UNTWIST was conducted via six Work Packages (WPs). Main results achieved by UNTWIST can be summarized as follows:
- Review of the state of knowledge on the integration of ESs in the WEF discourse;
- Development of a theoretical framework permitting, for the first time, to account for the ESs perspective into the nexus theory and so to propose an innovative approach to drive the conceptualization of the interdependencies and trade-offs among WEF sectors.
- Implementation of an integrated semantic based-model developed using the ARIES (Artificial Intelligence for Environment and Sustainability) platform (
https://aries.integratedmodelling.org/(odnośnik otworzy się w nowym oknie)) to quantify WEF synergies and trade-offs at the local scale;
- Scenarios simulating ESs flows exchanged across the nexus under different social, economic and environmental dynamics;
- A set of maps of “hot-spots” areas for multiple ESs provisions based on different stakeholders perspectives.
The results of UNTWIST have been disseminated at three different European conferences and symposia: i) the Conference on Water-Energy-Food Ecosystems (WEFE) “Nexus scientific advances in the Mediterranean region”, online from Nicosia, Cyprus, 27-29 September 2021; ii) the European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2022, Vienna Austria, 23–27 May 2022; iii) the 4th Ecosystem Services Partnership Europe Conference, Heraklion, Greece, 10-14 October 2022.
Two first author peer-reviewed publications have already been drafted and will be submitted for publication within the first half of 2023 respectively to the Ecosystem Services and the Science of the Total Environment journals. Other two collaborative publications are under development and will be submitted for publication by the end of 2023.
Two customized factsheets summarizing the theoretical and methodological approach applied and the main findings and highlights drawn from case studies have been designed and sent to a total of 20 local actors from different organizations taking part in the project.
A divulgation book for kids entitled “Let’s unravel this knot! A guide for kids (and whoever wants) to dig deeper into the links between water, food and energy” was published adapting the main findings of the project in infographics suitable for a younger audience (8-12 years old). From the book, translated in four different languages (English, Italian, Spanish and Euskera), training materials for primary schools have been elaborated and made available for distribution during scientific divulgation events at schools and freely downloadable from the link:
https://untwist.bc3research.org/(odnośnik otworzy się w nowym oknie)Project activities and updates has been promoted through the social media (i.e. Instagram, Twitter) pages of BC3 and ARIES.
All datasets, outputs and the code for the WEF integrated model has been made available for reuse in a bitbucket repository freely accessible by all k.lab users to foster further research.
