Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre International Environmental
Policy Consultancy Report
ASSESSING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
FOR THE 2014-2015 UNITED NATIONS’
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT REPORT
By the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
& Wageningen University and Research Centre, in assignment of the United Nations
2014
1 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 2 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre International Environmental Policy Consultancy Report
Assessing sustainable development for the 2014-2015
United Nations’ sustainable development report
In assignment of the United Nations’ Policy Analysis Branch, Division for sustainable Development,
Department of Economic and Social Affairs
19th of December 2014
Authors State University of New York College of Environmental Science & Forestry:
Djerma, Mamadou
Fuentes, Kaira Thaís
Game, Ibrahim Paguedame
González, Verónica Argelis
Gusti Ayu, Franciska Sri Rahajeng Kusum Dewi
Jacobson, Brian Michael
Lin, Ashley Liu
Pauser, Darci Janel
Primus, Richaela
Vlasak, Aaron
Authors Wageningen University & Research Centre:
Acuna Mora, David
van Dam, Daphne Felicia
Gevers, Hein
van Huët, Mirle Dawn
Koch, Larissa
Kuhn, Janne
de Rijck, Arvid
Sticzay, Nora
Supporting professors and lecturers:
Dr. D.A. Sonnenfeld (SUNY ESF)
ir. A. Hendriksen (WUR)
Dr. M. Lamers (WUR)
UN contact persons:
Dr. W. Liu
Dr. D. O’Connor
Dr. R.A. Roehrl
3 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The UN Policy Analysis Branch, Division for Sustainable Development has assigned “externs” to contribute to the Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be published in 2015 as a follow up to the Millennium Development Goals. For this report a group of eighteen young researchers from the State University of New York -­‐ College of Environmental Science & Forestry and the Wageningen University & Research Centre executed two tasks based on the Terms of Reference (ToR). These tasks are directed to government officials and include digests on emerging issues regarding sustainable development as well as briefs on financing options. Sustainable development is a complex concept that has been extensively debated within science and policy. However, a gap between these two still exists. Therefore, the aim of this report is to contribute to those debates, in order to narrow the science-­‐policy gap. Based on the participating students’ personal interest and academic background, this report delivers five science digests (task 1) and three finance briefs (task 2). All topics are researched through secondary data analyses of recent literature. Additionally, some topics have been supported by primary data analyses in the form of semi-­‐structured interviews with experts in the respective field of research. In order to safeguard authenticity, each topic is reviewed and validated by science peers in the central field of expertise. The five science digests include discussions of blue energy (SDG 6, 7, 11, 12, 13), conserving traditional seed crops diversity (SDG 1, 2, 15), passive housing (SDG 1, 3, 7, 9, 11, 13), rare earth elements (SDG 7, 8, 9, 12) and urban agriculture (SDG 1, 2, 12, 15). Blue Energy has a theoretical potential of producing 80% of the total global energy demand in the coming years and the technology can be used for different applications as well. Presently, it is still in its pilot phase because financial barriers occur at the implementation phase and the environmental effects are not clarified yet. Conserving Traditional Seed Crops Diversity is an urgent task to impede biodiversity loss and improve agricultural productivity, as 75% of the genetic diversity of agricultural crops has already been lost. In scientific community, it is still debated whether traditional seed crops have adaptive and resilience capacity to face climate change and which methods are best for conservation. Passive Housing can drastically change and lower the energy demand of buildings in any type of building and is suitable for any type of climate. Currently, residential and commercial buildings are one of the biggest consumers of energy as well as producers of greenhouse gases worldwide. In order to get this innovation off the ground, collaboration between demand, supply and policy should be in place. Rare Earth Elements are highly valuable for the development of renewable energy production technologies and energy-­‐efficient consumption. But as demand is expected to grow rapidly the environmental implications of unsustainable production increase dramatically and supply risks emerge. This calls for international action to ensure rare earth elements’ positive contribution to sustainable development. Urban agriculture has become an important part of urban food systems by complementing conventional agriculture, especially for urban population. Without these kind of alternative farming methods, one third of global urban areas would be needed to produce all the vegetables for urban dwellers. Consequently, there is a growing debate about what practices make urban agriculture a sustainable part of global food systems. Next to the five science digests, the three finance briefs summarize mechanisms for supply chains to go beyond fair trade (SDG 8, 10, 12, 15, 17), slum upgrading (SDG 1, 3, 6, 8, 11, 17) and sustainable rural electrification (SDG 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13). Beyond Fair Trade cuts across two sectors, timber and electronics, with the purpose of selecting and assessing marked-­‐based, integrative financial approaches. In today’s global market, there is a surging demand to safeguard the earth's capacity to provide natural resources while promoting inclusive economic growth and social development. The juxtaposition of these two briefs under a single line of inquiry makes clear that by selecting and assessing mechanisms to promote SDGs, careful attention needs to be paid to the sectors in which they operate. Slum Upgrading case studies highlight emerging new trends in financing sustainable development in cities. By 2050 it is expected that three-­‐quarter of the world population is living in urban areas, with the highest urbanization rate in developing countries. This brief shows that conventional sources of financing are not sufficient to meet the predicted requirements regarding this strong urbanization. Sustainable Rural Electrification, via the use of solar energy generation, is an opportunity to address the issue of 585 million people in Sub Saharan Africa having presently no access to 4 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre electricity. Due to the fact that this region is globally the electricity poorest area, it is crucial to identify efficient mechanisms to finance rural electrification through solar energy technologies. The selection of topics led to the emphasis on several specific SDGs, which can be clustered based on three dimensions of sustainable development. These are first sustainable energy technology in the environmental field, second, sustainable supply-­‐chain management in the economic field and third, urban development in the social field is only slightly touched upon. This could be due to the students’ preferences for trends in natural science and the approachability of some SDGs. Finally, it has to be noted that not only the knowledge delivered through the scientific digests and financial briefs is provided, but also value is added by the ‘independent’ view of students that see trends in sciences and have direct contact to experts by being in academic surroundings. Concluding, in order to fulfill the full potential of the topics to successfully contribute to several sustainable development goals, considerations for policy makers are suggested; 1-­‐ to foster the international discussion platforms, 2-­‐ to promote financial incentives from public and private actors and 3-­‐ to promote usage of combinations of different financial mechanisms. 5 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
ACCA ACHR BC BP BF BE BGS CRED CAPMIX CO2 CO2-­‐e CoC CDF CBO TSC CW CGAP CEA CBD DSD EROI ESCO ETE EC EU EPR FAO FDI FSC FOB GMO GW GSPC GSRD GHG HREE ha ICT IMIEU INES ICESDF IDA IIED iPHA IUPAC kg Asian Coalition for Community Action Asian Coalition for Housing Rights Before Christ Before present Beyond fair trade Blue energy British Geological Survey Capacitive electro dialysis Capacitive mixing Carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide equivalent Chain-­‐of-­‐Custody Community development funds Community-­‐based organization Conserving traditional seed crops Constructed wetland Consultative Group to Assist the Poor Controlled environment agriculture Convention on Biological Diversity Division for Sustainable Development Energy return on energy invested Energy services company Environmental Technology (Sub-­‐department) European Commission European Union Extended Producer Responsibility Food and Agriculture Organization Foreign development investment Forest Stewardship Council Free on board Genetically modified organism Gigawatt Global Strategy for Plant Conservation Global Sustainable Development Report Greenhouse gases Heavy rare earth element Hectare Information communication technology Institute for Infrastructure, Environment and Innovation Integrated Network for Energy from Salinity Gradient Power Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing International development aid International Institute for Environment and Development International Passive House Association International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry Kilogram 6 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre kWh LREE LED MFI MVNO NGO N/A ODA OECD PHPP PH PAYG PES Pg PV PRO PPP REE REO REDD RED RA RE SGP SU SME SUNY-­‐ESF SSA SDG SRE TaTEDO TW ToR t UEA UN UN-­‐DESA UNDP U.S. USD UCL UA VU WUR WSP WB Kilowatt hour Light rare earth element Light-­‐emitting diode Microfinance institutions Mobile virtual network operators Non-­‐governmental organization Not available Official development assistance Organisation for Economic Co-­‐operation and Development Passive House Planning Package Passive housing Pay-­‐as-­‐you-­‐Go Payment for environmental services Petagram Photovoltaic system Pressure retarded smosis Public-­‐private partnership Rare earth element Rare earth oxide Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation Reversed electrodialysis Rural agriculture Rural electrification Salinity gradient power Slum upgrading Small and middle-­‐sized enterprises State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry Sub-­‐Sahara Africa Sustainable development goal Sustainable rural electrification Tanzania Traditional Energy Development Organization Terawatt Terms of reference Ton Uncontrolled environment agriculture United Nations United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs United Nations Development Programme United States United States dollar University College London Urban agriculture Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Wageningen University and Research Centre Waste stabilization pond World Bank 7 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre PREFACE
This report was written for the United Nations Policy Analysis Branch, Division for Sustainable Development of the Department for Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), which purpose is to provide an in-­‐depth description of the important developments in sustainable development and in sustainability science. The report was prepared by 18 master students from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-­‐ESF) and from Wageningen University and Research Centre (WUR), as a contribution to the 2015 Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR). The GSDR aims to reflect on a wide range of perspectives on sustainable development and identify ways of improving the science-­‐policy interface. STUDENTS SUNY-­‐ESF Mamadou Djerma: General Member, MSc in Environmental Health, MSc candidate in Environmental Science Kaira Fuentes: General Member, PhD candidate in Environmental and Community Land Planning and Certificate of Advanced Study in Sustainable Enterprise (CASSE) Paguedame Ibrahim Game: General Member, MSc in Modelling and Monitoring, MSc candidate in Environmental Science Verónica González :Moderator, MPS student in Ecology and Ecosystems Gusti Ayu Fransiska Sri Rahajeng Kusuma Dewi : SUNY Webmaster, Master in Agricultural Biotechnology, MPS Student in Environmental and Community Land Planning Brian Michael Jacobson : General Member, MPS student in Forest and Natural Resource Management and JD Candidate at Syracuse University Ashley Liu Lin: General Member, MPS candidate in Environmental Studies with a Certificate of Advanced Study in Sustainable Enterprise (CASSE) Darci Pauser: Corresponding Secretary, Dual master of Public Administration (SUNY -­‐ ESF) and public policy & international relations at Syracuse's Maxwell School of Citizenship Richaela Primus : General Member, MS candidate in Environmental and Community Land Planning Aaron Vlasak : Report Coordinator, MSc candidate in Forest and Natural Resources Management STUDENTS WUR David Acuña Mora: General Member, MSc candidate in Agricultural and food economics and in Management, Economics and Consumer Studies Daphne van Dam : Moderator, MSc candidate in International Development Studies with a major in Communication, Technology and Policy Hein Gevers :General Member, MSc candidate in Environmental Sciences with a specialization in Policy Mirle Dawn van Huet :Corresponding Secretary, MSc candidate in Applied Communication Science, minor in Environmental Sciences and Economics Larissa Koch : General Member, MSc candidate in Applied Communication Science, minor in Environmental Sciences and System analysis Janne Kuhn: WUR Webmaster, MSc candidate in Environmental Science Arvid de Rijck : Secretary, MSc candidate in Earth and Environment Nora Sticzay: Treasurer, MSc in Environmental Resource Management, and candidate in Environmental Sciences 8 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-­‐DESA), Division for Sustainable Development (DSD), was the commissioner of this report. Therefore we express our gratitude to David O’Connor, Richard Alexander Roehrl and Wei Liu of Division for Sustainable Development (DSD), United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) for letting us contribute to this widely acknowledged and respected report and for their valuable guidance throughout the project. A special acknowledgement goes out to Dr. David Sonnenfeld (State University of New York; United States), Dr. Machiel Lamers (Wageningen University; the Netherlands) and Ir. Astrid Hendriksen (Wageningen University; the Netherlands) for their coordination and insightful feedback during this project. Without them, this report would not have been accomplished. Last but not least we would like to thank all the experts of the relevant fields for their time and contributions via interviews and/or the validation of the individual digests and briefs. The extended list of experts is presented in the ‘research methodology’ chapter. Any shortcomings of the digest remain the sole responsibility of the authors. 9 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................................... 12 1.1 2 1.1.1 Assignment & subjects .............................................................................................................................. 12 1.1.2 Structure .................................................................................................................................................... 13 GENERAL METHODS ................................................................................................................................................ 16 2.1 3 BACKGROUND ................................................................................................................................................. 12 TERMS OF REFERENCE .................................................................................................................................... 20 2.1.1 Task 1. Preparing natural or social science digests for policy makers .......................................................... 20 2.1.2 Task 2. Preparing financial option reviews for policy makers ..................................................................... 20 SCIENCE DIGESTS ..................................................................................................................................................... 21 3.1 BLUE ENERGY; SALINITY GRADIENT POWER IN PRACTICE ............................................................................ 21 3.1.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 21 3.1.2 Scientific debate ....................................................................................................................................... 21 3.1.3 Goals & Targets ......................................................................................................................................... 23 3.1.4 Recommendations .................................................................................................................................... 23 3.1.5 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................... 24 3.1.6 References ................................................................................................................................................ 25 3.1.7 Appendices ............................................................................................................................................... 28 3.2 CONSERVING TRADITIONAL SEED CROPS DIVERSITY ..................................................................................... 31 3.2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 31 3.2.2 Scientific debate ........................................................................................................................................ 31 3.2.3 Traditional Seed Crops Conservation Methods .......................................................................................... 32 3.2.4 Goals & targets ........................................................................................................................................... 33 3.2.5 Recommendations ..................................................................................................................................... 33 3.2.6 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................... 34 3.2.7 References ................................................................................................................................................ 35 3.2.8 Appendices ............................................................................................................................................... 39 3.3 PASSIVE HOUSING ........................................................................................................................................... 40 3.3.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 40 3.3.2 Scientific debate ....................................................................................................................................... 40 3.3.3 Goals & targets .......................................................................................................................................... 43 3.3.4 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................... 43 3.3.5 References ................................................................................................................................................ 44 3.3.6 Appendices ............................................................................................................................................... 47 3.4 RARE EARTH ELEMENTS; FROM MINERAL TO MAGNET .................................................................................. 51 3.4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 51 3.4.2 Scientific debate ........................................................................................................................................ 51 3.4.3 Goals & targets .......................................................................................................................................... 54 3.4.4 Recommendations .................................................................................................................................... 54 3.4.5 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................... 54 10 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 3.4.6 References ................................................................................................................................................ 55 3.4.7 Appendices ............................................................................................................................................... 59 3.5 4 URBAN AGRICULTURE ..................................................................................................................................... 61 3.5.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 61 3.5.2 Scientific debate ....................................................................................................................................... 61 3.5.3 Goals ......................................................................................................................................................... 63 3.5.4 Recommendations/Targets ....................................................................................................................... 63 3.5.5 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................... 63 3.5.6 References ................................................................................................................................................ 64 3.5.7 Appendices ............................................................................................................................................... 69 FINANCIAL BRIEFS ..................................................................................................................................................... 75 4.1 BEYOND FAIR TRADE ........................................................................................................................................ 75 4.1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 75 4.1.2 Timber ....................................................................................................................................................... 75 4.1.3 Electronics ................................................................................................................................................. 77 4.1.4 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................... 79 4.1.5 Appendices ............................................................................................................................................... 80 4.1.6 References ................................................................................................................................................ 83 4.2 SLUM UPGRADING ........................................................................................................................................... 85 4.3 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................... 85 4.3.1 Case study ................................................................................................................................................. 86 4.3.2 Financial Instruments ................................................................................................................................ 87 4.3.3 Finance Mechanisms ................................................................................................................................. 87 4.3.4 Opportunities and Risks of blended finance ............................................................................................... 88 4.3.5 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................... 89 4.3.6 References ................................................................................................................................................ 90 4.3.7 Appendices ............................................................................................................................................... 92 4.4 SUSTAINABLE RURAL ELECTRIFICATION ........................................................................................................ 95 4.4.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 95 4.4.2 Sector-­‐Specific Issues ................................................................................................................................ 95 4.4.3 Finance Mechanisms ................................................................................................................................. 95 4.4.4 Opportunities and Risks ............................................................................................................................ 97 4.4.5 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................... 97 4.4.6 References ................................................................................................................................................ 98 4.5 Appendices ........................................................................................................................................................ 99 5 Discussion ................................................................................................................................................................ 101 6 Conclusions & Recommendations ............................................................................................................................ 104 7 GLOSSARY ............................................................................................................................................................... 107 11 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND
Sustainable development is a frequently used term that has been used by scientists and policy makers for decades. The concept of sustainable development is known to many, but at the same time there is little consensus on what it entails. In order to understand the current position of sustainable development and the position of this report, a brief history of sustainable development follows. The concept of sustainable development gained strength after the Brundtland report of 1987. The Brundtland report focused on the new possibilities for economic growth and expanding the environmental resource base. It was thought that this would be of great importance in reducing poverty in the developing 1
world. In this report the definition of sustainable development was constructed in such a way that it is still a workable definition today: "Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key concepts: 1) the concept of needs, in particular the essential needs of the world's poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and 2) the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the 2
environment's ability to meet present and future needs.". Although there are a multitude of definitions in use, and many debates regarding whether the emphasis on development generates sustainable policies, the Brundtland definition still serves as the dominant point of reference throughout this report. The first UN conference on sustainable development was the 1992 Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro and resulted inter alia in the ‘Agenda 21’, the ‘Rio Declaration on Environment and Development’ and 3
the establishment of the Commission on Sustainable Development. However, it was not until the Rio+20 conference that the scientific community was well represented. One of the reasons was the emergence of 4
sustainability science as a new interdisciplinary, unified scientific field of study. During the Rio+20 Conference, it was decided to “establish a universal, intergovernmental, high-­‐level political forum […] 5
subsequently replacing the Commission on Sustainable Development”. The high-­‐level political platform is meant to work on the follow up on the implementation of sustainable development. One task of the platform is to create the first and second Global Sustainable Development Report in which the involvement of the scientific community is deemed essential. The GSDR has multiple sources of information of which past assessments on sustainable development take up a large segment. One of the difficulties that is related to the broad range of this research field, is the vast array of different views of scientists on sustainable development. Another difficulty is the gap between science and policy; most assessments consist of vital information for policymakers but are currently not written in an accessible manner. 1.1.1 Assignment & subjects
Graduate students from the State University of New York -­‐College of Environmental Science and Forestry-­‐ and graduate students from Wageningen University and Research Centre, worked as UN externs on the ‘Assessing Sustainable Development for the United Nations Global Sustainable Development Report’. The assignment by the UN was provided in the form of a Terms of Reference with two tasks (ToR). The first task of the ToR requested the students to deliver science digests that focused on emerging issues in sustainable science. The second task requested the creation of finance briefs. These briefs were to review vehicles and 1
Brundtland, G. H. (1987). Brundtland Report. Our Common Future. Report of the 1987 World Commission on Environment and Development. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2
Brundtland, G. H. (1987), p.43 3
Maekin, S. (1992). The Rio Earth Summit: summary of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. New York: UN Science and Technology Division 4
United Nations (2013). Global Sustainable Development Report – Executive Summary: Building the Common Future We Want. New York: UNDESA. Retrieved from http://sustainabledevelopment.un.or/globalsdreport/ 5
United Nations (2012). Report of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, p. 16 Retrieved from http://www.uncsd2012.org/content/documents/814UNCSD%20REPORT%20final%20revs.pdf 12 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre mechanisms for financing sustainable development. Eventually, these digests and briefs are to become part of the Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR), which revolves around the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The SDGs are the successor of the Millennium Goals, which were set up in 2000. This project gave the students the opportunity to form a single consultancy team by working together in an international and interdisciplinary environment. This collaboration has resulted in three financial briefs and five scientific digests which have the ability to support the realization of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the coming fifteen years and are specifically written for policymakers and government officials who follow the UN sustainable development debate. This assignment is one of the tools used to bring different perspectives with regards to sustainable development together and to make that information more accessible. We will further close the gap between science and policy with the creation of these science digests and financial briefs in which we have highlighted several scientific issues and financial mechanisms which are able to support sustainable development in the coming years. The five scientific digests which were created touch upon the topics ‘blue energy; ‘conserving traditional seed crops diversity’; ‘passive housing’; ‘rare earth elements’; and ‘urban agriculture’. The chosen topics for the three financial briefs consists of ‘beyond fair trade’ which consists of two parts namely ‘electronics’ and ‘timber’; ‘financing slum upgrading’; and ‘sustainable rural electrification’. 1.1.2 Structure
After the introduction the report will continue with the general research methods used for the construction of the scientific digests and the financial briefs. Following are the digests and briefs, which can be found in chapter 3 and 4. The digests and briefs have been constructed in an accessible format and structured in such a way that each topic can be seen as an individual component within the total report. Therefore, all topic related information such as recommendations, references, appendices and deviating research methodologies can be found in the corresponding chapter of each. Details regarding the digests’ and briefs’ structure can be found in the chapter ‘general research methods’. In the chapter after the digests and briefs the report will discuss the interlinkages between the SGDs and the digests and briefs, which were described. This part of the report hopes to highlight the overall strain of thought of the students who have been working on this report and who have seen several overlapping areas in which the topics relate to, and can support each other. The final chapter of this report includes the general conclusion and recommendations. As mentioned before, each digest and brief related chapter includes a topic specific conclusion and recommendation, however, in this concluding chapter we offer an overarching and more macro-­‐view conclusion and recommendation related to sustainable development and closing the bridge between science and policy. Also included in the report are a list of acronyms and a glossary. In the first one can find abbreviations used in the entire report, including the digests and briefs and excluding those, which might be found in the appendices. The latter can be found at the end of the document. 13 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 14 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 15 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 2 GENERAL METHODS
The methodology of the report relies both on primary and secondary data analysis. In general, it follows the same approach for the science digests and financial briefs. The most significant difference in approach is between the university groups. Where the SUNY-­‐ESF team based its findings purely on secondary data analyses, the WUR team conducted interviews as primary data source for the topics they worked on in addition. The choice for topics was based on the requirements of the two Terms of References. Among these requirements was the wish not to repeat topics discussed in last year’s report. In addition, topic selection was linked to students’ personal interest, academic background and knowledge on the specific issues. As the projects progressed and more in-­‐depth knowledge was gained, topics were placed accordingly in either the science or finance framework. This resulted in the choice for five science digests and three financial briefs. Table 1 demonstrates the choice of this year’s topics in the light of last year’s topics. Topics are placed according to thematic clusters (water, production & consumption, agriculture, energy, social development). The table illuminates the complementation of this year’s topics with last year’s topics; old clusters are broadened and new clusters are now touched upon. Table 1. Topic cluster The secondary data methodology includes literature review of scientific articles, journals, reports and other scientific publications. These were found via keywords insertion in online databases (e.g. Google Scholar or Scopus). As mentioned above, the WUR team conducted semi-­‐structured interviews as well, either in person or via Skype/phone (Table 2). The choice for semi-­‐structured interviews lays in the flexibility to create opportunities for additional information, which has not been identified earlier or only available through the expertise of the interviewee. Furthermore, interviews helped to identify additional experts in the field for interview and/or validation. Validation of the digest and briefs took place in the end stage of the project by experts. Both validation and interviewed experts are recognized specialists in their field and/or acknowledged researchers from several universities. In total 23 experts validated the individual reports and 19 interviews were conducted (Table 3). 16 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre Table 2: Interviewees Topic Name Profession Blue Energy Cees Buisman Jan Willem Post Peter Nicoll Rik Siebers Simon Grasman Frank Neumann T. Pradeep WUR, professor ETE chair group & scientific director Wetsus Program Manager, Wetsus Technical Director, Modern Water plc Director, REDstack Process Engineer REDstack Director, IMIEU Pradeep Research Group Traditional Seeds Niels P. Louwaars, Charles A. Maynard WUR professor, SUNY-­‐ESF professor Passive Housing Dr. Jurgen Schnieders Dr. ir. arch. Erwin Mlecnik Sarah Mekjian ir. Gerhard Bayer Passive House Institute, Germany Delft University of Technology International Passive House Association, Germany Austrian Society for Environment and Technology Rare Earth Elements Koop Lammertsma Marissa de Boer Volker Zepf Andrew Bloodworth Patrick Wäger Thomas Graedel VU VU Augsburg University BGS EMPA Yale University Beyond Fair Trade Kimberly Carlson Rene Germain Andrea Johnson Robert Malmsheimer Post-­‐doctoral scholar, Institute on the Environment, University of Minnesota Professor, SUNY-­‐ESF Specialist, Center for Agriculture and Forestry Research and Training Professor, SUNY-­‐ESF Slum Upgrading Anna Walnycki Monique Nuijten Alex Abiko Susanne Henderson IIED WUR IIED Cities Alliance 17 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre Table 3: validators & reviewers Topic Name Profession Blue Energy Cees Buisman Jan Willem Post Peter Nicoll Rik Siebers Simon Grasman WUR, professor ETE chair group & scientific director Wetsus Program Manager, Wetsus Technical Director, Modern Water plc Director, REDstack Process Engineer REDstack Conserving Traditional Seed Crops Diversity Niels P. Louwaars, Charles A. Maynard WUR professor SUNY-­‐ESF professor Passive Housing Dr. Jurgen Schnieders Dr. ir. arch. Erwin Mlecnik Sarah Mekjian ir. Gerhard Bayer Passive House Institute, Germany Delft University of Technology (International Passive House Association, Germany) Austrian Society for Environment and Technology Rare Earth Elements Koop Lammertsma Marissa de Boer Volker Zepf VU VU Augsburg University Urban Agriculture Dickson Despommier Federico Martellozzo Isidor Wallimann Professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Columbia University & Director of the Vertical Farm Project Post-­‐Doctoral Fellow University of Rome La Sapienza MEMOTEF -­‐ Dept. of Methods and Models for Economics, Territory and Finance Professor Emeritus Visiting Research Professor, Maxwell School, Syracuse University Founder of Urban Agriculture Basel Beyond Fair Trade: Timber Kimberly Carlson Rene Germain Andrea Johnson Robert Malmsheimer Post-­‐doctoral scholar, Institute on the Environment, University of Minnesota Professor, SUNY-­‐ESF Specialist, Center for Agriculture and Forestry Research and Training Professor, SUNY-­‐ESF Slum Upgrading Anna Walnycki Monique Nuijten Susanne Henderson Alex Abiko IIED WUR Cities Alliance IIED Sustainable Rural Electrification Michael Ronan Nique Dr. Xavier Lemaire Strategy Analyst at GSMA, London, United Kingdom Telecommunication Senior Research Associate The Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources UCL Energy Institute 18 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre SUNY-­‐ESF commenced with the project beginning of September. Collaboration between the two university groups started in late October when the WUR team joined the project. In order to lead this cooperation accordingly, an action plan was created (Table 4) to reach our goals in the given time. The action plan, by means of a Gantt chart, demonstrates the schedule of the project. The start and end dates of different actions can be found in this chart. Additionally, intensity of these actions are highlighted in brighter or darker colors. Table 4. Action Plan Gantt chart. The left column describes different tasks, such as; feedback on the current writing progress from ESF to WUR students (Feedback ESF > WUR). Corresponding with the dates, blue (WUR) and red (ESF) colors illuminates the time available for tasks. Bright coloring shows high priority, whereas light coloring shows less priority. Each science digest and finance brief underwent several feedback and evaluation rounds. The first feedback sessions took place within the university teams, followed by feedback sessions between the two university teams. Small teams were established and assigned to specific topics to review at first, but during the last stage everyone proofread the full report. Video conferences were used to communicate and create a uniform group between the two university groups. Occasionally, the corresponding secretaries and the moderators conducted additional Skype meetings for constructive planning. The time-­‐zone difference between the Netherlands and the United States could be overseen by planning meetings in the morning for SUNY-­‐ESF and in the afternoon for the WUR. Daily email activity allowed the groups to keep each other up-­‐to-­‐date about the state of affairs. Communication with the client took place via e-­‐mail from the corresponding secretaries and via video conferences. All team members were represented by moderators and could participate when appropriately. The SUNY-­‐ESF team preferred to present its findings verbally to the client while the WUR team submitted written pre-­‐findings that were discussed afterwards. The final report was presented via video conference to both the client and interested audience at both the WUR and SUNY-­‐ESF side. 19 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre Although all reports are following the approach described above, some topics contain specific methodology approaches in addition. In line with this, a specific methodology section is included at the end of every digest and brief as Appendix 1. Time scale and time limitation were the greatest obstacles that the writers faced. While the SUNY-­‐
ESF group started early September and worked part-­‐time, the WUR team joined in at late October and worked full-­‐time. Both groups experienced difficulties due to time constraints, mainly for conducting interviews (setting dates) and finding expert validation. Due to time constraints expert validation and/or interviewees were not available for some cases. 2.1 TERMS OF REFERENCE
2.1.1 Task 1. Preparing natural or social science digests for policy makers
The aim of the Science Digests was to analyze emerging global sustainability issues that are part of current scientific debates. The structure of each Science Digest includes a brief introduction into the topic, followed by a scientific debate indicating different perspectives of both the literature and experts. Afterwards the relationship with the SDGs is explained followed by the targets and recommendations for policymakers. Finally, at the end of the reports appendices are given, which include the specific methodologies, extra information and several graphs that contributed to the research but did not fit into the page limitation of 3-­‐4 pages. 2.1.2 Task 2. Preparing financial option reviews for policy makers
The aim of the Finance Briefs is “to review the main existing and newly created vehicles and mechanisms for financing low-­‐carbon, green investments in developing countries and consider whether they are adequate to addressing the specific financing needs at hand” (ToR2). The structure of each Finance Brief starts with an introduction of the topic indicating the relation with the SDGs. This is followed by sector-­‐specific financial issues, and financial mechanisms and instruments. Like the science digests, the briefs ends with acknowledgements and reference list and includes appendices with specific methodologies, explanatory text and figures. 20 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 3 SCIENCE DIGESTS
3.1 BLUE ENERGY; SALINITY GRADIENT POWER IN PRACTICE
Related Sustainable Development Goals Goal 06 Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all (6.1-­‐6.3 -­‐ 6.5 -­‐ 6.6 – 6.a) Goal 07 Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all Goal 11 Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable (11.1 – 11.6) Goal 12 Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns (12.1 -­‐ 12.2 – 12.a) Goal 13 Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts (13.2 – 13.3 – 13.a – 13.b) Keywords: blue energy, salinity gradient power, pressure retarded osmosis, PRO, reversed electrodialysis, RED, renewable energy. Authors: David Acuña Mora david.acunamora@wur.nl and Arvid de Rijck arvid.derijck@wur.nl Wageningen University and Research Centre 3.1.1 Introduction
The global total primary energy supply and demand has doubled between 1971 and 2012, FACTS & FIGURES
1
mainly relying on fossil fuels. This affects the world’s environment in aspects such as climate change and other long term effects mainly caused by the increase in quantity of greenhouse • Energy production,
2
distribution and
gases (GHGs) emissions. Moreover, the present constant use of combustion fuels such as oil consumption will be more
3
and natural gas will result in an expected depletion in 2050 onwards. Therefore, the need of expensive in the
renewable energy sources has increased during the last years in order to meet the world upcoming 30-40 years.i
energy demand and progressively divert fossil energy sources. One of these new renewable • It is indicated that
theoretically 80% of the
energy sources is the so-­‐called ‘Blue Energy’ or ‘Salinity Gradient Power’ (SGP). In broad total global demand could
terms it is energy obtained by the controlled mixing of a stream of saltwater (e.g. seas) and a be produced by SGP
stream of less saline water, treated wastewater or fresh river water. (1724 GW).ii,iii
The most well-­‐known and most investigated techniques to generate energy from • Reduce of 10 Pg CO2equivalent, or in other
SGP are Pressure Retarded Osmosis (PRO) and Reversed Electrodialysis (RED), herein ways a 40% of the global
respectively transport of water or ions through semi-­‐permeable membranes takes place (for energy related
4,5
a technical summary see Appendix II). Both PRO and RED have a large potential for greenhouse gas
producing energy for the coming years and they could be used for different applications as emissions (GHGs).iv
6
•
The investment cost are
well (see Facts & Figures). higher than for wind, but
At this moment there are two other SGP techniques, namely Capacitive Mixing the possibility of power
(CAPMIX) and Capacitive Reversed Electrodialysis (CRED) that both are supposed to have a generation is 24/7.
larger potential after more research is done. The first will probably take another several 7,8,9,10,11
years to be implemented in a plant and the second is already available for implementation.
