Review of the food, water and biodiversity nexus in India

Abstract

Nexus research can help address issues arising at the intersection of traditionally independently treated management, policy, and research areas. While an extensive body of literature and reviews have been published on the water, food and energy nexus, biodiversity is less commonly featured in food and water nexus research, particularly in India. India hosts a large proportion of the world’s biological diversity. At the same time, it is facing one of the world's highest habitat conversion rates, among others for agricultural production, as well as increasing water scarcity. Hence, the integration of biodiversity considerations into food and water nexus management and governance decisions is particularly critical in India. Here, we explore linkages at the food, water and biodiversity (FWB) nexus in India using a systematic review of peer-reviewed literature. A total of 208 nexus linkages were extracted from 55 articles and mapped using a qualitative systems mapping approach. Results show a strong interdependence between all three nexus nodes, with biodiversity exhibiting the highest number of linkages across the system (137 linkages), followed by water (131 linkages) and food (120 linkages). Our results reflect the state-of-the-art of research on biodiversity at the food-water nexus in India and highlight the importance of better understanding the linkages and tradeoffs at India's FWB nexus.