WATER, ENERGY AND FOOD NEXUS INTERVENTIONS: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS IN MALAWI

Malawi faces mounting challenges in meeting the growing demand for food, water, and energy to satisfy the needs of a rapidly growing population. Relying on secondary data, the paper argues that while the existing policy initiatives have increased food production to a certain extent, the demand for water and energy has also increased, leading to degradation of the resource base, and contributing to an increase in water-related diseases. Poor sectoral coordination and institutional fragmentation have triggered the unsustainable use of resources and threatened the long-term sustainability of food, water, and energy security in the country, posing challenges to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the country. Consequently, this paper substantiates that a nexus approach can enhance understanding of the interconnectedness of the sectors and strengthen coordination among them. However, it requires a major shift in the decision-making process towards taking a holistic view, and development of institutional mechanisms to coordinate the actions of diverse actors and strengthen complementarities and synergies among the three sectors. The framework for cross-sectoral coordination and managing the nexus challenges is also suggested.

To feed its growing population, Malawi has pursued policies aimed at achieving national food self-sufficiency through production of staple crops.However, their objective relies on more intensive use of water, energy, and chemical inputs.These policies have contributed to increased food production, 14 although not necessarily a more nutritious diet, but at the cost of accelerated degradation of critical natural resources such as land, soil, and water, and serious environmental impacts including groundwater depletion, waterlogging, salinity of soil, water pollution, and biodiversity loss.Another example is the policy of subsidies which leads to overuse of water and energy and can even be counterproductive. 15Though it is true that energy subsidies can promote social objectives (when judiciously used), especially in case of the absence of social welfare mechanism for supporting the poor.However, subsidies end up lowering end-user prices.This will result in increased energy use and reduce incentives for sustainable energy use leading to inefficient consumption path which is unsustainable. 16egative environmental impacts can arise from intensive agriculture, e.g., waterlogging and salinization of soils and increased incidence of waterborne and water-related diseases.Because of the intensive energy use, food production has become increasingly vulnerable to changes in the energy availability and costs.The challenges of ensuring food, water, and energy security are further compounded by the potential impacts of climate change on water resources and on energy use, and by increasing competition for land and water for bioenergy and hydropower.Food choices and agricultural practices influence water and energy demand.Similarly, water, energy, and land demand are influenced by different policies, for example those relating to agriculture, energy, land-use, food, fiscal, credit, prices, and subsidies. 17These relationships are dynamic.
However, policies in Malawi, as in many developing countries, are generally narrowly sectoral, with a disconnect between those for food, water, and energy.By ignoring the underlying interdependence of the three sectors, policies sometimes have the unintended consequence of shifting a crisis from one sector to another.Additionally, policies and actions which are taken in <https://doi.org/10.33002/jelp01.02.01> Water, Energy and Food Nexus Interventions: Implications for the Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in Malawi isolation, without considering their impact on other sectors, can aggravate resource constraints.
With competing demand for resources and increasing environmental pressure, an important challenge facing Malawi is how to minimize conflicts among the three main sectors of food, water, and energy, and promote synergies in policies and instruments.At present, policies and instruments are developed without adequate consideration for the cross-sectoral consequences.The lack of connection between sectoral agencies has created an imbalance between the sectors in terms of demand and supply.Conducted cross-sectoral efforts have remained linear, such as taking into account water for food or energy for food.While the agricultural policy framework has contributed to an increase in food grain production, it imposes a huge pressure on water and energy resources, which in turn has weakened the sustainability of the agriculture.
The connections between macro-economic and sectoral policies and cross-sectoral impacts are not internalized into national policies.The crosssectoral externalities have placed additional pressure on land, water, energy, and other scarce resources and undermined the long-term sustainability of water, energy and food security.The major challenge therefore facing Malawi (as other developing countries) is how to decouple food production from water and energy use intensity and environmental degradation to make it sustainable.The planned Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of zero poverty (SDG1), ending hunger and food insecurity (SDG 2), ensuring water security (SDG 6), access to modern energy (SDG 7), sustainable economic growth (SDG 8), sustainable consumption and production (SDG12), and conservation, protection, and sustainable use of marine and terrestrial resources and ecosystems (SDGs 14 and 15) are closely interlinked and success in achieving them will depend heavily on ensuring the sustainable use and management of water, energy, land (food), and other natural resources. 18These factors are not only interdependent, they also both reinforce and impose constraints on one another.
The goals are interlinked in different ways.Achieving the goal of food security and ending hunger, for example, depends strongly on achieving the goal of water and energy security which is needed to ensure water and energy is available for food production.Similarly, the ability to achieve the goal of water and energy security will largely depend on the ways in which food is produced, processed, transported, and consumed.Enhancing the efficiency of water, energy, and land use can ease the trade-offs and resource conflicts.Ensuring resource use efficiency, however, will not be sufficient to sustain water, energy and food security in the long run unless natural resources and ecosystems are conserved and used sustainably.The natural resource base and health of the ecosystem set the conditions for sustainable production.Finally, ensuring healthy lives cannot be achieved by achieving a particular goal; it depends on multiple goals ranging from ensuring food, water, and energy to inclusive growth, healthy ecosystems, and protection of the environment.Like the food, water, and energy nexus, the SDGs are closely interlinked.Thus water, energy and food security, and the SDGs need to be addressed in an integrated way in Malawi.
Despite the inherent interconnectedness of water, energy and food, little effort has been made in Malawi to recognize the interdependencies of resource use, policies, and institutional or regulatory arrangements.Thus the present research will specifically: (1) demonstrate how the SDGs 2, 6, and 7 with their respective targets are interconnected; (2) present a preliminary pilot platform to assess the impact of the water targets on the food and energy targets in Malawi; (3) explore possible trade-offs for implementing different levels of the proposed water, energy, and food national plans; (4) propose interventions within the three national plans (social, policy, technical), at different scales, which have the potential of reducing the existing competition and ensure a more sustainable resource allocation; (5) demonstrate how such interventions must be hinged on effective stakeholder mapping and capacity development in order to be effective.

