Abstract
Water,
food, and energy form a nexus at the heart of sustainable development and this
nexus forms a framework that captures the interrelations, synergies, and trade offs between the
demand for water, energy and food. Acknowledging the WEF Nexus is necessary for human
well being, poverty reduction, and sustainable development. However, des pite the perceived
benefits of the WEF Nexus, its operationalisation remains limited in South Africa. Amid the
multifaceted challenges that hinder the implementation of the WEF Nexus, previous studies have
noted that the integration of the fourth industria l revolution has the potential to improve
optimisation and sustainability. This study aims to develop and build human capacity for 4IR
enabled innovations at South Africa's WEF Nexus. Chapters 1 and 2 provided a background to
the study, reviewing the liter ature to identify research gaps and construct the research objectives
to guide the study...