Stakeholders’ dialogues to delve into the comprehension, assessment and governance of the WEFE Nexus under climate extremes. Learning from Lake Como, Italy

The water–energy–food–ecosystems (WEFE) nexus is being adopted as a fresh approach to dealing with the so-called ‘wicked problems’ that involve complexity, uncertainty, and conflicting interests. In this regard, involving key stakeholders is essential to effectively handle cross-sector initiatives and enhance the coordination of decision-making processes, reducing the likelihood of negative side effects (‘trade-offs’) and facilitating the development of co-designed solutions. However, involving different viewpoints can be challenging due to power imbalances and lack of social learning processes. This study introduces an all-encompassing multi-stakeholder analysis framework to delve into the vision of the WEFE nexus and main internal and external factors of change, along with codesigned solutions and co-created policy scenarios to reinforce interlinkages between the nexus dimensions in the context of climate change. The Lake Como in northern Italy serves as a case study due the competing water demands and the increasing effects of extreme weather events. A sequence of dialogues conducted between October 2023 and February 2025 combining semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, and workshops took place with 20 key stakeholders representing each nexus dimension (e.g. lake operator, regional government, energy companies, irrigation districts, environmental platforms, municipalities). Content analysis and statistics have been used to examine stakeholders’ narratives, obtaining insights on 1) a shared vision of the nexus dimensions, 2) the assessment of two policy scenarios (hydropower maximization and risk management), 3) the evaluation of solutions regarding priority, relevance, effects on nexus dimensions, instruments to facilitate and barriers conditioning their implementation, and 4) the governance in decision-making process.