CASE STUDY
Malawi has a primarily rural population, with only 16 percent of the population residing in urban areas.It also has a relatively youthful population; 44 percent of the population is under 15 years. 19Malawi has benefited from decades of peace and political stability but is susceptible to climate shocks.The 2015-2016 growing season was negatively affected by El Niño, which caused late rains and prolonged dry spells. 20alawi's economy is highly dependent on agriculture with 80 percent of the population being smallholder famers.Agriculture contributes about 30% to the GDP and accounts for 90% of total foreign exchange earnings Malawi's GDP growth rate is expected to improve if weather patterns continue to improve and remain favourable for agricultural production. 21owever, despite projected economic improvement, 66 percent of the  continues to live on less than US$1.90 a day. 22Currently, Malawi ranks 143 out of 157 countries in progress toward meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 23According to the most recent DHS (2015-2016), 16 percent of female deaths are related to pregnancy or childbearing, and 1 in 16 children will die before the age of 5, with two-thirds of these deaths occurring during infancy. 24bout 85% of Malawi's human population lives in rural areas where agriculture is the main source of livelihood. 25Agriculture's contribution to foreign exchange and GDP has been driven primarily by tobacco, the country´s main cash crop and foreign exchange earner.Tea and sugar are the other important export crops.Domestically, maize is the predominant food crop, grown by nearly all smallholders throughout the country, and contributes to more than half of the national calorie uptake.Given the importance of the crop in the Malawian diet, maize production is vital to the general welfare of the population and is therefore an important social and political variable. 26alawi is generally rich in both surface and ground water resources.Surface water resources comprise a network of rivers comprising North and South Rukuru and Songwe in the Northern Region, Linthipe, Bua, Dwangwa in the Central Region, and Shire and Ruo in the Southern Region.Groundwater resources are mainly found in two key aquifer systems: the extensive but low yielding Pre-Cambrian Basement Complex aquifer, and the high yielding alluvial aquifer along the shores of Lake Malawi and Lake Chilwa, and in the Upper and Lower Shire Valley.But despite the availability of abundant water resources in the country, only 2.3% of total arable land is irrigated, and the largest proportion (52%) is estate or plantation farms, mostly growing sugarcane and tea. 27Smallholder irrigation, which comprises 48% of irrigated land, remains virtually underdeveloped.Shire River is the outlet of Lake Malawi and accounts for about 98% of the country's hydropower generating capacity, which makes the country's industrial development almost entirely dependent on the Shire River for its energy. 28In this regard, reduced flows into Lake Malawi by the tributary rivers have a direct effect on flows in the Shire River, and a consequent bearing on reduced energy generation capacity.In recent years, intermittent hydropower generation has been attributed mainly to droughts and floods episodes.Water flow disruptions in the Shire and its tributaries have been exacerbated by siltation caused by poor and unsustainable land husbandry practices and deforestation taking place in the catchment area, and the infestation of waterweeds, such as water hyacinth. 29ish is the main source of animal protein in Malawi.About 70% of total human population derive their animal protein uptake from fish, most of which are harvested from Lake Malawi.A large percentage of the population of people living along the shores of Lake Malawi, Lake Chilwa and Lake Malombe depend on fish resources for the sustenance of their livelihoods. 30or the past decade or so, droughts and floods have been the major climatic hazards affecting fisheries production and have contributed immensely towards the declining or even drying up of water bodies, resulting in low fish catches and loss of biodiversity.Floods have been responsible for the destruction of fish ponds, whilst droughts have led to low water levels in the main water bodies and reservoirs, or even the drying up of rivers and lakes.For example, the drying up of Lake Chilwa in 1995 resulted in total loss of fish stocks. 31he totality of the calamities highlighted above has led to extreme food shortages in Malawi, and it is against this background that the Government is committed to redress the resultant effects for the country to meet both its food security and nutrition as well as water needs for its rapidly growing population.

Poor Catchment Conservation
At the moment, sedimentation is a serious problem that rivers and lakes in Malawi are experiencing.With increased catchment degradation, large volumes of sediments washed down from catchments get deposited in rivers and lakes, thereby clogging water treatment works for domestic water supply, irrigation canals, and hydropower generation infrastructure. 32alawi has more than 56 gravity fed water supply schemes and more than 750 small earth dams, four large dams; namely, Lunyangwa Dam in Mzuzu, Kamuzu Dams I and II in Lilongwe, and Mulunguzi Dam in Zomba.But due to excessive siltation, some of these gravities fed schemes and small earth dams have stopped functioning.Of late, water supply to Lilongwe City has tremendously declined due to the siltation of Kamuzu Dams I and II caused by destruction of Dzalanyama Forest Reserve, the main source of the rivers that feed into the two dams.The challenge of poor catchment conservation

Food Insecurity
Food insecurity in Malawi (which is mainly an agrarian society), has been significant and some of the drivers of hunger are weather associated factors like flooding, drought and erosion. 34For instance, in 2012/13 about 1,630,000 people relied on food relief while in 2013/14 about 1,154,000 people relied on food hand-outs. 35

