A. Delgado, D.J. Rodriguez, C.A. Amadei, M. Makino
{"title":"Water in Circular Economy and Resilience (WICER) Framework","authors":"A. Delgado, D.J. Rodriguez, C.A. Amadei, M. Makino","doi":"10.1016/j.jup.2023.101604","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Circular economy has emerged as a response to the unsustainable linear model of “take, make, consume, and waste”. Yet so far, the water sector has not been systematically included in high-level circular economy strategy discussions and has not fully reaped the potential benefits. Circular economy principles offer an opportunity to recognize and capture the full value of water - as a service, an input to processes, a source of energy, a carrier of materials - and to make the sector more sustainable financially and environmentally, while enhancing resilience to climate change and mitigating emissions. This paper presents the Water in Circular Economy and Resilience (WICER) Framework to establish a common understanding of circular economy and resilience principles in the water sector. The Framework grew out of a literature review and was informed by lessons learned from global case studies and from the knowledge of the World Bank. The paper aims to clarify how circular economy principles can be applied in the water sector, and to guide practitioners, especially from governments in low- and middle-income countries, with a clear long-term plan to become circular and resilient. The framework describes the nine key actions needed to achieve three main outcomes: (1) deliver resilient and inclusive water services; (2) design out waste and pollution; and (3) preserve and regenerate natural systems. The novelty of the proposed framework is that it goes beyond reusing and recovering resources from wastewater, and it presents a more holistic approach for water and sanitation services, considering a water basin approach and including resiliency principles, climate mitigation strategies and inclusiveness – all of which are particularly relevant in the context of developing countries.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":23554,"journal":{"name":"Utilities Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.8000,"publicationDate":"2024-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Utilities Policy","FirstCategoryId":"96","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0957178723001169","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ENERGY & FUELS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Circular economy has emerged as a response to the unsustainable linear model of “take, make, consume, and waste”. Yet so far, the water sector has not been systematically included in high-level circular economy strategy discussions and has not fully reaped the potential benefits. Circular economy principles offer an opportunity to recognize and capture the full value of water - as a service, an input to processes, a source of energy, a carrier of materials - and to make the sector more sustainable financially and environmentally, while enhancing resilience to climate change and mitigating emissions. This paper presents the Water in Circular Economy and Resilience (WICER) Framework to establish a common understanding of circular economy and resilience principles in the water sector. The Framework grew out of a literature review and was informed by lessons learned from global case studies and from the knowledge of the World Bank. The paper aims to clarify how circular economy principles can be applied in the water sector, and to guide practitioners, especially from governments in low- and middle-income countries, with a clear long-term plan to become circular and resilient. The framework describes the nine key actions needed to achieve three main outcomes: (1) deliver resilient and inclusive water services; (2) design out waste and pollution; and (3) preserve and regenerate natural systems. The novelty of the proposed framework is that it goes beyond reusing and recovering resources from wastewater, and it presents a more holistic approach for water and sanitation services, considering a water basin approach and including resiliency principles, climate mitigation strategies and inclusiveness – all of which are particularly relevant in the context of developing countries.
期刊介绍:
Utilities Policy is deliberately international, interdisciplinary, and intersectoral. Articles address utility trends and issues in both developed and developing economies. Authors and reviewers come from various disciplines, including economics, political science, sociology, law, finance, accounting, management, and engineering. Areas of focus include the utility and network industries providing essential electricity, natural gas, water and wastewater, solid waste, communications, broadband, postal, and public transportation services.
Utilities Policy invites submissions that apply various quantitative and qualitative methods. Contributions are welcome from both established and emerging scholars as well as accomplished practitioners. Interdisciplinary, comparative, and applied works are encouraged. Submissions to the journal should have a clear focus on governance, performance, and/or analysis of public utilities with an aim toward informing the policymaking process and providing recommendations as appropriate. Relevant topics and issues include but are not limited to industry structures and ownership, market design and dynamics, economic development, resource planning, system modeling, accounting and finance, infrastructure investment, supply and demand efficiency, strategic management and productivity, network operations and integration, supply chains, adaptation and flexibility, service-quality standards, benchmarking and metrics, benefit-cost analysis, behavior and incentives, pricing and demand response, economic and environmental regulation, regulatory performance and impact, restructuring and deregulation, and policy institutions.