Online course for stakeholders from Mediterranean countries
Dimensions of the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems Nexus
Learning experience
What will you learn?
This four-module, self-paced online course:
Understand the WEFE Nexus
Strengthen your understanding of the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems Nexus, its main concepts, frameworks, interlinkages, and relevance across different geographical and socio-economic contexts.
Apply Nexus approaches
Develop the capacity to build scenarios, use indicators and evidence, assess climate impacts, engage stakeholders, and identify practical solutions that deliver cross-sectoral benefits.
Language: English.
Structure: 4 modules.
Level: Introductory.
Content: readings, videos, forums.
Time: 22 hours.
Institutions: GWP Med, Cap-Net, UNEP-DHI.
Certification: upon approval of quizzes.
About this course
Connecting systems for sustainable development
Sustainable development increasingly depends on recognizing and managing the interconnections between water, energy, food, and ecosystems. Agriculture remains the largest freshwater user worldwide, while energy production, food systems, and healthy ecosystems all rely heavily on water resources. At the same time, water and food systems are energy-intensive, and unsustainable land and water management practices can negatively affect ecosystem health and biodiversity.
However, traditional policy and management approaches often treat these sectors in isolation, leading to inefficiencies, conflicts, and unintended impacts. Addressing today’s complex challenges—including climate change, resource scarcity, population growth, and environmental degradation—requires an approach that breaks down silos and promotes a broader vision.
This interconnectedness is at the centre of the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems (WEFE) Nexus. The Nexus approach helps ensure more integrated and sustainable use of resources, reaches beyond traditional silos, and can be applied at all scales. It also recognizes the importance of equity, inclusion, and social considerations in WEFE Nexus planning and decision-making.
The course draws on experiences and case studies from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Small Island Developing States, illustrating how Nexus challenges and solutions vary across contexts.
Course goal
From understanding interlinkages to promoting joint solutions
Enhance the capacities of policy makers and experts to deepen their understanding of specific Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems (WEFE) Nexus interlinkages and actively promote joint solutions that deliver cross-sectoral benefits across diverse geographical, environmental, and socio-economic contexts.
Learning objectives
By the end of the course, participants will be able to
- Understand key concepts and frameworks behind the WEFE Nexus and their application across different geographical and socio-economic contexts.
- Apply scenario development methodologies and tools for planning and decision-making.
- Understand key indicators and metrics for assessing the WEFE Nexus and the importance of evidence and data collection.
- Analyze climate change impacts, adaptation, and mitigation from a WEFE Nexus perspective, drawing on global trends, projections, and case studies.
- Consider WEFE Nexus response options and solutions, including stakeholder engagement, monitoring, financing, and governance.
Course contents
Four modules combining knowledge, practice, and exchange
Each module includes an introductory video, mandatory and recommended readings, websites and videos, and a discussion forum.
Introduction to the WEFE Nexus
Scenario Development and Nexus Assessments for Informed Decision-Making
WEFE Nexus Interlinkages in the Context of Climate Change
Operationalizing Nexus Solutions
Key themes: WEFE frameworks, drivers, scenario development, trade-offs, Nexus assessments, data integration, climate change, response options, strategies, stakeholder engagement, monitoring solutions, financing, and governance.
Course information
Time, completion criteria, and certificate
Approximately 4 hours per module to cover mandatory content, participate in the discussion forum and interactive exercises, and complete the module quiz. Optional readings and videos require additional time.
Participants must answer the multiple-choice questions at the end of each module to proceed. They have up to three attempts to achieve at least 60% correct responses. The platform indicates incorrect answers.
After completing all four modules and answering a short course feedback survey, participants may download a certificate granted by the course organizers. Participation and the certificate are free of charge.
Participants
Who is this course for?
The course is open to participants representing diverse stakeholder groups from the water sector worldwide, including:
- Water management professionals and stakeholders from civil society, river basin and international organizations, development programmes, UN organizations, and the private sector.
- Sustainable Development Goals focal points and facilitators within national governments.
- Decision makers, policy makers, and senior professionals and managers in governmental bodies.
- Energy planners; agricultural and food-system professionals; environmental and ecosystem practitioners; and climate adaptation and resilience specialists.
- Capacity developers working in water management, governance, climate action, and related fields.
Course partners
Organizations behind the course
Established in 2002 as the Mediterranean Regional Water Partnership of the Global Water Partnership Network, GWP-Med works from regional to local level to advance a water-secure Mediterranean. It promotes Integrated Water Resources Management, supports policy making, implements demonstration activities, and contributes to skills and knowledge development.
Its priorities include SDG target 6.5, climate adaptation, and river basin and transboundary water management, with gender, youth, and private-sector participation in water financing as cross-cutting issues. Its multi-stakeholder platform brings together almost 100 institutions and organizations, including 10 major regional networks.