Poor Irrigation Development
There is a growing national demand for water resources particularly during the dry season.This has resulted in calls for better Water Resources Management (WRM) and its development to ensure that water resources do not limit social and economic development and poverty reduction in the country.Over the years Malawi has been facing problems of water scarcity due to climate change, environmental degradation, and lack of storage and reservoirs.
The country is divided into 17 Water Resources Areas (WRAs), which are subdivided into 78 Water Resources Units (WRUs).There are two major drainage systems: The Lake Malawi system, which is part of the Zambezi River basin.The Shire River is the only outlet of the lake with an average flow of 400 m/s of water. 38The government placed a high priority on irrigation and WRM development in order to ensure food and water security at household level, for example, through water harvesting, improved water catchment and management.The department of WRM in MoAIWD has constructed over 25 small to medium multipurpose dams in the 24 districts across the country to make water resources readily available for multiple uses. 39y 2010 the demand for water in Malawi was already greater than the supply in many WRAs with the situation predicted to worsen in the future. 40n addition, data for 17 WRAs shows a deficit of 110 Ml/d in 2010 increasing to 170 Ml/d by the year 2020 and worsening to 956 by the year 2035. 41otwithstanding the drought related decline in crop production, irrigation in Malawi is under-developed.According to the Irrigation Master Plan and Investment Framework (2015), Malawi has an irrigation potential of about 408,000 hectares.At present, however, only 104,463 hectares have been developed, representing 26% of potential irrigable land.Out of this, about 52,144 ha (49.8%) are under smallholder farmers while 52, 499 (50.2%) ha are under commercial estates. 42The area under irrigation is low partly due to low levels of financing, high cost of irrigation investment, low levels of economic rate of return and unfavourable financing mechanisms prevailing in the country.On average, it costs about US$10,000 to develop one ha for irrigation.It also takes about 3 to 5 years for an investor to start realizing profits (economic rate of return) from irrigation investment.

Energy Insecurity
Given its relatively small landmass, large (and growing) population and heavy dependence on fuel wood, Malawi is an increasingly energystressed country.The National Energy Policy estimates that 93% of total energy demand is met by biomass energy.Households consume 84% of the total primary energy.A staggering 99% of household energy is supplied by 38 FAO (n 25). 39MoAIWD (n 22). 40ibid. 41(AGWA, 2015).biomass.This, with increasing population growth, is exerting significant pressure on the country's forest resources, leading to forest degradation and deforestation at a rate of 2.6% per year.87% of the population uses firewood and 8% charcoal to satisfy their thermal energy needs.Less than 7% of the 14 million people are connected to the national grid. 43The connected demand far exceeds the supply of 320 MW installed generation capacity.Thus, load shedding is frequent.Less than 2.3% of the total national energy demand is met by electricity, 3.5% by liquid fuels and gas, and 1% by coal. 44gure 2: Projected increases in total average water demand (Ml/day) from 2010 baseline. 45ectricity and gas are only intermittently available and considered to be too expensive for cooking; for example, electricity tariffs were raised by 84% in 2013.Therefore, firewood and charcoal are the major cooking fuels, even in the urban areas. 46Most of the charcoal is consumed in urban areas -representing 46% of total demand.Unlike in many neighbouring countries, firewood is still available in all four major cities of Malawi (Lilongwe, Blantyre, Zomba and Mzuzu) as well as in the district capitals.Firewood provides over 50% of the urban cooking fuel and nearly 100% in the rural areas. 47ven in urban areas, firewood is mainly used in open three-stone fires.Therefore, there is a potential to introduce convenient affordable portable firewood stoves in urban areas and shift eventually some parts of the cooking activities currently done with charcoal to a less primary-energy intensive fuel source, meaning un-carbonised firewood.Charcoal in Malawi is mostly unsustainably produced from live trees: over 60% of the charcoal is made from wood originating from protected Forest Reserves and National Parks; even firewood is unsustainably collected. 48he Maplecroft's Climate Change and Environment Risk Atlas shows that Malawi is increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.According to the new Climate Change Vulnerability Index (CCVI), there are 30 countries at 'extreme risk' worldwide.Malawi moved fast from position 15 in 2011 up to number 9 on this list. 49This explains why the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Management is supporting the initiative to promote energy efficient biomass appliances like cookstoves to reduce the quantity of solid biomass required for preparing a meal.50

CURRENT CROSS SECTORAL POLICIES ON WATER, ENERGY AND FOOD IN MALAWI
This section assesses the trends and issues in food, water, and energy security in Malawi and their interconnected challenges.It begins by examining food security policies, followed by the sections showing how policy interventions in one sector have engendered knock-on negative externalities in others, and increased pressures on their sustainability.