Academic research mainly done in laboratories, shows that SGP has an enormous theoretical potential of ~1.9 TW. This indicates 80% of the total global demand of energy. However, as can be seen in 12,13
Appendix III, the technical potential is ~60% of the theoretical potential: ~980 GW. Additionally, the truly exploitable potential is dependent on economical and local capacity constraints. Therefore, further analysis 14
has to be carried out in order to find out these local capacity constraints. 3.1.2 Scientific debate
Present global development
15,16
The research, development and pilot plants of SGP in the Netherlands are completely based on RED. However, in other developed and transition countries such as Spain, Singapore, Japan, the Middle East, 17,18,19,20 Australia, Norway, China and South Korea the focus is more on PRO.
After analyzing these present developments, there is an indication that implementation is dependent on 1) the local constraints 2) the applications (energy production, desalination and purification) it is meant for, and 3) the general improvements within the technology. The factors to evaluate the possibility of its implementation in the developed or in the developing countries are the technical, environmental, political and 21
financial/fiscal criteria. 21 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre Implementation
In this section, two companies (REDstack and Statkraft) are discussed, because as far as FOOD FOR THOUGHT
could be found, these are good examples of pilots that produced, or have produced energy by SGP. Firstly, regarding the technical criteria, the development and improvement of the • SGP cannot be
components required in an SGP plant are essential for the sustainable expansion of SGP in implemented in countries
without any coastal areas.
the upcoming years. A way to obtain these is through the support of a public or private company. For instance Fujifilm is already investing and providing REDstack with • Take into account: not
22
affecting navigation and
membranes, to ensure the required electricity amount in the future (of USD 0.10/kWh). drinking water
23
Hence, REDstack is very positive about the outcome of their current pilot. On the contrary, • Easier implementable in
this technical support did not happen in the Statkraft pilot in Norway in 2009. They were not engineered deltas
able to find a company that was willing to invest in the production of cheaper and more (presence of dikes,
24,25,26 efficient membranes to achieve their research goals.
sluices etc.)v
Secondly, regarding the environmental criteria, the GHGs emissions from an SGP • There is a threshold from
technical developments
plant are lower than 10 g CO2-­‐e/kWh (Table 1). However, if there is a natural estuary (i.e. towards implementation.
there is an open connection with the sea/delta areas) the distinction between fresh and salt water is too small. In this case the construction of a dam, dike, water barrier or a long pipe system with a separate inlet and outlet of fresh and salt water is needed. This infrastructure might have an effect on the landscape, the unique ecological system, hydraulic systems and water management rules. It is important to note that, compared with for instance wind energy, implementing an SGP plant will produce the 27
same amount of energy, while having smaller impact on landscape, noise and it requires less land usage. Regarding the unique ecological system the influence on the microorganisms in the water should be taken into 28 , 29
account as a possible and very important environmental impact.
In order to implement the SGP technology, the local differences in legislation and regulations of hydraulic systems and water management have to be addressed as well. Thirdly, regarding the political and fiscal/financial criteria based on the North-­‐European countries, it can be assumed that the present governmental and local policies in developed countries are more willing to 30
implement SGP than developing countries. In practice, currently the implementation of an SGP plant is in 31 32 33 34 35
both type of countries not financial achievable.
Therefore the support from a local/ national/international government is necessary. Actually, it is estimated that around €900 million is needed for 36
the implementation of a complete RED plant in a developed country. For instance in the case of REDstack, the research is indirectly co-­‐financed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs through The Northern Netherlands 37
Provinces Alliance and the province of Fryslân. On the other hand, Statkraft did not get enough governmental subsidies, being another reason why they did not achieve their objectives. Commitment and Non-commitment
The aforementioned positive and negative aspects of SGP will have an impact on the (non)commitment for its 38
implementation. To explain it, a comparison with other types of energy sources is done. The values in Table 1 show several benefits of SGP compared to other energy sources. For instance, it is possible to generate power 24/7 without emitting any GHGs. Furthermore, because the renewable energy source (i.e. water) is always flowing there is a more accurate source of energy which makes the prediction of the amount of Watts more easily than for instance in wind and solar energy. However, it has to be taken into account that this kind of energy cannot be generated in countries without a coastal area. Furthermore, it has a better prediction possibility and is therewith also more accurate. Besides, the efficiency of energy conversion is on average similar to the other ones. It is important to note that the Energy Return On Invested (EROI) and 39,40,41,42
the price of SGP are theoretical values made upon academic research.
They are not achievable yet because this technology is still in the pilot phase and they will vary depended of the coming technical 43,44 advancements and the context wherein they will be implemented.
22 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre Table 1: Comparison SGP with other energy sources (vi, vii, viii, ix, x, xi) GHGs emissions Unit Photovoltaic Wind Hydro Geothermal Coal Gas g CO2-­‐e/kWh 90 25 41 170 1004 543 price of generated electricity USD/kW h $0.24 $0.07 $0.05 $0.07 $0.042 $0.048 SGP (RED) <10 $0.10 7 SGP (PRO) <10 $ 0,065-­‐0,13 with subsidies $0,05-­‐0,06 6 -­‐ 7 EROI availability of renewable sources (-­‐) 1.6 -­‐ 6.8 18 >100 n/a 80 10 (-­‐) Dependent Dependent Always available Dependent Non-­‐renewable Non-­‐renewable Always available. But not in non-­‐coastal countries Always available. But not in non-­‐coastal countries efficiency of energy conversion % 4-­‐22% 24-­‐54% >90% 10-­‐20% 32-­‐45% 45-­‐53% 50-­‐70 40 It is important to note that for the private and public bodies that are willing to implement SGP technology, other applications are possible as well. Amongst others, energy storage in batteries, desalinization, making energy from gas emissions and purification of the water can have an added value for different local 45,46
contexts.
Moreover, some of these aforementioned applications can be combined to save energy during 47
the process (Appendix IV). Summarizing, regarding implementation issues; in the upcoming years the technical developments will be crucial for producing the required amount of energy by SGP. Also changes in the hydraulic systems and water management rules that have its impact on the local environment must be studied before building the plant. Finally the importance of financial support of a political body or private company is crucial for the execution of an SGP plant in a specific country. Developed countries are assumed to have better environmental, political and financial possibilities for implementing SGP than developing countries. This ensures that it is easier to accomplish SGP pilots and plants in developed countries than it will be in developing countries. It is expected that it will take between 5-­‐8 48
years before the first operational plants are placed in developed countries. It is also expected that the first 49,50 operational plants in developing countries will only be commercial in more than 10 years.
Concluding, regarding the SDGs; SGP plants can create a modern type of production of reliable and sustainable energy sources. Furthermore, it could be used for desalinization and purification purposes. This creates a more sustainable way of management of water and sanitation in nearby cities and settlements. Nonetheless it will only be affordable with public and private support. 3.1.3 Goals & Targets
SGP could be a reliable, sustainable, renewable and modern type of energy source for the future (SDG 7;13). For implementing SGP an improvement of the fresh and salt water resource management is placed (SDG 6.5;12.2). This will have an added value in mitigating climate change (e.g. a decrease in GHGs emissions) and it does not have an effect on the air quality (SDG 11.6). Furthermore, it can also restore unique ecological systems (e.g. creating a fish migration stream from salt to fresh water and vice versa; SDG 6.6). Next to the production of energy, other applications (purification and desalinization of water) can create an adequate, safe and affordable way of creating drinking water. And another application is storing large amounts of energy in batteries, both as services for housing and slums (SDG 6.1;6.3;11). Moreover, developed countries will take the lead in creating and adopting these SGP pilots and plants. Herein, these countries can help strengthening the scientific and technological capacity of developing countries afterwards (SDG 12.1; 12.a). 3.1.4 Recommendations
Based on the aspects discussed in this science digest, it is feasible to conclude that the local implementation of SGP depends of the context of the place where it is intended to be implemented. However, for the worldwide inclusion of this technology in the political agendas the recommendations are based on two main streams: 23 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre §
§
Financially: financial incentives are required to increase the further development and research of SGP techniques. The importance of these incentives is regarding the membrane market, purification techniques of river water and the creation of new pilots and demos, these kind of incentives are essentially important for the start of the producing of energy. Political: implementation of new policy measurements (such as fostering of present international platforms (for instance INES) and certifications) would allow local, national/international governments and companies to discuss local implementation issues and therewith improve SGP systems more easily. Also the political willingness in developing countries will be larger in this sense. 3.1.5 Acknowledgements
The authors thank Cees Buisman (WUR, professor ETE chair group & scientific director Wetsus), Jan Willem Post (Program Manager, Wetsus), professor T. Pradeep (Pradeep Research Group), Peter Nicoll, (Technical Director, Modern Water plc), Rik Siebers (Director, REDstack), Simon Grasman (Process Engineer, REDstack) and Frank Neumann (director IMIEU) for taking their time in sharing their extended knowledge during interviews and for the validation of this Science Digest. 24 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 3.1.6 References
Text box references i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
x.
xi.
Kruyt, B., van Vuuren, D. P., de Vries, H. G. M., & Groenenberg, H. (2009). Indicators for energy security. Energy Policy, 37 (6), 2166-­‐2181. Post, J. W. (2014, November 17). Personal Communication about the RED type of Blue Energy and its possible applications by David Acuña Mora and Arvid de Rijck, Amersfoort. Kuleszo J., Kroeze, C., Post, J. W., & Fekete, B. M. (2010). The potential of blue energy for reducing emissions of CO2 and non-­‐CO2 greenhouse gases. Journal of Integrative Environmental Sciences, 7 (1), 89-­‐96. Post, J. W. (2009). Blue Energy: electricity from salinity gradients by reverse electrodialysis (Master’s Thesis). Retrieved from: http://www.waddenacademie.nl/fileadmin/inhoud/pdf/06-­‐
wadweten/Proefschriften/thesis_jan_Post.pdf. Post, J. W. (2014, November 17). Personal Communication about the RED type of Blue Energy and its other possible applications by David Acuña Mora and Arvid de Rijck, Amersfoort. Sales, B. B., Saakes, M., Post, J. W., Buisman, C. J. N., Biesheuvel, P. M., & Hamelers, H. V. M. (2010). Direct Power Production from a Water Salinity Difference in a Membrane-­‐Modified Supercapacitor Flow Cell. Environmental Science & Technology, 44 (14), 5661-­‐5665. Helfer, F., Sahin, O., Lemckert, C. J., Anissimov, Y. G. (2013). Salinity gradient energy: a new source of renewable energy in Australia. Water Utility Journal, 5, 3-­‐13. Post, J. W. (2009) Blue Energy: electricity from salinity gradients by reverse electrodialysis (Master’s Thesis). Retrieved from: http://www.waddenacademie.nl/fileadmin/inhoud/pdf/06-­‐
wadweten/Proefschriften/thesis_jan_Post.pdf. Evans A., Strezov, V., & Evans, T. J. (2009). Assessment of sustainability indicators for renewable energy technologies. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 13 (5), 1082-­‐1088. Norman, R. S. (1974). Water salination: a source of energy. Science, 186, 350-­‐352. Murphy, D. J., & Hall, C. A., (2010). Year in review –EROI or energy return on (energy) invested. Ecological Economics Reviews, 1185, 102-­‐118. Main text references 1
IEA (2014). ‘CO2 emissions from fuel combustion – highlights’. Retrieved from: https://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/CO2EmissionsFromFuelCombustionHighlights2014.pdf. 2
Helfer, F., Lemckert C., & Anissimov, Y. G. (2014). Osmotic power with Pressure Retarded Osmosis: Theory, performance and trends – A review. Journal of Membrane Science, 453, 337-­‐358. 3
Kruyt, B., van Vuuren, D. P., de Vries, H. G. M., & Groenenberg, H. (2009). Indicators for energy security. Energy Policy, 37 (6), 2166-­‐2181. 4
Ramon, G. Z., Feinberg, B. J., & Hoek, E. M. V. (2011). Membrane-­‐based production of salinity-­‐gradient power. Energy Environmental Sciences, 4, 4423-­‐4434. 5
Nijmeijer, K., & Metz, S. (2010). Salinity gradient energy. Sustainability Science and Engineering, 2, 95-­‐139. 6
Post, J. W. (2014, November 17). Personal Communication about the RED type of Blue Energy and its other possible applications by David Acuña Mora and Arvid de Rijck, Amersfoort. 7
Vermaas, D. A., Saakes, M., & Nijmeijer, K. (2012). Capacitive Electrodes for Energy Generation by Reverse Electrodialysis. Procedia Engineering, 44, 496-­‐497. 8
Brogioli D., Ziano, R., Rica, R., Salerno, D., Kozynchenko, O., Hamelers, H. V. M., & Mantegazza, F. (2012). Exploiting the spontaneous potential of the electrodes used in the capacitive mixing technique for the extraction of energy from salinity difference. Energy Environmental Science, 5, 9870-­‐9880. 9
Sales, B. B., Saakes, M., Post, J. W., Buisman, C. J. N., Biesheuvel, P. M., & Hamelers, H. V. M. (2010). Direct Power Production from a Water Salinity Difference in a Membrane-­‐Modified Supercapacitor Flow Cell. Environmental Science & Technology, 44 (14), 5661-­‐5665. 10
Neumann, F. (2014, November 28). Personal Communication about different types of present SGP pilots/research globally by David Acuña Mora and Arvid de Rijck, Wageningen. 11
Grasman, S., & Siebers, R. (2014, November 28). Personal Communication about and at the REDStack pilot on the Afsluitdijk by David Acuña Mora and Arvid de Rijck, Breezanddijk. 25 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 12
Post, J. W. (2014, November 17). Personal Communication about the RED type of Blue Energy and its other possible applications by David Acuña Mora and Arvid de Rijck, Amersfoort. 13
Post, J. W., Hamelers, H. V. M., & Buisman, C. J. N. (2009). Influence of multivalent ions on power production from mixing salt and fresh water with a reverse electrodialysis system. Journal of Membrane Science, 330 (1-­‐2), 65-­‐72. 14
Ramon, G. Z., Feinberg, B. J., & Hoek, E. M. V. (2011). Membrane-­‐based production of salinity-­‐gradient power. Energy Environmental Sciences, 4, 4423-­‐4434. 15
Post, J. W. (2014, November 17). Personal Communication about the RED type of Blue Energy and its other possible applications by David Acuña Mora and Arvid de Rijck, Amersfoort. 16
Buisman, C. (2014, November 12). Personal Communication about the present status of SGP and the work of Wetsus by David Acuña Mora and Arvid de Rijck, Wageningen. 17
Helfer, F., Lemckert C., & Anissimov, Y. G. (2014). Osmotic power with Pressure Retarded Osmosis: Theory, performance and trends – A review. Journal of Membrane Science, 453, 337-­‐358. 18
Neumann, F. (2014, November 28). Personal Communication about different types of present SGP pilots/research globally by David Acuña Mora and Arvid de Rijck, Wageningen. 19
Nicoll, P. (2014, November 24). Personal Communication about present work Modern Water plc and the link with SGP by David Acuña Mora and Arvid de Rijck, Wageningen, Wageningen. 20
Helfer, F., Sahin, O., Lemckert, C. J., & Anissimov, Y. G. (2013). Salinity gradient energy: a new source of renewable energy in Australia. Water Utility Journal, 5, 3-­‐13. 21
Gao X., & Kroeze C. (2012). The effects of blue energy on future emissions of greenhouse gases and atmospheric pollutants in China. Journal of Integrative Environmental Sciences, 9 (1), 177-­‐190. 22
Post, J. W. (2009). Blue Energy: electricity from salinity gradients by reverse electrodialysis. Retrieved from: http://www.waddenacademie.nl/fileadmin/inhoud/pdf/06-­‐wadweten/Proefschriften/thesis_jan_Post.pdf. 23
Grasman, S., & Siebers, R. (2014, November 28). Personal Communication about and at the REDStack pilot on the Afsluitdijk by David Acuña Mora and Arvid de Rijck, Breezanddijk. 24
Neumann, F. (2014, November 28). Personal Communication about different types of present SGP pilots/research globally by David Acuña Mora and Arvid de Rijck, Wageningen. 25
Nicoll, P. (2014, November 24). Personal Communication about present work Modern Water plc and the link with SGP by David Acuña Mora and Arvid de Rijck, Wageningen. 26 Buisman, C. (2014, November 12). Personal Communication about the present status of SGP and the work of Wetsus by David Acuña Mora and Arvid de Rijck, Wageningen. 27
Post, J. W. (2009). Blue Energy: electricity from salinity gradients by reverse electrodialysis (Master’s Thesis). Retrieved from: http://www.waddenacademie.nl/fileadmin/inhoud/pdf/06-­‐wadweten/Proefschriften/thesis_jan_Post.pdf 28
Grasman, S., & Siebers, R. (2014, November 28). Personal Communication about and at the REDStack pilot on the Afsluitdijk by David Acuña Mora and Arvid de Rijck, Breezanddijk. 29
Didde, R. (2014). Pilot Plant brings ‘blue energy’ closer. Retrieved on 2014, November 26, from http://resource.wageningenur.nl/en/science/show/Pilot-­‐plant-­‐brings-­‐blue-­‐energy-­‐closer.htm. 30
Neumann, F. (2014, November 28). Personal Communication about different types of present SGP pilots/research globally by David Acuña Mora and Arvid de Rijck, Wageningen. 31
Post, J. W. (2014, November 17). Personal Communication about the RED type of Blue Energy and its other possible applications by David Acuña Mora and Arvid de Rijck, Amersfoort. 32
Nicoll, P. (2014, November 24). Personal Communication about present work Modern Water plc and the link with SGP by David Acuña Mora and Arvid de Rijck, Wageningen. 26 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 33
Neumann, F. (2014, November 28). Personal Communication about different types of present SGP pilots/research globally by David Acuña Mora and Arvid de Rijck, Wageningen. 34
Grasman, S., & Siebers, R. (2014, November 28). Personal Communication about and at the REDStack pilot on the Afsluitdijk by David Acuña Mora and Arvid de Rijck, Breezanddijk. 35
Buisman, C. (2014, November 12). Personal Communication about the present status of SGP and the work of Wetsus by David Acuña Mora and Arvid de Rijck, Wageningen. 36
Post, J. W. (2009). Blue Energy: electricity from salinity gradients by reverse electrodialysis (Master’s Thesis). Retrieved from: http://www.waddenacademie.nl/fileadmin/inhoud/pdf/06-­‐wadweten/Proefschriften/thesis_jan_Post.pdf. 37
Grasman, S., & Siebers, R. (2014, November 28). Personal Communication about and at the REDStack pilot on the Afsluitdijk by David Acuña Mora and Arvid de Rijck, Breezanddijk. 38
Evans A., Strezov, V., & Evans, T. J. (2009). Assessment of sustainability indicators for renewable energy technologies. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 13 (5), 1082-­‐1088. 39
Post, J. W. (2009) Blue Energy: electricity from salinity gradients by reverse electrodialysis (Master’s Thesis). Retrieved from: http://www.waddenacademie.nl/fileadmin/inhoud/pdf/06-­‐wadweten/Proefschriften/thesis_jan_Post.pdf. 40
Helfer, F., Sahin, O., Lemckert, C. J., & Anissimov, Y. G. (2013). Salinity gradient energy: a new source of renewable energy in Australia. Water Utility Journal, 5, 3-­‐13. 41
Murphy, D. J., & Hall, C. A. (2010). Year in review –EROI or energy return on (energy) invested. Ecological Economics Reviews, 1185, 102-­‐118. 42
Norman, R. S. (1974). Water salination: a source of energy. Science, 186, 350-­‐352. 43
Grasman, S., & Siebers, R. (2014, November 28). Personal Communication about and at the REDStack pilot on the Afsluitdijk by David Acuña Mora and Arvid de Rijck, Breezanddijk. 44
Buisman, C. (2014, November 12) Personal Communication about the present status of SGP and the work of Wetsus by David Acuña Mora and Arvid de Rijck, Wageningen. 45
Post, J. W. (2014, November 17). Personal Communication about the RED type of Blue Energy and its other possible applications by David Acuña Mora and Arvid de Rijck, Amersfoort. 46
Nicoll, P. (2014, November 24). Personal Communication about present work Modern Water plc and the link with SGP by David Acuña Mora and Arvid de Rijck, Wageningen. 47
Grasman, S., & Siebers, R. (2014, November 28). Personal Communication about and at the REDStack pilot on the Afsluitdijk by David Acuña Mora and Arvid de Rijck, Breezanddijk. 48
Neumann, F. (2014, November 28). Personal Communication about different types of present SGP pilots/research globally by David Acuña Mora and Arvid de Rijck, Wageningen. 49
Post, J. W. (2014, November 17). Personal Communication about the RED type of Blue Energy and its other possible applications by David Acuña Mora and Arvid de Rijck, Amersfoort. 50
Nicoll, P. (2014, November 24). Personal Communication about present work Modern Water plc and the link with SGP by David Acuña Mora and Arvid de Rijck, Wageningen. 27 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 3.1.7 Appendices
Appendix 1: Research methodology
To start with the choice whether we wanted to do this topic or the other ones; David thought at first place that this type of energy would have an enormous potential to mitigate climate change. During a past assignment regarding renewable energy Arvid already ran into this term ‘blue energy’. However, at that moment he was not quite sure what it was about, but when Mirle was talking about the first overall idea his attention was attracted. Moreover, Arvid remembered that a fraternity mate of his had worked on this topic for his MSc thesis and that this fraternity mate of his was really fond of the topic. Moreover, for both counted that this type of subject was by far the most interesting, compared to the other three ones. It is actually quite remarkable that we both chose this topic because we both have no real personal background in these kind of environmental technicalities. However, on the contrary this was seen as a real and nice challenge for the both of us. The Science Digest is based on a literature research, 6 interviews and a pilot plant visit at the Afsluitdijk (REDstack). The literature research was started by inserting the keywords ‘blue energy’ in search engines as Google Scholar and Scopus and only for articles from 2007 onwards was searched. We read several articles regarding this topic and we found out that a lot of research was actually done by Dutch researchers. Moreover, we ran into a couple of the same names several times (amongst others J.W. Post, M. Saakes, D. Vermaas, S. Grasman & C.J.N. Buisman). After doing some small research regarding the researchers, most of them even seemed to be (or were) somehow related to Wetsus and the WUR. Therefore we decided to request these persons, amongst others, for an interview. That these researchers were mostly Dutch had actually two sides: on the one hand this made the communication more easy, but on the other hand it made sure that we did not find other applications/pilots/demos around the world regarding ‘blue energy’. After having done the first interview (C.J.N. Buisman, 12-­‐11-­‐2014), which was really helpful, we also asked Mr. Buisman whether he knew other researchers that were useful to contact as well. He indicated that Mr. Neumann would be a good one to talk to. Besides, especially J.W. Post would really be a good one to talk to as well because he is the one that had written a complete PhD thesis regarding blue energy. Luckily at that moment we had already seen his name in a couple of articles and had already planned an interview with Mr. Post on the 17th of November. Especially during this interview with J.W. Post (17-­‐11-­‐2014) we noticed 1) that there were more applications possible than only producing energy with the system of blue energy, such as desalination, purification etc. and 2) the reason why we mostly found Dutch researchers. The research term ‘blue energy’ is actually only being used in the Netherlands for this kind of specific renewable energy. Other countries are more focused on other water related energy sources when talking about ‘blue energy’, such as Hydro-­‐, Tidal-­‐ and Wave Energy. For the type of energy source we were looking for, the other countries mostly use the terms ‘Osmotic Power’ or ‘Salinity Gradient Power’. These two new terms really helped us to also find other literature (and therewith names) from researchers and companies around the world. After having finished the draft, the incorporated feedback (from our colleagues and the validation from the experts) was very constructive and there was not much overlap or contradiction between them. 28 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre Appendix 2: Explanation regarding technicalities of two salinity gradient power generation
Reverse Electrodialysis (RED)
A RED system works in the following way: “a number of cation and anion exchange membranes are stacked in an alternating pattern between a cathode and an anode (Post, 2009)” (For the figure see down on the right side). “The electric potential difference between the outer compartments of the membrane stack is the sum of the potential difference over each membrane.” “The chemical potential difference causes the transport of ions through the membranes from the concentrated solution to the diluted solution. For a Sodium chloride solution, sodium ions permeate through the cation exchange membrane in the direction of the cathode and chloride the other way around.” (Post, J.W., (2009) Blue Energy: electricity from salinity gradients by reverse electrodialysis. Retrieved from: http://www.waddenacademie.nl/fileadmin/inhoud/pdf/06-­‐wadweten/Proefschriften/thesis_jan_Post.pdf) Pressure Retarded Osmosis (PRO)
“This membrane allows the solvent (i.e. water (H2O) to permeate and retains the solute (i.e. dissolved salts).” (Post, 2009) This transport of water from the low-­‐pressure diluted solution to the high-­‐pressure concentrated solution results in a pressurization of the volume of transported water. This transported water can be used to generate electrical power in a turbine. (Post, 2009) 29 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre Appendix 3: Definitions and assumptions to calculate the energy potential
(Post, J.W., (2009) Blue Energy: electricity from salinity gradients by reverse electrodialysis. Retrieved from: http://www.waddenacademie.nl/fileadmin/inhoud/pdf/06-­‐wadweten/Proefschriften/thesis_jan_Post.pdf) 30 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 3.2 CONSERVING TRADITIONAL SEED CROPS DIVERSITY
Related Sustainable Development Goals Goal 01 End poverty in all its forms everywhere (1.5) Goal 02 End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture (2.4, 2.5, 2.a) Goal 15 Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss (15.5, 15.6, 15.c) Key words: traditional seed crops, seed crops diversity, plant resilience, plant adaptation on climate change, crops evolution, seeds preservation, seeds conservation methods, in situ, ex situ. Authors: Gusti Ayu Fransiska Sri Rahajeng Kusuma Dewi and Verónica Argelis Gonzaléz. State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. 3.2.1 Introduction
1
Over the last two decades, 75% of the genetic diversity of agricultural crops has been lost; 100 to 1000-­‐fold 2
decrease overtime. This phenomenon results in the decrease of ecosystem abilities to provide food for people and 3
decrease the function of other ecosystem services. Crop varieties, as an integral part of genetic diversity, are the 4,5
result of human selection and management , as well as natural mechanisms of evolution. Evolution, based on 6
7
mutation, natural hybridization, introgression and selection, adapts plant populations to the (agro-­‐) environment. Plant breeding by farmers and specialists builds on these phenomena, makes them more efficient, and focuses them 8
on farmers’ needs. Genetic diversity is the basis of all crop improvement. Meanwhile the crop diversity has been decreasing, the World Bank estimates that about one billion of world’s 9
population will still live in extreme poverty in 2015. 70% of world’s poor people are living in rural areas and they are 10
11
relying on the agriculture sector , particularly on traditional agricultural systems. FAO suggests that efforts to eradicate hunger require an integrated approach especially to increase agricultural productivity and strengthen 12
farmers’ resilience to environmental changes. In regard to FAO suggestion, it is important to restore crop diversity. International concerns about the loss of plant diversity were discussed in the Commission for Plant Genetic 13
Resources at FAO in 1985 , and more recently in the Conference of the Parties for the Convention on Biological 14
Diversity (CBD) in 2002, resulting in the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC). GSPC is intended to restore 15
plant diversity as a part of eradicating poverty and promoting sustainable development. GSPC includes in situ and ex situ conservation as main ways of preserving seed crops. Both conservation methods have the same goal, but do not exactly have the same ability in sustaining crop diversity and sustaining farmers’ ability to preserve and utilize seeds. Currently, scientific communities are debating on resilience and adaptive capacity of traditional seed crops and the effectiveness of their conservation methods. Thus it is important to summarize scientific arguments and the evidence of these issues as a base to make right solutions to eradicate hunger and to restore biodiversity. In this paper we focus on discussing traditional seed crops, which derived from wild plants that are domesticated and planted locally based on certain climate zones and have been developed through local knowledge. Traditional seed crops are differ from hybrid seed crops and GMO seed crops in some respects. 3.2.2 Scientific debate
Resilience and adaptive capacity of traditional seeds
Currently, within the scientific community there is not a consensus regarding whether traditional seeds are really resilient and carrying adaptive capacity to face climate change. On one hand, some scientists state that local farmers develop adaptive and resilient plant varieties. Those plant varieties differ in terms of their adaptation to soil 16
type and drought resistance. Moreover, traditional varieties and the genetic diversity of the wild relatives of 17
domesticated crops provide rich resources for facing changing climate. Altieri and Merrick state that traditional seeds become adaptive to climate through natural hybridization and introgression as processes from in situ evolution (even 18
though they do not provide the genetic evidence). Other scientists mention that natural hybridization may be an 19
important process in the shaping of the evolutionary trajectories of many plant species. Some archeological data that can support the statement of evolution in situ are the discovery of a Cucurbita pepo seed in Guila Naquitz Cave in the 20
Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico. The C. pepo was domesticated in 8,750-­‐7,840 14C years BC , a type of squash that is now 21
being cultivated in some parts of the world. In addition, Berglund-­‐Brücher and Brücher assume that Phaseolus aborigineus (a wild bean species), which first dated 7,000-­‐10,000 14C years BP, is the ancestor of Phaseolus vulgaris, a 31 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre domesticated and a current cultivated bean. This assumption is based on phylogenetic evidence FOOD FOR THOUGHT
between these two species. Another example of evolution in situ is the ancestor-­‐descendant relationship; from teosinte to maize. Furthermore, Benz study on Zea’s inflorescences from • Global crop production is
Guilá Naquitz Cave revealed evolution evidence of teosinte inflorescences by 5, 400 14C years dominated by four staple
22
foods: wheat, rice, maize,
BP. and potato. In some areas
We only found one genetic evidence of evolution related to adaptation capacity of wild this has led to a loss of
plant species, the relatives of traditional crops. A study on genes sequence in domesticated genetic diversity in crop
23
production and to a
lineages of rice shows low rates of adapted genes of traditional rice in comparison to wild rice. hypothesized increase in
This could be refuting the arguments of the scientists that state evolution of traditional seeds in disease susceptibility.i
situ has been occurred. The study found that evolution occurred in the genes of five wild species • 6 years of practicing
24
intercropping system in
of Oryza , wild rice that are native to four different continents. The specific genes allow Yunan. China, resulted in
different varieties thrive in to particular climate condition in the different continents. the significant increase of
Furthermore, the research found genes have capacity against pathogens, and genes adapted to rice varieties.ii
allow different ways of pollination and natural diffusion of seeds. In regards to evidence of resilience capacity in traditional seeds, we only found one experiment at genetic level that analyzes gene expressions of traditional seeds. The experiment tested three Mexican traditional maize (varieties tested: Michoacan 21, Cajete Criollo and 85-­‐2) in a greenhouse. The scientists measured their gene expressions and physiological responses to overcome drought stress, and reveal two of three traditional maize showed 25
drought stress tolerance. 26
Theoretically, resilience is not a permanent solution because the crops only return to an equilibrium , while adaptation is what allows a crop to persist, because the genetic changes imposed by the changed environment create 27 adaptation.
