The swift growth of cities worldwide poses significant challenges in ensuring a sufficient water, energy, and food supply. The Nexus has innovated valuable systems to address these challenges. However, a crucial issue is the potential for pollution resulting from these systems, which directly and indirectly impacts public health and the overall quality of urban living. This study comprehensively reviews the interconnected challenges of the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus and various forms of pollution in cities. The primary focus of this review article is to showcase the findings of WEF nexus studies regarding various pollutions across different geographical regions and spatial scales. It aims to examine the problems resulting from these pollutions, specifically their effects on human health and urban life. It also delves into the sources of pollution as identified in these studies. Furthermore, the article will highlight the proposed solutions from the research aimed at effectively mitigating pollution in each sector studied. This article is a systematic review which analyses research sources from the Scopus database. It extensively reviewed 2463 peer-reviewed published articles and focused explicitly on articles related to the WEF nexus that discussed pollution. Our study emphasizes, firstly, raising awareness about the crucial link between the WEF nexus, pollution, urban environments, and human health among policymakers and key stakeholders, including urban planners, industry partners and municipalities. This is to promote the development of policies that encourage sustainable practices and key stakeholders. Secondly, it evaluates WEF nexus and pollution research methods and findings, aiding in identifying research gaps technological innovation and potential, as well as enhancing decision-making. Lastly, it outlines future research challenges, providing a roadmap for researchers and policymakers to advance understanding in this domain and identify opportunities for resource efficiency and collaboration between different sectors.

Pollution within the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus has a profound impact on environmental health, human well-being, and the sustainability of essential resource systems. This study seeks to highlight the crucial link between pollution and the WEF nexus, aiming to inform authorities and policymakers to foster the development of sustainable policies. The research employed a comprehensive systematic review methodology, utilizing the Scopus database to identify 2524 relevant peer-reviewed articles published between 2015 and 2023. After scrutiny, 63 studies on pollution within the WEF nexus were selected. The analysis focuses on three dimensions: pollution sources, their interconnectedness, and feedback loops within the Water-Energy (WE), Energy-Food (EF), and Water-Food (WF) sub-nexuses. This study explores the intricate dynamics of air and water pollution, food waste, wastewater, and industrial emissions, uncovering their interconnected impacts and the risks they pose to sustainability and human health. The findings emphasize the need for integrated cross-sector policies and highlight the critical role of future research in enhancing resource efficiency, fostering cross-sector collaboration, and guiding sustainable policy development to address these interconnected challenges.

The Ardabil Plain is pivotal in the national agricultural sector and ranks among the leading agricultural and horticultural production provinces. The primary objective of this study is to enhance environmental sustainability in this critical and vulnerable region, particularly in the face of imminent droughts and climate change. The study examines the impacts of climate change on agriculture and tourism in the area. It puts forward suggestions for implementing sustainable practices to safeguard the well-being of the local population. The results indicate a 38% reduction in precipitation, especially in the autumn season, with a possible alteration in the timing and strength of rainfall. Also, a notable decline in production volume, particularly in a specific region of the Ardabil plain, has been observed. The Ardabil Plain currently produces 284,182 tons of wheat, with 204,980 tons from irrigated crops and 79,202 tons from rain-fed crops. However, the projected future scenario indicates a decrease in total wheat production to 209,196 tons, with 160,125 tons from irrigated crops and 49,071 tons from rain-fed crops. This decline in production is expected to lead to a total net income loss of approximately -$75,389,059, with -$45,095,663 attributed to irrigated crops and -$30,293,396 to rain-fed crops. The study findings suggest that the availability of water sources in certain regions may prompt a shift in farming land from the north to the south of the plain to promote environmental sustainability. This demographic change could have significant financial and social implications for the region's growth and prosperity. Moreover, increasing temperatures in the western and northern regions pose flood risks and uncomfortable travel conditions, particularly concerning given the reliance on tourism and potential unemployment consequences. It becomes imperative to adopt sustainable practices and manage resources effectively to ensure the region's resilience and prosperity in the face of environmental challenges. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2023-09-11-01 Full Text: PDF

Ardabil Plain, which holds significant political and economic importance in agricultural production in Iran, has faced various challenges including climate change, economic sanctions, and limited access to global trade. Ensuring food security has become a key priority for the region. The main objective of this research is to identify a suitable crop for this critical region with regard to future climate change conditions. This study employs a new framework of the system dynamics model (SDM) and the Hybrid Weighted Averaging (HWA) method to assess the Water–Energy–Food (WEF) nexus and resource sustainability in the Ardabil Plain under different climate change scenarios (RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5, and RCP 8.5). The research addresses current and future water challenges, emphasizing the need for additional energy and selecting optimal crops. Using the SDM, the study analyzes the impact of water supply fluctuations on agriculture, economic gain, and energy consumption from 2021 to 2050. The results indicate that barley is the most suitable crop for the Ardabil Plain in the near future, based on the overall ranking derived from the HWA method, which is as follows: barley > wheat > soybeans > potatoes > pears. The study highlights the significant challenges in energy supply for agriculture due to declining water levels and the increased force required by pumps to supply water to farms. These findings provide valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders to make informed decisions in addressing water scarcity and rising energy demands in the Ardabil Plain.

Drought is an occurrence that brings about significant changes to the structure of areas. Its influence is especially noticeable in important regions with dry and semi-dry weather patterns, leading to a range of difficulties including interruptions in food distribution systems, lack of water, health problems, economic declines, increased migration, and inadequate energy supply. The Ardabil plain, located in Asia and the northern-western region of Iran, plays a pivotal role in crop productions within an arid environment and holds significant political importance for the country. The main objective of this study is to enhance environmental sustainability in this critical and vulnerable region, particularly in anticipation of imminent droughts. The study focuses on examining the financial impacts on agriculture and selection a crop using the SWAT model, HWA method and climate scenarios under the RCP8.5 pathway for the future period (2040–2050). Results for the near future indicate a notable decline in rainfall of around 38 %, a reduction in wheat production by approximately 25 %, and an increase in temperature of around 30 %. At present, the Ardabil Plain produces a total of 284,182 tons of wheat, with 204,980 tons from irrigated crops and 79,202 tons from rain-fed crops. However, the projected future scenario indicates a decrease in total wheat production to 202,926 tons, with 153,855 tons from irrigated crops and 49,071 tons from rain-fed crops. This decline in production is expected to lead to a total net income loss of approximately -$139,372,437, with -$87,690,344 attributed to irrigated crops and -$51,682,092 to rain-fed crops. The comprehensive hierarchy of crop choices yielded by the HWA method is outlined as follows: barley holds a superior position, followed by wheat, soybeans, and potatoes. The study findings suggest that the availability of water sources in certain regions may prompt a shift in farming land from the north to the south of the plain to promote environmental sustainability.