REXUS

Understanding climate-water-energy-food nexus and streamlining water-related policies

REXUS offers a comprehensive strategy for mainstreaming Water-Energy-Food-Climate (WEFC) Nexus thinking and promoting Resilient Nexus Systems. Resilience in REXUS stands for the capacity of systems to adapt quickly to changes and disruptions.

This is done through research and innovation activities that support multi-level and multi-scalar action in the domains of governance, policy development, decision making and implementation. REXUS:

• Puts people and institutions at the center of Nexus.
• Harnesses leading-edge participatory system dynamics modelling to include all relevant stakeholders that influence Nexus systems or are impacted by them.
• Models coupled resource flows for effective long-term planning and assessment of policies and adaptation strategies through scenario assessments.
• Explores the potential for advancing WEFC Nexus management using Remote Sensing, like for instance through climate risk assessments.
• Co-analyses bio-geophysical and socio-economic systems to identify effective ways for delivering the Sustainable Development Goals through a Nexus-centered process.
• Assesses to what extent the Nexus approach fits into both existing and emerging legal instruments and identifies diverse governance and institutional barriers to mainstreaming a Nexus approach.
• Builds on the hypothesis that Ecosystem-based Adaptation is a cost-effective approach to enhance the resilience of Nexus systems, i.e., demonstrates the connection between biodiversity and the Nexus, and delivers a framework to leverage Nature-based Solutions.
• Provides a wealth of practical tools, solutions, and roadmaps that support stakeholders (from local communities to countries) in the process of incorporating Nexus into their day-to-day routine activities and strategic decisions.

REXUS is being applied on the ground in 5 pilot areas: Greece (Pinios river basin), Colombia (Nima river watershed), 2 transboundary river basins in Italy/Slovenia (Isonzo-Soča), Lower Danube in Romania/Bulgaria/Serbia, and the entire peninsular territory of Spain. Cross-sector stakeholder partnerships are being formed, which include high-level representatives of Ministries and planning agencies, research institutions, as well as end-users, most importantly farmers faced with resource scarcity and the impact of climate change.

Role of DRAXIS:

DRAXIS is the technical coordinator of the program. It is responsible for providing relevant climate projections and carrying out climate risk assessments for the use cases. Moreover, it develops and maintains the REXUS Observatory, a platform empowered by Earth Observation and supporting the visualization of Nexus Indicators for the explored sectors. Finally, DRAXIS has undertaken the exploitation, sustainability, and business plans of the project’s results for maximizing the project impact after its end.