- Yahaya Sani and Rayyan Muhammed Tanim
- DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21886869
- Global Academic and Scientific Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies (GASJMS)
The
Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus has emerged as a central analytical and policy
framework for managing interdependent resource systems in water-scarce
environments. This study examines the optimization of the WEF Nexus for
environmental sustainability in the semi-arid Sudano-Sahelian belt of Katsina
State, Northern Nigeria, where climate variability, rapid population growth,
land degradation, and weak cross-sectoral coordination intensify pressure on
water, energy, and food systems. Adopting a mixed-methods, cross-sectional
design, the study combines a structured household questionnaire administered to
384 respondents, determined using Cochran’s sample size formula, with key
informant interviews (KIIs) involving officials of relevant Ministries,
Departments and Agencies (MDAs), local government functionaries, and
community/traditional leaders across six purposively selected Local Government
Areas (LGAs). A four-layer conceptual framework integrating Hoff’s WEF Nexus
model, Ostrom’s Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework, and
polycentric governance theory guides the analysis of contextual drivers, nexus
interactions, institutional arrangements, and optimization strategies.
Quantitative data are analysed descriptively and inferentially using SPSS
(including correlation and regression), while qualitative data undergo thematic
analysis in NVivo, with findings triangulated across both strands. The study is
expected to reveal significant trade-offs and synergies among the three
sectors, fragmented institutional coordination among MDAs, low uptake of
integrated resource-efficient technologies, and a strong association between
polycentric governance capacity and nexus optimization outcomes. The paper
concludes with a set of governance-oriented recommendations and contributes a
replicable, context-specific analytical framework applicable to other semi-arid
regions of the Sudano-Sahelian zone and comparable dryland settings in
sub-Saharan Africa.
Keywords: Water-Energy-Food Nexus; environmental sustainability; semi-arid Nigeria; polycentric governance; institutional coordination; Sudano-Sahelian region.
