Assessing food, water, and energy security in the Atlantic Forest region of Brazil through the nexus approach

Global agricultural production is on a trajectory to double by 2050 due to both increases in the global population and the dietary changes associated with growing incomes. This also means more pressure on water resources, as agriculture accounts for 70% of global water withdrawal, and for energy production as the whole food supply chain accounts for about 30% of total global energy consumption. Although there are ongoing discussions related to the sustainability of water, energy and food (WEF) sectors, the integration of all three are still rare and challenging. This paper presents a novel methodology framework based on accessible secondary data to evaluate the impacts of three rural practices - agroforestry, spring protection and pasture rotation - on the WEF nexus in Atlantic Forest, South-east of Brazil. The results of the business as usual scenario indicated concern regarding water security, particularly in relation to sewage treatment and water commitment. A comparable pattern was observed in energy security, where only two indicators exhibited positive performance in the analysis. Conversely, a scenario of reduced vulnerability was observed in food security, as evidenced by the indicators of food production, nutritional value, and annual gross revenue. However, in the scenarios proposed by experts the adoption of the rural practices that were assessed here can lead to consistent improvements in WEF security, evidencing the multifunctional capabilities of agriculture. Hence, the methodological framework presented here demonstrate its potential to be incorporated into decision-making processes to promote the multifunctionality of agriculture and sustainable use of rural areas. • We propose a WEF nexus-based methodology framework for integrated decision-making; • Landscape attributes and indicators reveal rural practices impacting WEF; • The use of secondary data proved to be efficient in generating results; • It was possible to identify the impact of the rural practices on the WEF nexus; • The methodology showed how agriculture conservation practices improve WEF security.