Critical Systems Heuristics for Sustainable Management of Iran's Water-Energy-Food Nexus

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

• Samira Ebrahimi
• Mohammad Reza Fathi
• Meisam Shahbazi

Department of Industrial Management and Technology, Faculty of Management and Accounting, College of Farabi, University of Tehran, Iran.

10.22067/jstinp.2025.91072.1130

Abstract

The Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus represents a critical framework for sustainable development, ensuring human survival and ecological balance amidst increasing resource pressures from population growth, urbanisation, climate change, and economic development. While many models aim to address this nexus, they often focus narrowly on specific sectors rather than adopting a comprehensive, holistic perspective. This study employs Critical Systems Heuristics (CSH), a reflective and emancipatory approach, to examine the systemic challenges and underlying assumptions within the WEF nexus in Iran. The research involved 25 experts from diverse fields—energy (n=6), water (n=5), food (n=4), academia (n=6), and systems (n=4)—selected through purposive sampling to ensure diverse perspectives. Using boundary critique, the study examines current realities (“is” states) and ideal visions (“ought” states) through twelve boundary questions that assess sources of motivation, power, knowledge, and legitimacy. Findings reveal fragmented decision-making structures, short-term planning approaches, and insufficient interdisciplinary collaboration as significant obstacles to sustainable resource management. While decision-making authority is concentrated in isolated governmental sectors, the study highlights the need for integrated management frameworks that align with long-term sustainability goals, emphasising public welfare, environmental preservation, and inclusivity. Additionally, the research uncovers a gap in leveraging relevant expertise, with reliance on politically influenced appointments over merit-based inclusions. The study advocates for systemic reforms, including interdisciplinary stakeholder engagement, the establishment of a unified governance body for the WEF nexus, legislative adaptations, and the integration of renewable energy and sustainable agricultural practices. These strategies aim to shift decision-making from short-term political gains to fostering resilience and equity for current and future generations. By addressing the socio-political, technical, and ecological dimensions of the WEF nexus, this research provides policymakers, stakeholders, and researchers with actionable insights, contributing to a more integrated and sustainable approach to resource management in Iran.

Keywords

• Alternative roofing
• Roof market Analysis
• Sustainability
• System dynamics
• Multi-criteria decision making

---

References

Biswas, A. K. 2004. Integrated water resources management: a reassessment: a water forum contribution. Water International, 29(2), pp. 248-256. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060408691775.

Dehghan Nayeri, M., Khazaei, M. and Alinasab Imani, F. 2018. Critical Systems Heuristics (CSH) to deal with stakeholders' contradictory viewpoints of Iran performance-based budgeting system. Industrial Management Journal, 10(3), pp. 429–454. [in Persian].

Dehghan Nayeri, M., Khazaei, M. and Alinasab Imani, F. 2021. Boundary judgments analysis of the beneficiaries in banking loan allocation. Industrial Management Journal, 13(1), pp. 27–52.

Dehghan Nayeri, M., Khazaei, M. and Alinasab-Imani, F. 2020. The critical heuristics of Iranian banking credit system: Analysis of the antithetical opinions of the beneficiaries. Systemic Practice and Action Research, 33, pp. 363–392. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11213-020-09524-x.

Di Martino, M., Avraamidou, S., Cook, J. and Pistikopoulos, E.N. 2021. An optimization framework for the design of reverse osmosis desalination plants under food-energy-water nexus considerations. Desalination, 503, pp. 114937. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2021.114937.

FAO. 2011. Energy-smart food for people and climate. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

FAO. 2014. Walking the nexus talk: assessing the water-energy-food nexus in the context of the sustainable energy for all initiative. Environment and Natural Resources Management Working Paper No. 58. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Garcia, D.J. and You, F., 2016. The water-energy-food nexus and process systems engineering: A new focus. Computers and Chemical Engineering, 91, pp.49–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compchemeng.2016.03.003.

Ghaedi, M., Foukolaei, P.Z., Asari, F.A., Khazaei, M., Gholian-Jouybari, F. and Hajiaghaei-Keshteli, M., 2024. Pricing electricity from blue hydrogen to mitigate the energy rebound effect: A case study in agriculture and livestock. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 84, pp.993–1003. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2024.08.241.

Gholian-Jouybari, F., Khazaei, M., Saen, R.F., Kia, R., Bonakdari, H., Hajiaghaei-Keshteli, M. and Ramezani, M., 2024. Developing environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies on evaluation of municipal waste disposal centers: A case of Mexico. Chemosphere, 364, p.142961. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.142961.

Hoff, H., 2011. Understanding the nexus.

Karnib, A., 2017. Water, energy and food nexus: The Q-Nexus model. Proceedings of the 10th World Congress of European Water Resources Association, Greece.

Khazaei, M., Hajiaghaei-Keshteli, M., Rajabzadeh Ghatari, A., Ramezani, M., Fooladvand, A. and Azar, A. 2023. A multi-criteria supplier evaluation and selection model without reducing the level of optimality. Soft Computing, 27(22), pp.17175-17188. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00500-023-08954-8.

