Water-Energy-Food-Land-Climate Nexus data for the Case Study of Greece: National and River Basin District Scale

Complexity science methods applied for policies provide a means of exploring the effects of various types of spatial and temporal drivers and constraints on the behaviour of society and helps scenario-forming and the development of sound policies through stakeholder consultations. In the context of policy-making following a five-component Nexus approach that includes Water, Energy, Food, Land Use and Climate, System Dynamics Modelling is used for the holistic approach, since it presents various advantages, such as integrating different model outputs and handling system complexity via a building-block approach. To this end, the Nexus System Dynamics Model (Nexus_SDM) that establishes and quantifies the interlinkages among all five Nexus components for the national case study of Greece has been built in STELLA Professional (ISEE Systems--https://www.iseesystems.com/store/products/stella-professional.aspx). The methodology of data mapping and linking Nexus components in a complex system is followed, while outputs from thematic models are integrated producing an extensive multi-sectorial data set for the year 2010 that includes an exhaustive list of Water and Energy demands, Agricultural production and resulting agricultural value for 14 different crop types and 8 different animal types and their associated products. Green House Gas emissions from all sectors are presented as well. Data originate from open databases and national sources, such as Eurostat, the Greek National Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), the Hellenic Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises and the Independent Power Transmission Operator of Greece are collected. Additional data from thematic models E3ME (https://www.camecon.com/how/e3me-model/) and OSeMOSYS (http://www.osemosys.org/) are also integrated. Advanced disaggregation algorithms are employed in order to disaggregate annual national-scale data to fourteen River Basin Districts in Greece and 12 months of year 2010. The data are used to map and quantify all interlinkages, identifying Nexus hotspots, i.e., which Nexus dimensions strongly affect others and threaten their security and which interlinkages are relatively weak. Mapping multiple Water-Energy-Food-Land Use-Climate Nexus data, analysing and quantifying all interlinkages among its Nexus components is critical in order to assess the Nexus, prioritise expenses and set the agenda for achieving sustainability. Such data sets are necessary to make the Nexus concept operational for policymakers and stakeholders in a participatory process and it is an important step towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Acknowledgements: The data presented herein have been collected and processed within the project SIM4NEXUS. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 689150