environment and Climate Change, FAOSLC.

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