3.2.3 Traditional Seed Crops Conservation Methods
In situ and ex situ are the two common ways of conserving traditional seed crops, however there are ongoing debates among scientists about each effectiveness to restore biodiversity; resulting preference of some communities to only choose and prioritize one of those two methods. In situ conservation means to conserve crop species in their 28
29
natural habitat such as natural reserves, conservation corridors and on farm. Ex situ conservation means to 30
conserve seeds varieties under controlled and artificial environment, such as gene-­‐bank , botanical garden, 31
32
agricultural research station and tissue culture collections. While these methods have consequences once they are applied, knowing each method’s advantages and disadvantages (Table 1) could be useful to determining solutions most suitable to local environment and socio-­‐economic situation. In situ and ex situ are complementary strategies; with ex situ providing the much-­‐needed resources for global 67
food security and in situ strategies supporting local food security of specific types of smallholder farmers. However, there are some different arguments among scientists about their effectiveness to restore genetic diversity. On one hand, some scientists tested that the genetic variety of seed crops between in situ and ex situ are not much different, while some scientists reveal the opposite fact (e.g. ex situ seeds have less genetic variety), the same thing also happens in the tests of seed viability. Moreover, in general ex situ is being practiced more than in situ, as there is a 68
tendency that ex situ is a better conservation method. A new method that combines in situ and ex situ has been proposed by some scientists; it is called 'quasi in 69
situ’. Quasi in situ proposes the use of ex situ collections in natural or semi-­‐natural environments as a part of a complex ex situ–in situ conservation strategy. However, there is no evidence whether this new proposed method is effective. By combining these two (or and to try the new proposed method) in an area, could be an effective solution for restoring biodiversity and improve agricultural productivity. Despite ex situ can assure the availability of genetic resources for global food production, in situ has the ability to empower farmers and local communities to be resilient to environmental changes. However, in situ or ex situ can only be solutions for farmers and local communities around the world if there are assurances (policies) for farmers, peasants, small holders and local communities to have access 70
to genetic resources and rights to plant the seeds. It is also necessary to protect the lands or areas where in situ is 71
being practiced to maintain biodiversity. Consider that the convenience of GMO seeds for poor farmers and environment are still in debate, while the hybrid seeds are known to require inputs (such as fertilizers) that poor 32 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre farmers cannot afford, thus it is important to reinforce efforts and managements to preserve traditional seeds, while the different debates will be resolved and the uncertainties will be overcome. Table 1. The Advantages and Disadvantages of In Situ and Ex Situ Conservation Methods. In situ advantages Increasing local adaptive capacity on climate change and preventing farmers desire to leave the farm because of climate and environmental change 33 34 Nurturing crop biodiversity; increase significant varieties of crops, including those that were locally extinct 35 Supports resilience when the old diversity is well adapted to the environment and farmers ‘knowledge 36 Supports empowerment of communities as they have the future of their crops in their own hands 37 Ensuring new variations of plants are generated 38 Provide continuous seeds supply 39 Local communities as the main actor 40 Ex situ advantages Breeders can use the seeds to increase agricultural productivity in different parts of the world 41 Providing assurance in saving genetic resources from the loss because of human ecosystem domination 42 Can save large variety of seeds in relatively small space 43, with many accessions, save room, and require relativity little labor 44 Can save several landrace species for longer time 45 Genetic change is much less compared to in situ 46 The safety is guaranteed especially when the duplicate samples are stored elsewhere 47 Allows saving the seeds anytime 48 In situ disadvantages Slowly adapt to climate change 49 The genetic resources are not ready for the outsiders who want to breed the seeds for global food security purpose 50 Disasters and development give pressure to the existence of the crops 51 Only suitable for countries where their biodiversity conservation efforts and economic development do not contradict each other 52 Farmers’ decision on preserving diversity depends on their socio-­‐economic situation 53 culture governmental policy and environmental condition 54 55 When people in the area are displaced the local knowledge is gone and so are the seeds 56 Ex situ disadvantages Longlivity of the germplasm in seeds banks remains for a limited time in storage 57 Seeds that have slow rate of germination or the ones that germinate fast cannot be stored 58 Some gene-­‐banks and botanical gardens do not have comprehensive data about the seeds demographic information and their cultivation methods as well as mislabeling have been occurred 59 60 A large collection is lying unutilized in global ex situ collections 61 It costs a considerable amount of money and energy which causes extra difficulties for some developing countries where funding and electricity are limited 63 It creates conditions where the crops stop or pause evolving 64 Local communities normally cannot control their crop diversity 65 The storage of the seed-­‐banks often results in partial or complete loss of seed viability 66 3.2.4 Goals & targets
By conserving traditional seed crops diversity, the efforts gap between restoring biodiversity and improving agricultural productivity can be bridged (SDG 2, 2.4, 2.5). The conservation methods can restore biodiversity loss (SDG 15, 15.5) while peasants and farmers empowerment can be implemented, which can support the efforts of eradicating poverty and hunger (SDG 1, 2). By improving conservation management and assistance to increase farmers access and rights to get and plant the seeds can save local knowledge, increase community resilience and insure agriculture productivity (SDG 1.5, 2.a, 15.6, 15.c). 3.2.5 Recommendations
A policy to ensure management of in situ and ex situ attributing rights and access for farmers, smallholders, peasants, breeders, and local communities to get the seeds to be planted in their field is needed. Ex situ way should not make us ignoring and aside in situ method since in situ sustaining local knowledge and carry other benefits for human and biodiversity relationship. Combining them could be the most effective to achieve sustainable management on biodiversity and agricultural productivity. 33 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre Moreover, since there are uncertainties among scientific communities, more researches are needed related to: §
Gene flow, since there is uncertainty that natural hybridization and introgression have been occurred. §
Genetic evolution of traditional seeds related to resilience and adaptation on climate change. §
Conservation methods related to genetic evolution, genetic variety, seeds viability and seeds adaptation capacity and resilience to climate change. 3.2.6 Acknowledgements
The authors thank Dr. Richard Alexander Roehrl of The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-­‐DESA), Division for Sustainable Development (DSD) for his guidance. Thank also be addressed to Prof. David Sonnenfeld, Ph.D. of State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF) and Dr. Machiel Lamers of Wageningen University and Research Center (WUR) for their facilitation, guidance and patience throughout the process of making this brief. Authors also acknowledge Prof. Niels P. Louwaars of WUR and Prof. Charles A. Maynard of SUNY ESF for reviewing this digest. 34 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 3.2.7 References
Text box reference i.
ii.
Anderson, P., Cunningham A., Patel, N., Morales, F., Epstein P., & Daszak, P. (2004). Emerging infectious diseases of plants: pathogen pollution, climate change and agrotechnology drivers. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 19, 535-­‐544. Zhu, Y., Wang, Y., Chen, H., & Lu, B. R. (2003). Conserving traditional rice varieties through management for crop diversity. BioScience, 53(2), 158–162 Main text references 1 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2004). Fact sheet: What is agrobiodiversity. Training Manual: Building on Gender. Agrobiodiversity and Local Knowledge. Retrieved 2014, December 5, from: http://www.fao.org/docrep/007/y5609e/y5609e00.htm. 2 Corvalan, C., Hales, S., & McMichael, A. (2005). Ecosystems and Human Well-­‐being: Synthesis Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Washington, DC: World Resources Institute. Retrieved from http://www.unep.org/maweb/documents/document.356.aspx.pdf. 3 European Communities. (2008). The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity. An interim Report European Communities. 4 Zhu, Y., Wang, Y., Chen, H., & Lu, B. R. (2003). Conserving traditional rice varieties through management for crop diversity. BioScience, 53(2), 158–162. 5 Benz, B. F. (2001). Archaeological evidence of teosinte domestication from Guilá Naquitz, Oaxaca. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 98(4), 2104-­‐2106. 6 Genovart, M. (2008). Natural hybridization and conservation. Biodiversity and Conservation, 18(6), 1435–1439. 7 Louwaars, N. P. (2014, November 24). Personal Communication about ‘Traditional Seed Crops Diversity’ by Gusti Ayu Fransiska Dewi , Syracuse. 8 Louwaars, N. P. (2014, November 24). Personal Communication about ‘Traditional Seed Crops Diversity’ by Gusti Ayu Fransiska Dewi , Syracuse. 9 The World Bank. (2014). Poverty Overview. Retrieved 2014, December 11, from http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/overview. 10 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2002). World agriculture: towards 2015/2030 (Summary report). Rome: FAO. Retrieved 2014, October 30, from http://www.fao.org/3/a-­‐y3557e.pdf. 11 Mijatović, D., Van Oudenhoven, F., Eyzaguirre, P., & Hodgkin, T. (2013). The role of agricultural biodiversity in strengthening resilience to climate change: towards an analytical framework. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 11(2), 95–107. 12 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2014). The state of food insecurity in the world 2014 -­‐ Strengthening the enabling environment for food security and nutrition. Rome: FAO. Retrieved 2014, November 3, from http://www.fao.org/3/a-­‐
i4038e.pdf. 13 Louwaars, N.P. (2014, November 24). Personal Communication about ‘Traditional Seed Crops Diversity’ by Gusti Ayu Fransiska Dewi , Syracuse. 14 Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. (2009). The Convention on Biological Diversity Plant Conservation Report : A Review of Progress in Implementing the Global Strategy of Plant Conservation (GSPC). 15 Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. (2009). The Convention on Biological Diversity Plant Conservation Report : A Review of Progress in Implementing the Global Strategy of Plant Conservation (GSPC). 16 Abay, F., Waters-­‐Bayer, A., & Bjornstad, A. (2008). Farmers' seed management and innovation in varietal selection: implications for barley breeding in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. Ambio, 37(4), 312-­‐320. 17
Lane, A., & Jarvis, A. (2007). Changes in climate will modify the geography of crop suitability: agricultural biodiversity can help with adaptation. SAT eJournal, 4 (1), 1-­‐12. 18
Altieri, M., & Merrick, L. (1986). In situ conservation of crop genetic resources through maintenance of traditional farming systems. Economic Botany 41(1), 86-­‐96. 19 Genovart, M. (2008). Natural hybridization and conservation. Biodiversity and Conservation, 18(6), 1435–1439. 35 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 20 Whitaker, T., & Cutler, H. (1971). Pre-­‐historic cucurbits from the Valley of Oaxaca. Economic Botany, 25(2), 123–127. 21 Berglund-­‐Brücher, O., & Brücher, H. (1976). The south american wild bean (Phaseolus aborigineous Burk.) as ancestor of the common bean. Economic Botany, 30(3), 257–272. 22 Benz, B. F. (2001). Archaeological evidence of teosinte domestication from Guilá Naquitz, Oaxaca. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 98(4), 2104-­‐2106. 23 Zhang, Q., Zhu, T., Xia, E., Shi, C., Liu, Y., Zhang, Y., Liu, Y., Yuan., Ziang, W., Zhao, Y., Mao, S., Zhang, L., Huang, H., Jiao, J., Xu, P., Yao, Q., Zeng, F., Yang, L., Gao, J., Tao, D., Wang, Y., Bennetzen, J., & Gao, L. (2014). Rapid diversification of five Oryza AA genomes associated with rice adaptation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(46), 4954–4962. 24 Zhang, Q., Zhu, T., Xia, E., Shi, C., Liu, Y., Zhang, Y., Liu, Y., Yuan., Ziang, W., Zhao, Y., Mao, S., Zhang, L., Huang, H., Jiao, J., Xu, P., Yao, Q., Zeng, F., Yang, L., Gao, J., Tao, D., Wang, Y., Bennetzen, J., & Gao, L. (2014). Rapid diversification of five Oryza AA genomes associated with rice adaptation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(46), 4954–4962. 25 Hayano-­‐Kanashiro, C., Calderón-­‐Vázquez, C., Ibarra-­‐Laclette, E., Herrera-­‐Estrella, L., & Simpson, J. (2009). Analysis of gene expression and physiological responses in three Mexican maize landraces under drought stress and recovery irrigation. PloS One, 4(10), 7531. 26 Gunderson, L. (2000). Ecological resilience -­‐ in theory and application. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 31(1), 425–439. 27 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2001). Glossary of biotechnology for food and agriculture -­‐ A revised and augmented Edition of the glossary of biotechnology and genetic engineering. Rome, FAO. Retrieved 2014, November 3, from http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/y2775e/y2775e00.htm. 28 Li, D. Z., & Pritchard, H. W. (2009). The science and economics of ex situ plant conservation. Trends in plant science, 14(11), 614-­‐
621. 29 Zhu, Y., Wang, Y., Chen, H., & Lu, B. R. (2003). Conserving traditional rice varieties through management for crop diversity. BioScience, 53(2), 158–162. 30 Louwaars, N.P. (2014, November 24). Personal Communication about ‘Traditional Seed Crops Diversity’ by Gusti Ayu Fransiska Dewi , Syracuse. 31 Plucknett, D., Smith, N. J., Williams, J. T., & Anishetty, N. M. (1987). Gene banks and the world's food. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. 32 Li, D. Z., & Pritchard, H. W. (2009). The science and economics of ex situ plant conservation. Trends in plant science, 14(11), 614-­‐
621. 33 Zhu, Y., Wang, Y., Chen, H., and Lu, B. R. (2003). Conserving traditional rice varieties through management for crop diversity. BioScience, 53(2), 158–162. 34 Hellin, J., Bellon, M. R., & Hearne, S. J. (2014). Maize Landraces and Adaptation to Climate Change in Mexico. Journal of Crop Improvement, 28(4), 484-­‐501. 35 Zhu, Y., Wang, Y., Chen, H., & Lu, B. R. (2003). Conserving traditional rice varieties through management for crop diversity. BioScience, 53(2), 158–162. 36 Louwaars, N.P. (2014, November 24). Personal Communication about ‘Traditional Seed Crops Diversity’ by Gusti Ayu Fransiska Dewi , Syracuse. 37
Louwaars, N.P. (2014, November 24). Personal Communication about ‘Traditional Seed Crops Diversity’ by Gusti Ayu Fransiska Dewi , Syracuse. 38 Dulloo, M. E., Hunter, D., & Borelli, T. (2010). Ex situ and in situ conservation of agricultural biodiversity: major advances and research needs. Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-­‐Napoca, 38(2), 123-­‐135. 39 Dulloo, M. E., Hunter, D., & Borelli, T. (2010). Ex situ and in situ conservation of agricultural biodiversity: major advances and research needs. Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-­‐Napoca, 38(2), 123-­‐135. 40 Dulloo, M. E., Hunter, D., & Borelli, T. (2010). Ex situ and in situ conservation of agricultural biodiversity: major advances and research needs. Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-­‐Napoca, 38(2), 123-­‐135. 36 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 41 Louwaars, N.P. (2014, November 24). Personal Communication about ‘Traditional Seed Crops Diversity’ by Gusti Ayu Fransiska Dewi , Syracuse. 42 Li, D. Z., & Pritchard, H. W. (2009). The science and economics of ex situ plant conservation. Trends in plant science, 14(11), 614-­‐
621. 43 Li, D. Z., & Pritchard, H. W. (2009). The science and economics of ex situ plant conservation. Trends in plant science, 14(11), 614-­‐
621. 44 Kershengolts, B. M., Zhimulev, I. F., Goncharov, N. P., Zhang, R. V., Filippova, G. V., Shein, A. A., & Prokopiev, I. A. (2013). Preservation of the gene pool of plants under permafrost conditions: State, advantages, and prospects. Russian Journal of Genetics: Applied Research, 3(1), 35-­‐39. 45 Portis, E., Baudino, M., Magurno, F., & Lanteri, S. (2012). Genetic structure and preservation strategies of autochthonous vegetable crop landraces of north-­‐western Italy. Annals of Applied Biology, 160(1), 76-­‐85. 46 Börner, A., Khlestkina, E. K., Chebotar, S., Nagel, M., Arif, M. A. R., Neumann, K., Kobiljski, B., Lohwasser, U., & Röder, M. S. (2012). Molecular markers in management of ex situ PGR–A case study. Journal of Biosciences, 37(5), 871-­‐877. 47 Louwaars, N.P. (2014, November 24). Personal Communication about ‘Traditional Seed Crops Diversity’ by Gusti Ayu Fransiska Dewi , Syracuse. 48 Louwaars, N.P. (2014, November 24). Personal Communication about ‘Traditional Seed Crops Diversity’ by Gusti Ayu Fransiska Dewi , Syracuse. 49 Louwaars, N.P. (2014, November 24). Personal Communication about ‘Traditional Seed Crops Diversity’ by Gusti Ayu Fransiska Dewi , Syracuse. 50 Louwaars, N.P. (2014, November 24). Personal Communication about ‘Traditional Seed Crops Diversity’ by Gusti Ayu Fransiska Dewi , Syracuse. 51 Hellin, J., Bellon, M. R., & Hearne, S. J. (2014). Maize Landraces and Adaptation to Climate Change in Mexico. Journal of Crop Improvement, 28(4), 484-­‐501. 52 Li, D. Z., & Pritchard, H. W. (2009). The science and economics of ex situ plant conservation. Trends in plant science, 14(11), 614-­‐
621. 53 Louette, D., Charrier, A., & Berthaud, J. (1997). In situ conservation of maize in Mexico: genetic diversity and maize seed management in a traditional community. Economic Botany, 51(1), 20-­‐38. 54 Zhu, Y., Wang, Y., Chen, H., and Lu, B. R. (2003). Conserving traditional rice varieties through management for crop diversity. BioScience, 53(2), 158–162. 55 Lambin, E. F., Turner, B. L., Geist, H. J., Agbola, S. B., Angelsen, A., Bruce, J. W., ... & Xu, J. (2001). The causes of land-­‐use and land-­‐cover change: moving beyond the myths. Global environmental change, 11(4), 261-­‐269. 56 Louwaars, N.P. (2014, November 24). Personal Communication about ‘Traditional Seed Crops Diversity’ by Gusti Ayu Fransiska Dewi , Syracuse. 57 Börner, A., Khlestkina, E. K., Chebotar, S., Nagel, M., Arif, M. A. R., Neumann, K., Kobiljski, B., Lohwasser, U., & Röder, M. S. (2012). Molecular markers in management of ex situ PGR–A case study. Journal of Biosciences, 37(5), 871-­‐877. 58 Volis, S., & Blecher, M. (2010). Quasi in situ: a bridge between ex situ and in situ conservation of plants. Biodiversity and Conservation, 19(9), 2441-­‐2454. 59 Volis, S., & Blecher, M. (2010). Quasi in situ: a bridge between ex situ and in situ conservation of plants. Biodiversity and Conservation, 19(9), 2441-­‐2454. 60 Cohen, S. (2011). Greece: A Portrait in Seeds. Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture, 11(4), 66-­‐73. 61 Börner, A., Khlestkina, E. K., Chebotar, S., Nagel, M., Arif, M. A. R., Neumann, K., Kobiljski, B., Lohwasser, U., & Röder, M. S. (2012). Molecular markers in management of ex situ PGR–A case study. Journal of Biosciences, 37(5), 871-­‐877. 62 Louwaars, N.P. (2014, November 24). Personal Communication about ‘Traditional Seed Crops Diversity’ by Gusti Ayu Fransiska Dewi , Syracuse. 63 Dulloo, M. E., Hunter, D., & Borelli, T. (2010). Ex situ and in situ conservation of agricultural biodiversity: major advances and research needs. Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-­‐Napoca, 38(2), 123-­‐135. 37 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 64 Louwaars, N.P. (2014, November 24). Personal Communication about ‘Traditional Seed Crops Diversity’ by Gusti Ayu Fransiska Dewi , Syracuse. 65 Louwaars, N.P. (2014, November 24). Personal Communication about ‘Traditional Seed Crops Diversity’ by Gusti Ayu Fransiska Dewi , Syracuse. 66 Kershengolts, B. M., Zhimulev, I. F., Goncharov, N. P., Zhang, R. V., Filippova, G. V., Shein, A. A., & Prokopiev, I. A. (2013). Preservation of the gene pool of plants under permafrost conditions: State, advantages, and prospects. Russian Journal of Genetics: Applied Research, 3(1), 35-­‐39. 67 Louwaars, N.P. (2014, November 24). Personal Communication about ‘Traditional Seed Crops Diversity’ by Gusti Ayu Fransiska Dewi , Syracuse. 68 Dulloo, M. E., Hunter, D., & Borelli, T. (2010). Ex situ and in situ conservation of agricultural biodiversity: major advances and research needs. Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-­‐Napoca, 38(2), 123-­‐135. 69 Volis, S., & Blecher, M. (2010). Quasi in situ: a bridge between ex situ and in situ conservation of plants. Biodiversity and Conservation, 19(9), 2441-­‐2454. 70 Brussaard, L., Caron, P., Campbell, B., Lipper, L., Mainka, S., Rabbinge, R., ... & Pulleman, M. (2010). Reconciling biodiversity conservation and food security: scientific challenges for a new agriculture. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 2(1), 34-­‐
42. 71 Dulloo, M. E., Hunter, D., & Borelli, T. (2010). Ex situ and in situ conservation of agricultural biodiversity: major advances and research needs. Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-­‐Napoca, 38(2), 123-­‐135. 38 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 3.2.8 Appendices
Appendix 1: Research methodology
Conserving traditional seed crops diversity topic was chosen based on personal interest in never end debates between scientists on this topic, especially since 1990s. We are very concerned about the loss of traditional seeds crops diversity, because it will also contribute to the biodiversity loss and the disappearance of local knowledge. Once biodiversity and local knowledge have lost, there will be other emerging problems related food security and ecosystems. A background research on this topic was conducted to make sure that this topic is one of the emerging issues within scientific communities. We checked the frequency of citation on this topic in scientific journal databases. The scientific journal databases we checked were ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Google Scholar from 1995-­‐2014 (20 years) with key words: ‘crop resilience on climate change’, ‘plant crop adaptation to environmental changes’, ‘seed crops conservation’, ‘in situ seed conservation’ and ‘ex situ seed conservation’. During the past 20 years the numbers of citation frequency has increased over time, even though a slight decrease in citations between 1996 and 2000 is indicated (see Figure 1). Figure 1. Frequency of Citation on Conserving Traditional Seed Crops Diversity from 1995-­‐2014. Furthermore, after we have collected topic related data, we contacted some experts to review our brief. The experts who review our brief are Prof. Dr. Ir. Niels P. Louwaars and Prof. Charles A. Maynard, Ph.D. Prof. Dr. Ir. Niels P. Louwaars is a professor in Wageningen University and Research Center. He has expertise in law, plant breeding, seed production, plant genetic resources and biodiversity. Prof. Charles A. Maynard, Ph.D. is a professor in State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. He has expertise in plant genetics, plant breeding and genetics, and transgenic. We collected different arguments and evidence among scientists and the experts, and discuss them in this paper to give a clear view of current news relating the topics, thus be able to provide recommendations. Additionally, we fully understand that we cannot include all evidence and scientific arguments due to paper length limitation and constraint of time. Any shortcoming in this paper is our responsibility . 39 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 3.3 PASSIVE HOUSING
Related Sustainable Development Goals Goal 07 Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all Goal 09 Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation Goal 11 Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable Goal 13 Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts Keywords: Passive house, passivhaus, passive technology, sustainable building, energy efficiency, low energy demand, ventilation system, insulation, airtightness, heating, cooling Authors: Daphne van Dam (daphne.vandam@wur.nl) & Mirle van Huet (mirle.vanhuet@wur.nl), Wageningen University and Research Centre 3.3.1 Introduction
Worldwide, buildings consume around 40% of the total primary energy. In the EU, up to 36% of FOOD FOR THOUGHT
the total CO2 emissions comes from buildings alone and in the Unites States, residential and commercial buildings consume up to 70% of the electricity and 39% of the total primary energy Buildings often last longer
1
available. Residential and commercial buildings are thus significant consumers of energy and than 50 years and maintain
their initial level of energy
are one of the major producers of GHGs globally. Along with the growing concerns regarding the consumption once they are
level of greenhouse gases and the exhaustive use of finite energy resources, initiatives for clean built, unless they are
and energy-­‐efficient innovations for buildings are of major urgency for reaching world-­‐wide upgraded with for example
better insulation, thicker
targets set for sustainable energy use and increasing the quality of life. One of the solutions windows).
