Exploring WEFE Nexus solutions through play and discussion

The NexusLabs Toolkit Cards are a simple interactive way to explore the different solutions, tools and approaches being tested across the NexusLabs Living Labs.

The cards were created to make the WEFE Nexus more tangible and practical. Instead of discussing the Nexus only as a concept, the cards encourage participants to think through real challenges, real trade-offs and real solutions faced by Mediterranean agriculture.

The toolkit includes:

• Challenge cards based on common issues in irrigated agriculture
• Digital tools cards
• Nature-inspired solutions cards
• Sustainability analysis tools cards

Together, they help participants reflect on how different solutions can contribute to more resilient and sustainable farming systems.

How does the game work?

1. Pick a challenge card

A participant first draws a challenge card.

Challenges are inspired by real issues faced in the Living Labs, such as:

• water scarcity
• soil degradation
• nitrate pollution
• high energy costs
• inefficient irrigation
• salinity or drought stress

The participant takes the perspective of a practitioner — for example a farmer, irrigation authority or local decision maker.

2. Choose a type of solution

The participant then decides which category of NexusLabs solutions might best respond to the challenge:

💻 Digital tools
(e.g. smart irrigation, weather forecasting, precision fertilisation)

🌱 Nature-inspired solutions
(e.g. agroecological practices, cover crops, water reuse, rainwater harvesting)

📊 Sustainability analysis tools
(e.g. WEFE Index, scenario modelling, footprint tools)

Not every tool fits every challenge — and that is part of the discussion.

3. Draw a tool card

Another participant picks a card from the selected deck and turns it around.

The group then discusses questions such as:

• Does this tool really address the challenge?
• Under what conditions could it work?
• Has something similar been tried before in this area?
• What might farmers or authorities think about it?
• What barriers could limit implementation?

If the group agrees that the solution can help address the challenge, the card is placed on the “bridge” between science and practice.

Why use the cards?

The cards are designed to:

• encourage dialogue between different stakeholders
• make WEFE Nexus solutions easier to understand
• connect scientific tools with real-world decision making
• explore synergies and trade-offs between solutions

Most importantly, they help show that sustainable irrigation is not based on a single solution — but on combining different approaches adapted to local conditions.

Download and explore the cards

Digital tools deck
Nature-inspired solutions deck:
Sustainability analysis tools deck
Challenge cards deck