Cap-Net is an international network for capacity development in sustainable water management. Established in 2002, it brings together autonomous international, regional, and national institutions and networks and draws on more than two decades of expertise to address critical gaps in water-related education.
Since 2014, the Cap-Net Virtual Campus has delivered 195 multilingual courses across diverse topics, engaging more than 50 partners and affiliated networks and expanding access to high-quality knowledge, particularly for participants from the Global South.
The UNEP-DHI Centre on Water and Environment is a UNEP centre of expertise dedicated to improving the management, development, and use of freshwater resources from local to global level. In operation since 1996 and co-funded by UNEP, Danida, and DHI since 2001, it is a core resource for UNEP’s freshwater work.
The Centre is globally recognized for promoting sustainable water resources management and supporting the water-related Sustainable Development Goal targets.
Facilitators
Meet the course team
Alexandra Murray, PhD
Water Resources Engineer, DHI / UNEP-DHI Centre
Alexandra Murray is a Water Resources Engineer specializing in hydrological modelling, climate resilience, and integrated water resources management. Her expertise lies at the intersection of research and application, where she develops innovative large-scale hydrological and environmental models to support climate adaptation, water security, and sustainable development initiatives worldwide. Through her work with DHI and the UNEP-DHI Centre, she contributes to international projects on water resources assessment, environmental forecasting, and evidence-based decision-making, while supporting capacity development and knowledge sharing across diverse regions.
Ali Karnib
Professor of Practice on the WEF Nexus, Lebanese American University
Ali Karnib is a water and sustainable development expert with over 20 years of international experience. He holds a PhD in Civil Engineering from Artois University, France, and has served as an advisor and technical expert for UN-ESCWA, FAO, UNEP, UNESCO, UNDP, UNCCD, and WHO. His work bridges scientific modelling with policy and practice, advancing resilience and evidence-based decision-making in vulnerable regions.
He designs and delivers training on water governance, IWRM, the WEFE Nexus, and climate resilience and has authored more than 60 scientific and UN publications. He serves as Associate Editor of the Arab Gulf Journal of Scientific Research and on the Editorial Board of Water Resources Management.
Bassel Daher, PhD
Assistant Director for Sustainable Development, Texas A&M Energy Institute
Dr. Bassel Daher is Adjunct Assistant Professor in Biological & Agricultural Engineering and Research Fellow at the Institute for Science, Technology, and Public Policy at Texas A&M University. He also serves as Senior Fellow at the Microsoft AI Economy Institute and Executive Board Member of the International Water Resources Association. With over 15 years of experience, his research focuses on developing decision-support tools to address interconnected Water-Energy-Food Nexus challenges and operationalize solutions through evidence-based, community-engaged, cross-sectoral dialogue. He has more than 75 highly cited publications, including WEFE Nexus studies across multiple regions.
Damian Indij
Capacity Development Specialist, Cap-Net
Damian Indij has been an integral part of Cap-Net since 2002. As coordinator of Cap-Net’s Virtual Campus, he has spearheaded partnerships for more than 150 online courses, delivered in multiple languages and covering a wide range of topics, reaching over 30,000 participants globally. He has also developed capacity needs assessments, training manuals, network management tools, and collaborative programmes that advance sustainable water practices worldwide. From 2002 to 2018, he served as Manager of LA-WETnet, the Latin America Water Education and Training Network, positioning it as a leading regional platform for water capacity development.
Soledad Berbel Román
Senior Project Manager and Water, Climate and Sustainability Specialist
Soledad Berbel Román is a Water, Climate and Sustainability Engineer with more than 12 years of international experience in water resources management, climate adaptation, flood resilience, and sustainable development. She has led multidisciplinary projects across Europe and globally, helping governments, utilities, and private-sector clients address complex water and climate challenges. Her expertise includes climate change adaptation, nature-based solutions, water security, flood risk management, and integrated planning approaches that support resilient and sustainable development. She is passionate about translating technical knowledge into practical solutions that strengthen the WEFE Nexus and improve decision-making.
Bekithemba (Themba) Gumbo, PhD
Director, Cap-Net
Themba Gumbo is a civil engineer with a PhD in water and sanitation. A Zimbabwean national and permanent resident of South Africa since 2001, he was trained in Zimbabwe, England, and the Netherlands. He has more than 20 years of experience, including work as a water and sewerage engineer for the City of Bulawayo and with the Training and Instructional Design Academy of South Africa. In 2005, he joined WaterNet as Manager. WaterNet is a Cap-Net-affiliated network of university departments, training and research institutes in 17 countries across Southern and Eastern Africa working to build and strengthen capacity in integrated water resources management.
