The Russian-Ukrainian crisis and the security hats

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) says: There is a close relationship between water security, energy security and food security, which means that actions and measures in one of the three pillars of security - energy, water and food - may put one or both of the other sides under influence. It is also called the mutual influence between Water, Energy and Food Security Nexus, which usually consumes time and effort in order to come up with a national trend that gives each of the three pillars of security its right. And in the event that one of the security hats sings with power and overgrowth, the rest may be negatively affected. Let's now see some examples: Water is used for fossil fuel extraction, mining, refining and electricity generation, and water can be reused to grow biofuel feedstocks in growing food. In the absence of attention to pollution, water will be affected by fossil energy sources and ecosystems. Energy is needed in the water industry to extract, transport, distribute and treat water, and the energy intensity of reaching a cubic meter of water varies based on usage. For example, access to surface water requires much less energy than groundwater, sewage treatment or seawater desalination, and therefore the economic aspect of water security is taken into account. In the food industry, food production is one of the largest consumers of the world's water supply and agriculture consumes 70 percent of fresh water, and may jump to 80 percent, while informal farming is responsible for much of the water overexploitation. The link between food and energy became abundantly clear through the Russia-Ukrainian crisis where increases in oil prices very quickly drove up food prices. The energy sector can have other negative effects in the food sector when mining for fossil fuels and deforestation for biofuels are used to reduce agricultural land and affect ecosystems and basic needs. Likewise, between energy and water, as well as between water and food, the latter is a fertile ground for conflict between industry and agriculture. It should be noted that the energy and food markets are global, or in other words, subject to export and import, while the water market is often governed by the local side or within the country due to the lack of economic feasibility of export and import and for various geopolitical reasons.

These three security caps - energy, water and food - must be managed together because they represent a fundamental pillar of sustainable development that ensures human survival and well-being. Environmental security may be added to emphasize the concept of sustainable development as stated in the United Nations Development Program, which stipulates 17 goals for sustainable development in different areas of life and a balance between social, economic and environmental sustainability. By the way, measuring the Nexus Factor between water, energy and food security is very complex, as the sectors that make up energy, water and food are measured in different units and under changing conditions in time and place and are still being studied and developed. In conclusion, the Kingdom has managed the various security files with skill and competence, and we may see that it has overcome multiple global crises, such as the Corona pandemic and others, which contain the strength of the security file and supply chains, and it was certainly written in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 through its programs and performance standards on rooting energy and water security and food security. Rather, it was keen to ensure the supply of oil markets and global energy security in light of pandemics and crises.