Food Security Policies
In the attempt to harmonize policies, the government reviewed the various national development strategies and agricultural related legislation and policies and produced the Agricultural Policy Framework (APF).The APF summarizes the objectives of agricultural development, strategies and policies that will be pursued to achieve both stated and commonly perceived agricultural objectives. 52The purpose of the APF was to increase agricultural productivity so as to ensure food security and sustainable agricultural growth and development.
The Malawi Agricultural Policy framework and the MGDs are consistent with the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAAPD) in terms of objectives of agricultural development and the key areas of focus in order to achieve sustainable development. 53The Agricultural Sector Wide Approach process (ASWAp) is a path that Malawi has chosen to align its agricultural development agenda with the CAADP process.The ASWAp has five broad focus areas called priority pillars; namely, (i) Food security and risk reduction, (ii) Agribusiness and Market Development, (iii) Sustainable Land and Water Management, (iv) Research, Technology and Dissemination and (v) Institutional strengthening and capacity building. 54he ASWAp is an investment framework that will guide government and development partners in the implementation of result-oriented priority programmes in the agricultural sector.The ASWAp is also a programme approach to development that will broaden ownership by government over decision making on policy, strategy and spending, increase coherence between sectoral policies, reduce transaction costs through the use of government procedures and strengthen national institutions. 55alawi needs substantial increases in its agricultural growth rate if it is to significantly reduce poverty and lay the foundation for any kind of structural transformation that will benefit a large portion of the population.(MoAIWD, 2009). 54ibid. 55ibid.
of 6% per annum for African countries tasked to find ways to achieve this target.The ASWAp is therefore using a minimum target of 6% growth in the agricultural sector as recommended by the CAADP.
The GoM adopted a National Irrigation Policy and Development Strategy (NIPDS) in June 2000.The NIPDS, supported by an Irrigation Act passed in 2001, states that GoM will assume the role of facilitator of sustainable irrigation development in areas having potential, using a participatory approach, and will embark on developments only if the smallholder farmers in the area request such development and meet the criteria for sustainable development.The NIPDS aims to: (i) identify areas with irrigation potential; (ii) encourage private sector development of irrigated agriculture (estates and commercial farms); (iii) assist smallholders to develop and manage their own self-help irrigation schemes; (iv) transfer management of existing government schemes to their beneficiaries; (v) assist informal sector irrigation; (vi) enhance national capacities for irrigation development; (vii) conduct research in irrigation technology; and (viii) promote the use of both simple and advanced irrigation. 56alawi's Farm Input Subsidy Program (FISP) has shaped the country's development and agricultural policy the most.This national program began in 2005 after the end of several maize input subsidy programs from the 1990s and severe droughts early in the following decade. 57Since its inception, its expenditures have accounted for more than 60 percent of Malawi's agricultural budget.FISP aims to enhance food security through improving agricultural productivity by increasing maize production, promoting household food security, and increasing income 58 by decreasing the costs of fertilizer and improved maize seed for poor smallholder farmers. 59The program targets almost half of all Malawian farmers.Targeting effectiveness in FISP and other programmes has been widely studied and discussed.Over the life of the programme, changes in area targeting have resulted in more equitable distribution of input vouchers per household, but there have been limited changes in targeting criteria and processes at beneficiary level.Broad beneficiary targeting criteria have allowed wide variations in their application at community level, resulting in biases against receipt of subsidized inputs by poorer people.Widespread and increasing redistribution and 'sharing' of coupons has reduced this bias but increased the likelihood of poorer recipients receiving fewer coupons than less-poor recipients.There have also in some years been gender biases against receipt 56 ibid. 57(Dorward et al. 2008 of coupons and access to subsidized fertilizers by female headed households. 60n the one hand, an increase in food production is likely to entail a higher demand for water.This decreases water availability indirectly as well as increase health risks and waterborne diseases. 61On the other hand, given the definition of water security by UN-Water, which emphasizes "acceptable quality water" as a dimension of water security, fertilizer subsidies may directly influence water security. 62Mineral and chemical fertilizer can be washed away by rain into rivers and lakes and cause eutrophication, which drastically increases algae.Moreover, extensive use of fertilizer can pollute ground and drinking water. 63Therefore, FISP may have direct and indirect impacts on water security.A direct relationship between energy security and fertilizer exists as the production of ammonia and nitrogen fertilizer requires energy in the form of natural gas.Since Malawi is a net importer of fertilizer, the production of nitrogen does not directly affect energy security in Malawi; however, analysing the potential effects of FISP on energy security at the national level, one can find indirect linkages through higher agricultural output, potentially leading to economic growth and higher energy demand.

Water Security Policies
Despite its significant water resources, Malawi often experiences droughts with periods of unreliable and poorly distributed rainfall.This has severely affected crop production which often results in families running out of food by November each year.The vulnerable areas tend to be those with average rainfall amounts of less than 1000 mm. 64In these areas, many of which are located in the South of the country, the variability of the rainfall is higher with actual useful amounts available to the crops being masked by the average figures. 65he Ministry of Agriculture and Water Development formulated the National Water Policy (2004) to strengthen and harmonize issues of water resources management and utilization to guide the country in the sustainable use of water.Among its strategies, the policy ensures that the relevant institutions are provided with the relevant information on floods and droughts; and formulation of mitigation measures to reduce the impact of climate change and variability as a means for disaster preparedness and management; but also promoting coordination with other institutions on disaster management.The Water Works Act (1995)  and peri-urban water supply to parastatal bodies established under its provisions.The act made provisions for the control, conservation, apportionment and use of water resources of Malawi. 66 With the acceleration of population growth and repeated droughts over the past decades, Malawi is expanding its support for irrigation. 67In Malawi a total area of 104,000 hectares is irrigated. 68Since 1994 the irrigated area has increased more than four times. 69In several areas of Malawi, the irrigation boom is accompanied by the transfer of irrigation management from the government to farmers.Stakeholder participation in irrigation management is expected to encourage sustainable operations by inducing a sense of ownership and responsibility among farmers.Ideally, farmers would plan, build, maintain, and manage their community's irrigation scheme.This transfer of ownership and management from the government to farming communities, called Irrigation Management Transfer (IMT), is rife with challenges and has not yet been entirely successful. 70n 2010, Malawi began promoting the Green Belt Initiative (GBI), which is a large-scale irrigation policy for smallholders and commercial farmers to use Malawi's water resources, predominantly Lake Malawi.The Malawian government has offered investors agricultural land near the country's three biggest lakes and perennial rivers to install irrigated agriculture on 1 million hectares by relocating villages.71 The initiative has been aimed at higher agricultural output of food and cash crops with the goals of increasing macro-and microlevel food security and decreasing poverty.Through subsequent increases in agricultural and nonagricultural growth, it has been found that greater diversification in the agricultural sector and the rest of the economy results in reductions in poverty as well as caloric and nutritional deficiencies.This implies that the GBI has a large potential to increase food security at the macro-and microlevels.
The initiative directly improves water security by increasing water access.Most irrigation schemes are located near Lake Malawi, which could decrease the lake's water levels and water flowing out of rivers, making it difficult to maintain sufficient water levels to produce hydro energy.