Khazaei, M., Ramezani, M., Padash, A. and DeTombe, D. 2021a. Creating shared value to redesigning IT-service products using SYRCS; Diagnosing and tackling complex problems. Information Systems and e-Business Management, 19(3), pp. 957-992. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10257-021-00525-4.

Khazaei, M., Ramezani, M., Padash, A. and DeTombe, D. 2021b. The quantification role of BWM in problem structuring methods: SYRCS methodology. In: The International Workshop on Best-Worst Method, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 252-271. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89795-6_18.

Kondash, A., Herrera, I., Castellanos, E., Baker, J., Leiva, B., Van Houtven, G., Fuentes, G., Alfaro, G., Henry, C. and Wade, C. 2021. Food, energy, and water nexus research in Guatemala–A systematic literature review. Environmental Science and Policy, 124, pp. 175-185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2021.06.009.

Li, M., Fu, Q., Singh, V. P., Ji, Y., Liu, D., Zhang, C. and Li, T. 2019. An optimal modelling approach for managing agricultural water-energy-food nexus under uncertainty. Science of the Total Environment, 651, pp. 1416-1434. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.09.291.

Li, P.-C. and Ma, H.-w. 2020. Evaluating the environmental impacts of the water-energy-food nexus with a life-cycle approach. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 157, p. 104789. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.104789.

Lonbar, A. G., Hasanzadeh, H., Asgari, F., Naeini, H. K., Shomali, R. and Asadi, S. 2024. Prioritizing risk factors in media entrepreneurship on social networks: Hybrid fuzzy Z-number approaches for strategic budget allocation and risk management in advertising construction campaigns. arXiv preprint arXiv:2409.18976. Available at: https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.18976 .

Lu, S., Zhang, X., Peng, H., Skitmore, M., Bai, X. and Zheng, Z. 2021. The energy-food-water nexus: Water footprint of Henan-Hubei-Hunan in China. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 135, p.110417. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2020.110417.

Mirhosseini, S. S., Ramezani, M., Khazaei, M. and Azar, A. 2021. Exploring and analysing the risks and challenges of implementing ERP systems: critical system thinking. International Journal of Information Systems and Change Management, 12(3), pp.234–258. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJISCM.2021.120325.

Moreschi, L., Gagliano, E., Gallo, M. and Del Borghi, A. 2024. A framework for the environmental assessment of water-energy-food-climate nexus of crops: Development of a comprehensive decision support indicator. Ecological Indicators, 158, p.111574. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.111574.

Nayeri, M. D., Khazaei, M. and Abdolahbeigi, D. 2022. The drivers of success in new-service development: Rough set theory approach. International Journal of Services and Operations Management, 43(4), pp.421–439. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJSOM.2022.127465.

Proctor, K., Tabatabaie, S. M. and Murthy, G. S. 2021. Gateway to the perspectives of the Food-Energy-Water nexus. Science of the Total Environment, 764, p.142852. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142852.

Rai, P. K. 2023. Role of water-energy-food nexus in environmental management and climate action. Energy Nexus, 100230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nexus.2023.100230.

Ramezani, M., Azar, A. and Khazaei, M. 2021. Gap analysis through a hybrid method: Critical systems heuristics and best worst method. In: International Workshop on Best-Worst Method, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 272-286. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89795-6_19.

Ramezani, M., Khazaei, M., Gholian-Jouybari, F., Sandoval-Correa, A., Bonakdari, H. and Hajiaghaei-Keshteli, M. 2024. Turquoise hydrogen and waste optimization: A bi-objective closed-loop and sustainable supply chain model for a case in Mexico. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 195, p.114329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2024.114329.

Taghipour, A., Fooladvand, A., Khazaei, M. and Ramezani, M. 2023. Criteria clustering and supplier segmentation based on sustainable shared value using BWM and PROMETHEE. Sustainability, 15(11), p.8670. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118670.

Taghipour, A., Padash, A., Etemadi, V., Khazaei, M. and  Ebrahimi, S. 2024. Sustainable and circular hotels and the water–food–energy nexus: Integration of agrivoltaics, hydropower, solar cells, water reservoirs, and green roofs. Sustainability, 16(5), p.1985. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16051985.

Tian, P., Lu, H., Reinout, H., Li, D., Zhang, K. and Yang, Y. 2022. Water-energy-carbon nexus in China's intra and inter-regional trade. Science of the Total Environment, 806, p.150666. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150666.

Uen, T.-S. and Rodriguez, L. F. 2021. An optimal network design for sustainable waste-to-energy resource management. 2021 ASABE Annual International Virtual Meeting. https://doi.org/10.13031/aim.202100735.

Ulrich, W. 2005. A brief introduction to critical systems heuristics (CSH). ECOSENSUS project site

Wicaksono, A., Jeong, G. and Kang, D. 2019. Water–energy–food nexus simulation: an optimization approach for resource security. Water, 11(4), pp.667. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11040667.

Yuan, M.-H. and Lo, S.-L. 2022. Principles of food-energy-water nexus governance. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 155, pp.111937. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2021.111937.

Zhang, X. and Vesselinov, V.V. 2017. Integrated modeling approach for optimal management of water, energy and food security nexus. Advances in Water Resources, 101, pp.1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2016.12.017.