However, the
which can increase the energy efficiency of any country are buildings with a low energy demand, building’s energy efficiency
such as passive houses. can only reach a certain
Passive housing (PH) is the implementation of certain technological innovations such as maximum level before the
refurbishing costs exceed the
better insulation, air-­‐tightness and heat recovery ventilation, which drastically lower the energy value of the initial investment.i
demand of a building. The concept and the technology is suitable for all climate types, however 2 3
the specifics do need to match the climate in which it is implemented. , Although PH officially has one definition set by the Passivhaus Institut, in reality there are many variations used by various actors such as housing corporations, construction companies, policymakers and homeowners. However, the basic idea revolves around limiting energy demand for heating and/or cooling to a very low threshold value while maintaining excellent comfort throughout all seasons (appendix 2). Although PH has been successfully implemented nationwide in countries 4
such as Austria, Belgium and Germany, it seems that it is not yet, or only at a slow rate, adopted by other countries. 5
Literature shows that there are many obstacles with regards to the diffusion and adoption of this new technology and 6
that innovation which requires adjustments to an existing system is in general quite complex. Although there are many types of sustainable and energy-­‐efficient improvements and innovations which are currently developed and researched, we chose passive technologies as it has been gaining interest in both the scientific world and the current housing market. We want to stress that this digest is not focused on promoting PH but on clarifying its present implementations challenges. There is a possibility that comparable innovations face similar challenges. 3.3.2 Scientific debate
Currently there are many actors striving and working towards a more sustainable development of the housing industry, partially in order to lower the environmental impact and to lower costs for both homeowners and those who construct them. From top-­‐down, policies and regulations are implemented that set certain criteria, which support this trend. From bottom-­‐up, there are individuals and organizations, which hope to set a new standard in the market for energy-­‐efficient and sustainable constructions. The development of this trend can be amplified when both the top-­‐
7
down and bottom-­‐up actors increase their cooperation. Passive housing is one of these developments in the energy-­‐efficient housing industry. Whilst the technology 8
behind PH is well founded and tested over the past twenty years with significant positive results worldwide , there are several challenges which if the technology is implemented, need to be taken into account and possible overcome. This science digest will analyze and discuss the motivation, knowledge and competencies needed to overcome these barriers. We make a distinction between the enterprises, end-­‐users and energy-­‐policy makers. This structural framework used for this analysis is based on Mlecnik’s scheme, which is further explained in appendix 3. 40 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre End-Users
Knowledge and motivation; perceived pro’s and con’s
9
10 , 11
Organizations, such as iPHA , and researchers such as Mlecnik
, and Schnieders and FOOD FOR THOUGHT
12
Hermelink , often mention and promote the fact that PH offers higher comfort in winter and summer, better health conditions, modern living, future value and a lower financial load with “Although insulation proves to
regards to energy costs as added values of passive housing. However, at the same time they be handy material when it
comes to energy efficiency, it
stress that there is not a significant drive among the potential users of innovative housing is warned that one “can save
technologies (such as used within a passive house) to look for, or purchase an energy-­‐efficient a lot more energy by installing
house, which could be due to a knowledge gap. 2 inches of foam under 7
End-­‐users or homeowners can perceive two financial barriers, which are in the way of houses than by installing 14
inches of foam under one
the adoption of passive technologies as it stifles the growth of demand. The first is the house.” ii
perception that there is a low return of investment or that it is entirely impossible to reach a 13 14
complete return of investments. Literature and experts are divided with regards to the costs. -­‐ Most interviewed experts mentioned that material costs are lowering and that large-­‐scale implementation significantly decreases any possible additional costs when compared to the current standard. For those wishing to construct their own house, passive housing or any of its related technologies might indeed require a higher investment as the financial benefits gained with large scale implementation do not apply here. However, incentives could be created in order to overcome the financial barriers faced by end-­‐users, such as subsidies or other appraisal systems. The second financial barrier is the phenomenon of discounting which is “the process of determining the present 15
value of a payment or a stream of payments that is to be received in the future”. It means that end-­‐users perceive their future return of investment to be of lower value in the present and that the amount of time in between investment and receiving returns determines this perceived value. Pilot projects overcome this barrier as these projects demonstrate 16 17
passive housing in real-­‐life, which makes the innovation tangible. -­‐ The aim of these trial projects is to create awareness and interest among actors; not only end-­‐users but also housing corporations, construction companies and policy stakeholders such as municipalities. PH can also become more attractive when financial incentives are created. Municipalities might be able to get subsidies from national government FOOD FOR THOUGHT
when implementing energy-­‐efficient buildings, which lowers their financial threshold. The low financial load due to a
In addition to the financial barriers, most end-­‐users currently do not have a fully lower energy demand is a
informed understanding of the innovation and might perceive it as ‘difficult’. The innovative positive benefit for low income
technologies used in passive houses decrease the intensity of heating and cooling needed in households, e.g. in social
comparison to what has been the standard for many years. This might create a certain caution, building projects.
which can drive end-­‐users to choose for the ‘safe’ and already known method. Rogers’ model (appendix 4) shows that the perceived advantages need to be present in order for innovation diffusion to succeed. In order to visualize the actual advantage of PH, 'warm rent' (total cost of ownership) could be obligatory 18
when presenting when buying/selling a house, since it visualizes the financial benefits of PH . Additionally, peer-­‐to-­‐
peer knowledge exchange networks for owner-­‐occupiers, architects and contractors or multi-­‐player enterprise networks can be trustworthy players who can provide neutral information about the financial opportunities and the 19
use of passive housing. But also municipalities can be perceived as neutral and could support the market by for example providing a list of each passive technology with their initial investment and their future return. Competencies
One of the main barriers that end-­‐users face in implementing energy saving technologies in their homes, public buildings or company buildings is that they need training in order to benefit from it; for example, what is the effect of an open window on the air temperature and quality inside the building. Experts are essential in this learning process as 20,21
they transfer the competencies to the end-­‐users. While experts are quite easy to organize in Europe as it is currently mostly implemented in this region, this might pose a bigger obstacle in other parts of the world. Enterprises
Commitment
Enterprises such as housing corporations or construction companies mainly have a profit-­‐driven business plan and therefore the motivation to change their strategy will be linked to their perception of the profitability of the 22
technology. Although the potential of passive technologies has been proven, there are still uncertainties regarding the costs needed to implement them. 41 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre However, the experimentation phase is nearing its end. The costs are lowering due to a larger production scale of the materials needed and the growth of expertise in this field. Feasibility and cost-­‐efficiency, and therefore motivation for enterprises to implement PH technologies largely 23
rely on the scale of the implementation. The largest gains can be won in the construction and renovation of large scale building projects, especially apartment buildings which on average need less construction materials, construction time and space per accommodation compared to a single house. Purchase of the required materials, which are often not yet mass-­‐produced will 24
therefore be cheaper as they are being bought in bulk. Networking & Collaboration
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
“Especially construction
industries in developing
countries tend to be most
commonly reactive; attempting
to comply with existing
regulations rather than seek
benchmarks and market
differentiation through
environmental gains”. iii
Research and development in low energy and sustainable building design “seems to be carried 25
out very much in isolation between different countries”. However, organizations such as the Passivhaus Institut, the International Passive House Association, New York Passive House, Passive House Revolution and the Passiefhuis-­‐platform are some of the change agents who promote PH either nationally or worldwide. 26
Additionally, the PASS-­‐net project was successful in connecting several PH organizations with each other . Some organizations are actively involved in research and the construction of trial projects which are currently seen as one of the main promotion tools in the market for convincing not only homeowners but especially construction companies 27
and housing corporations which implement large scale projects. The level of knowledge sharing and collaboration between not only companies and sectors but also countries with regards to PH and other sustainable and energy-­‐efficient housing technologies is currently not entirely clear and more research should be conducted in order to explore the extent of the passive technology market and the 28 29
possibilities of its collaboration network. Some literature mention that the housing industry is quite conservative , and when there is no demand, there are unlikely to be incentives to broaden their network and collaboration scope. However, the moment that demand for sustainable technologies is created by end-­‐users, collaboration between enterprises in the housing sector will highly likely automatically follow due to the need for new knowledge and materials. Policy makers
Motivation
30
Although the PassivHaus Institut argues that passive houses and the individual technologies can be implemented anywhere, others argue that the standard was developed for the mild winters of Central Europe and does not consider the harsh circumstances of for example Canada as those houses might need thicker insulation to fulfill the standard 31
which decreases usable floor space. However, it is said that passive houses can provide a stable indoor temperature for many days even after the heating source is long gone. This proves to be a large benefit for those living in extreme cold climates and are under threat of heavy storms that might be able to damage power lines and thus cut of power 32
supplies. Knowledge
Policy makers can provide a system of appraisal in order to stimulate the diffusion of passive housing. The system could entail performance appraisals (taxation and subsidies), but also non-­‐financial incentives to increase motivation for passive housing. According to Mlecnik (2013) “this system should be compatible with market incentives and regional 33
grant schemes, administrative control of tax relief and other energy-­‐related issues”. However, it is difficult to indicate the right combination of policy instruments, since this will vary for different countries and regions. National and local governments should investigate what combination of instruments is best for their local situations. This investigation 34
will be an important subject of future research. Labels & certification
Confusion and complexity regarding labels and certification is not only visible with passive housing but other sustainable and energy efficient constructions as well. There is an abundance of different (sustainability) labels, which often seem more attractive than they actually are. It is thus important to make a clear-­‐cut and understandable distinction between these so-­‐called ‘green’ labels. Energy policy makers can contribute in this complex sphere of labels by promoting certain promising labels and demoting/leaving out those who do not contribute (sufficiently) to the process towards passive housing. Multiple level certifications can stimulate house owners and the building industry to invest in sustainable buildings as perceived value is created with these labels. 42 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre In order for labels to become truly effective, the criteria and definitions should be clarified and 35
institutionalized by policymakers, especially on a regional and national level. By getting end-­‐
users enthusiastic for labels, e.g. by appraising houses in their value, a competition for having the ‘most passive house’ can emerge. In this sense, passive housing will become more attractive. 3.3.3 Goals & targets
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
When combining PH with
other energy saving and
renewable energy
technologies such as solar
panels, a passive house can
easily be converted to a
(nearly) zero-energy building.
The possibility to further lower
energy costs and to lower the
impact on the environment
makes the PH technology
even more attractive for
sustainable development.iv
The PH standard also has
been successfully applied with
innovative construction
methods such as earthquake
resistant technologies.v
As certified passive houses and houses with passive technologies drastically lower energy demand, there is also a relation with SDG 7. However, the largest gain can be won by supporting the sustainable development of cities, human settlements (SDG 11) and also industries which relates to both SDG 9, 11 and eventually 13 as housing GHG emissions takes up a large chunk of the worldwide total. Additionally, passive housing can support low-­‐income households as low energy demanding houses decrease the household’s financial burden. § A platform focused on international sustainable building could provide a solid basis for exchange between the market and policy and would stimulate worldwide implementation of sustainable and energy-­‐efficient housing techniques such as those used in passive houses. Even though the PH promoters and other companies making use of the technique practice in a bottom-­‐up approach in the market, top-­‐down involvement is necessary in order to successfully institutionalize the innovation as was the case in Germany, Austria and Belgium. The involvement of policy further enhanced the national development of PH as actors were impelled to educate themselves in the required technique and skills, which were necessary in order to comply with certain sustainable and energy-­‐efficient regulations. In short, policy involvement and decisions are necessary in order to successfully implement this innovation. § New innovations and technologies need the combination of top-­‐down (niche creation and policy incentives) and bottom-­‐up (market innovations) approaches which amplify and support each other, thus stimulating the demand which in turn increases the adoption rate. PH promotion by policy makers (top-­‐down) should include the creation of incentives for buyers, such as labels, appraisals and non-­‐financial incentives in such a way that it stimulates users by creating the feeling of being left out when they not comply. Policy should additionally support neutral information and educational programs about passive technologies preferably in co-­‐operation with market actors such as PH organizations, housing corporations and construction companies. § Thus, the barriers hindering the implementation of energy-­‐efficient housing technologies should be overcome and the development of an integrated master plan focused on the further development of quality-­‐
36
assurance systems and enterprise collaboration towards systemic innovation is needed. Transition management is key. Important to keep in mind is long term development of this plan; not only must niche creation be supported (short term), but concrete decisions must be made which change the existing system in order for the new innovation to find its place in the socio-­‐economical regime. 3.3.4 Acknowledgements
The authors of this digest thank the experts who provided both valuable input and feedback through interviews and/or e-­‐mail: Dr. Jurgen Schnieders from the Passive House Institute in Germany who was so kind to make time for a telephone interview via Skype. We also thank Dr. ir. arch. Erwin Mlecnik who is currently active at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands and the Belgium Passiefhuis-­‐Platform. He was most kind in providing us critical feedback on our drafts. We also express our gratitude to Sarah Mekjian of the International Passive House Association in Germany for her enthusiastic attitude and willingness to Skype with us until there were no more questions left to answer. Finally we thank Ir. Gerhard Bayer of the Austrian Society for Environment and Technology in Austria. His expertise regarding the topic helped us fill in the knowledge gaps and strengthen our understanding of passive housing. Any shortcomings of the digest remain the sole responsibility of the authors. 43 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 3.3.5 References
Text box references i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
Mekjian, S. (2014, November 24). Personal communication regarding passive housing on a global scale with Sarah Mekjian by Daphne van Dam and Mirle D. van Huet, Wageningen. Treehugger (2014). Sustainable product design; Martin Holladay rattles cages with critique of passivhaus. Retrieved 2014, December 19, from http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-­‐product-­‐design/martin-­‐holladay-­‐rattles-­‐cages-­‐with-­‐critique-­‐
of-­‐passivhaus.html Melchert, L. (2007). The Dutch sustainable building policy: A model for developing countries?. Building and Environment, 42(2), 900 New York Passive House (2014). Why passive housing? Retrieved 2014, December 19, from http://nypassivehouse.org/why-­‐passive-­‐house/ Treehugger (2014). Green architecture; energy box – earthquake proof passive house built. Retrieved 2014, December 19, from http://www.treehugger.com/green-­‐architecture/energy-­‐box-­‐earthquake-­‐proof-­‐passive-­‐house-­‐built-­‐cross-­‐
laminated-­‐timber.html Main text references 1 Fesanghary, M., Asadi, S., & Geem, Z. W. (2012). Design of low-­‐emission and energy-­‐efficient residential buildings using a multi-­‐objective optimization algorithm. Building and Environment, 49, 245-­‐250. 2 Passivhaus Institut (2014). ‘About passive house -­‐ what is a passive house?’ Retrieved 2014, Dember 19, from http://passiv.de/en/02_informations/01_whatisapassivehouse/01_whatisapassivehouse.htm. 3
Passipedia (2014). The passive house – definition. Retrieved 2014, December 19, from http://www.passipedia.org/basics/the_passive_house_-­‐_definition. 4 Mekjian, S. (2014, November 24). Personal communication regarding passive housing on a global scale with Sarah Mekjian by Daphne van Dam and Mirle D. van Huet, Wageningen. 5 Mlecnik, E. (2013). Innovation development for highly energy-­‐efficient housing: Opportunities and challenges related to the adoption of passive houses (Dissertation OTB Research Institute for the Built Environment). Retrieved from http://repository.tudelft.nl/assets/uuid:82884adb-­‐e990-­‐4b8a-­‐accc-­‐d9440e52253d/OTB2013_sua045LR.pdf 6 Elzen, B., Geels, F.W., & Green, K. (2004). System innovation and the transition to sustainability: theory, evidence and policy. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited. 7
Mlecnik, E. (2013). Innovation development for highly energy-­‐efficient housing: Opportunities and challenges related to the adoption of passive houses (Dissertation OTB Research Institute for the Built Environment). Retrieved from http://repository.tudelft.nl/assets/uuid:82884adb-­‐e990-­‐4b8a-­‐accc-­‐d9440e52253d/OTB2013_sua045LR.pdf 8 Schnieders, J., & Hermelink, A. (2006). CEPHEUS results: measurements and occupants’ satisfaction provide evidence for Passive Houses being an option for sustainable building. Energy Policy, 34(2), 151-­‐171. 9
iPHA (2014). The global passive house platform. Retrieved 2014, December 19, from http://www.passivehouse-­‐
international.org/index.php?page_id=65 10
Mlecnik, E. (2013). Innovation development for highly energy-­‐efficient housing: Opportunities and challenges related to the adoption of passive houses (Dissertation OTB Research Institute for the Built Environment). Retrieved from http://repository.tudelft.nl/assets/uuid:82884adb-­‐e990-­‐4b8a-­‐accc-­‐d9440e52253d/OTB2013_sua045LR.pdf 11
Schnieders, J. (2014, November 19). Personal communication regarding passive housing on a global scale by Daphne van Dam and Mirle D. van Huet, Wageningen. 12
Schnieders, J., & Hermelink, A. (2006). CEPHEUS results: measurements and occupants’ satisfaction provide evidence for Passive Houses being an option for sustainable building. Energy Policy, 34(2), 151-­‐171. 13
Audenaert, A., De Cleyn, S. H., & Vankerckhove, B. (2008). Economic analysis of passive houses and low-­‐energy houses compared with standard houses. Energy Policy, 36, 47–55. 14
Fesanghary, M., Asadi, S., & Geem, Z. W. (2012). Design of low-­‐emission and energy-­‐efficient residential buildings using a multi-­‐
objective optimization algorithm. Building and Environment, 49, 245-­‐250. 15
Investopedia (2014). Discounting. Retrieved 2014, December 19, from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/discounting.asp 44 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 16
Schnieders, J., & Hermelink, A. (2006). CEPHEUS results: measurements and occupants’ satisfaction provide evidence for Passive Houses being an option for sustainable building. Energy Policy, 34(2), 151-­‐171. 17
Mekjian, S. (2014, November 24). Personal communication regarding passive housing on a global scale with Sarah Mekjian by Daphne van Dam and Mirle D. van Huet, Wageningen. 18 Schnieders, J., & Hermelink, A. (2006). CEPHEUS results: measurements and occupants’ satisfaction provide evidence for Passive Houses being an option for sustainable building. Energy Policy, 34(2), 151-­‐171. 19 Mlecnik, E. (2013). Innovation development for highly energy-­‐efficient housing: Opportunities and challenges related to the adoption of passive houses (Dissertation OTB Research Institute for the Built Environment). Retrieved from http://repository.tudelft.nl/assets/uuid:82884adb-­‐e990-­‐4b8a-­‐accc-­‐d9440e52253d/OTB2013_sua045LR.pdf 20
Schnieders, J. (2014, November 19). Personal communication regarding passive housing on a global scale by Daphne van Dam and Mirle D. van Huet, Wageningen. 21
Bayer, G. (2014) Personal communication communication regarding passive housing on a global by Daphne van Dam and Mirle D. van Huet, Wageningen. 22
Mlecnik, E. (2013). Innovation development for highly energy-­‐efficient housing: Opportunities and challenges related to the adoption of passive houses (Dissertation OTB Research Institute for the Built Environment). Retrieved from http://repository.tudelft.nl/assets/uuid:82884adb-­‐e990-­‐4b8a-­‐accc-­‐d9440e52253d/OTB2013_sua045LR.pdf 23
Pearson, L. J., Newton, P.W., & Roberts, P. (2014). Resilient and Sustainable Buildings. Sustainable Cities: a Future. New York: Routledge. 24
Pearson, L. J., Newton, P.W., & Roberts, P. (2014). Resilient and Sustainable Buildings. Sustainable Cities: a Future. New York: Routledge. 25
Morbitzer (2008). p.23 -­‐ from Mlecnik et al. 2010: Mlecnik, E., Visscher, H., van Hal, A. (2010), Barriers and opportunities for labels for highly energy-­‐efficient houses. Energy Policy, 38, 4592–4603 26 Austrian Society for Environment and Technology (2014). Establishment of a Co-­‐operation Network of Passive House Promoters. PASS-­‐net. Retrieved from http://pass-­‐net.net/downloads/pdf/folder_pass-­‐net.pdf 27
Schnieders, J., & Hermelink, A. (2006). CEPHEUS results: measurements and occupants’ satisfaction provide evidence for Passive Houses being an option for sustainable building. Energy Policy, 34(2), 151-­‐171. 28
Mlecnik, E. (2013). Innovation development for highly energy-­‐efficient housing: Opportunities and challenges related to the adoption of passive houses (Dissertation OTB Research Institute for the Built Environment). Retrieved from http://repository.tudelft.nl/assets/uuid:82884adb-­‐e990-­‐4b8a-­‐accc-­‐d9440e52253d/OTB2013_sua045LR.pdf 29
Schnieders, J. (2014, November 19). Personal communication regarding passive housing on a global scale by Daphne van Dam and Mirle D. van Huet, Wageningen. 30
Passivhaus Institut (2014). About passive houses – what is a passive house. Retrieved 2014, December 19, from http://passiv.de/en/02_informations/01_whatisapassivehouse/01_whatisapassivehouse.htm 31 Treehugger (2014). Sustainable product design; Martin Holladay rattles cages with critique of passivhaus. Retrieved 2014, December 19, from http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-­‐product-­‐design/martin-­‐holladay-­‐rattles-­‐cages-­‐with-­‐critique-­‐of-­‐
passivhaus.html 32
Treehugger (2014). 11 Great reasons why passive houses are such good green building standard. Retrieved 2014, December 19 from http://www.treehugger.com/green-­‐architecture/11-­‐great-­‐reasons-­‐why-­‐passive-­‐house-­‐such-­‐good-­‐green-­‐building-­‐
standard.html 33
Mlecnik, E. (2013). Innovation development for highly energy-­‐efficient housing: Opportunities and challenges related to the adoption of passive houses (Dissertation OTB Research Institute for the Built Environment). p.260. Retrieved from http://repository.tudelft.nl/assets/uuid:82884adb-­‐e990-­‐4b8a-­‐accc-­‐d9440e52253d/OTB2013_sua045LR.pdf 34
Mlecnik, E. (2013). Innovation development for highly energy-­‐efficient housing: Opportunities and challenges related to the adoption of passive houses (Dissertation OTB Research Institute for the Built Environment). Retrieved from http://repository.tudelft.nl/assets/uuid:82884adb-­‐e990-­‐4b8a-­‐accc-­‐d9440e52253d/OTB2013_sua045LR.pdf 45 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 35
Mlecnik, E., Kaan, H., & Hodgson, G. (2008). Certification of Passive Houses: a Western European overview. In: Proceedings of PLEA 2008, 25th conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Dublin, 22–24 October, Paper 106. 36
Mlecnik, E. (2013). Innovation development for highly energy-­‐efficient housing: Opportunities and challenges related to the adoption of passive houses (Dissertation OTB Research Institute for the Built Environment). Retrieved from http://repository.tudelft.nl/assets/uuid:82884adb-­‐e990-­‐4b8a-­‐accc-­‐d9440e52253d/OTB2013_sua045LR.pdf 46 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 3.3.6 Appendices
Appendix 1: Research methodology
The research for this Science Digest has been conducted through literature study and expert interviews. The relevance of passive housing as an emerging issue within the scientific world is shown by the large increase of publications on the topic in recent years. The scientific database Scopus shows the growing number of publications over the years when inserting the keyword ‘passive house’. One can see that most of the literature on these topics has been published within the last few years, which shows the growing and current interest in the topic of passive housing. Figure 1. Number of publications on ‘passive house’ throughout the years The topic of this Science Digest is based on personal background and personal interest. The content of this Science Digest is informed by extensive literature research and exploratory interviews with experts on the topic of passive housing. Experts were selected on the basis of their knowledge and involvement with the topic in question. Their expertise was identified by the relevance of their publications. Using these criteria, four scientists were identified as “experts” and “validators”: Ir. Gerhard Bayer: Senior expert at the Austrian Society for Environment and Technology (ÖGUT) and Project Coordinator PASS-­‐NET (Establishment of a Co-­‐operation Network of Passive House Promoters). Telephone interview took place on Wednesday 19th of November 2014 at 16:00. Sarah Mekjian: International Communications at International Passive House Association (iPHA), part of Passivhaus Institut (Passive House Institute). Interview (via Go To Meeting) took place on Monday 24th of November 2014 at 11:00. Dr. ir. arch. Erwin Mlecnik: Scientific Researcher at Delft University of Technology. Senior expert R&D at Passiefhuis-­‐Platform. Corresponding author of a highly cited scientific article regarding passive housing used for this Digest. Email correspondence took place in November and December 2014. Dr. Jurgen Schnieders: Scientist at Passivhaus Institut (Passive House Institute). Corresponding author of a highly cited scientific article regarding passive housing used for this Digest. Communication tool: Skype interview took place on Wednesday 19th of November 2014, 10:30. All comments provided by the experts and project coaches have been carefully taken into consideration. However, due to time and space constraints, not all of the suggestions put forward could be incorporated into the final version of the Science Digest. 47 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre Appendix 2: PH definition as given by Passivhaus Institut and iPHA
Additionally, due to its broad appliance and frequent appearance in literature, and its short formulation, we would also like to mention the definition given by Schnieders[EM3] and Hermelink (2006). According to these authors, a passive house is “a building which assure(s) a comfortable indoor climate in summer and in winter without needing a conventional heat distribution system[EM4] ” (p.152). With regards to energy use, the organizations Passivhaus Institute (2014) and Passivhaus Bauban [EM5] (2014) state that “a passive house should not use more than 15kWh per square meter per year, not including warm water, electricity and so on”. For a building to be considered a Passive House, it must meet the following criteria: 1. The Space Heating Energy Demand is not to exceed 15 kWh per square meter of net living space (treated floor area) per year or 10 W per square meter peak demand. In climates where active cooling is needed, the Space Cooling Energy Demand requirement roughly matches the heat demand requirements above, with a slight additional allowance for dehumidification. 2. The Primary Energy Demand, the total energy to be used for all domestic applications (heating, hot water and domestic electricity) must not exceed 120 kWh per square meter of treated floor area per year. 3. In terms of Airtightness, a maximum of 0.6 air changes per hour at 50 Pascals pressure (ACH50), as verified with an onsite pressure test (in both pressurized and depressurized states). 4. Thermal comfort must be met for all living areas during winter as well as in summer, with not more than 10 % of the hours in a given year over 25 °C. Passive House buildings are planned, optimized and verified with the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP). All of the above criteria are achieved through intelligent design and implementation of the 5 Passive House principles: thermal bridge free design, superior windows, ventilation with heat recovery, quality insulation and airtight construction. The following basic principles apply for the construction of Passive Houses: 1. Thermal insulation: All opaque building components of the exterior envelope of the house must be very well-­‐
insulated. For most cool-­‐temperate climates, this means a heat transfer coefficient (U-­‐value) of 0.15 W/(m²K) at the most, i.e. a maximum of 0.15 watts per degree of temperature difference and per square meter of exterior surface are lost. 2. Passive House windows: The window frames must be well insulated and fitted with low-­‐e glazing filled with argon or krypton to prevent heat transfer. For most cool-­‐temperate climates, this means a U-­‐value of 0.80 W/(m²K) or less, with g-­‐values around 50% (g-­‐value= total solar transmittance, proportion of the solar energy available for the room). 3. Ventilation heat recovery: Efficient heat recovery ventilation is key, allowing for a good indoor air quality and saving energy. In Passive House, at least 75% of the heat from the exhaust air is transferred to the fresh air again by means of a heat exchanger. 4. Airtightness of the building: Uncontrolled leakage through gaps must be smaller than 0.6 of the total house volume per hour during a pressure test at 50 Pascal (both pressurized and depressurized). 5. Absence of thermal bridges: All edges, corners, connections and penetrations must be planned and executed with great care, so that thermal bridges can be avoided. Thermal bridges, which cannot be avoided, must be minimized as far as possible. 48 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre Appendix 3: Mlecnik’s approach for eliminating adoption barriers
49 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre Appendix 4: Rogers’ framework (2003)
Rogers’ framework has five variables which determining the rate of adoption. Those are the perceived attributes of innovations, the type of innovation-­‐decision, communication channels, nature of the social system and the extent of change agents’ promotion efforts. With adoption is meant the full use of an innovation as the best course of action available (Rogers, 2003). Perceived Attributes of Innovations (p. 15-­‐16, Rogers 2003): 1. Relative Advantage: the degree to which an innovation is perceived as being better than the idea it supersedes 2. Compatibility: the degree to which an innovation is perceived as consistent with the existing values, past experiences, and needs of potential adopters 3. Complexity: the degree to which an innovation is perceived as relatively difficult to understand and use 4. Trialability: the degree to which an innovation may be experimented with 5. Observability: the degree to which the results of an innovation are visible to others Rogers (2003) makes a distinction between three types of innovation-­‐decisions. First is the optional decision, where the innovation is an option for individuals and independent from decisions made by others. Second is the collective decision, through which the decision is made by consensus within a group. Third is the authoritative decision, where few individuals with power decide for others. According to Rogers (2003), a communication channel is the way by which a message gets from the sender to the recipient. Different methods can be used to send a certain message about an innovation. For PH this be e.g. pilot projects, international platforms, educational programs for construction companies. The senders are often the Change Agents: feel the needs of the client and recommend innovation that could help fulfill the needs (p.228). Rogers’ definition of the social system: a set of interrelated units engaged in joint problem solving to accomplish a common goal (p. 23). Within different countries there are different cultures and therefore different norms, values, ways of communication. The differences in nature of the social system between the three areas are therefore important to analyze for PH, to see what characteristics contribute to the adoption and diffusion of innovation. Limitations: We stress that diffusion is difficult to measure as the exact causes of adoption are complex and hard to quantify. This theory is thus in no way a step-­‐by-­‐step guideline to successful innovation; the complexity of human interaction and the multitude of aspects on which decisions are made needs to be taken into account. Additionally, the model does not measure the necessity of an innovation. 50 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 3.4 RARE EARTH ELEMENTS; FROM MINERAL TO MAGNET
Related Sustainable Development Goals Goal 07 Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all (7.2 – 7.3) Goal 08 Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth (8.4) Goal 09 Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation (9.4) Goal 12 Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns (12.2 – 12.4 – 12.5 – 12.6) Keywords: rare earth elements, sustainable energy, environmental impact, mining, value chain, life cycle. Authors: Janne Kuhn janne.kuhn@wur.nl and Hein Gevers hein.gevers@wur.nl Wageningen University and Research Centre. 3.4.1 Introduction
In recent years there has been an increasing focus on rare earth elements (REEs) as highly FOOD FOR THOUGHT
valuable ingredients for innovation, especially regarding the development of sustainable energy 1
technologies. Rare earth elements, also commonly referred to as rare earth metals, are defined • There is no single REE
market, but each REE
by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) as a group of seventeen 2
has its specific
elements, consisting of the fifteen lanthanoids, along with scandium and yttrium. Related to the characteristics and its
chemical structure and purpose REE can be divided in Light REEs (LREEs) and Heavy REEs own value chain
3,4
(including price,
(HREEs) (see table 1). Their relative chemical similarity makes them hard to separate during application and
the mining process, but their different physical properties make different REEs valuable for a abundance).i
5
range of various technological applications. Several of these technologies support sustainable • Currently China is the
only producer of HREEs
development, for instance through increased energy efficiency and renewable energy worldwide.ii
production. Examples include – but are not limited to – permanent magnets, batteries for e-­‐
• Hardly any REE recycling
mobility and energy-­‐efficient lighting (for further applications see appendix). World-­‐wide is applied yet, although
6
the REE in-use stock was
demand is expected to grow by 8 to 11% each year. The increase in demand is intertwined with four times as much as the
environmental implications of production and existing supply risks due to an intricate and amount extracted in
7
complex market. This has led to the identification of REEs as critical raw materials, which this 2007.iii
•
There is sparse
science digest focus on. knowledge and only a few
The United Nations Environmental Programme, the United States (U.S.) National studies about the life
Research Council and the European Commission, amongst others, identify all REEs as cycle of REEs.iv
8,9,10
critical.