Energy Security Policies
The Government of Malawi has developed a number of strategies in the energy sector, including power sector reform, rural electrification, biomass energy and renewable energy. 72The National Energy Policy (NEP) was approved in 2003 under the remit of Department of Energy Affairs (DoEA); as part of the NEP, a Renewable Energy Framework was launched, to bring more coherence to renewable energy developments. 73The Power Sector Reform Strategy (PSRS) approved by the Government of Malawi in 2003, provided for the unbundling of Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM) and private sector participation via long-term concessions in transmission and distribution and entry of Independent Power Producers (IPPs) for new generation capacity.Consistent with these strategies, a set of legislation was approved by the Parliament in 2004, including the Energy Regulation Act, an Electricity Act, a Liquid Fuels and Gas Act, and a Rural Electrification Act.
As part of the reform process, the Government announced that it intends to revise the electricity market structure and the role of ESCOM in the market (particularly the question of multiple licenses held by ESCOM) by revising the Electricity Laws.To this end, the Government will put in place two enabling policy instruments: (i) a Feed-in-Tariff policy, to cover small hydro, biomass and wind resources and (ii) a Standard Power Purchase Agreement framework, to provide clear guidelines on the scope, duration and operational conditions of an IPP contract.A review of the Malawi FIT policy revealed that there were fundamental challenges with the policy which made it rather difficult to attract independent power producers (IPP) thereby frustrating the policy initiative.The most notable challenge with the policy included its lack of stakeholders' participation during policy development.MERA was alleged to have hired a policy consultant who prepared the policy by copying and pasting the Kenyan FIT policy of 2010 without, making relevant modifications to suit the Malawi socio-economic condition.Other challenges with the policy include: Lack of technical expertise, Policy funding, Low end-user tariff being charged by ESCOM utility, Public willingness to pay, Political interference, Grid capacity and Low tariff. 74s part of the operationalization of the 2004 energy sector legislation, the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) was formed and the predecessor energy sector regulatory bodies, the National Electricity Council and the Petroleum Control Commission, were dissolved.MERA's role includes inter alia (i) reviewing tariff applications from ESCOM and recommending tariff changes to GoM; (ii) granting licenses for generation and distribution operators; and (iii) arbitrating commercial disputes that arise under the 2004 energy legislation. 75he government recognizes that the power sector is a key constraint to Malawi's economic growth.The objective of the MGDS was to reduce the number and duration of blackouts, increase access to reliable and affordable electricity in rural areas and other targeted areas, and improve coordination between the needs for energy for households and those of other high growth sectors such as tourism and mining. 76alawi is heavily reliant on biomass for its cooking energy requirements, especially firewood and charcoal, which account for 95% of national energy requirements for cooking. 77The growing demand for charcoal and wood fuel has been a primary factor in the widespread exhaustion of woodlots across Malawi and is thus an increasingly critical development issue in Malawi. 78 The impacts are multi-sectoral: deforestation is resulting in soil fertility degradation, erosion and river siltation, which in turn undermine subsistence livelihoods, increase flood risks and damage hydro-power infrastructure (World Bank, 2011). 79he second MGDS II for the period 2011-2016 were announced in 2011.In an attempt to minimize the use of biomass fuels the government undertook a number of initiatives: the Program for Biomass Energy Conservation (ProBEC) which promoted the use of clay stoves to save fuel; the Promotion of Alternative Energy Sources Project (PAESP) in 2007 to promote non-traditional fuels for cooking and heating to reduce environmental degradation; and a National Sustainable and Renewable Energy Programme (NSREP) which promoted renewable energy technologies in Malawi. 80 The Malawi Rural Electrification Project (MAREP) has also been established with the primary aims of reducing the large unsustainable wood consumption and improving the dependability of imported oil and coal.The Rural Electrification Act of 2004 is the Malawian Act that provides for the promotion, funding, management and regulation of rural electrification in Malawi.It came into force in March 2004. 81

