Water-energy-food nexus in international law: a legal analysis

The importance of the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus has been recognized in recent decades where the international community has sought to directly establish such connections through official documents and declarations. Nonetheless, from a legal perspective, the WEF nexus has not been sufficiently examined as lawyers and legal scholars have only recently started analyzing this matter. In this context, this chapter is seeking to answer the following questions: is it possible and helpful to regulate the WEF nexus under an international legal perspective? Which kind of rules can be established and how is it possible to strike a balance among diverging values and interests represented within the WEF nexus itself? This chapter will highlight that, although a global regulatory framework is ideal and would be effective, such a system needs to be combined with the inclusion of a specific provision involving transboundary water agreements. An additional legal document will be needed and should be adopted to tackle the WEF Nexus in detail.