Research
Sustainable Bio-Loop Program 丨 サステイナブルビオループ寄付講座 丨 The University of Tokyo
Future Scenario Team
Towards a Sustainable
Future for Food,
Water, and Environment
Sustainability depends on the health and resilience of interconnected systems. Food production relies on sufficient water resources and thriving ecosystems. Water security, in turn, is influenced by sustainable land management, biodiversity, and a stable climate. Healthy environments underpin both food and water systems, while actions in any one area can create impacts across the others. Recognizing these interdependencies is essential for developing holistic, integrated solutions that support long-term sustainability.
The Food-Water-Environment Nexus
The nexus among these subsystems highlights interconnections between water, the environment, and food systems, emphasizing their mutual impacts and dependencies. The FWE nexus represents the interlinked systems of:
- Environment: biodiversity, land use, climate
- Water: surface and groundwater, virtual water
- Food: staple crops like rice, corn, wheat, and vegetables
Our Resarch Questions
What is the current state of the scenarios for the food, water, and environment?
What are direct and indirect drivers of the food, water, and environment and how these drivers entangle into nexus, as identified in the literature and by stakeholders?
How can the interconnections within the food–water–environment nexus be analyzed and addressed through model-based approaches in specific contexts?
What long-term scenarios can guide the transition toward desired outcomes within the food–water–environment nexus over the next 100 years?
Our Approach
Local Society Team