ANALYSIS OF THE CURRENT W.E.F. NEXUS STRATEGIES IN MALAWI
In line with the UN-SDGs, the following long term (beyond 2020) measures have been proposed (among others) by the Government of Malawi to address issues of water, energy and food insecurities holistically and in an integrated manner: 82 1) Increasing agricultural productivity, thereby reducing pressure on forest resources and increasing energy access and associated economic development goals; 2) Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all; 3) Promoting climate smart agriculture; 4) Promoting soil and water conservation technologies; 5) Use of improved cook stoves and fuel-switching in the household energy sector.Also, high dependence on traditional biomass, hydropower and rain-fed agriculture increases vulnerability to climate change in Malawi 5) Improving access to water and the production of hydro energy 6) Establishing synergies between expanded biofuels production and reduction in traditional biomass use to promoting low-carbon pathways while also improving energy access and stimulating agricultural and rural development.
In addition, the Government of Malawi has welcomed the iSDG -a simulation model for the effective implementation of the UN-SDGs.The model demonstrates clear sectoral interlinkages and provides a platform for trade-offs and synergies in implementation of activities in Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).It is also an instrument for policy reviews and a framework or tool which could also facilitate effective alignment and coordination of donor support and interventions.To translate good simulation results to reality, it is important to ensure that an effective framework for operationalization exists.
Although existing policies have been able to increase food production, this has come with huge environmental, social, and economic costs and threatens the long-term sustainability of agriculture and food security as well as achieving the UN-SDGs in Malawi.For example, the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP) in Malawi which was popular for its distribution of inputs (including fertilisers) to resource poor farmers, 83 was criticized for its adverse impact on water which could cause eutrophication. 84The WEF nexus may have been inferred in the long-term goals of Malawi, but up till now, the strategies to achieve water, energy and food security are still from the platforms of 'silos' as the interdependencies are not given due attention.For instance, it is clear that water and energy have traditionally been interlinked in Malawi through hydropower plants and large multipurpose 82 Government of Malawi (n 68). 83A typical FISP beneficiary package comprised four vouchers.Two were used to purchase fertiliser (basal and top dressing) and the other two were used to purchase seed (maize and legume). 84 dams.However, new interactions have emerged between water, energy and agriculture sectors that are yet to be properly understood and explored. 85rop production now increasingly relies on energy consuming groundwater pumps to meet irrigation needs; energy use in pumping and farm operations accounts for a significant source of energy consumption. 86This link between energy, irrigation water and agriculture needs to be investigated with improved data collection and policy action.For systems that are expected to function for decades to come, the implications of water and of energy must be evaluated if future water supplies get affected due to climate change or face disruptions in flow across national boundaries.Managing each resource separately can lead to decisions that seemingly improve supply in one sector, but in reality, create problems in others.If the linkages are incorporated in policy evaluation, then unintended consequences may be avoided while multiple problems may simultaneously get addressed. 87he existing policies and regulatory frameworks were developed without considering the cross-sectoral consequences and advancement as agencies worked in isolation.The current resource utilization and management style is unsustainable because of the siloed approach used in the different sectors. 88The lack of coordination and poor inter-sectoral collaborations in Malawi contributes to the unbalanced resource management history of the country.For example, the introduction of the cook-stove in Malawi which uses biomass energy source more efficiently and emits less greenhouse gas are not considered in the water and energy policies as each sector is ignorant of the advancement and challenges of other sectors. 89The seeming disconnects between the water, energy and food sectors has resulted in the cross-sectoral externalities being ignored and a failure to take into account social, economic and environmental costs.However, strong engagement among the water-energy-food sectors can improve policy and consequently livelihood.
In light of the foregoing, a policy framework will be proposed for the effective operationalizing of the above long term (WEF) goals in Malawi, projecting that the nexus model will be the most optimized model not only for achieving the goals, but also, can set forth the journey for UN-SDGs.
The framework below represents the relationship between SDG Malawi Vision 2020 and the WEF Framework.Enabling conditions for horizontal and vertical policy coherence of the WEF Nexus initiatives post 2020 in Malawi includes institutional capacity building, political will, change agents and awareness-raising.This can be realized if the nexus is addressed coherently across all scales through multilevel governance.
The framework above has been analysed in the context of "Risk Analysis", reckoned with.Thus, unless risk is not fully comprehended, the WEF linkages would poorly be understood hence policy making will miss

IMPLEMENTING THE NEXUS APPROACH: RECOMMENDATIONS
A review of selected published articles on the WEF nexus clearly indicates that opportunities exist to implement the nexus approach at different scales, that is, at national, regional, and local levels, provided there is recognition of the need, understanding of the extent of interconnections and their consequences, and willingness to reform sectoral policies and strategies toward more integrated and cost-effective planning, decisionmaking, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.A nexus approach facilitates better understanding of the complex and dynamic interrelationships.Effective cross-sectoral consultation mechanisms are therefore needed to ensure the development of concerted efforts to address this WEF security issue, and to make sure that decisions are taken as part of an integrated, long-term, and multisectoral strategy.The following (adopted) areas of interventions are therefore recommended in order to promote the adoption of a nexus approach in planning and decision making in Malawi: Involvement of stakeholders to build awareness of and capacity for the interconnected nature of the elements of the WEF nexus, share ways to minimize trade-offs, explore synergies, and suggest actions for changing behaviours with regard to the nexus and other actors whose well-being relies on services and products associated with elements of the nexus.This includes community-level empowerment using core resources to focus on more sustainable consumption. 91mprovement of policy development, coordination, and harmonization to account for trade-offs and build on the increased interconnectedness of WEF.Part of this process is promoting, identifying, and eliminating contradictory policies. 92Despite the strong linkages among Water, Energy and Food, a continuity of approach in the developmental sector (Academia & Practitioners) over the decades, has always been in the "silos".To maximize WEF in its output from resource perspective, a mechanism of awareness on part of policy makers is very important.The re-evaluation of agricultural investments after a food crisis is reactionary, for the most part, but it is an impetus for thinking in the interconnectivity of resources and the complexity of linkages of food with energy, land and water.The SDGs will be the first litmus test for the nexus model and the resources linkages in Malawi. 93overnance, integrated and multi-stakeholder resource planning to promote cross-sectoral and cross-departmental approaches to planning and working with stakeholders at different levels to improve public-sector-led governance, planning, and information flows. 94romoting innovation: to identify technological choices and investments that explore WEF synergies and could be implemented to achieve desired changes on the ground.As in many developing countries, policies in Malawi tilt towards 'Supply', hardly considering conservation.Conservation can be the key to green economy in future and the resource sustainability can be assured, which is a national and global goal.With the advent of renewable technologies in the energy sector in Malawi as well as the technological adaptation mechanisms in the agriculture sector, such conservation policies can be useful tools in achieving the resources sustainability. 95onitoring, evaluation, and feedback mechanism to appraise functioning of individual systems as per agreed policies and strategies, identify operational changes needed, and provide feedback to steps 2, 3, and 4.
Influencing policies on trade, investment in environment/climate by focusing on improving ecosystem management to increase resource productivity, thus contributing to poverty alleviation and green growth.Trade, regional integration and foreign policy should be utilized to manage nexus trade-offs more effectively and contribute further to resilience at both state and global levels.This trade in energy will have long term effects on food and water. 96urbing subsidies in all the resource sectors (Water, Energy and Food) will pave the way for their accessibility.Apart from the fact the subsidies are directly proportionate to the resource it often leads to unintended consequences for other sectors.Thus, a nexus approach is to review, identify and scrutinize the trade-offs in the context of "At the cost of what?" 97 The above policies are imperative.But arguably, the first recommendation contains two key components that would determine the effective implementation of the Malawi WEF nexus: (a) the inclusivity of stakeholders and (b) capacity development.An effective harmonization of WEF policies and institutions will be a function of deliberate stakeholder mapping and capacity development.Thus, the operationalizing of the Malawi WEF/SDG framework, represented in Figure 4, would depend largely on the strength of the stakeholder mapping and capacity development.

