Water-Energy-Land Nexus - Modelling Long-Term Scenarios for Brazil

Abstract

This paper analyses the water-energy-land nexus in Brazil. Recent drought saw more than 1% of the nation's economy lost and resulted in unprecedented widespread water scarcity. Four power generation scenarios were evaluated for 2050 regarding their impacts on water and land resources. This analysis reveals that the mutual dependencies of water, energy and land are gaining in importance and cannot be managed effectively without cross-sect oral integration. The findings suggest that a diversification of electricity generation technologies with the expansion of photovoltaic and wind power can help limiting additional land and water requirements for future power supply.