Their classifications use similar approaches to evaluate mineral criticality, based on a methodology with three-­‐pronged indicators that involve economic importance, supply risk and 11
environmental implications. Due to their criticality we emphasize the need to address REEs with regard to sustainable development, 12,13
because of both their vital role in sustainable energy applications and their environmental implications. The main applications of REEs and their benefits seem to be in the developed world, whereas the majority of the environmental impact appears to occur in transition and developing countries. Instead, sustainable energy technology ought to be implemented on a more widespread and global scale so to benefit all. Simultaneously, the weight of the environmental implications of production should be carried worldwide. After all, if sustainable energy technologies are based upon unsustainably produced natural resources, how sustainable are they really? Therefore, the aim of this science digest is to analyze and illuminate the current REE market situation and to point out the most critical sustainability issues the international community should address. 3.4.2 Scientific debate
The current scientific debate discusses both the REE life cycle and its value chain. The connections to environmental impact, recycling potential, industry distribution and development, as well as price trends will be explored. The REE life cycle, which should promote sustainable natural resource management, can be divided into three steps; production (mining and refining), consumption (manufacturing of end-­‐user goods and use) and recovery (recycling and 14
reuse at all steps of the lifecycle). 51 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre REE production
Production includes extraction of the REE containing mineral, milling, flotation, purification and further processing of 15,16
the ore. The Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection implemented pollution standards and monitoring 17,18
options, and Australia and the United States supposedly apply the newest mining technologies.
However, environmental pollution due to radio-­‐active waste and other chemicals still remains a critical issue for REE 19
20
production. Besides the environmental risks as a result of unregulated illegal mining, flotation is most damaging for 21
22,23
the surrounding environment. Flotation entails chemical beneficiation in ponds, known as tailings.
The residues, such as radioactive thorium or uranium other chemicals, remain in the waste water. This water is exposed to natural environmental conditions (precipitation, run off, drainage etc.) or disruptions (dam collapse), and therefore poses high 24,25
risks of environmental contamination (see appendix).
Purification is energy intensive and costly, but necessary, 26
because a purity of 99% is often needed. Table 1 : An overview of rare earth elements, their chemical symbols and additional characteristics; N/A indicates not available data, *identifies free on board (FOB) prices (the price paid for the REE product from the moment and port of departure). REE REO v
Major deposits Average REO Largest abundance deposit per/mass(%) Price range (USD/kg)
*minimum FOB China vi Major application
LREE Major mines: Bayan Obo, China; Mountain Path, USA ; Mount Weld, Australia Scandium (Sc) Lanthanum (La) Cerium (Ce) Praseodymium (Pr) Neodymium (Nd) Promethium (Pm) Samarium (Sm) Europium (Eu) Sc2O3 La2O3 CeO2 Pr6O11 Nd2O3 Pm2O3 Sm2O3 Eu2O3 HREE Major mines: South of China (Jiangxi, Guangdong, Fuijian, Guangxi province) Gadolinium (Gd) Terbium (Tb) Dysprosium (Dy) Holmium (Ho) Erbium (Er) Thulium (Tm) Ytterbium (Yb) Lutetium (Lu) Yttrium (Y) Gd2O3 Tb4O7 Dy2O3 Ho2O3 Er2O3 Tm2O3 Yb2O3 Lu2O3 Y2O3 N/A 25,35% 42,84% 4,06% 11,99% N/A 1,35% 0,24% 1,28% 0,22% 1,24% 0,25% 0,66% 0,10% 0,55% 0,08% 9,71% N/A China China China Australia N/A Australia Australia China China China China China China China China China May 2014 N/A 10.50* 13 155.00* 87.50* N/A 33.50* 1250.00* 132.50* 975.00* 625.00* N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 60.00* Nov 2014 N/A 9.60* 10 150.00* 83.00* N/A 25.00* 1000.00* 132.50* 825.00* 475.00* N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 60.00* vii Lighting (LEDs) Lighting (LEDs), Batteries (e-­‐mobility) Permanent magnets (wind turbines, e-­‐mobility, electronics) Permanent magnets (wind turbines, e-­‐mobility, electronics) Permanent magnets (wind turbines, e-­‐mobility, electronics) Lighting (LEDs) Lighting (LEDs) Lighting (LEDs) Permanent magnets ( wind turbines, e-­‐mobility, electronics) Lighting (LEDs) Table 1 provides an overview of all light and heavy REEs and a number of relevant properties. It presents the rare earth oxide (REO) form in which they are mined, and their abundance in the ore relative to the other REEs. This shows cerium is relatively most abundant, while HREEs are generally scarce. What is important to mention is that the area of largest production does not necessarily mean the largest deposits are located in the same country. The price fluctuation for a period of 6 months was available, also showing a great range of difference in prices between elements. REE consumption
In contrast to the negative impacts of mining and refining, REE consumption positively impacts sustainable development, when used for sustainable energy technologies. Increased sustainable energy production and 27
consumption through improved efficiency is only possible with different REE dependent applications (see table 1). The intermediate product used for end-­‐user applications are for example permanent magnets, fuel cell alloys and REE-­‐phosphor combinations. REE-­‐containing permanent magnets are mainly used in wind turbines, and electric motors for e-­‐mobility. The advantages for wind turbines are principally reduced maintenance needs as usually no 28
gearbox is required, the theoretical higher efficiency, and a strong magnetic field with strong resistance of 29,30,31
demagnetization.
Miniature permanent magnets are also used for small electronics (power tools, mobile phones, 32
hard disks, displays, etc.). Additionally, hybrid vehicles often make use of fuel cell alloys containing REEs. 33,34
Furthermore, the combination of REE and phosphor is needed for energy efficient lighting, such as LEDs. 52 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre As the share of these technologies is expected to grow, REE demand is assumed to be of a higher importance in the future as well. For example, since the market introduction of the neodymium-­‐based permanent magnets in wind 35
turbines in 2003, they already gained a market share of 14%. Due to the advantages, several wind turbine producers 36
state that this will be their first choice technology. Furthermore, if in the near future the electric car market expands 37
as expected; several REEs will also become increasingly important. REE Recovery
38
Losses of REEs occur at each stage of the REE life cycle. Therefore, the potentials of REE recycling, including collection systems, waste handling and processing have to be considered for 39
a sustainable natural resource management. Several authors stress the importance of recycling 40
in order to support supply security, however, at present this is still under research. Recycling 41,42 43
during the manufacturing phase hardly exists, but not at all in the end-­‐of-­‐life phase. In this regard several aspects have to be taken into account. First, because full recovery is not feasible and a growing demand is expected, recycling should be done for the sake of environmental 44
concerns, rather than to reduce the dependency on foreign supply. In that regard recycling can reduce the negative impact of mining on the environment, especially concerning radioactive 45 46
waste. Second, the relatively small amounts of REEs in electronics and rather low prices 47
makes recovery economically and technologically inefficient. Hence, it is suggested to focus on the recycling of applications in which REEs are used in relative large quantities, such as 48 49
neodymium and dysprosium in permanent magnets for wind turbines and automobiles. REE market
FACTS & FIGURES
•
•
•
A REE is never minded
alone, either with other
REEs or other materials,
such as iron or uranium.viii
Since 2003 neodymiumbased permanent magnets
have gained a market
share of 14%, which is
expected to increase in the
future.ix
It can be assumed that at
least 1000t of neodymium
is globally required in total
in the next 40 years
regarding the various
permanent magnet
applications.x
From February 2011 to
December 2011 the price
for dyprsoiumoxide
increased by almost a
factor ten from 375$/kg to
3500$/kg.xi
In order to identify potential supply risks it is necessary to take a look at the value chain of REEs 50
•
as a whole. So far this has rarely been done in scientific literature. From the time China entered the REE market in the 1980’s their market share rapidly 51
52
increased to 89% in 2013, based on U.S. Geological Survey estimates (see figure 1). The small number of producers outside China is connected to the high economic risk of investing in REEs, 53,54
which is connected to the very small tonnages that are actually produced. Still, there are additional mining projects in various countries at an early planning stage, such as Canada, Greenland, Kazakhstan, Kirghizia, Malawi6. However, due the time lag between initiation and actual REE production 55
(five to twelve years), the market is slow in responding to sudden demand increases. Therefore, short-­‐term shortages 6, 23
4
can occur . This applies especially be critical for HREEs, as they are generally less abundant than LREEs and only 56,57,58
mined in the South of China.
A shortage could for instance happen for dysprosium towards 2020, potentially 59
resulting in a hampered development of the e-­‐mobility market. 60
Except for the short REE price peak in 2011, prices are relatively low considering the costly production 61
technology and the connected environmental risk (see table 1). Externalities, such as the impact of radioactive waste, are not incorporated in the current price. In literature the peak price developments in 2011 are related especially to the sharpening of Chinese export quotas in 2010. For 2013 these quotas were 93,800 tons (t) for production and 31,000t for 62
export, which caused tensions between REE exporting and importing countries. It is supposed that the decision for the export quota was not primarily guided by geopolitical motivation. Instead, the restrictions are supposed to focus on environmental protection and industry development, as export allowance for exporting companies is only given 63
xii
when an environmental assessment is passed. Another aspect Figure 1: G lobal REE production (%) per country . of the REE value chain is illegal mining, which is said to be driven 64
by the export quotas and has an influence on REE prices. In 2009 for example, 20,000t of illegally mined rare earth oxides 65
were exported from China, which was expected to amount to a 66
market share of 20% of global REE demand. In summary, the REE market is relatively small and opaque, with low, volatile prices, embraces mining and separation technologies, which are costly, complicated and 67
highly detrimental to the environment. 53 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre Overview
The different aspects mentioned above have to be taken into account when identifying REE specific indicators for criticality. First, in connection to environmental implications, the avoidance of negative environmental impacts during production remains an enormous challenge, especially with regard to the radioactive tailings and other environmental contamination. In regard to recycling, technologies are being developed, but under current price conditions it remains a challenge to implement this on an industrial scale required for sustainable natural resource management. Second, REEs are of great economic importance in connection with sustainable energy technologies, both for sustainable energy production and increased energy efficiency. Third, the opaque market remains a bottleneck for providing supply security, resulting in supply risks. Taking the REE life cycle and value chain into consideration, there are several additional critical points, which should be taken into consideration. It should be noted that while this science digest considers REEs as a whole, in reality they cannot be generalized due to their individual element characteristics. As a result, there is no single REE 68
market. While the REEs debated in this report comprise both LREEs and HREEs, HREEs are considered the most critical, especially with regard to their limited production sites. The value chain remains nearly impossible to track, for several major reasons. There is a lack of quantitative scenarios for possible supply,69 and no monitoring systems on 70
production exist. Furthermore, predictions on supply are very uncertain and it was found that data often varies or even contradicts. In order to ensure sustainable development – keeping in mind the possibilities REE applications offer and the necessary environmental protection – these critical points should be accounted for while addressing the major issues presented. 3.4.3 Goals & targets
The REE issue is strongly linked to the production and consumption of renewable energy (SDG 7, 7.2) and energy efficiency (SDG 7.3). However, to support and increase sustainable energy production, the supply of REE should be ensured. In order to do so, considerations mentioned in the scientific debate should be taken into account, which mainly link to resource efficiency (SDG 8.4, 9.4), sustainable consumption (SDG 12, 12.2) and minimizing environmental impact (SDG 12.4). These considerations have led to the following recommendations. 3.4.4 Recommendations
§
§
§
§
Consideration of REEs on a more individual basis is recommended, due to the varying importance in application, production and or abundance. Thus a primary focus can be put on a number of elements of major importance, for example the HREEs. The creation of an international platform is recommended, in order to promote dialogue between nations, 71
encourage international co-­‐operation and increase transparency. To overcome the major constraints of lack of transparency and data gaps, we suggest this platform takes up responsibility for the initiation and funding of a database for the collection of statistics and other data on 72
REEs. To support this database we recommend to strengthen scientific research through funding, in two major 73
fields; (1) quantitative scenarios for REE future supply and deposits, and (2) REE recovery, including related 74,75
material flows, collection schemes, financial risks and possible legal frameworks. 3.4.5 Acknowledgements
The authors of this digest thank the experts who provided valuable input and feedback through interviews and other personal communication, in particular Dr. Volker Zepf (Institute for Physics at Augsburg University; Germany), Andrew Bloodworth (British Geological Survey; United Kingdom), Dr. Patrick Wäger (Empa Research Institute; Austria), Dr. Koop Lammertsma (VU University Amsterdam; The Netherlands), Dr. Marissa de Boer (VU University Amsterdam; The Netherlands) and Dr. Thomas E. Graedel (Yale University; United States). 54 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 3.4.6 References
Text box references i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
x.
xi.
xii.
Shaw, S., & Chegwidden, J. (2012). Global drivers for rare earth demand. Roskill Information Services. Schüler, D., Buchert, M., Liu, R., Dittrich, S., & Merz, C. (2011). Study on rare earths and their recycling. Öko-­‐Institut eV Darmstadt. Du, X., & Graedel, T. E. (2011). Uncovering the global life cycles of the rare earth elements. Scientific reports. Du, X., & Graedel, T. E. (2011). Uncovering the global life cycles of the rare earth elements. Scientific reports. Hatch, G. P. (2012). Dynamics in the global market for rare earths. Elements, 8(5), 341-­‐346. Metal pages, Metal Prices –Rare Earths, Metal-­‐Pages, Teddington, 2014, Retrieved on 2014, December 09. From: http://www.metal-­‐pages.com/metalprices/rareearths/ Hatch, G. P. (2012). Dynamics in the global market for rare earths. Elements, 8(5), 341-­‐346. British Geological Survey. (2011). Rare Earth Elements. Natural Environment Research Council, London, UK. Bradshaw, A. M., & Hamacher, T. (2012). Nonregenerative natural resources in a sustainable system of energy supply. ChemSusChem, 5(3), 550-­‐562. Bradshaw, A. M., & Hamacher, T. (2012). Nonregenerative natural resources in a sustainable system of energy supply. ChemSusChem, 5(3), 550-­‐562. Hoenderdaal, S., Tercero Espinoza, L., Marscheider-­‐Weidemann, F., & Graus, W. (2013). Can a dysprosium shortage threaten green energy technologies?. Energy, 49, 344-­‐355. U.S. Geological Survey. (2014). Mineral Commodity Summaries. Virginia, U.S. Main text references 1
Du, X., & Graedel, T. E. (2011). Global in-­‐use stocks of the rare earth elements: a first estimate. Environmental science & technology, 45(9), 4096-­‐4101. 2
Connelly, N. G., Damhus, T., Hartshorn, R. M., & Hutton, A. T. (2005). Nomenclature of Inorganic Chemistry. IUPAC Recommendations 2005. 3
Hatch, G. P. (2012). Dynamics in the global market for rare earths. Elements, 8(5), 341-­‐346. 4
de Boer, M. A., & Lammertsma, K. (2013). Scarcity of Rare Earth Elements. ChemSusChem, 6(11), 2045-­‐2055. 5
Bradshaw, A. M., Reuter, B., & Hamacher, T. (2013). The potential scarcity of rare elements for the Energiewende. Green, 3(2), 93-­‐
111. 6
de Boer, M. A., & Lammertsma, K. (2013). Scarcity of Rare Earth Elements. ChemSusChem, 6(11), 2045-­‐2055. 7
Schüler, D., Buchert, M., Liu, R., Dittrich, S., & Merz, C. (2011). Study on rare earths and their recycling. Öko-­‐Institut eV Darmstadt. 8
Buchert, M., Schüler, D., & Bleher, D. (2009). Critical metals for future sustainable technologies and their recycling potential. UNEP DTIE. 9
National Research Council. (2008). Minerals, Critical Minerals, and the U.S. Economy. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. 10
European Commission (2010). Critical raw materials for the EU. Report of the Ad-­‐hoc Working Group on defining critical raw materials. Retrieved from: <ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/raw-­‐materials/files/docs/report-­‐b_en.pdf>. 11
Graedel, T. E., Barr, R., Chandler, C., Chase, T., Choi, J., Christoffersen, L., ... & Zhu, C. (2012). Methodology of metal criticality determination. Environmental science & technology, 46(2), 1063-­‐1070. 12
Schüler, D., Buchert, M., Liu, R., Dittrich, S., & Merz, C. (2011). Study on rare earths and their recycling. Öko-­‐Institut eV Darmstadt. 13
Graedel, T. E., Barr, R., Chandler, C., Chase, T., Choi, J., Christoffersen, L., ... & Zhu, C. (2012). Methodology of metal criticality determination. Environmental science & technology, 46(2), 1063-­‐1070. 14
Du, X., & Graedel, T. E. (2011). Uncovering the global life cycles of the rare earth elements. Scientific reports. 15
Schüler, D., Buchert, M., Liu, R., Dittrich, S., & Merz, C. (2011). Study on rare earths and their recycling. Öko-­‐Institut eV Darmstadt. 16
Zepf, V. (2013). Rare Earth Elements: A New Approach to the Nexus of Supply, Demand and Use: Exemplified Along the Use of Neodymium in Permanent Magnets. Heidelberg: Springer. 55 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 17
MEP (Ministry of Environmental Protection). (2011a). Pollutant Discharge Standards for the Rare Earth Industry (in Chinese). 18
MEP (Ministry of Environmental Protection). (2011b). Opinion on Strengthening the Ecological Protection and Restoration of Rare Earth Mines (in Chinese). 19
Zepf, V. (2014, November 17). Personal communication on rare earth elements by Janne Kuhn & Hein Gevers, Wageningen. 20
Wübbeke, J. (2013). Rare earth elements in China: Policies and narratives of reinventing an industry. Resources Policy, 38(3), 384-­‐
394. 21
Schüler, D., Buchert, M., Liu, R., Dittrich, S., & Merz, C. (2011). Study on rare earths and their recycling. Öko-­‐Institut eV Darmstadt. 22
Hatch, G. P. (2012). Dynamics in the global market for rare earths. Elements, 8(5), 341-­‐346. 23
Schüler, D., Buchert, M., Liu, R., Dittrich, S., & Merz, C. (2011). Study on rare earths and their recycling. Öko-­‐Institut eV Darmstadt. 24
Schüler, D., Buchert, M., Liu, R., Dittrich, S., & Merz, C. (2011). Study on rare earths and their recycling. Öko-­‐Institut eV Darmstadt. 25
Wübbeke, J. (2013). Rare earth elements in China: Policies and narratives of reinventing an industry. Resources Policy, 38(3), 384-­‐
394. 26
Hatch, G. P. (2012). Dynamics in the global market for rare earths. Elements, 8(5), 341-­‐346. 27
Zepf, V. (2014, November 17). Personal communication on rare earth elements by Janne Kuhn & Hein Gevers, Wageningen. 28
Zepf, V. (2014, November 17). Personal communication on rare earth elements by Janne Kuhn & Hein Gevers, Wageningen. 29
Hatch, G. P. (2012). Dynamics in the global market for rare earths. Elements, 8(5), 341-­‐346. 30
Zepf, V. (2014, November 17). Personal communication on rare earth elements by Janne Kuhn & Hein Gevers, Wageningen. 31
Habib, K., & Wenzel, H. (2014). Exploring Rare Earths supply constraints for the emerging clean energy technologies and the role of recycling. Journal of Cleaner Production, 84, 348-­‐359. 32
Hatch, G. P. (2012). Dynamics in the global market for rare earths. Elements, 8(5), 341-­‐346. 33
Hatch, G. P. (2012). Dynamics in the global market for rare earths. Elements, 8(5), 341-­‐346. 34
Schüler, D., Buchert, M., Liu, R., Dittrich, S., & Merz, C. (2011). Study on rare earths and their recycling. Öko-­‐Institut eV Darmstadt. 35
Bradshaw, A. M., & Hamacher, T. (2012). Nonregenerative natural resources in a sustainable system of energy supply. ChemSusChem, 5(3), 550-­‐562. 36
Zepf, V. (2013). Rare Earth Elements: A New Approach to the Nexus of Supply, Demand and Use: Exemplified Along the Use of Neodymium in Permanent Magnets. Heidelberg: Springer. 37
Hatch, G. P. (2012). Dynamics in the global market for rare earths. Elements, 8(5), 341-­‐346. 38
Du, X., & Graedel, T. E. (2011). Uncovering the global life cycles of the rare earth elements. Scientific reports. 39
de Boer, M. A., & Lammertsma, K. (2013). Scarcity of Rare Earth Elements. ChemSusChem, 6(11), 2045-­‐2055. 40
Habib, K., & Wenzel, H. (2014). Exploring Rare Earths supply constraints for the emerging clean energy technologies and the role of recycling. Journal of Cleaner Production, 84, 348-­‐359. 41
Schüler, D., Buchert, M., Liu, R., Dittrich, S., & Merz, C. (2011). Study on rare earths and their recycling. Öko-­‐Institut eV Darmstadt. 42
Zepf, V. (2014, November 17). Personal communication on rare earth elements by Janne Kuhn & Hein Gevers, Wageningen. 56 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 43
Bloodworth, A. (2014, November 21). Personal communication on rare earth elements by Janne Kuhn & Hein Gevers, Wageningen. 44
Bloodworth, A. (2014, November 21). Personal communication on rare earth elements by Janne Kuhn & Hein Gevers, Wageningen. 45
de Boer, M. A., & Lammertsma, K. (2013). Scarcity of Rare Earth Elements. ChemSusChem, 6(11), 2045-­‐2055. 46
Zepf, V. (2014, November 17). Personal communication on rare earth elements by Janne Kuhn & Hein Gevers, Wageningen. 47
Bloodworth, A. (2014, November 21). Personal communication on rare earth elements by Janne Kuhn & Hein Gevers, Wageningen. 48
Du, X., & Graedel, T. E. (2011). Uncovering the global life cycles of the rare earth elements. Scientific reports. 49
de Boer, M. A., & Lammertsma, K. (2013). Scarcity of Rare Earth Elements. ChemSusChem, 6(11), 2045-­‐2055. 50
Du, X., & Graedel, T. E. (2011). Uncovering the global life cycles of the rare earth elements. Scientific reports. 51
Angerer, G., Erdmann, L., Marscheider-­‐Weidemann, F., Scharp, M., Lüllmann, A., Handke, V., & Marwede, M. (2009). Rohstoffe für Zukunftstechnologien. Einfluss des branchenspezifischen Rohstoffbedarfs in rohstoffintensiven Zukunftstechnologien auf die zukünftige Rohstoffnachfrage, Fraunhofer-­‐Institut für System-­‐und Innovationsforschung ISI (= ISI-­‐Schriftenreihe‟ Innovationspotenziale “), 132. 52
U.S. Geological Survey. (2014). Mineral Commodity Summaries. Virginia, U.S. 53
Hatch, G. P. (2012). Dynamics in the global market for rare earths. Elements, 8(5), 341-­‐346. 54
Zepf, V. (2014, November 17). Personal communication on rare earth elements by Janne Kuhn & Hein Gevers, Wageningen. 55
Habib, K., & Wenzel, H. (2014). Exploring Rare Earths supply constraints for the emerging clean energy technologies and the role of recycling. Journal of Cleaner Production, 84, 348-­‐359. 56
Graedel, T. (2014, December 09). Personal communication on rare earth elements by Janne Kuhn & Hein Gevers, Wageningen. 57
Bloodworth, A. (2014, November 21). Personal communication on rare earth elements by Janne Kuhn & Hein Gevers, Wageningen. 58
Schüler, D., Buchert, M., Liu, R., Dittrich, S., & Merz, C. (2011). Study on rare earths and their recycling. Öko-­‐Institut eV Darmstadt. 59
Hoenderdaal, S., Tercero Espinoza, L., Marscheider-­‐Weidemann, F., & Graus, W. (2013). Can a dysprosium shortage threaten green energy technologies?. Energy, 49, 344-­‐355. 60
Hoenderdaal, S., Tercero Espinoza, L., Marscheider-­‐Weidemann, F., & Graus, W. (2013). Can a dysprosium shortage threaten green energy technologies?. Energy, 49, 344-­‐355. 61
Zepf, V. (2014, November 17). Personal communication on rare earth elements by Janne Kuhn & Hein Gevers, Wageningen. 62
U.S. Geological Survey. (2014). Mineral Commodity Summaries . Virginia, U.S. 63
Wübbeke, J. (2013). Rare earth elements in China: Policies and narratives of reinventing an industry. Resources Policy, 38(3), 384-­‐
394. 64
Wäger, P. (2014, December 08). Personal communication on rare earth elements by Janne Kuhn & Hein Gevers, Wageningen. 65
Schüler, D., Buchert, M., Liu, R., Dittrich, S., & Merz, C. (2011). Study on rare earths and their recycling. Öko-­‐Institut eV Darmstadt. 66
Hatch, G. P. (2012). Dynamics in the global market for rare earths. Elements, 8(5), 341-­‐346. 67
Bloodworth, A. (2014, November 21). Personal communication on rare earth elements by Janne Kuhn & Hein Gevers, Wageningen. 57 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 68
Shaw, S. & Chegwidden, J. (2012). Global drivers for rare earth demand. Roskill Information Services. 69
Graedel, T. (2014, December 09). Personal communication on rare earth elements by Janne Kuhn & Hein Gevers, Wageningen. 70
Graedel, T. (2014, December 09). Personal communication on rare earth elements by Janne Kuhn & Hein Gevers, Wageningen. 71
Schüler, D., Buchert, M., Liu, R., Dittrich, S., & Merz, C. (2011). Study on rare earths and their recycling. Öko-­‐Institut eV Darmstadt. 72
Bradshaw, A. M., Reuter, B., & Hamacher, T. (2013). The potential scarcity of rare elements for the Energiewende. Green, 3(2), 93-­‐
111. 73
Graedel, T. (2014, December 09). Personal communication on rare earth elements by Janne Kuhn & Hein Gevers, Wageningen. 74
Zepf, V. (2014, November 17). Personal communication on rare earth elements by Janne Kuhn & Hein Gevers, Wageningen. 75
de Boer, M. A., & Lammertsma, K. (2013). Scarcity of Rare Earth Elements. ChemSusChem, 6(11), 2045-­‐2055. 58 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 3.4.7 Appendices
Appendix 1: Research methodology
Rare earth elements as a topic for the Global Sustainable Development Report was selected on the one hand as a result of personal interest in the topic and on the other hand on the assumption of its increasing importance for sustainable energy technologies. Throughout the process it became clear that this topic would be best described in the form of a science digest, instead of the intended financial mechanisms brief. The same general methodology was used as stated in the general methodology chapter. For this topic literature research and interviews were used to investigate rare earth elements and their connection to sustainable development. Initially the scientific search engine Scopus was used with the keywords rare earth elements and rare earth metals. By limiting the search on the subject areas social sciences and humanities, articles about chemical engineering or computer science were avoided, as this was not our focus. Therefore we narrowed down the search from 33,628 results to 533 results, containing of documents published the year 1960 onwards. The keyword Rare earth metals gave 21,856 and 202 results respectively, from which 68 documents were from the last four years (2010). This interest peak in 2010 and 2013 also holds true for rare earth elements, as shown in graph below. By analyzing the results in the documents-­‐by-­‐country graph below, it can be observed that most of the literature comes from the United States, followed by literature originating in China. In the broad search for all subject areas, this order changes with most Chinese results and United Stated as second. To further find literature relevant for sustainable development, especially for renewable energy technologies, a combination of keywords was used. The search for rare earth elements and renewable energy resulted in 29 articles starting from 2000 with a major increase in articles published in 2011. Key articles used in this research were mainly found with this search option. Besides Scopus, the global search engine and the library catalogue of the Wageningen University library was used to find additional literature, such as books (“Material for a sustainable future” and “Rare Earth Elements: A New Approach to the Nexus of Supply, Demand and Use: Exemplified along the Use of Neodymium in Permanent Magnets”) and other peer-­‐reviewed articles. Furthermore, Google scholar was used as a search engine for a first literature research and to look for specific articles. These articles were especially chosen, because of their high frequency cited in other literature found. The literature research gave an good overview of the current research state of REEs, but also an insight in critical issues. 59 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre In addition to the literature research, interviews were conducted as a primary source of information on REEs. We started to look for potential experts, which were reachable in the Netherlands. Furthermore, by going through the literature we identified authors, who were often cited, published recent findings or statistical information, such as the British Geological Survey. Additional experts were found through the recommendation of already interviewed experts. Except from the interviews that were conduced in The Netherlands, most interviews were executed via Skype or phone. In total, five experts were interviewed, as listed in the table below. The information gained from these primary sources was very valuable and positively contributed to the content of this science digest. Through the direct contact with experts, some detailed issues could be clarified and different opinions were gathered. Code Expert REE-­‐1 Prof. Koop Lammertsma: Professor of Organic Chemistry; Faculty of Science at University Amsterdam; Netherlands Marissa de Boer: Post-­‐doctoral researcher at the Faculty of Science (organic chemistry) at University Amsterdam; Netherlands Interviewed on November 12, 2014, 10:00 (GMT+1) REE-­‐2 Dr. Volker Zepf: Research fellow at the chair of Resource Strategies; Institute for Physics at Augsburg University; Germany Interviewed on November 17, 2014, 10:00 (GMT+1) REE-­‐3 Andrew Bloodworth: Science Director for Minerals and Waste; British Geological Survey (BGS); United Kingdom Interviewed on November 21, 2014, 10:30 (GMT+1) REE-­‐4 Dr. Patrick Wäger: Research fellow at the Organisational unit of Technology and Society at Empa research institute – Material Science and Technology , Austria Interviewed on December 8, 2014, 10:00 (GMT+1) REE-­‐5 Prof. Thomas E. Graedel: Professor of Industrial Ecology, Professor of Chemical Engineering, Professor of Geology and Geophysics, Director of the Center for Industrial Ecology at Yale University, United States Chair of Global Metal Flows Group, International Panel on Resource Sustainability, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Interviewed at December 9, 2014, 17:00 (GMT+1) 60 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 3.5 URBAN AGRICULTURE
Related Sustainable Development Goals Goal 01 End poverty in all its forms everywhere (1.1, 1.4, 1.5 ) Goal 02 End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture (2.1, 2.3, 2.4, 2.c) Goal 12 Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns (12.1, 12.2, 12.3, 12.4,12.5, 12.7, 12.8) Goal 15 Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss (15.9 ) Keywords: Urban agriculture, open-­‐space agriculture, controlled environment agriculture, vertical farming, zero-­‐acreage farming, skyfarming Authors: Ibrahim Game (ipgame@syr.edu) & Richaela Primus (rprimus@syr.edu), State University of New York College of Forestry and Environmental Science 3.5.1 Introduction
Urban Agriculture (UA) and peri-­‐urban agriculture can be defined as the growing, FACTS & FIGURES
processing, and distribution of food and other products through plant cultivation and 1 2
seldom raising livestock in and around cities for feeding local populations. Over the last • UA includes small to large
areas within or around
few years, UA has increased in popularity due to concerns about climate change and cities: vacant lots,
3 4
sustaining food security in urban areas. The effects of climate change has induced crop community garden,
reductions and affected optimal environmental growing conditions through rising balconies, rooftop farms,
5, 6, 7, 8, 9
indoor farms and
temperatures and changes in rainfall patterns.