Inclusivity of Stakeholders
The discussion of the nexus can be reframed for more effective identification and deployment of solutions that address the associated challenges.Business as usual is no longer acceptable: it is necessary to engage new and current stakeholders in novel ways.The nexus challenge needs to be represented as an opportunity for innovation that will drive economic development, business expansion, ecosystem health and social well-being.
This is an opportunity to move stakeholders toward a 'can-do' mindset that provides win-win benefits for societies, economies and the environment.A shift in thinking is proposed to accomplish several goals, including: • Broad stakeholder engagement in developing innovative solutions to address energy-water-food nexus challenges.• Defining 'nexus innovation' in terms of technology, partnerships, funding/financing, and of business, consumption/production models.• Framing a vision and strategy to effectively address the nexus challenges.
• Leveraging new governance modalities and exponential technologies to accelerate innovations towards achieving energy-water-food security for all.Quantitative tools and models can provide a clear understanding of the interconnectedness of the nexus by identifying the trade-offs and the potential synergies involved.These tools and models also serve to identify the challenges and interconnectedness across multiple actors and sectors, for example, in assessing policy coherence, testing the potential of various policy mechanisms, identifying current and future challenges, and offering solutions pertaining to resources planning and implementing impacts of specific technologies and infrastructure at large scale. 98The modelling framework provides the opportunity to engage key stakeholders, thereby offering a cross-sectoral understanding of associated challenges and opportunities.Stakeholder participation in the modelling processes contributes to local ownership of these tools.Similarly, decision makers can also be involved, because their interest is more focused on the outcomes, rather than applications, of the tools.Therefore, decision makers can play a 98 R Mohtar and B Dahar, 'Water-Energy-Food  The joint development and learning which derives from this process, contributes to strengthening dialogue and improving understanding of the issues faced by the various actors.Beyond sector-specific goals, it moves the focus towards the interdependence of resources and production of goods and services in the other sectors.This facilitates the dialogue and helps create a shared agenda, enabling the identification of options for its realization.
The challenges in modelling WEF nexus hotspots are not limited to technical ones.As discussed in the previous section, other challenges may include institutional fragmentation; disincentives within the regulatory, legal and policy frameworks that fail to incentivize cross-sectoral collaboration in planning and investment design; short-term planning horizons, driven, in many cases, by political cycles; lack of the data and short time frames for providing results; and lack of incentives that promote collaboration and identify synergies for improved planning and decision making.Other related challenges may include varying power relations between the different actor groups; the location of different actor groups at various levels (local to national); identifying a host institution for the stakeholder interaction process; and the time needed to follow implementation and policy processes in relation to a research project (which may only last a year or two).
Failing to involve stakeholders in the modelling process increases the likelihood that outputs will be neither relevant to nor demanded by the actors they are meant to benefit.Current experience with nexus modelling frameworks results in valuable exercises that begin to identify and illustrate not only the trade-offs that must be made but also the synergies that can be achieved, particularly in budget-constrained environments.These exercises have demonstrated the value of modelling to identify and quantify the tradeoffs and synergies of collaboration.These are reflected in better planning frameworks and, more importantly, in understanding the financial gains from joint investment planning and design.Models can provide clear policy guidance to enable maximization of financial, economic, social and environmental benefits across sectors.

