Participatory Framing of a Conceptual Decision Model for a Hyperlocalized Food, Energy, and Water Nexus: A Case Study in Adaptive Management of Rural Water Systems in India.

In many rural communities across the world, a systemic lack of environmental monitoring and technical resources can pose significant barriers in the understanding and management of the local food–energy–water (FEW) systems. Further, nexus features and solutions in rural communities can be extremely place based and require a robust engagement with community stakeholders whose local knowledge is critical to understanding and framing of appropriate decision problems. In this case study, a participatory framing approach was used to coproduce a conceptual model to adaptively manage water systems in a hyperlocalized FEW nexus in the rural village E. Palaguttapalli Gram Panchayat in Andhra Pradesh in India. We collected qualitative data regarding the perceptions and experiences of farming in the village to identify key stressors of interest, socioeconomic conditions, and natural drivers of the FEW system and individual and collective actions to manage these stressors. Results indicate that key stressors of both groundwater depletion and dwindling labor supply were felt throughout the village. However, sociocultural differences between the hamlets influenced the preferred individual and collective FEW management actions to manage these stressors, particularly for scarce water resources. The codeveloped conceptual model of the FEW system reflects the unique natural and socioeconomic conditions, as well as preferred actions to manage key stressors of interest in this village. The proposed approach to frame FEW nexus management problems serves as a useful guide for engaging communities in decision-making involving similar data-sparse and hyperlocalized FEW nexus ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]