Collaborative Research:NSF-NSFC:Improving FEW system sustainability over the SEUS and NCP: A cross-regional synthesis considering uncertainties in climate and regional development

The Food-Energy-Water (FEW) Nexus, from a global perspective, can be described as the interconnected resource systems of food, energy, and water. As the world's population expands to the expected 9 billion by 2050, there will be a need to balance difference resources across these three systems to obtain different user goals without putting undue strain on the ecosystems that provide these resources. The research groups from North Carolina State University, the University of Central Florida, and the International Food Policy Research Institute, in collaboration with research partners in China from Peking University and the China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, plan to develop a Regional FEW system (ReFEWS) modeling framework for the Southeast US (SEUS) and North China Plain (NCP) Regions and identify and quantify FEW sustainability indicators and metrics for these two regions. The researchers intend to use the ReFEWS modeling framework to help various FEW Nexus stakeholders and decision-makers plan regional development with projected policy and development scenarios considering climate uncertainties over the next 10 - 30 years. Such a modeling framework would benefit US agricultural and energy sectors in the southeastern region of the country by providing a tool to help predict the best development plans to counter both current and future FEW Nexus issues.

The interdisciplinary research groups from the US and China will consider two study regions, SEUS and NCP, which have similar portfolios of crop production, water usage, and energy consumption, but experience contrasting water and energy availability, regulations, and management practices. Using ReFEWS, a simulation-optimization modeling framework that links water, power, and crop production models, the principal investigators plan to identify adaptation pathways to maximize synergies and minimize impacts across FEW systems over the two regions. An allied goal is to perform a cross-regional synthesis that describes how changes to ReFEWS systems could impact both the agriculture sector and the prices of specific food commodities. The researchers will also engage with several FEW systems institutions and agencies for outreach and policy adaptations. The cross-disciplinary synthesis on two regions of national importance will provide information for the development of a white paper that will identify coping strategies and adaptation pathways for improving FEW system resilience.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.