The Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus approach has proved valuable in the investigation of complex systems, allowing for tailored analysis for specific scopes. This is particularly relevant due to variations in WEF nexus interactions observed between countries and regions. This article uses qualitative methods to investigate the effects of Fiji’s ambitious carbon mitigation policies through a WEF nexus approach. A framework for Policy Coherence assessment was used to score the strength and direction of policy interactions. Overall, the assessment revealed more synergies than trade-offs between Fiji’s Low Emission Development Strategy (LEDS) and nexus sectoral policies, with the energy sector having the most interactions. Analysis of data obtained from key informant interviews and the policy coherence outcomes show important trade-offs and synergies between sectors, which are useful in informing national and sectoral level policy development. The research provides policy recommendations that address governance, technology and innovation, human capital, and land issues to overcome barriers to implementing climate mitigation targets in the LEDS and Nationally Determined Contributions. This study demonstrates the utility of the WEF nexus approach through applying qualitative methods to provide valuable insights for sectoral-level nexus research. Such an approach can be applied to other small island nations facing similar challenges.

This article charts the history of how system dynamics modelling (SDM) has evolved in the field of natural resource management from a relatively niche subject to a tool of increasing practical relevance and impact, and encourages practitioners to continue this trend with some suggestions for further promoting SDM for natural resource impact assessment and policy support. It not only traces key developments and thematic shifts but also advocates for SDM as a critical approach for addressing today’s complex and interconnected resource challenges. Starting in the 1970s with the Limits to Growth and a burgeoning environmental movement, the path of SDM applications for natural resource management and assessment is outlined. Models turned in the 1980s to a dominantly ecological focus, considering lake ecosystems and predator–prey dynamics, and tended to be largely single-sector focused, with feedbacks and complexity being used to describe sectoral system dynamics. Since about 2000, SDM has been applied to broader and more integrated natural resource systems and has frequently included stakeholders and participatory methods to co-develop models for increasingly practical applications and support. The emergence of the water–energy–food nexus around 2010 lends itself to SDM studies, including the assessment of climatic and socio-economic futures on resources supply, demand and security, and the impact of policy implementation across whole systems. Stakeholder engagement, participatory modelling, online tools and interfaces, machine learning and targeted, policy-facing studies are opportunities to further promote SDM and systems thinking for natural resource management in an increasingly complex and interconnected world, enhancing its practical impact.

This review article positions water front-and-center as a key enabler of water–energy–food (WEF) nexus systems. It demonstrates the critical role of water in human civilization, progress, and development, including how water is central to the achievement of many of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals. It is suggested that water may in fact be the most important resource needed in a broader WEF nexus context, as well as in the broader scope of human development. The review shows the consequences of ‘water going wrong’ – when there is too much or too little, and the global impacts of increasing frequency of such events, largely due to an ever more ‘hyperconnected’ world. The review concludes by urging greater ‘nexus awareness’ and systems thinking, especially in policy and decision-making, while cautioning against the potentially ironic situation of returning to a sectoral, water-centric view of resources management.