FutureWater is pleased to announce the successful completion of the BONEX project (2022–2025), which focused on advancing the Water, Energy, Food, ecosystem (WEFe) nexus. The project aimed to bridge the gap between governance and practice by developing practical solutions to overcome barriers in WEFe-related policies and decision-making.
Over its three-year duration, BONEX delivered several key outputs:
- Development of a WEFe bridging framework
- Creation of diagnostic tools to support WEFe assessments
- Demonstration and testing of solutions in selected pilot projects
- Exploitation and upscaling of BONEX results
Together, these activities have significantly strengthened nexus-based thinking, practice, and decision-making across diverse contexts.
As part of the EU-PRIMA funded BONEX project, FutureWater successfully developed and piloted the REWEFe (Rapid Evaluation of the Water, Energy, Food, ecosystem nexus) tool. REWEFe enables users to quantitatively assess inter- and intra-sectoral linkages and evaluate the impacts of different scenarios (including interventions and projections) across the four WEFE sectors.
Developed within an MS Excel environment, REWEFe is designed for rapid and accessible assessments, providing clear visual outputs and robust scenario analysis to support integrated planning at multiple scales. The tool is:
- Quick and user-friendly
- Fully open access
- Flexible and easy to customise
- Designed to support scenario analysis and nexus-based decision-making
In collaboration with partners from seven Mediterranean countries (Italy, Portugal, Spain, Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia, and Morocco) REWEFe was co-developed and applied across the seven demonstration projects. These projects implemented a wide range of nexus solutions, including nature-based solutions (such as cover crops, riverbank restoration, and wetlands), solar-powered hydroponic systems, and improved nutrient management practices. The tool was used to conduct advanced WEFe analyses and to demonstrate the effectiveness of both individual and combined interventions, as well as their potential upscaling impacts. Multiple scenarios were developed for each demonstration project to support evidence-based decision-making.
In addition to the technical development and application of REWEFe, FutureWater produced a policy brief summarising key insights from the demonstration projects. The brief highlights how BONEX tools and methods can support multidisciplinary WEFE nexus assessments and inform integrated, cross-sectoral policy and planning.
