Coupling Causal‐Loop of System Dynamics and Centrality of Network Analysis to Identify Key Elements for Water–Energy–Food Nexus

ABSTRACT Water–energy–food (WEF) nexus is a complex system concerning complicated interrelations and interactions among water, energy and food sectors. Identification of the key elements among the system is significant for understanding the working mechanism of the WEF and a critical step when modelling the nexus. This study proposed a framework with the aim to find the most important variables in the WEF by coupling system dynamics and network analysis (NA). First, the system elements of the nexus and their interconnections are qualitatively analysed using the causal‐loop diagram of the system dynamics model. The diagram is then transferred as a network in which the system elements and associated connections are treated as nodes and edges of the network, respectively. The NA is then applied to the network, and attributes of the nodes such as degree, betweenness and closeness centrality are investigated. The importance of the elements is assigned based on those attributes valuations, and the key system elements are identified using multi‐attribute decision approach. Two scales of WEF, for example, global and household, are used as case studies. The results showed that the proposed approach effectively identified the key elements of the two WEFs and prioritized the system elements based on their importance. The proposed approach can be applied to help police makers gain understanding of the complexity of the WEF and to provide a vital reference of the modelling setup when simulating the nexus.