Capacity Development
This section seeks to emphasize the fact that capacity development and building awareness about the interconnected nature of all elements in the nexus, trade-offs in resource use, improved policy development, coordination, and overall governance of the nexus are some of the important elements needed to operationalize the nexus and gain benefit on a sustainable basis at all levels.
Capacity development entails the sustainable creation, utilization and retention of that capacity, in order to reduce poverty, enhance self-reliance, and improve people's lives.Capacity development builds on and harnesses rather that replaces indigenous capacity.It is about promoting learning, boosting empowerment, building social capital, creating enabling environments, integrating cultures, and orienting personal and societal behaviour". 99apacity development is committed to sustainable development for a long-rather than short-term perspective of continual learning and acquiring of skills and resources through individuals' participation and dedication toward enhancement of organizational and institutional strength in addressing development issues.This clearly indicates that capacity development involves something more than the strengthening of individual skills and abilities.Trained individuals need an appropriate environment, and a proper mix of opportunities and incentives to use their acquired knowledge.The implication is that the capacity development initiatives should be addressed in an integrated manner at three levels: the individual, the institution, and the enabling environment.
Formal education and training provide the basic foundation for knowledge building and capacity development.At the individual level, capacity development refers to the acquisition of knowledge, understanding, skills, and attitudes through formal education or other forms of learning.Although some of the necessary skills can typically be acquired on the job or through learning by doing, one needs to rely more on formal education and training for acquisition of knowledge, understanding, and attitudes.Training can be accomplished through apprenticeships and mentoring, seminars, workshops, classes, or through self-study.Ability to work in a team, capability to approach a complex challenge, and ambition and the drive to keep learning are some of the required skills and attributes the individuals must develop.
The institutional capacity at different levels of the organizations and the enabling environment should be adequate to adapt modern approaches in science, technology, and management, which are essential to deal with the complex challenges in the development sector.As individuals enter into professions, they nurture their knowledge and acquired skills in a collective manner in addressing the management issues within the institutional and organizational framework.Capacity building at the organizational level is therefore needed, focusing on infrastructure and institution building, the availability of resources, and the development of organizational processes that would lead to an efficient and sustainable use of resources.At the systems scale, capacity development seeks to enhance the consistency of sector policies and promote better coordination between organizations of different sectors with the objective of a common goal of sustainable development.Organizations with the right capacity and procedures still need an enabling environment to implement legal and regulatory frameworks for development and management.Finally, knowledge and understanding at the society level is imperative through different means of awareness rising on the broader perspective of sustainable development.
Developing educational programs across disciplines is a challenging task.Providing a broader understanding across disciplines is desirable, and will produce graduates who understand issues, but not experts to carry out research and implement programs.To strike a balance between a broad overview of education and the specialization required, a nexus academic programme should comprise three components that provide the following: (i) a broad holistic viewpoint, through overview courses; (ii) a deep understanding of a particular field through specialized courses; and (iii) a set of courses to provide the skills needed to implement research, through competency courses.This should be followed by a field-scale research on specific problems.A new mode of transdisciplinary, problem-and-solutionoriented education and research is to be adopted on top of the traditional academic research that seeks the involvement of a wider set of institutions and types of researchers to work together on specific problems within specific contexts.Research should not be exclusively based in universities but should be conducted on site together with the implementing agencies, user communities, and professional bodies.The objective of this arrangement is to bring in the local knowledge and perception into the process and the whole exercise pursued in an interactive manner with active participation of all stakeholders.The field-scale research, in this sense, can be envisioned to seek solutions based on different models that link environment, society, and economy.A set of feasible solutions for a given problem is obtained through environmental analyses.A subset of those solutions is then identified which also satisfies economic constraints, and finally solutions that meet social acceptance are selected for implementation.The analysis of each structured case will enable policymakers, scientists, and community representatives to negotiate constraints and benefits while making a science-based selection.

CONCLUSION
Malawi is facing growing challenges in meeting the growing demand for food, water, and energy in the face of competing demand for resources and increasing environmental pressure.To increase cereal production, it has introduced many policy initiatives including providing incentives through subsiding water and energy and guaranteeing prices.While such incentives have helped increase cereal production, they have also increased the demand for water and energy, led to degradation of the resource base, and contributed to an increase in water-related disease.Although the food, <https://doi.org/10.33002/jelp01.02.01> Water, Energy and Food Nexus Interventions: Implications for the Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in Malawi 28 Ngozi Finette Unuigbe, Aizenose Promise Ehizojie water, and energy sectors are inherently interconnected, the connection in terms of policy and implementation is weak.
The paper has proposed an integrated framework that would facilitate synergies and trade -offs while exploring the nexus approach in Malawi.
The key elements of the framework are strengthening cross-sectoral coordination, public policies, aligning cross-sectoral strategies and incentive structures, strengthening regulation, and facilitation of nexus smart investment and technologies.Critically, the research demonstrates that in addition to proper stakeholder mapping and consultation, capacity development and building awareness about the interconnected nature of all elements in the nexus, trade-offs needed in resource use, improved policy development, coordination, and overall governance of the nexus are some of the important elements needed to operationalize the nexus and gain benefit on a sustainable basis at all levels.Capacity development is committed to sustainable development of a long-rather than short-term perspective of continual learning and acquiring of skills and resources through individuals' participation and dedication toward enhancement of organizational and institutional strength in addressing development issues.Thus, a new mode of transdisciplinary, problem-and-solution-oriented education and research is to be adopted on top of the traditional academic research that seeks the involvement of a wider set of institutions and types of researchers to work together on specific problems within specific contexts.It is strongly recommended that the National Institutions of Higher Learning in Malawi collectively take initiative in developing a structured curriculum for postgraduate degree in sustainability science across traditional disciplines of science and engineering.This endeavour is highly important as the county is in need of extending specialization in different disciplines.Field-scale research, indicated as an important component of transdisciplinary education and research, is to be conducted in a "shared vision planning and analysis" mode.Such mode shall incorporate tried-andtrue planning principles, technical analysis, and public participation into a practical forum for making resource management decisions that will be capable of addressing the identified issues and concerns.

Figure 3 :
Figure 3: Reliance on hydropower and access to electricity with water availability per head represented by the size of the circles.The black circle represents Malawi. 51

Figure 5 :
Figure 5: The Influence of Inclusivity and Capacity Development on the Malawi WEF/SDG Framework.