FEWSTERN- US-China Food-Energy-Water Systems Transdisciplinary Environmental Research Network

The interconnectedness of food, energy, and water (FEW) systems in meeting societal demands is broadly acknowledged. Similarly, competitive and synergistic allocations of water and energy resources for agricultural production, industrial demands, and human consumption are understood and their economic impacts predictable. Far less appreciated and understood are the relationships and feedback scenarios between the environment and the FEW systems complex. Also largely unknown are the socio-economic and ecological outcomes in attempting to provide secure and sustainable FEW resources to meet societal needs, both for current and future generations. The comprehensiveness and implications of FEW network interactions demand structural reorganization and rebalance of resource utilization on a global scale. FEWSTERN builds a US-China Food-Energy-Water Systems Transdisciplinary Environmental Research Network with the goal to develop an integrated research agenda that effectively addresses the FEW nexus, and delivers solutions at local, regional and global scales. Specifically, FEWSTERN establishes a US-China crosscutting research coordination network to (i) identify transdisciplinary environmental grand challenge research opportunities at the FEW nexus, (ii) develop a framework to overcome hurdles to interdisciplinary research both between and among collaborating US and China researchers, and (iii) establish model platforms for education, training, communication, and efficacy evaluations of the outputs of international cooperation.