Although, agriculture contributes to 10
greenhouses.i
30% of anthropocentric greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, presence of vegetation in urban • Presently, more than 800
11
areas can lower temperatures and GHG emissions. An environmental Life Cycle million people worldwide
Assessment (LCA) of Urban Food Growing in London found urban farms could potentially practice UA, including
12
over 20 million people in
reduce food-­‐related GHGs, such as CO2 by 34 tons per hectare. West Africa.ii
Increasing urban food deserts in many parts of the world has motivated the • UA is located in close
13 14
improvement of methods of UA in order to complement urban food needs. In this paper, proximity to populous
15 UA was categorized into two spheres: Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) and regions.iii
16
Uncontrolled Environment Agriculture or open space agriculture (UEA). • Plant-based and livestock
produces 30% of GHG
Examples of UEA include community gardens, vegetable gardens and rooftop emissions.iv
17
farms, which exist worldwide and are playing important roles in the urban food systems. • Studies show urban farm
CEA includes any form of agriculture where environmental conditions (such as, light, could decrease 34 ton
temperature, humidity, radiation and nutrient cycling) are controlled in conjunction with CO2 /ha.v
18
urban architecture or green infrastructure. Methods of CEA discussed are zero-­‐acreage 19,20, 21
farming (Z-­‐farming), greenhouses and vertical farming/ skyfarming.
Examining these new methods contributes to addressing potential urban food insecurity because by 22
2050, 60% of the world’s population will live in cities which will increase demand of resources. Ultimately, interest in transforming urban food systems is an integral part of a sustainable development path for cities. Therefore, in this paper both CEA and UAE were examined in terms food production potential, risks and benefits. 3.5.2 Scientific debate
Since 1990s, the scientific debate encompassing UA focus on competition for non-­‐renewable resources (i.e., soil, water, land) and its economic viability. UA is taking advantages where Rural Agriculture (RA), the primary producer of food in cities, failed to achieve urban food security. It complements RA in terms of self-­‐
23
provisioning, marketing flows and market supply flows. Also, there is a growing concern that RA will deprive lands (through land grabbing) from rural populations and trigger its movement toward cities thereby reducing 24
rural populations. However, UA is unlikely to turn any city or most households fully self-­‐sufficient in all of the 25
food which they may require. The major challenges in UA are determining how to monitor, control, and reduce risks in the physical, economic and social environment; and understanding how UA can be a sustainable component of the global 26
urban food systems. While opponents highlight the negative impacts of UA, related to health risks, productivity and pollution, proponents counter these sentiments by emphasizing the viability of UA in terms 27 28
of increasing the locality of food and reduction of energy expenditure in production. 61 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre Opponents of UEA, caution the excessive use of inputs with high levels of nitrogen, FOOD FOR THOUGHT
29 30
phosphorous and raw organic matter with heavy metals. For example excessive nutrient 31
inputs to the livestock unit and poor handling of manure can lead to environmental issues • UA would require roughly
one third of the total
in the long run. Other problems that urban dwellers may face are: air pollution (from global urban area to meet
emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, ammonium, nitrous oxide, nitrogen oxide, etc.), odor the global vegetable
nuisance, overuse of chemical spray, Zoonotic diseases, veterinary public health issues from consumption of urban
32
dwellers based on the
livestock, and cumulative negative effects because of no legal controls of UA. Composting current space
another technique used to recycle organic waste in UEA can restore contaminated soils and constraint.vi
33 biodiversity of soil organisms. In aquaculture for example, the use of water for recirculation, • 60% of the world
population will live in
commercial feed, and drugs can lead to excess nutrients and organic matter, which will urban areas by 2050.vii
34
enhance the proliferation of microorganisms, such as, heterotrophic bacteria. • Safe use of waste water
The proponents of UEA are exploring new solutions to address these risks. One can provide the needed
water, nitrogen, and
example is an improved management of manure which enhance cattle productivity and phosphorus for growing
35
provides nutrients for urban agriculture in Niamey, Niger Another example is treated food. viii
36
wastewater reuse for irrigation, a treatment system (Appendix 7) consisting of a waste stabilization pond (WSP) and a constructed wetland (CW) system connected to it. This case showed that with the integration of the treatment technologies and proper operation of systems, recycled water with significant 37
amounts of nutrients can be made available for farming, in turn reducing the rate of fertilizer application. 38
This system also reduces the pollutant load in the surrounding environment. Those proponents are positive that there are many ways to make urban agriculture environmentally friendly and viable. A few concerns of the same concerns also arise in CEA methods. Table 4, examines the main inputs, 39,40,41,42,43,44
application, risks and benefits of CEA methods and UEA method.
CEA is based on the use of hydroponic or water-­‐based nutrient rich solutions as a substitute for soil. Additional water inputs are considered energy intensive, proponents show aqueous water recycling systems conserve water and decrease 45,46,47 building water bills. In terms of energy saving, green rooftops, which can also be integrated in CEA was 48
found to regulate temperatures building temperatures in New York City. Rooftop gardens also use 75% less 49
water than conventional farms. Skyfarms are more energy efficient in the production staple cereal crops, which make up the majority 50 51 52
of global food consumption.
The scale of Z-­‐farming prospected for integration with current urban food 53
markets, although some small-­‐scale examples are utilized at the private level . Another intensive input is artificial light-­‐emitting diode (LED) to mimic photosynthetic processes of natural sunlight in seasons of 54,55,56,57,58,59
60
limited sunlight.
Researchers are working to improve LED efficiency in CEA approaches. Studies show increased plant transpiration stores excess water in plant leaves, reducing 61,62,63 photosynthesis, which inhibits plant growth.
Increased transpiration potentially set optimal 64,65,66
environments for viruses and fungi which can infect plants and also pose threats to humans.
To address this CEA systems incorporating dehumidification processes through natural ventilation are being 67
implemented to mitigate increased transpiration. Comparatively, in greenhouse agricultural methods glass 68
panes function as natural dehumidifiers. The main concern with CEA methods is capital intensity, for instance, over 30 years the fixed cost for 69 equipment and a 37 story building for a vertical farm is estimated at $248 million. Though projected agricultural productivity investments of US$2000 million annually are projected for additional expenditure 70
offset the negative impacts of climate change on nutrition. Other CEA methods can be applied to current building, lower story buildings and smaller spaces, so costs are significantly less. Countries in South Asia are 71
expected to experience significant increases in crop reduction due to climate change, Singapore is investing 72 73
in vertical farming to feed growing urban populations . Overall, potential returns of CEA are higher crop yields than conventional agriculture for certain such 74
as, carrots, radish, potatoes, pepper, tomatoes, strawberry, peas, cabbage, lettuce and spinach. Also 75
multiple precedents of CEA exist in both the Global North and Global South. For example, a vertical farm in South Korea stands at three-­‐stories and a recent prototype estimates a building with 27 floors could provide 76
77
food to 15,000 residents. Z-­‐farming, exists in major cities of North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. 78
The efficiency of UA will differ in developed and developing countries, however when applied 79 80
efficiently, UA can increase the access, availability and distribution of food.
The importance of the 62 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre following factors in different geographic areas may impact urban agricultural activities: competition for resources (land, water, labor, energy); financial support from private or public sector; horticulture techniques: production of vegetables; productive use of under-­‐utilized resources; low input processing and storage techniques with micro-­‐credit support. Taking those factors into consideration will help make urban agriculture 81,82,83 sustainable.
It is important for practitioners and other actors in the urban environment to understand that UA can participate in efficient competition of resources if strategies are developed to enhance potential environmental benefits, minimize problems, and find ways to secure practitioner access to land need 84
comprehensive assessments. Some optimal management practices (Appendix 6) such as land use planning will benefit from hydrological functioning through soil and water (i.e. rainwater) conservation, micro-­‐climate, biodiversity. These mechanisms assist cities in avoiding cost of disposal of recycled urban waste, and provide 85
greater recreational and aesthetic values of green space. For example, macrophytes can be used to clean 86
water and feed chicken and fish, and small scale irrigation and Drip irrigation. Moreover, the sustainability of UA is enhanced by some advantages including the improvement of community food security, the provision of educational facilities, linking consumers to food production, serving as a design inspiration enhance its sustainability, and the reduction of building energy costs by acting as a cooling effect in the summer and 87
insulation in the winter. 3.5.3 Goals
In recognition of the SDGs, UA (encompassing both UEA and CEA) can assist in potentially decreasing hunger and poverty (SDG 1.1,1.4,1.5, 2.1, 2.3, 2.4, 2.c); creating sustainable food production patterns (12.1, 12.2, 12.3, 12.4, 12.5, 12.6, 12.7,12.8,15.9) and promoting the integration of environmental values in development (SDG 15.9). In terms of decreasing poverty and hunger, UA provides a mechanism for improving urban food security and providing entrepreneurship opportunities for low-­‐income individuals. In creating sustainable food patterns, UA is projected to reduce climate change-­‐related greenhouse gas emissions through reducing food production and distribution inputs. Furthermore, by incorporating waste management, nutrient recycling and energy recycling UA utilizes environmentally sustainable practices in meeting the necessities of urban regions. 3.5.4 Recommendations/Targets
The significance of UA and corresponding discourse on its risk and benefits show the efficiency of UA will 88 differ in developed and developing countries. Therefore, the implementation of UA to develop safe and nutritionally adequate food systems and sustainability of the urban environment will depend on the following recommendations for future agendas: § Research and Education: The recognition of research and science on UA in both developed and developing countries at the biological, social and political levels, could support integration of urban 89
and rural food supply systems and recourse the current intersections between climate change, food security and sustainable food production. Funding in this area also enhances technical expertise on UA. § Policy: Coherent management policies for UA set environmentally sustainable requirements or . standards for cropping techniques, convenient treatment of urban water and solid waste
Development of food policies optimizing UA through contracting systems with conventional or rural 90 agriculture practices replaces the perception that UA could replace global food production. Also, 91
policies on global food waste can also highlight some areas where UA can be most feasible. 3.5.5 Acknowledgements
The authors extend specials thanks Dr. Richard Alexander Roehrl of The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-­‐DESA), Division for Sustainable Development (DSD) and colleagues for their time and assistance. We also thank Prof. David Sonnenfeld, Ph.D. of State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF) and Dr. Machiel Lamers of Wageningen University and Research Center (WUR) for their guidance throughout writing this report. We also acknowledge the interviewees: Isidor Wallimann (Syracuse University), Dickson Despommier (Columbia University) and Federico Martellozzo (University of Rome La Sapienza) for their expertise and patience. 63 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 3.5.6 References
_______________________
Text box references i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
Goldstein, M. (2011). Urban agriculture: a sixteen city survey of urban agriculture practices across the country. Page 4. Retrieved from http://www.georgiaorganics.org/Advocacy/urbanagreport.pdf Graefe, S., Sonou, M., & Cofie, O. O. (2006). Informal irrigation in urban West Africa: An overview. Colombo: International Water Management Institute. Goldstein, M. 2011. Urban agriculture: a sixteen city survey of urban agriculture practices across the country. Page 4. Retrieved from http://www.georgiaorganics.org/Advocacy/urbanagreport.pdf Smith, P., & Gregory, P. J. (2013). Climate change and sustainable food production. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 72(01), 21-­‐28. Kulak, M., Graves, A., & Chatterton, J. (2013). Reducing greenhouse gas emissions with urban agriculture: a life cycle assessment perspective. Landscape and urban planning, 111, 68-­‐78. Martellozzo F.,Landry J.,Plouffe D., Seufert V., Rowhani P., and Ramankutty N. (2014). Urban agriculture: a global analysis of the space constraint to meet urban vegetable demand. Environ. Res. Lett. United Nations. 2004. World population to 2300. New York: Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations. Kihila J., Mtei K. M., Njau K. N. 2014. Wastewater treatment for reuse in urban agriculture; the case of Moshi Municipality, Tanzania. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C ___________________________
Main text references 1 Goldstein, M. (2011). Urban agriculture: a sixteen city survey of urban agriculture practices across the country. Page 4. Retrieved from http://www.georgiaorganics.org/Advocacy/urbanagreport.pdf 2 Hendrickson M. K., & Porth M. (2012). Urban Agriculture —Best Practices and Possibilities. University Of Missouri Division of Applied Social Sciences. Retrieved from http://extension.missouri.edu/foodsystems/urbanagriculture.aspx 3 Hardman, M., & Larkham, P. J. (2014). The rise of the ‘food charter’: A mechanism to increase urban agriculture. Land Use Policy, 39, 400-­‐402. 4 Martellozzo F., Landry J., Plouffe D., Seufert V., Rowhani P., & Ramankutty N. (2014). Urban agriculture: a global analysis of the space constraint to meet urban vegetable demand.Environ. Res. Lett. 5 Germer, J., Sauerborn, J., Asch, F., de Boer, J., Schreiber, J., Weber, G., & Müller, J. (2011). Skyfarming an ecological innovation to enhance global food security. Journal für Verbraucherschutz und Lebensmittelsicherheit, 6(2), 237-­‐251. 6 Reynolds M.P. (2010). Climate change and crop production. Oxfordshire: CABI. 7 Hatfield, J. L., Boote, K. J., Kimball, B. A., Ziska, L. H., Izaurralde, R. C., Ort, D., ... & Wolfe, D. (2011). Climate impacts on agriculture: implications for crop production. Agronomy Journal, 103(2), 351-­‐370. 8 Nelson G. C., Rosegrant M. W., Koo J., et al. (2009). Climate Change. Impact on Agriculture and Costs of Adaptation. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute 9 Parry, M. L., Rosenzweig, C., Iglesias, A., Livermore, M., & Fischer, G. (2004). Effects of climate change on global food production under SRES emissions and socio-­‐economic scenarios. Global Environmental Change, 14(1), 53-­‐67. 10 Smith, P., & Gregory, P. J. (2013). Climate change and sustainable food production. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 72(01), 21-­‐28. 11 C. Rosenzweig, S. Gaffi n. And L. Parshall (Eds.) (2006).Green Roofs in the New York metropolitan region: Research report (pp. 15 -­‐ 26). New York: Columbia University, Center for Climate Systems Research and NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies 12 Kulak, M., Graves, A., & Chatterton, J. (2013). Reducing greenhouse gas emissions with urban agriculture: a life cycle assessment perspective. Landscape and urban planning, 111, 68-­‐78. 13 Wallimann, I. (2014, December 11). Personal Communication About ‘Urban Agriculture’ by Ibrahim Game and Richaela Primus, Syracuse. 64 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 14 Hendrickson M. K., & Porth M. (2012). Urban Agriculture —Best Practices and Possibilities. University Of Missouri Division of Applied Social Sciences. Retrieved from http://extension.missouri.edu/foodsystems/urbanagriculture.aspx 15 Despommier, D. (2013). Farming up the city: the rise of urban vertical farms. Trends in biotechnology, 31(7), 388-­‐389. 16 Nelson G. C., Rosegrant M. W., Koo J., et al. (2009). Climate Change. Impact on Agriculture and Costs of Adaptation. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute 17 Appendix 2 18 Despommier, D. (2013). Farming up the city: the rise of urban vertical farms. Trends in biotechnology, 31(7), 388-­‐389. 19 Despommier, D. (2013). Farming up the city: the rise of urban vertical farms. Trends in biotechnology, 31(7), 388-­‐389. 20 Specht, K., Siebert, R., Hartmann, I., Freisinger, U. B., Sawicka, M., Werner, A., ... & Dierich, A. (2014). Urban agriculture of the future: an overview of sustainability aspects of food production in and on buildings. Agriculture and Human Values, 31(1), 33-­‐51 21 Germer, J., Sauerborn, J., Asch, F., de Boer, J., Schreiber, J., Weber, G., & Müller, J. (2011). Skyfarming an ecological innovation to enhance global food security. Journal für Verbraucherschutz und Lebensmittelsicherheit, 6(2), 237-­‐251. 22 United Nations. (2004). World population to 2300. New York: Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations. 23 Appendix 1 24 Wallimann, I. (2014, December 11). Personal Communication About ‘Urban Agriculture’ by Ibrahim Game and Richaela Primus, Syracuse. 25 Mougeot, L. J. A. (2000). Urban Agriculture: Definition, Presence, Potential and Risks. Retrieved from http://www.ruaf.org/sites/default/files/Theme1_1_1.PDF. 26 Appendix 5 27 Despommier, D. (2014, December 4). Personal Communication About ‘Urban Agriculture’ by Ibrahim Game and Richaela Primus, Syracuse. 28 Martellozzo, F. (2014, December 11). Personal Communication About ‘Urban Agriculture’ by Ibrahim Game and Richaela Primus, Syracuse. 29 Chen, T., Liu, X., Zhu, M., Zhao, K., Wu, J., Xu, J., Huang, P. (2008). Identification of trace element sources and associated risk assessment in vegetable soils of the urban-­‐rural transitional area of Hangzhou, China. Environ. Pollut. 151, 67–78. 30 Huang, B., Shi, X., Yu, D., Öborn, I., Blombäck, K., Pagella, T.F., Wang, H., Sun, W., & Sinclair, F.L. (2006). Environmental assessment of small-­‐scale vegetable farming systems in peri-­‐urban areas of Yangtze River Delta Region, China. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 112, 391–402. 31 Diogo R. V.C., Schlecht E., Buerkert A., Rufino M.C., van Wijk M. T., (2012). Increasing nutrient use efficiency through improved feeding and manure management in urban and peri-­‐urban livestock units of a West African city: A scenario analysis.Agricultural Systems 114 (2013) 64–72 32 Hendrickson M. K. & Porth M. (2012). Urban Agriculture —Best Practices and Possibilities. University Of Missouri Division of Applied Social Sciences. Retrieved from http://extension.missouri.edu/foodsystems/urbanagriculture.aspx 33 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2011). Environmental Benefits. Retrieved from Wastes – Resource Conservation – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – Composting: http://epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/rrr/ composting/benefits.htm. 34 Rurangwa, E., & Verdegem, M. C. (2014). Microorganisms in recirculating aquaculture systems and their management. Reviews in Aquaculture. 35 Appendix 6 65 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 36 Kihila J., Mtei K. M., & Njau K. N. (2014). Wastewater treatment for reuse in urban agriculture; the case of Moshi Municipality, Tanzania. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C. 37 Appendix 7 38 Kihila J., Mtei K. M., & Njau K. N. (2014). Wastewater treatment for reuse in urban agriculture; the case of Moshi Municipality, Tanzania. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C. 39 Appendix 5 40 Germer, J., Sauerborn, J., Asch, F., de Boer, J., Schreiber, J., Weber, G., & Müller, J. (2011). Skyfarming an ecological innovation to enhance global food security. Journal für Verbraucherschutz und Lebensmittelsicherheit, 6(2), 237-­‐251. 41 Thomaier, S., Specht, K., Henckel, D., Dierich, A., Siebert, R., Freisinger, U. B., & Sawicka, M. (2014). Farming in and on urban buildings: Present practice and specific novelties of Zero-­‐Acreage Farming (ZFarming). Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 1-­‐12 42 Despommier, D. (2013). Farming up the city: the rise of urban vertical farms. Trends in biotechnology, 31(7), 388-­‐389. 43 Despommier, D. (2011). The vertical farm: Controlled environment agriculture carried out in tall buildings would create greater food safety and security for large urban populations. Journal of Consumer Protection and Food Safety, 6(2), 233–236 44 Specht, K., Siebert, R., Hartmann, I., Freisinger, U. B., Sawicka, M., Werner, A., ... & Dierich, A. (2014).Urban agriculture of the future: an overview of sustainability aspects of food production in and on buildings. Agriculture and Human Values, 31(1), 33-­‐51 45 Thomaier, S., Specht, K., Henckel, D., Dierich, A., Siebert, R., Freisinger, U. B., & Sawicka, M. (2014). Farming in and on urban buildings: Present practice and specific novelties of Zero-­‐Acreage Farming (ZFarming). Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 1-­‐12 46 Banerjee, C., & Adenaeuer, L. (2014). Up, Up and Away! The Economics of Vertical Farming. Journal of Agricultural Studies, 2(1), 40-­‐60 47 Despommier, D. (2011). The vertical farm: Controlled environment agriculture carried out in tall buildings would create greater food safety and security for large urban populations. Journal of Consumer Protection and Food Safety, 6(2), 233–236 48 Rosenzweig, C., Gaffi, S. N., & Parshall, L. (2006).Green Roofs in the New York metropolitan region: Research report (pp. 15 -­‐ 26). New York: Columbia University, Center for Climate Systems Research and NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies 49 Astee, L. Y., & Kishnani, N. T. (2010). Building integrated agriculture: Utilising rooftops for sustainable food crop cultivation in Singapore. Journal of Green Building, 5(2), 105-­‐113. 50 Germer, J., Sauerborn, J., Asch, F., de Boer, J., Schreiber, J., Weber, G., & Müller, J. (2011). Skyfarming an ecological innovation to enhance global food security. Journal für Verbraucherschutz und Lebensmittelsicherheit, 6(2), 237-­‐251. 51 Specht, K., Siebert, R., Hartmann, I., Freisinger, U. B., Sawicka, M., Werner, A., ... & Dierich, A. (2014). Urban agriculture of the future: an overview of sustainability aspects of food production in and on buildings. Agriculture and Human Values, 31(1), 33-­‐51 52 Thomaier, S., Specht, K., Henckel, D., Dierich, A., Siebert, R., Freisinger, U. B., & Sawicka, M. (2014). Farming in and on urban buildings: Present practice and specific novelties of Zero-­‐Acreage Farming (ZFarming). Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 1-­‐12 53 Thomaier, S., Specht, K., Henckel, D., Dierich, A., Siebert, R., Freisinger, U. B., & Sawicka, M. (2014). Farming in and on urban buildings: Present practice and specific novelties of Zero-­‐Acreage Farming (ZFarming). Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 1-­‐12 54 Thomaier, S., Specht, K., Henckel, D., Dierich, A., Siebert, R., Freisinger, U. B., & Sawicka, M. (2014). Farming in and on urban buildings: Present practice and specific novelties of Zero-­‐Acreage Farming (ZFarming). Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 1-­‐12 66 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 55 Specht, K., Siebert, R., Hartmann, I., Freisinger, U. B., Sawicka, M., Werner, A., ... & Dierich, A. (2014).Urban agriculture of the future: an overview of sustainability aspects of food production in and on buildings. Agriculture and Human Values, 31(1), 33-­‐51 56 Thomaier, S., Specht, K., Henckel, D., Dierich, A., Siebert, R., Freisinger, U. B., & Sawicka, M. (2014). Farming in and on urban buildings: Present practice and specific novelties of Zero-­‐Acreage Farming (ZFarming). Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 1-­‐1 57 Germer, J., Sauerborn, J., Asch, F., de Boer, J., Schreiber, J., Weber, G., & Müller, J. (2011). Skyfarming an ecological innovation to enhance global food security. Journal für Verbraucherschutz und Lebensmittelsicherheit, 6(2), 237-­‐251 58 Despommier, D. (2011). The vertical farm: Controlled environment agriculture carried out in tall buildings would create greater food safety and security for large urban populations. Journal of Consumer Protection and Food Safety 6(2): 233–
236 59 Despommier, D. (2011). The vertical farm: Controlled environment agriculture carried out in tall buildings would create greater food safety and security for large urban populations. Journal of Consumer Protection and Food Safety 6(2): 233–
236 60 Falah, M. A. F., Khuriyati, N., Nurulfatia, R., & Dewi, K. (2013). Controlled environment with artificial lighting for hydroponics production systems. Journal of Agricultural Technology, 9(4), 769-­‐777. 61 Falah, M. A. F., Khuriyati, N., Nurulfatia, R., & Dewi, K. (2013). Controlled environment with artificial lighting for hydroponics production systems. Journal of Agricultural Technology, 9(4), 769-­‐777. 62 Despommier, D. 2013. Farming up the city: the rise of urban vertical farms. Trends in biotechnology, 31(7), 388-­‐389. 63 Banerjee, C., & Adenaeuer, L. (2014). Up, Up and Away! The Economics of Vertical Farming. Journal of Agricultural Studies, 2(1), 40-­‐60 64 Falah, M. A. F., Khuriyati, N., Nurulfatia, R., & Dewi, K. (2013). Controlled environment with artificial lighting for hydroponics production systems. Journal of Agricultural Technology, 9(4), 769-­‐777. 65 Despommier, D. 2013. Farming up the city: the rise of urban vertical farms.Trends in biotechnology, 31(7), 388-­‐389. 66 Germer, J., Sauerborn, J., Asch, F., de Boer, J., Schreiber, J., Weber, G., & Müller, J. (2011). Skyfarming an ecological innovation to enhance global food security. Journal für Verbraucherschutz und Lebensmittelsicherheit, 6(2), 237-­‐251. 67 Germer, J., Sauerborn, J., Asch, F., de Boer, J., Schreiber, J., Weber, G., & Müller, J. (2011). Skyfarming an ecological innovation to enhance global food security. Journal für Verbraucherschutz und Lebensmittelsicherheit, 6(2), 237-­‐251. 68 Germer, J., Sauerborn, J., Asch, F., de Boer, J., Schreiber, J., Weber, G., & Müller, J. (2011). Skyfarming an ecological innovation to enhance global food security. Journal für Verbraucherschutz und Lebensmittelsicherheit, 6(2), 237-­‐251. 69 Banerjee, C., & Adenaeuer, L. (2014). Up, Up and Away! The Economics of Vertical Farming. Journal of Agricultural Studies, 2(1), 40-­‐60 70 Nelson GC, Rosegrant MW, Koo J et al. (2009) Climate Change. Impact on Agriculture and Costs of Adaptation, Climate change and sustainable food production 27 Proceedings of the Nutrition Society p. 19. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. 71 Smith, P., & Gregory, P. J. (2013). Climate change and sustainable food production. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 72(01), 21-­‐28. 72 Despommier, D. (2014, December 4). Personal Communication About ‘Urban Agriculture’ by Ibrahim Game and Richaela Primus, Syracuse. 73 Astee, L. Y., & Kishnani, N. T. (2010). Building integrated agriculture: Utilising rooftops for sustainable food crop cultivation in Singapore. Journal of Green Building, 5(2), 105-­‐113. 74 Banerjee, C., & Adenaeuer, L. (2014). Up, Up and Away! The Economics of Vertical Farming. Journal of Agricultural Studies, 2(1), 40-­‐60 67 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 75 Despommier, Dickson (2014, December 4). Personal Communication About ‘Urban Agriculture’ by Ibrahim Game and Richaela Primus, Syracuse. 76 Besthorn, F. H. (2013). Vertical farming: social work and sustainable urban agriculture in an age of global food crises. Australian Social Work, 66(2), 187-­‐203 77 Thomaier, S., Specht, K., Henckel, D., Dierich, A., Siebert, R., Freisinger, U. B., & Sawicka, M. (2014). Farming in and on urban buildings: Present practice and specific novelties of Zero-­‐Acreage Farming (ZFarming). Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 1-­‐12 78 Wallimann, I. (2014, December 11). Personal Communication About ‘Urban Agriculture’ by Ibrahim Game and Richaela Primus, Syracuse. 79 Hendrickson M. K., & Porth, M. (2012). Urban Agriculture —Best Practices and Possibilities. University Of Missouri Division of Applied Social Sciences. Retrieved from http://extension.missouri.edu/foodsystems/urbanagriculture.aspx 80 Hendrickson M. K., & Porth, M. (2012). Urban Agriculture —Best Practices and Possibilities. University Of Missouri Division of Applied Social Sciences. Retrieved from http://extension.missouri.edu/foodsystems/urbanagriculture.aspx 81 Mougeot Luc J.A. (2000). Urban Agriculture: Definition, Presence, Potential and Risks. Retrieved from http://www.ruaf.org/sites/default/files/Theme1_1_1.PDF. 82 Diogo, R. V. C., Schlecht E., Buerkert A., Rufino M.C., & van Wijk, M. T. (2012). Increasing nutrient use efficiency through improved feeding and manure management in urban and peri-­‐urban livestock units of a West African city: A scenario analysis. Agricultural Systems, 114, 64–72 83 Diogo R. V.C. , Schlecht E., Buerkert A., Rufino M.C., van Wijk M. T. (2012). Increasing nutrient use efficiency through improved feeding and manure management in urban and peri-­‐urban livestock units of a West African city: A scenario analysis. Agricultural Systems, 114, 64–72 84 Appendix 6 85 Hendrickson, M. K., & Porth, M. (2012). Urban Agriculture —Best Practices and Possibilities. University Of Missouri Division of Applied Social Sciences. Retrieved from http://extension.missouri.edu/foodsystems/urbanagriculture.aspx 86 Woltersdorf, L., S. Liehr, R. Scheidegger & P. Döll (2014). Small-­‐scale water reuse for urban agriculture in Namibia: Modeling water flows and productivity. Urban Water Journal. 87 Hendrickson, M. K., & Porth, M. (2012). Urban Agriculture —Best Practices and Possibilities. University Of Missouri Division of Applied Social Sciences. Retrieved from http://extension.missouri.edu/foodsystems/urbanagriculture.aspx 88 Hendrickson, M. K., & Porth, M. (2012). Urban Agriculture —Best Practices and Possibilities. University Of Missouri Division of Applied Social Sciences. Retrieved from http://extension.missouri.edu/foodsystems/urbanagriculture.aspx 89 Wallimann, I. (2014, December 11). Personal Communication About ‘Urban Agriculture’ by Ibrahim Game and Richaela Primus, Syracuse. 90 Wallimann, I. (2014, December 11). Personal Communication About ‘Urban Agriculture’ by Ibrahim Game and Richaela Primus, Syracuse. 91 Smith, P., & Gregory, P. J. (2013). Climate change and sustainable food production. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 72(01), 21-­‐28. 68 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 3.5.7 Appendices
Appendix 1: Research methods
Urban agriculture (UA) was selected for this brief because of the author’s personal interests and previous experiences working on UA projects in both the Global North and South to address local food security and local food system support. UA is an emerging area of science to address increasing food access in global cities in light of climate change. The methodological framework for this brief is already mentioned in the preface. For this particular topic scientific peer-­‐
reviewed articles from journals in biological, environmental, social, economic, public health and physical sciences were examined to understand related scientific credibility and debates. Under further analysis, one of the largest scientific peer-­‐
reviewed article database, SCOPUS, was used to measure the frequency of scientific articles in UA from 1975-­‐2014 and in each emerging UA mechanism from 2009-­‐2014 via article title, abstract and keyword. Articles related to UA and climate has increased from 1975 with steady growth between 2005-­‐2010 and recent surges over the past two years. The share of research on UA is dispersed in both the Global North and South: 18.9 % for Africa, 35% for America, 34.5% for Europe, and Asia: 11 % .The following number of articles was found for each topic building integrated agriculture (5); vertical farming (17); skyfarming (1); Z Farming or zero acreage farming (2); controlled environment agriculture (33) and urban agriculture and climate change (37). Authors of these articles represented the following countries: the USA, China, Germany, Italy, Austria, Mexico, France, Canada, Indonesia, Australia and the United Kingdom. Interviews from three experts in the field of UA were also conducted to verify the credibility of the criteria selected for UA, the relevance of UA to achieving sustainable development and reviewing current discourse surrounding UA (Table 1). Figure 1. The frequency of UA articles from 1975 to 2014 using Scopus and Science Direct. Table 1. UA experts qualifications and corresponding interview codes used in brief. Interview Code Experts Qualifications 001 Dickson Despommier Professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Columbia University Director of the Vertical Farm Project Interviewed, December 4, 2014 002 Federico Martellozzo Post-­‐Doctoral Fellow University of Rome La Sapienza MEMOTEF -­‐ Dept. of Methods and Models for Economics, Territory and Finance Interviewed, December 11, 2014 003 Isidor Wallimann, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus Visiting Research Professor, Maxwell School, Syracuse University Founder of Urban Agriculture Basel Interviewed December 11, 2014 69 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre Appendix 2: Most Common Forms of UA surveyed in some US cities
Figure 2. Most Common Forms of UA surveyed in some US cities (Hendrickson & Porth, 2012) 70 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre Appendix 3: Comparative analysis of UA and RA
Table 2. Comparative Analysis of UA and RA (Data Retrieved from: Mougeot, 2000) Scale of Production Marketing System Alternatives available Farm to Market System UA Mostly small Higher percentage of producers Variable Proximity to more people RA Mostly Large Higher levels of Trade Limited Far from cities Appendix 4: Opportunities and risks of urban agriculture
Table 3. Opportunities and risks of urban agriculture ( Data retrieved from: Hendrickson & Porth, 2012) Opportunities for urban areas (in opposition to RA) Risks for urban areas Physical Environment §
