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  2. Project summary

Research objectives and background

Climate change and social change, including accelerating development, urbanization, and globalization are increasing pressure on water, energy and food resources, increasing the number of trade-offs and potential conflicts among these resources that have their complex interactions.
The Global Risks Interconnections Map published by the World Economic Forum in early 2016 highlights the global risk posed by linked food and water crises and energy price shocks.
In order to address these issues, the objectives of the project are to understand the complexity of the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus system and to create policy options to reduce trade-offs among resources and to alleviate conflicts of resource users using scientific evidence and under assumptions of uncertainty to maximize human-environmental security.
The project also contributes solutions to local and global environmental problems by contributing to global research networks associated with the Future Earth platform and the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.


Research methods and structures

The project involves 60 researchers from different disciplines and five countries, including Indonesia, the Philippines, Canada, Japan and the USA.
Five research groups carry out the following tasks:
1) the Water-Energy Nexus Group conducts biophysical measurement and analysis using space satellites, geothermic, and hydrogeological techniques;
2) the Water-Food Nexus Group conducts biophysical measurements and analyses using geochemical, coastal oceanographic, geophysical, hydrologic, and ecological methods, including isotopic tracers;
3) the Stakeholder Analysis Group conducts stakeholder and social network analyses, community surveys, and scenario planning based on sociology, economics, and behavioral science approaches;
4) the Socio-culture of Resource Usage Group develops the science-policy interface based on its examination of the socio-cultural history of groundwater use;
5) the Interdisciplinary Group conducts the research with a mission to: i) identify research problems; and ii) determine the methods and/or create new discipline-free methods based on synthesizing and harmonizing team-based production, collected from individual scientists in different disciplines from each team in order to assess human environmental security.
In addition, the team further developed these approaches to incorporate non-scientific/-disciplinary views on the analyses; and iii) design a nexus system.


Future research will improve scientific understanding of the complexity of the water-energy-food nexus, and attempt to ease social conflicts by promoting dialogue and cooperation with stakeholders.
Finally, we will contribute to policy by suggesting ways to reduce trade-offs among the three nexus resources.


1) Water-Energy Nexus Group

Water-Energy Nexus Group conducts biophysical measurement and analysis using space satellites, geothermic, and hydrogeological techniques.


Assessing the potential for developing small hydropower (SHP) in Otsuchi Town
Source: Sawadate, 2017

  • ・2,171MWh (Possibly cover 4% of total demand in the town)
  • ・Possibly reduce CO2 emission of 2,026 t-CO2

Analyse effective potential energy production using water
Source: Fujii & Yamada

How much energy it is possible to produce per kg of water?


The study of the changes in river ecosystems caused by the changes in temperature environment
Source: Yamada et al., 2016

Hot spring drainage exhausted into rivers causes an increase in water temperature and the amount of phytoplankton, and creates a more suitable habitat for Nile Tilapia, a foreign species,
in terms of both food and temperature.


In order to analyze the water-energy nexus we are collecting groundwater samples from observation wells by depth for monitoring the groundwater level in Otsuchi.
We also calculated the potential of using groundwater as a source of thermal energy in Obama.
In Beppu, the subsurface environment, including flow of groundwater and hot springs, have been clarified by gravity measurement.



2) Water-Food Nexus Group

Water-Food Nexus Group conducts biophysical measurements and analyses using geochemical, coastal oceanographic, geophysical, hydrologic, and ecological methods, including isotopic tracers.


222Rn surveys to visualize SGD impacts
Source: Sugiomoto et al., 2017


Fluxes of water and nutrients into the bay
Source: Honda

The fraction of groundwater discharge in the water fluxes is very low compared to the river water,
but that of nutrient fluxes is high.


Effects of Submarine Groundwater on fish community
Source: Shoji

More fishes were recorded nearby submarine groundwater.


Relationship between submarine groundwater discharge and primary productivity
Source: Sugimoto et al., 2017

The Water-Food Nexus Group identified the location of submarine groundwater discharge at Obama and Beppu bays, and estimated the supply of nutrients conveyed from land to ocean by groundwater.



3) Stakeholder Analysis Group

Stakeholder Analysis Group conducts stakeholder and social network analyses, community surveys, and scenario planning based on sociology, economics, and behavioral science approaches.


Making Visible Social Networks of Stakeholders on groundwater (GW) resource in Obama City
Source: Kimura et al., 2016

Relationship between shared awareness and collaboraion for resource preservation?

Person who is interested in the same issue of water (e.g. quantity, quality) tend to be difficult
to collaborate eadh other because of possible appearance of difference of their opinion.


Preparation steps for Scenario Workshop
Source: Baba et al., 2016 (modified)


Stakeholder analysis of hot spring resources also clarified key issues related to future scenarios and social change.



4) Socio-culture of Resource Usage Group

Socio-culture of Resource Usage Group develops the science-policy interface based on its examination of the socio-cultural history of groundwater use.


Understanding groundwater resource of local society from the historical change of well use (Obama)
Source: Oh

Distribution of street wells on the map of the castle town in the Meiji era.
Red: Well Blue: Artesian well

Using "spring map" to share the data with stakeholders on flowing artesian wells: location, water temperature, electrical conductivity etc.

Questionnaire survey on public well use: purpose, resident area, usage frequency and access means.


For collaborative scientific activities with society, we designed lectures open to local citizens, also conducted a participatory survey on hot springs with local residences and stakeholders in Beppu.
We developed a web page, “spring map”, in order to share the results of our groundwater survey.
Such activities with local governments and private sector raised awareness of nexus issues.



5) Interdisciplinary Group

Interdisciplinary Group conducts the research with a mission to: i) identify research problems; and ii) determine the methods and/or create new discipline-free methods based on synthesizing and harmonizing team-based production, collected from individual scientists in different disciplines from each team in order to assess human environmental security.
In addition, the team further developed these approaches to incorporate non-scientific/-disciplinary views on the analyses; and iii) design a nexus system.


Develop integrated methods for ID & TD
Source: Endo et al., 2015


Ontology engineering
Source: Kumazawa et al., 2016


The Interdisciplinary Group will continue to develop integrated methods, including models of Beppu and Otsuchi, Japan, Pajaro Valley, California, and British Columbia, Canada.
This group is also designing a nexus system at the local scale to understand the complexity of the nexus system and establish a clear definition of the nexus concept.


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Expected results

  • To define the academic nexus concept.
  • To understand the complexity of the water-food-energy nexus system, and create visualizations of the linkages between events using ontology-based systems; to identify trade-offs and efficient resource uses; to define the academic concept of nexus, contribute to scenario planning, and design a nexus system.
  • Preparation of policy-relevant future nexus issue scenarios through collaboration with stakeholders.
  • Development of localized studies that can be up-scaled and produce policy-relevant results; improvement of networking with stakeholders and researchers addressing nexus issue nationally and internationally.

Co-Production activities

Accountability (To enhance scientific accountability to society)

Local seminar


Publishing books


Joint events with local stakeholders


Impact (To ensure the implementation of scientific knowledge in society)

  • Support for setting the Otsuchi Town Recovery and Implementation Plan including several research
  • Scientific advice regarding utilization of groundwater in Obama City, Fukui Prefecture
  • Support for setting the Saijo City, Ehime Prefecture Groundwater Reservation and Management Plan based on several research results

Humility (To include the knowledge, perspectives and experiences of extra-scientific actors in scientific knowledge production)


Hot springs measurement
with local stakeholders

Groundwater and food lecture in Obama City

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