The Climate Nexus

Secure supplies of water, food and energy are essential to human dignity and well-being around the globe. Their vitality is dependent on healthy ecosystems supporting thriving biodiversity. All four elements are inter-related in that actions to govern one will automatically affect the others -- known as the Nexus. Global demand for the first three elements is increasing due to population growth and rising per capital incomes in developing countries, with steadily worsening results for the fourth.

The Nexus elements are also subject to increasing pressures from climate disruption in the form of more frequent and severe flooding, droughts, storms, pest outbreaks, and extreme heat. Nature's capacity to moderate these impacts is also being eroded by rapid, widespread land use development and associated pollution.

The combination of increasing demand, decreasing supplies, and rapidly changing hydro-climatic conditions at all points of the Nexus requires transformative policy responses that encompass economy, equity, social justice, fairness, and the environment. The Climate Nexus outlines these challenges and offers a pathway to resolving them.
About the Author: Dr. Jon O'Riordan is senior policy and research adviser to ACT (the Adaptation to Climate Change Team) at Simon Fraser University, providing science-based and strategic advice. Formerly a deputy minister of sustainable resource management and an assistant deputy minister of environment with the British Columbia government, Jon is currently an adjunct professor with the School of Community and Regional Planning at the University of British Columbia, where he teaches resource planning and governance. He is also a research associate with the Polis Project on Ecological Governance at the University of Victoria. Jon gained his PhD in geography at the University of British Columbia and has over 45 years of practical experience in land and resource planning, watershed governance and broader policies for supporting sustainability. Jon is the co-author of The Columbia River Treaty: A Primer (RMB, 2014). He lives in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Robert William Sandford is the EPCOR Chair of the Canadian Partnership Initiative in support of United Nations Water for Life Decade and an associate of the Centre for Hydrology, which is part of the Global Water Institute at the University of Saskatchewan. He is also a member of Canada's Forum for Leadership on Water; serves as water governance adviser and senior policy author for Simon Fraser University's Adaptation to Climate Change Team; and has been senior water policy adviser for the Interaction Council, a global public policy forum composed of more than thirty former heads of state. He is the author or co-author of numerous books on water issues, including The Columbia River Treaty: A Primer (RMB, 2014), Flood Forecast: Climate Risk and Resiliency in Canada (RMB, 2014), Saving Lake Winnipeg (RMB, 2013), Cold Matters: The State and Fate of Canada's Fresh Water (RMB, 2012), Ethical Water: Learning to Value What Matters Most (RMB, 2011) and Restoring the Flow: Confronting the World's Water Woes (RMB, 2011). He lives in Canmore, Alberta, Canada.

Deborah Harford is the executive director of ACT (the Adaptation to Climate Change Team) at Simon Fraser University. She is responsible for development of the initiative's pioneering vision and its unique partnerships with the public and private sectors, as well as overall coordination and management of the program. Deborah also directs and produces ACT's policy recommendations for effective adaptation strategies at all levels of government, as well as communication and promotion of the program's outcomes. Through her efforts, ACT has created networks between local, national and international climate change research practitioners, NGOs, industry representatives, all levels of government, First Nations groups and local communities. Deborah's work with ACT has gained her national recognition as a resource for those seeking information on climate change adaptation and practical coping strategies. Deborah is the co-author of The Columbia River Treaty: A Primer (RMB, 2014). She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.