§
§
Less need for packaging, storage, and transportation Proximity to services, including waste treatment facilities Waste recycling and re-­‐use possibilities §
§
§
Increased competition for land, water, energy, and labor Reduced environmental capacity for pollution absorption High levels of air pollutants in cities and microbial contamination of soil and water Economic Environment §
§
Potential Agricultural jobs with low barriers to entry Non-­‐market access to food §
§
Limited Production Quantity Varied seasonal Production Quality Social Environment §
§
§
§
§
§
Availability of fresh fruits and vegetables Community Bonding Access to green spaces Emergency food supplies Soil treatment Environmental stewardship §
71 Environmental and health risks from inappropriate overuse of pesticides and fossil-­‐fuel based fertilizers Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre Appendix 5: Comparative Analysis of UA Methods in CEA and UAE
Table 4. Comparative Analysis of UA Methods in CEA and UAE (Data Retrieved from: Germer et al., 2011; Thormaier, 2014; Despommier, 2013; Despommier, 2011, and Specht et al., 2014) UA Methods UEA ( open space, rooftops farms) Main Inputs Low Fertilizer Organic Soil Application Urban Peri-­‐ urban Small-­‐large scale Use of macrophytes to clean water and feed fish *Medium-­‐large scale: Z-­‐farming & vertical farms *Rural: Greenhouses Exposure to pollutants **Open space: uptake of soil-­‐based heavy metals; human and animal manure Major Risks Major Benefits CEA (Z-­‐farming, Greenhouses, vertical farms, skyfarms, rooftop farms) Fertilizers Pesticides Natural light (seasonal) Artificial light Water-­‐based growing solutions *Greenhouses: low fertilizer input, organic (UEA), soil (seldom) Storm water management Absorption of solar energy Compost organic waste Meet organic requirements 72 High energy inputs Artificial fertilizers, Capital intensive, Non-­‐labor intensive **Vertical farms: plant viruses and disease; high energy inputs High crop yields Recycle organic waste Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre Appendix 6: Cattle Productivity with an improved manure management system
Diogo R., et al.(2013) showed the effect of current cattle feeding (S0) and improved cattle feeding (S1) and manure management (S2) on indicators of livestock productivity (annual milk offtake and annual body weight (BW) change), recycled manure dry matter (DM), and nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) in three different urban and peri-­‐urban farm types of Niamey, Niger. All values are in kg per animal and year. Farm types: AH = animal husbandry alone; AH+G = animal husbandry + gardening; AH+G+M = animal husbandry+ gardening + millet cultivation. Within farms, different Roman letters indicate significant differences (P 6 0.05) between scenarios for DM, N, P, and K. Within a scenario, different Greek letters indicate significant differences (P 6 0.05) between farm types. Where no letters are given, the respective differences are insignificant. The average number of adult animals per year present under S0 on urban farms were 2 (AH), 0.75 (AH+G) and 0.75 (AH+G+M), as opposed to 1.5 (AH), 1.33 (AH+G) and 4.67 (AH+G+M) on peri-­‐urban farms. Scenario description: §
S0: Baseline: grazing, indiscriminate supplementation, open air manure storage. §
S1: Improved feeding: grazing, adjusted supplementation, open air manure storage. §
S2_1: Improved feeding as under S1 plus improved manure collection: shorter manure collection time (open air manure storage). §
S2_2: Improved feeding as under S1 plus improved manure storage: covered manure heap. §
S2_3: Improved feeding as under S1 plus improved manure collection and storage: shorter manure collection time and cover manure heap. They concluded that the combination with shortened manure collection intervals and low-­‐cost covering of the manure heap may reduce negative environmental externalities at the same time, and allows recycling substantial amounts of nutrients to cropland and vegetable gardens. And, the resulting crop yield increases should also increase monetary revenues from sales of products, and the same applies to the livestock unit. 73 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre Appendix 7
The WSP has a design capacity of 4500 m3/d and consists of anaerobic pond, two facultative ponds and six maturation ponds. The facultative ponds are arranged in parallel while the maturation ponds are connected in series (Fig1). The CW has a capacity of 200 m3/day and it receives effluent from the WSP at the maturation pond 2 and runs parallel to the remaining four maturation ponds (Fig. 1). Figure 1. The Moshi wastewater treatment schematic layout The CW treats the partially treated waste water so the effluent from it gets treated by both the treatment systems (WSP-­‐CW) while major portion of the wastewater gets treated through the WSP only. The final effluent is discharged to the irrigation channel via a fishpond located on the downstream. The monthly average inflow to the WSP during the study time was 4192.5m3/d and that of the CW was about 200 m3/d. The outflows were estimated to be 2452.6 m3/d and 134 m3/d for the WSP and CW respectively. The effluent from the treatment works is used for irrigating mainly paddy farms. The total land irrigated is 121,405 m2 and it benefits about 60 famers. The WSP-­‐CW effluent irrigates 8094 m2 and WSP effluent irrigates the rest of the area. Paddy is grown twice in each year on farms plots of sizes ranging from 1619 to 3035 m2 each and the production is about 3750–7500 kg per hectare. Apart from paddy some other crops such as maize, pumpkins, beans, potatoes and vegetable (tomatoes, spinach, and amaranths), are also grown in additional land using the treated effluent. In high demand season (planting to ripening) almost all of the treated effluent is used for irrigation, while in low demand season (nearly harvesting time) only some of the treated effluent is used for irrigation. The excess flow in low demand period is discharged to the stream which is downstream the irrigated area. 74 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 4 FINANCIAL BRIEFS
4.1 BEYOND FAIR TRADE
Related Sustainability Development Goals Goal 08 Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all Goal 10 Reduce inequality within and among countries Goal 12 Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns Goal 15 Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss Goal 17 Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development 4.1.1 Introduction
Developing nations provide enormous natural resources to the global market, and yet production often occurs against a backdrop of social inequality and ecological degradation. Since the Brundtland Report and the Rio 1992 Earth Summit, programs that attempt to integrate conservation and development goals have gained 1
popularity and international traction. Over twenty years into the legacy of the Brundtland commission, case studies in the global-­‐historical context have emerged that let us recognize and confront what may be hard 2
choices or difficult trade-­‐offs between conservation and development. In today’s global market, there is a surging demand to safeguard the Earth’s capacity to provide 3
natural resources while promoting inclusive economic growth and social development. Our investigation is in the financial options and integrative frameworks to meet this demand. One such framework—value chains—
warrants special attention, because it holds the promise of promoting sustainable development goals, while at the same time answering the call for governance in the global context of incomplete trade regulations. However, the potential of select options and frameworks to promote sustainable development goals must be assessed relative to the specific sectors in which they operate. We illustrate this point in two briefs on distinct sectors—forestry and electronics—conceived under a common line of investigation. 4.1.2 Timber
Author: Aaron Vlasak Sector-Specific issues
Within the timber sector, there are a number of challenges that frame our inventory and assessment of market-­‐based schemes. First, sustainable forestry may not have the comparative advantage over other land uses, especially in situations of illegal logging. Furthermore, smallholder forest producers, who are typically self-­‐financed, may lack access to markets, or they may not have the means to maintain operations over the long term in between rotation periods (logging cycles). Where there are sufficient incentives to manage for forest products, plantation management is often the default model. As global demand for forest products 6
grows, plantation management may not in fact prove sustainable. Some have argued that the demand for wood will eventually exceed the supply, since rotation times are typically only 30-­‐40 years, and the time for successful regeneration can take much longer, depending on the species. This phenomenon has been dubbed 4
“peak timber.” 6
To be clear, we do not wish to suggest that plantations are a bad thing. The concern is with natural forest encroachment, due to unsustainable plantation management. Effective management of plantations may serve to keep the pressure off natural forests. 75 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre Market-based Mechanisms
Against these challenges, many organizations have sought solution in three market-­‐based mechanisms for integrating conservation and development: certification schemes, outgrower schemes, and payments for 7
environmental services. Certification
Certification is the principal means of governing value chains, and the Forest Stewardship Council is the dominant certifying organization. In order for a supply chain to receive Chain-­‐of-­‐Custody certification from FSC, every component of the supply chain—from the forest, to the mill, to the wholesaler to the millwork 5
company—must be certified. The FSC trademark is meant to guarantee that products thus branded have been harvested and processed legally and sustainably. With FSC certified products, social and environmental value is built into the cost. Producers demonstrate compliance to standards through a periodic auditing process, and with their annual certification dues, they buy the right to use the FSC trademark. Insofar as the trademark is credible, producers are then able to access green markets. Outgrower Schemes
Outgrower schemes are contractual partnerships between corporations committed to social responsibility and smallholder plantation growers. Companies look to small producers in developing countries for land and raw timber in exchange for a fair cut of the commercial benefits that come from wood products. The partner companies are able to ensure access to markets and bear the costs and risks of management that would otherwise constrain local communities. Payments for Environmental Services
A payment for environmental services scheme is an agreement between a seller and buyer governing a definite environmental service or land use that is supposed to produce the service in question. For example, carbon sequestration is an environmental service, while biodiversity protection and watershed protection are examples of land-­‐use prescriptions that are supposed to produce services. Well-­‐known examples of PES include REDD+ and conservation easements. Beneficiaries of environmental services make conditional payments to landowners, who, in turn, undertake land use practices that ensure ecosystem conservation. Opportunities and Risks
Certification
Certification offers a voluntary, market-­‐based way of monitoring value chains for environmental and social sustainability. FSC certification is applicable across multiple countries, forest types and firm sizes. Though many believe that FSC certification standards have outperformed other certification schemes, over the years since its inception in the 1990s, some limitations have surfaced (see Appendix 3). FSC does not have an exemplary record in communicating procedures for standard setting and certification. Nor have FSC standards 6
excelled in limiting the conversion of natural forests to plantations and minimizing site disturbance. Thus, despite certification, natural forest encroachment and peak timber remain an issue. Outgrower Schemes
The partnerships that constitute outgrower schemes are based on mutual economic interest and provide a strong incentive for smallholders to enter a contractual agreement with a corporation committed to fairness. 7
Outgrowers stand to gain a fair price for their products in addition to various social services. What should be underscored here is the contractual nature of the partnership. That is, the particular terms within the negotiated contract are all-­‐important regarding issues of conservation and fairness. Corporations need to provide the assurance, both to the international community and their outgrowers, that they are socially 8
responsible. Payments for Environmental Services
7 These are by no means the only mechanisms. These three were selected on the basis of their perceived ability to promote the defined cluster of SDGs. Of particular interest for further inquiry are forest-­‐backed bonds. 76 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre PES schemes aim to provide conservation funds, so that service-­‐selling communities can improve their livelihoods. Despite their appeal, PES schemes are not without their obstacles. On the demand side, there 9
may be an insufficient willingness to pay for environmental services. On the supply side, what is purchased needs to be well-­‐defined and appropriately valued, factually based and measurable, and yet PES schemes may 10
in practice rely on perceived services. Furthermore, poor people in local communities may not benefit from 11
payments if they lack land tenure, access and control of forests. Finally, the PES scheme is dependent upon the provision of the service in question; that is, buyers demand compliance. In developed countries, these conditional exchanges can be enforced by law, but in developing countries with weak governance, there is no 12
such option. Toward a Sustainable and Fair Future
What can be observed about the three inventoried market-­‐based schemes is that they can be implemented virtually anywhere, wherever there are willing buyers and sellers. Generally speaking, these mechanisms are flexible and allow for incremental institutional changes with minimal economic disruption, because they are contingent upon consumer behaviors or market trends. Yet, the contingent character of such mechanisms also means that their efficacy is uncertain. For this reason, these market-­‐based schemes may work best when coupled with other regulatory policy instruments (e.g. public procurement policies, forest tax laws or seedling subsidies) that help create strong incentives and green markets. It is important to note that these schemes are not exclusive alternatives. Rather, they complement each other, and different combinations of them can be implemented in different contexts in order to minimize the risks associated with a single scheme. The risk that comes with certification, for example, that smallholders may not understand the certification process, can be diminished when responsible corporate partners in outgrower schemes teach outgrowers about certification. Inversely, the risks associated with outgrower schemes, that social and environmental responsibility have not been demonstrated, are lessened when certification is a condition of the contractual partnership. PES schemes may be adopted with either of the other schemes in order to ensure that best management practices are followed while harvesting timber. There is no ecological reason, for example, why a forest cannot provide the service of carbon sequestration 813
while at the same time providing timber products. Creative and responsible utilization of these schemes may thereby promote inclusive and fair development at the same time as environmental sustainability. 4.1.3 Electronics
Authors: Brian Jacobson and Ashley Lin Sector-Specific Issues
The electronics industry is one of the fastest growing sectors on Earth, typified by a complex and highly interconnected supply chain. While the importance of electronics to modern society is clear, the related socio-­‐
economic and environmental effects are less than apparent. There are various issues associated with the complexity of manufacturing electronics, including: consumption, toxic chemicals, perceived versus actual 914
obsolescence, and high replacement rates alongside low lifespans. However, it would not be viable for our global society to limit future development and investment in this sector, because manufacturing in this industry has the potential to promote inclusive growth in the developing nations. Electronic waste (e-­‐waste) is a highly complex and costly issue. Currently, estimates show that 15
approximately 17% of global electronic waste is actually recycled. Moreover, this state of affairs has led to the emergence of unofficial treatment facilities in Asia and Africa, leading to widespread environmental 16
contamination. A large fraction of this waste is illegally exported to developing countries, where poor waste 17
treatment causes drastic local emissions and harmful effects. Further, there remains inadequate documentation by manufacturers and distributors regarding electronic waste streams that would allow for 18
reliable estimates of unaccounted e-­‐waste. With respect to the energy use of electronics, the electricity that is consumed during the actual operational lifespan of an electronic product represents only a small proportion of the total energy required for 19
its entire life cycle. While it is argued that continued improvements in the functional capacity of electronic 8
9
The issue of “additionality”(what is added by PES) complicates matters. What is the status of forestry concerning added value? In some instances within the electronics section, full bibliographic data is missing from endnotes. 77 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre products, followed by energy savings, will deliver sustainable outcomes, these improvements are countered 20
by the growing consumption of electronics and its penetration into other products. Additionally, recycling electronic components can prove very difficult due to differential voltage requirements, competing conformity 21
standards, and the physical capacity of circuits. Along with the slew of challenges that the electronic sector faces, there are industrial barriers within the industry as well. The most frequent objection that is raised about updating hardware with the aim of prolonging operational life of electronic products is the overall economic context. The idea of a mechanism for continuous stimulation of innovation through market forces does not correspond to and lacks insight into the 22
specific conditions for producer agency in the innovation processes of the electronics sector. It is also argued that continued improvements in the functional capacity of electronic products, followed by energy savings, will deliver sustainable outcomes, but the shorter lifetime and lower costs demonstrate the dominant impacts 23
of rebound effects. Overall, within this industry, movement toward more sustainable practices is still overlooked due to concerns with consumption growth and carelessness concerning efficiency. Finance Mechanisms
There are currently several established financial mechanisms in place to promote a sustainable and environmentally conscious electronics industry. These mechanisms include, but are not limited to, sustainable supply chain management, Extended Producer Responsibility, and green marketing. Sustainable Supply Chain Management
To avoid intervention from the government in aligning environmental goals, while simultaneously creating a 24
competitive advantage, many businesses have turned to green supply chain management. Studies show that many businesses now recognize the importance and necessity of upgrading logistics and supply chain management from a purely functional and strategic standpoint. Utilizing sustainable supply chain management techniques is a viable solution for individual companies to implement and finance their own goals and sustainable solutions, while taking responsibility for their own production and management schemes. Extended Producer Responsibility
EPR includes instruments such as national deposit refund systems and corporate take-­‐back schemes for post-­‐
25
consumer e-­‐waste EPR is an attractive mechanism within this sector, as it offers a solution by delegating economic responsibility to the producer, who is expected to respond in the designing stages of the product, by reducing waste management costs, which are thereby incorporated in the overall costs of production and 26
distribution. Furthermore, EPR, in accordance with the Polluter Pays Principle, expands the responsibilities of the producer beyond mere production and sale, and includes the product’s entire life cycle, while concurrently allowing public and private funding sources to implement concrete changes within electronics 27
manufacturing, consumption, and waste. Green Marketing
Green marketing has gained increasing predominance in global markets, as consumers have become more concerned and aware of the potentially harmful environmental externalities that occur through consumption 28
of the products and services they utilize. In a recent international survey, the most interested consumers in green marketing were localized in the developing nations of China, India, and Brazil, while industrialized 29
countries ranked at the bottom. However, the largest increases in green marketing have occurred in Russia 30
and the United States. Opportunities and Risks
Sustainable Supply Chain Management
Sustainable supply chain management as a finance vehicle has thus emerged “as an important new archetype for enterprises to achieve profit and market share objectives by lowering their environmental risks and 31
impacts while raising their ecological efficiency.” Also, this initiative keeps the freedom and responsibility away from the government and in the hands of the businesses, allowing for increased innovation in terms of production, distribution, marketing, and reutilization of waste products. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)
78 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre This finance mechanism opens to the door to a blend of public and private investment vehicles that can capitalize on creating sustainable and environmentally sound post-­‐consumer use of e-­‐waste. While manufacturers will need to initially invest in systems capable of maintaining efficient e-­‐waste deposit systems and take back schemes, a much-­‐cited study concludes that EPR in Japan's electronics sector has in fact 32
increased innovation. Another Dutch case study based on various EPR initiatives shows a significant increase 33
in the collection and recovery of waste streams. While there remains a need for further case studies in the application of EPR in different sectors, EPR has gained a prominent position as an investment and policy instrument that can support sustainable 34
innovation, from the perspective of both the OECD and the EU. EPR is often described as the policy that is most likely to mediate continuous environmental innovation within private companies and address the core concern of innovation, since “...EPR generally changes the time-­‐frame and range of factors that appear in the 35
design space of an engineer.” While the effects of EPR initiatives are currently sector-­‐specific, EPR is more generally effective in diversified sectors with complex manufacturing, where firms can realize the benefits 36
from related innovation. Green Marketing
Green marketing provides distributors with various financial vehicles that can meet changing consumer demands, while addressing environmental concerns, and all the while achieving a competitive advantage and 37
a stronger consumer base. However, in order for effective management of a sustainable supply chain, companies need to have systems in place to monitor the compliance with their electronics suppliers. Site audits of component suppliers are quite common, however, in reality a large part of these supply chains are uncontrolled, since audits are conducted only on suppliers closest to them, on the “first and second tier 38
suppliers. In order to increase effective monitoring of these supply chains, criteria need to be developed for 39
verifying supplier policies. Therefore, the most effective green supply chain management will occur through the use of unbiased third party auditors, alongside the need to have a complaint mechanism for stakeholders along the supply chain and criteria for verifying the achievement of supplier policies. Individual corporations have reported diverse sustainability initiatives, in connection with green marketing initiatives, and consumer associations have repeatedly observed that manufacturers are sensitive 40
to low environmental ratings in comparable product tests. Ignoring the demands of and not responding to their consumers’ changing preferences can result in the loss of customer loyalty, resulting competitive disadvantage for producers who have employed green marketing, leaving them behind the electronics industry overall. Future Possibilities
Overall, the greatest difficulties for this sector lay in generating equitable revenue streams for developing nations. To this end, the integration of sustainable supply chain principles, green marketing, and extended producer responsibility (EPR) has the capacity to address the interconnected set of complex social and technical elements, institutions, and consumption practices, which currently form a barrier against supporting 41
a truly integrative global framework for sustainable electronics industries. 4.1.4 Acknowledgements
Special thanks are due to all the expert reviewers for the timber section: Kimberly Carlson, Post-­‐doctoral scholar, Institute on the Environment, University of Minnesota; Andrea Johnson, Specialist, Center for Agriculture and Forestry Research and Training; René Germain, Professor, SUNY-­‐ESF; and Robert Malmsheimer, Professor, SUNY-­‐ESF. Every one of these reviewers provided insightful and useful comments. 79 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 4.1.5 Appendices
Appendix 1: Research methodology
The two subsections of Beyond Fair Trade, timber and electronics, can be read as independent briefs. Each subsection covers a single sector, which has its own unique challenges, market-­‐based mechanisms, and opportunities and risks. We chose to unite them under a common introduction, because they share the common aim to utilize market-­‐based and integrative mechanisms—notably value chains—to promote the same SDGs. The timber section was shared with four experts in order to elicit comments. Each reviewer was asked to provide comments as to whether the topic is of global significance, whether it receives a balanced and accurate treatment, and so on. Experts were chosen from within and without academia, at various career stages, and in slightly different fields, owing to the multi-­‐disciplinary character of the topic. All four experts were able to provide comments before the submission of this report, and those were taken into account through the revision phase of this report. Although effort was made to carefully respond to the critical comments of each reviewer, it should be noted that the reviewers do not necessary endorse all views presented herein. Appendices 2 and 3 provide the documentation for many of the claims in the timber section. Appendix 2 below lists the indicators that correspond to criteria. The criteria are associated with SDGs, and the indicators appear in the literature on timber found in the source list/endnotes. Appendix 3 uses the same indicators but applies them to the three market-­‐based mechanisms with reference to the sources. The idea is that if a mechanism displays an indicator according to the sources, then that mechanism promotes the corresponding SDG. 80 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre Appendix 2: Timber sector criteria and indicators
Criteria Indicators Economic development (SDG 8) Ecosystem protection (SDG 15) Revenue sharing Capacity building Protection soil & water Protection of wildlife (rare, threatened & endangered species) Tree regeneration Prohibition of conversion of natural forests to plantations Protection of worker’s rights Protection of the rights of local communities Social development (SDG 10) Applicability (SDG 17) Transparency Variety of tenure ownership Variety of forest types Variety of firm sizes Variety of geographic scales Standards are freely available Schematic function is freely available Stakeholder participation Balanced stakeholder participation in standard setting Clarity & access Schematic procedures are comprehensible and easy to follow Appendix 3: Timber sector opportunities and risks
Market-­‐based scheme Certification Outgrower PES Opportunities Risks 42
Capacity building Soil, water & wildlife protection Tree regeneration Worker’s rights/rights of local communities Transparent standards & scheme Wide applicability to variety of tenure ownership, forest types, sizes of firms & geographic scales 43
Revenue sharing Capacity building 44
Natural forest conservation Conversion of natural forests to plantations Unbalanced stakeholder participation Unclear procedures for certification and auditing No transparency of standards or scheme Limited applicability due to insufficient willingness to pay, inadequate valuation methods & lack of enforcement of conditions of exchange 45
Insecure land tenure 81 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 82 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 4.1.6 References
Main text references 1
Salafsky, N., and E. Wollenberg (2000). Linking livelihoods and conservation: a conceptual framework and scale for assessing the integration of human needs and biodiversity. World Development, vol., 28, No. 8, pp. 1421-­‐1438. See also Sanderson, S. E., and K. H. Redford (2003). Contested relationships between biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation. Oryx, vol. 37, No. 4, pp. 389-­‐390. And Wunder, Sven (2007). The efficiency of payments for environmental services in tropical conservation. Conservation Biology, vol. 21, No.1, pp. 48-­‐58. 2
McShane, Thomas, and others (2011). Hard choices: making trade-­‐offs between biodiversity conservation and human wellbeing. Biological Conservation, vol. 144, No. 3, pp. 966-­‐972. 3
Griggs, David (2013). Sustainable development goals for people and planet. Nature, vol. 495, (March), pp. 305-­‐307. 4
Shearman, P., J. Bryan, and W. F. Laurance (2012). Are we approaching “peak timber” in the tropics? Biological Conservation, vol. 151, pp. 17-­‐21. 5
Germain, René H., and Patrick C. Penfield (2010). The potential certified wood supply chain bottleneck and Its impact on leadership in energy and environmental design construction projects in New York state. Forest Products Journal, vol. 60, No. 2, pp. 114-­‐118. 6
Clark, M. R., and J. S. Kozar (2011). Comparing sustainable forest management certification standards: a meta-­‐analysis. Ecology and Society, vol. 16, No. 1. Available from http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol16/iss1/art3/. See also Gullison, R. E. (2003). Does forest certification conserve biodiversity? Oryx, vol. 37, No. 2, pp. 153-­‐165. 7
Nawir, A. A., and others (2007). Stimulating smallholder tree planting—lessons from Africa and Asia. Unasylva, vol. 58, No. 228, pp. 53-­‐59. 8
Nawir, and others (2007). 9
Balmford, Andrew, and Tony Whitten (2003). Who should pay for tropical conservation, and how could the costs be met? Oryx, vol. 37, No. 2, pp. 238-­‐250. 10
Wunder, (2007). 11
Hirsch, Paul D., and others (2010). Acknowledging conservation trade-­‐offs and embracing complexity. Conservation Biology, vol. 25, No. 2, pp. 259-­‐264. 12
Wunder, (2007). 13
Miner, Reid A., and others (2014). Forest carbon accounting considerations in US bioenergy policy. Journal of Forestry, vol. 112, No. 6, pp. 591-­‐606. 14
EC, 2008. Impact Assessment, Commission Staff Working Paper Accompanying the Proposal for a Directive of the European Union and of the Council on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) (recast). The European Commission, Brussels. Nordbrand, A., 2009. Out of Control: E-­‐waste Trade Flows from the EU to Developing Countries. SwedWatch, Stockholm. 15
EC, 2008 and Nordbrand, 2009. 16
17
EC, 2008. EC, 2008. 18
EC, 2008 and Nordbrand, 2009. 19
EC, 2008. 20
Lüthje, B., 2006. The changing map of global electronics. In: Smith, T., Sonnenfeld, D., Pellow, D. (Eds.), Challenging the Chip – Labour Rights and Environmental Justice in the Global Electronics Industry. Temple University Press, Philadelphia, pp. 17–30 21
Lüthje, 2006. 83 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 22
Stevens, C., 2004. Extended producer responsibility and innovation. In: Economic Aspects of Extended Producer Responsibility. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OECD, Paris, pp. 199–216. 23
Lüthje, 2006. 24
Zhu, Q., Sarkis, J., 2012. International and Domestic Pressures and Responses of Chinese Firms to Greening. Ecological Economics. 25
Tojo, N., et al., 2006. Extended producer responsibility as a driver for product chain improvement. In: Scheer, D., Rubik, F. (Eds.), Governance of Integrated Product Policy. Greenleaf, Sheffield, pp. 224–242. 26
Tojo et al., 2006. 27
Walls, M., 2006. Extended Producer Responsibility and Product Design. Economic Theory and Selected Case Studies, Resources for the Future. Discussion Paper. Washington. 28
Bhatia, 2013. 29
Globescan, 2010 30
31
Howe et al., 2010 Zhu et al. 32
Tojo, N., 2006. Design change in electrical and electronic equipment. In: Smith, T., Sonnenfeld, D., Pellow, D. (Eds.), Challenging the Chip – Labour Rights and Environmental Justice in the Global Electronics Industry. Temple University Press, Philadelphia, pp. 273–285. 33
Veerman, K., 2004. Revised stance on producer responsibility in waste policy in The Netherlands. In: Economic Aspects of Extended Producer Responsibility. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OECD, Paris. 34
35
Veerman, 2004 Stevens, 2004. 36
37
Stevens, 2004. Bhatia, 2013 38
de Haan, 2009 39
de Haan, 2009 40
Veerman, 2004 41
Stevens, 2004. See also Mazzanti, M., Zoboli, R., 2006. Economic instruments and induced innovation: the European policies on end-­‐of-­‐life vehicles. Ecological Economics 58, 318–337. 42
Indicators are adapted from Clark and Kozar’s (2011) analysis of certification standards. 43
Nawir and others (2007) discuss the incentives and risks of outgrower schemes in Africa and Asia. 44
Wunder, (2007). 45
Hirsch, and others (2010). 84 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 4.2 SLUM UPGRADING
Related Sustainable Development Goals Goal 01 End poverty in all its forms everywhere Goal 03 Ensure healthy lives and promote well-­‐being for all at all ages Goal 06 Ensure availability and sustainability management of water and sanitation for all Goal 08 Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all Goal 11 Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable Goal 17 Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development Keywords: Informal urban settlements, slum upgrading, urban poverty, financial mechanisms and instruments Authors: Nora Sticzay sticzay.nori@gmail.com and Larissa Koch larissa.koch@wur.nl 4.3 Introduction
Currently, every seventh person worldwide lives in an informal urban settlement, summing 1, 2, 3
FACTS & FIGURES
up to 850 million people globally.
In some megacities of low-­‐ and middle-­‐income 4
countries almost 80% of the total population lives in slums. Fast urbanization is observed • By 2050, three-quarter of
worldwide but in developing countries it is expected adding up to 1.5 billion in 2025 people the world’s population is
5,6
living in slums. Three-­‐quarter of the world’s population is expected to live in an urban expected to live in urban
areas, with the highest
environment by 2050, whereby urbanization in developing countries will be the most 7,8
urbanization rate in
significant. These facts illustrate that immediate action is required and this issue cannot be developing countries.
neglected, since slums will not be resolved but in fact increasing over the coming years. • Community funds is the
Based on the UN Millennium Goal Number 7 (directly 7D) on the improvement of slum only instrument out of the
dweller living conditions, several UN post-­‐2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are demand-led approaches
also trying to address this complex issue. that has the potential to
reach marginalized poor
Informal settlements, also referred as slums or favelas in parts of Latin America, are unplanned, densely populated and neglected parts of cities where living conditions are extremely poor. The process of slum upgrading involves the improvement of both physical and social environment. In order to direct financial investments to the right place and problem, one must recognize the 9
linkages between the undermining issues (Table 1). Yet, the different interplays of actors is also crucial for the holistic success. Projects show that tri-­‐sector partnerships, include the state, private and voluntary sectors 10
have to cooperate in order to overcome slum upgrading challenges (Appendix 2). Even though the enumerated parties show commitment, the urgent needs of individual slum dwellers and local communities also have to be considered. In order to make slum upgrading successful on the long-­‐term, enduring and 11
strategic planning must be addressed in all financial, institutional and regulatory decisions to certain level. The fundamental issue in urban development and slum upgrading is related to the growing number of urban residents and how housing and infrastructure services can be financed for the future urban generations. Slum upgrading is complex and unclear, because several interrelated components (both physical and social environment) must be addressed that entail significantly different financial consequences: (a) infrastructure components like housing, water, sanitation, roads and footpaths, storm drainage, lightning or public phones, (b) service components like waste collection, schools, medical centers and (c) other services like social 12,13,14
integration buildings, public spaces, peace building and poverty reduction programs.
There are several, individual aspects, which contribute to the understanding of the global challenge (Table 1). 85 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 15
Table 2. Sector-­‐specific Issues and Challenges in urban development Issues & Challenges Demographic Socio-­‐behavioral Increasing demand for urban housing and infrastructure services due to more urban citizens in the future. Cities as center location of financial services and knowledge economy but performance is related to livelihood: the quality of urban housing and infrastructure. Increase of social differentiation and increase of heterogeneous communities in urban areas: education, consumption and culture. Moving away from collective to individual cultural values due to growing ethnically diverse cities. Ethnically homogenous groups might exclude other communities. Unsecure tenure of slum dwellers. Economic Domestic macroeconomic growth needed to provide the basis of urban development, but citywide microeconomic is as important as macroeconomic performance. Housing and infrastructure are critical key factors of the economic production function of cities yet national budgets for investment are generally too low. Global inequality between rich and poor. Paradox: Cities are the center of productivity but also of increasing poverty linked to a lack of housing and infrastructure services. Environmental Growing demand for infrastructure puts pressure on natural resources. Increasing costs of potable water. Consumption of natural resources of urban residents is often faster than the environment’s ability to reproduce. Management of human and solid waste. Financial Governance Current level of Centralized and strict top-­‐
FDI, IDA and down approach to urban government governance. financing are not meeting the demands for upgrading. Only a small part of the funding is a ddressing upgrading slums. Maintenance of Limited participation of housing and low-­‐income groups in the infrastructure national upgrading services is programs. frequently not included in budget plans, which would eventually decrease the new annual domestic investments. Formal financial institutions have no interest in general to go down-­‐market and extend their lending to lower-­‐
income groups. Notwithstanding the fast and semi-­‐fast economic growth in most developing countries, extensive poverty remains the prime concern. Especially in urban poverty, the lack of well-­‐paid employment is the most important factor. From the issues and challenges mentioned above, it can be concluded that conventional sources of finance will not be enough to meet the predicted requirements for urban infrastructure and 16
housing. The present financial system is not efficient. Therefore, we identified the following four reasons: (a) national subsidies are not effectively targeted to urban poor, (b) lacking land tenure rights usually exclude the very poor to access governmental subsidies and funds, (c) international funds are usually distributed through a ministry of finance and therefore top-­‐down and centralized and (d) there is a limited usability of international 17
and national funding for several purposes (earmarked funds). Consequently, it is very important to note that financial innovation to reduce urban poverty and to upgrade slums is essential and it must occur with a policy shift from supply-­‐driven to demand-­‐led approaches. In this brief, a community-­‐driven case study is described to show recent success in slum upgrading. Furthermore, different financial options for urban low-­‐income households are listed and briefly explained by the use of real examples leading to a description of broad finance mechanisms. The brief will end with the opportunities and risks of blended finance of current slum upgrading finances are clarified and linked to the SDGs. 4.3.1 Case study
The Asian Coalition for Community Action (ACCA) illustrates a successful case of a community fund saving instrument. It is demand-­‐oriented in the provision of housing and infrastructure for low-­‐income communities. ACCA was founded in 2008 by the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights (ACHR) and it has contributed to 86 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 18
community-­‐driven slum upgrading in more than 165 cities in 19 different Asian nations ever since. ACCA 19
applies a clear budget ceiling strategy: it supports every city with a total amount of USD 58,000. In addition, it provides seed funds for community development funds (CDF) and a regional USD 50,000 revolving loan fund 20
for every city. Each community has the freedom to decide for which purpose the resources should be used. This small amount of money represents a motivation for slum dwellers to engage with the local municipality to leverage further public subsidies. Community finance mechanisms implemented by ACCA offer a reliable alternative in the provision of housing and infrastructure for marginalized communities, who are actually excluded from financial solutions 21
and access to public services by the macroeconomic and institutional context. Compared to other forms of finance, community finance tends to be for shorter term and lending is collective to community members who borrow (Appendix3I). Together, the ACCA funding and regional community saving groups deposit money into the CDF, to which also the formal finance sector, such as governments, banks and international aid agencies 22
contribute. In this way, two main things are accomplished: first of all, slum dweller community groups get a voice in projects by networking with various local or national authorities and development agencies. Secondly, bridges are built between the formal financial sectors and the community financial mechanisms. Therefore, it can be stated that CDF is used as an additional platform to enhance the access of urban poor to finance and overcome the market failure in the provision of finance to high return investments. 4.3.2 Financial Instruments
Financial instruments are types of financial products or policy tools through which finance is delivered. There are four financial options differentiated for the urban poor: (a) mortgage finance, (b) microenterprise finance 23
(c) shelter microfinance and (d) community funds (Appendix 3). Mortgage finance was applied successfully 24,25
for instance in Zambia and the Philippines.
In both cases the state was involved via government support, since private entities only provide loans to average or high-­‐income households to minimize their risk. This highlights the greatest issue with mortgage finance: it does not reach out to the marginalized poor. Micro-­‐entrepreneurs finance allows the poor to build business assets to increase their income and reduce vulnerability via helping individual entrepreneurs and small and middle-­‐sized enterprises (SMEs) to 26,27,
28
access finance.
Globally, 200 million SMEs are in need for financial services. Yet, the finance of SMEs’ is greater than microcredit agencies can bear, and large banks tend to avoid this market because of high administrative costs, limited information and unreliable credit risk. Shelter microfinance also supports low-­‐income households to reduce their vulnerability but in this case the sole purpose is housing. One of the largest microfinance institutions is the Mibanco in Peru (MFIs) in Latin America with 70,000 active borrowers. Here, the same issue arises as with microenterprise finance that it does not empower the marginalized communities or tackle poverty effectively because only 5% of the 29
observed participants were able to fight poverty by applying microfinance. Community funds, as it was explained above, provide communities with loans that support investments on projects that the group decides. As the ACCA case study showed in the previous section, this is the only instrument out of the demand-­‐led approaches that has the potential to reach marginalized poor. By demand-­‐led approach we mean an alternative approach where a given community can decide what is the most needed for them and on what they would like to spend money on. There are a number of global examples when slum dwellers form community saving groups in order to achieve improvements. Originally only women participated in these projects like in Harare, Africa, however after years of success now men are 30
also engaged. 4.3.3 Finance Mechanisms
Financial mechanisms are the different financial approaches to address methods and sources of financing. The various financial instruments, listed above, address these approaches. One approach can use several instruments. There are a number of emerging issues around the financial flows and decision-­‐making processes of slum upgrading (Appendix 4). The traditional way of financing development is the supply-­‐driven approach, which is mostly done in a top-­‐down way. Extensive amounts of money come from International Development Aid (IDA) or Foreign Development Investments (FDI) and go through bi-­‐ and multilateral aid agencies such as the World Bank 87 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre Group or philanthropic organizations. Supply-­‐driven approaches have proven to be less effective for slum upgrading, because they do not involve the slum dweller communities to take their needs (both cultural and 31
social) into account. In fact, aid agencies were set up to support acknowledged national governments and not small-­‐scale non-­‐governmental organizations (NGOs) or community-­‐based organizations (CBOs) including 32
informal community saving groups. Innovative financing refers to non-­‐traditional mechanisms to channel external funds via alternative ways such as micro-­‐contributions or public-­‐private partnerships (Appendix IV). In the Monterrey Consensus of 2002, member states agreed to establish Official Development Assistance (ODA; 0.7% of Gross National 33,34
Income), which achieved a total net amount of USD 134.8 billion in 2013. ODA maintain delivering essential financial and technical cooperation to many developing countries, which represents two-­‐thirds of 35
international resource flows and one-­‐third of government revenues. Nevertheless innovative finance will not be enough to support development in developing countries. Additional innovative financing mechanisms have the potential to increase funding meaningfully to bridge the gap to achieve the SDGs. Yet innovative financing is not a substitution for ODA, since it is more considered as a gap filler. As development financing has already been highly complex, the role of innovative finance should raise new funds for existing public and private 36
organizations. It is important to note that while additional top-­‐down finance is crucial from any actors in order to act as a catalyst in slum upgrading and achieve development, demand-­‐led approaches work more effectively than 37,38
one-­‐off, supply-­‐driven approaches that are in most cases financed by one set of actors . The actual need of the urban poor and marginalized communities is often omitted. To sum up, due to the complex financial structure of slum upgrading, a blended financial composition of all different actors and instruments has the potential to leverage additional private finance (Appendix 2, 4). Challenges arise from the lack of understanding on how parallel financial blocks can be effectively and appropriately coordinated. All sources of finances need to address poverty eradication and improvement of urban human settlements, but local public finance alone is insufficient to fill the financial gap in urban settlement improvements, so funding is combined coming from grants, loans and equity to leverage additional non-­‐grant financing to support projects. 4.3.4 Opportunities and Risks of blended finance
A long-­‐term blended finance approach has the opportunity to leverage funds with private capital, sharing risks 39
and returns and engage in concerns in the public domain. On the other hand, if it is poorly designed the public partner ends up bearing the costs while the private partner still benefits from the PPP contract. Blended finances are used in a range of areas that involves both the physical and social environment of slum upgrading. Furthermore, it also has the potential to enhance projects that are below the margin of commercial viability and it cannot be simply solved by policy implementation or the change of institutional environment. A success story example is the “slum to neighborhood” project in 1995, which was funded by the Inter-­‐American Development Bank with USD 180 million for infrastructure upgrading and service increases. It included 253,000 residents in 73 communities. Blended finance was key to the success of this large project that involved the flexible city government several partnerships with NGOs, the private sector, churches, and the general population. Furthermore, grass roots level infrastructure upgrading experts were hired as project 40
managers because they could work easily with both the government and with the community members. In conclusion, win-­‐win situations in slum upgrading do not exist and jumping into quick solutions 41
tends to cause an even greater problem than it was at the first place. The comparative review of the approaches, presented through the different cases, highlights the emergence of several new trends: the broadening of locally generated revenue sources; the strengthening of local financial management; partnerships in the financing of capital investments; and the enhancement of access to long-­‐term credit for municipalities. Building on these we would like to make the following recommendations: • Top down financing should not be earmarked but follow a demand-­‐led approach instead • CBOs should strengthen their network both to build new collaborations and to build new communities in slums where the population is heterogeneous 88 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre •
Draw lessons from ACCA and other projects such as the Urban Poor Fund International by Slum Dwellers International and realize that seed money matters and can make a significant difference 4.3.5 Acknowledgements
First of all, we thank our interviewees Dr. Anna Walnyicki, who is a researcher of the Human Settlements Group at the International Institute for Environment and Development and Dr. Monique Nuijten who is a development sociologist at the Wageningen University and Research Centre for their time, contribution and validation. We also thank Dr. Alex Kenya Abiko who is a professor in Urban Engineering at the University of Sao Paolo and Susanne Henderson, a partnership officer from Cities Alliance in Brussels for their comments and validation. 89 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 4.3.6 References
Main text references 1
UN (2013). Millenium Development Goals and Beyond 2015: We can end Poverty. Retrieved 2014, December 1, from http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/bkgd.shtml. 2
Walnycki, A.; Nyamweru, H.; Dobson, S.; Chitekwe-­‐Biti, B.; Masimba-­‐Nyama, G.; & Fieuw, W. (2013). Partnerships for progressive pro-­‐poor city planning. IIED Briefing, London. Retrieved from http://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/17189IIED.pdf 3
TEDx (2013, July 12). How to ensure that aid empowers urban poor groups: David Satterthwaite at TEDxHamburg [Video file]. Retrieved 2014, December 1, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95Lq2T9OoFo. 4
UN Habitat (2014). “Housing & Slum Upgrading”. Urban Themes. Retrieved 2014, November 10, from http://unhabitat.org/urban-­‐themes/housing-­‐slum-­‐upgrading/. 5
UN (2013). “Millenium Development Goals and Beyond 2015”. We can end Poverty. Retrieved 2014, December 1, from http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/bkgd.shtml. 6
UNCHS (1996). An Urbanizing World – Global Report on Human Settlements. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 7
Ferguson, B.; & Navarrete, J. (2003). A financial framework for reducing slums: lessons from experience in Latin America. Environment and Urbanization 15(2), 201-­‐216. 8
Pearson, L.J.; Newton, P.W.; & Roberts, P. (2014). Resilient Sustainable Cities: A future. Routledge, NY. 9
Mitlin, D. (2013). Innovations in shelter finance. In Sclar, E.D.; Volavka-­‐Close, N.; & Brown, P. (2013). The Urban Transformation: Health, shelter and climate change. Routledge, Oxon. 10
Otiso, K.M. (2003). State, voluntary and private sector partnerships for slum upgrading and basic service delivery in Nairobi City, Kenya. Cities 20(4), p. 221-­‐229. 11
World Bank Group (2001). What is urban upgrading? Upgrading Urban Communities -­‐ A resource framework. Retrieved 2014, December 1, from http://web.mit.edu/urbanupgrading/upgrading/whatis/what-­‐is.html. 12
Satterwaite, D.; & Mitlin, D. (2013). A future that low-­‐income urban dwellers want, and can help secure. IIED, London. Retrieved from http://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/10626IIED.pdf? 13
UNCHS (1996). An Urbanizing World – Global Report on Human Settlements. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 14
World Bank Groupm(2008). Preparing Survey for Urban Upgrading Interventions. The World Bank Group and Urban Sector Group. Washington, DC. Retrived from http://www-­‐
wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2008/06/30/000333038_20080630005732/Rendered/PD
F/444670WP0Box321PUBLIC10UP161Surveys.pdf. 15
UN Habitat (2005). Financing Urban Shelter: Global Report on Human Settlements. Earthscan, p. 3-­‐1, Retrieved from http://unhabitat.org/wp-­‐content/uploads/2005/11/GRHS.2005.5.pdf. 16
UN Habitat (2005). Financing Urban Shelter: Global Report on Human Settlements. Earthscan, p. 35, Retrieved from http://unhabitat.org/wp-­‐content/uploads/2005/11/GRHS.2005.5.pdf. 17
Trémolet, S.; Cardone, R.; & Fonseca, C. (2013). Investing in urban water and sanitation systems. In Sclar, E.D.; Volavka-­‐
Close, N.; & Brown, P. The Urban Transformation: Health, shelter and climate change. Routledge, NY. 18
ACHR (2012). 165 Cities in Asia: Third yearly report of ACCA. ACHR, Bangkok. 19
ACCA (2012). Third Year Report. How the ACCA program works. Asian Coalition for Housing Rights. 20
ACHR (2013). The Asian Coalition for Community Action (ACCA). Activities. Retrieved 2014, December 1, from http://www.achr.net/activities-­‐acca.php. 21
World Bank Group (2014). The Asian Coalition for Community Action’s Approach to Slum Upgrading. World Bank Group, Washington, DC. 90 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 22
Archer, D. (2012). Finance as the key to unlocking community potential: savings, funds and the ACCA programme
. Environment and Urbanization 24(2), p. 423-­‐440. 23
World Bank (2014). The Asian coalition for community action's approach to slum upgrading. World Bank Group, Washington, DC. 24
Mulenga, C. (2003). Responding to the Housing Problems of the Urban Poor inZambia. MA thesis, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK. 25
Ballesteros, M. M. (2002). Rethinking institutional reforms in the Philippine housingsector. Philippine Institute for Development Studies. Retrieved from http://dirp3.pids.gov.ph/ris/books/pidsbk05-­‐ppshousing.pdf. 26
Baker, J.L. (2008). Urban Poverty: A Global View. Urban Papers. The World Bank Group, Washington D.C. 27
CGAP (2004). Housing Microfinance, Donor Brief No. 20, Washington, DC 28
UN (2014). Report of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing. Retrieved from http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/4588FINAL%20REPORT%20ICESDF.pdf 29
Khandker, S. R. (2005). Microfinance and poverty: Evidence using panel data from Bangladesh. The World Bank Economic Review, 19(2), 263-­‐286. 30
D'Cruz et al. (2014). Community savings: A basic building block in the work of urban poor federations. IIED, London. Retrieved from http://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/10711IIED.pdf 31
Smith, B.; Brown, D.; & Dodman, D. (2014) Reconfiguring Urban Adaptation Finance. IIED Working Paper. IIED, London. 32
Mitlin, D.; & Satterthwaite, D. (2013). Urban Poverty in the Global South: Scale and Nature. Routledge, NY. 33
UN (2003). Monterrey Consensus on Financing for Development. International Conference on Financing Development, Monterrey 34
World Bank (2009). Innovating Development Finance: From Financing Sources to Financial Solutions. Policy Research Working Paper 5111. Retrieved from http://elibrary.worldbank.org/doi/pdf/10.1596/1813-­‐9450-­‐5111. 35
UN (2014). Report of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing. Retrieved from http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/4588FINAL%20REPORT%20ICESDF.pdf. 36
Leading Group on Innovative Financing (2009). What is innovative financing? Retrieved 2014, December 16, from http://www.leadinggroup.org/article194.html. 37
Abiko, A.; de Azevedo Cardoso, L.R.; Rinaldelli, R.; & Haga, H.C.R. (2007). Basic Costs of Slum Upgrading in Brazil. Global Urban Development (3)1. 38
Turley, R.; Saith, R.; Bhan, N.; Rehfuess, E.; & Carter, B. (2013). Slum upgrading strategies involving physical environment and infrastructure interventions and their effects on health and socio-­‐economic outcomes. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 1. 39
UN (2014). Report of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing. Retrieved from http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/4588FINAL%20REPORT%20ICESDF.pdf. 40
World Bank Group (2001). Favela-­‐Bairro Project, Brazil. Retrieved on 2014, December 16, from http://web.mit.edu/urbanupgrading/upgrading/case-­‐examples/ce-­‐BL-­‐fav.html. 41
Nuijten, M. (2014, November 21). Personal Communication about Slum Upgrading by L.Koch and N. Sticzay, Wageningen. 91 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 4.3.7 Appendices
Appendix 1: Research methodology
The research for this Financial Brief has been conducted through literature study and expert interviews. The topic of the Financial Brief is based on personal background and personal interest. The content is informed by extensive literature research and exploratory interviews with experts on the topic of financing slum upgrading. Experts were selected on the basis of their knowledge and involvement with the topic in question. Their expertise was identified by the relevance of their publications. Semi-­‐structured interviews were conducted with Anna Walnyicki via Skype, who is a researcher of the Human Settlements Group at the International Institute for Environment and Development and in person with Monique Nuijten who is a development sociologist at the Wageningen University and Research Centre. In-­‐depth case study analysis was done of the different alternative financing approaches in order to highlight success stories and examples of failure. Appendix 2: Tripartie relationship between stakeholders in blended finance
(Based on: Otiso, K.M. (2003). State, voluntary and private sector partnerships for slum upgrading and basic service delivery in Nairobi City, Kenya. Cities 20(4), 221-­‐229) 92 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre Appendix 3: Financial options for urban poor
(Retrieved from: World Bank (2014). The Asian coalition for community action's approach to slum upgrading. World Bank Group, Washington, DC.) Objective Borrowers Use of loan funds Role of savings Mortgage Finance Provide long-­‐
term housing finance Upper-­‐ and middle-­‐income households Acquisition of property Microenterprise Finance Provide investment finance for enterprise development and enable income growth Micro-­‐ and small entrepreneurs Development of business Shelter Microfinance Community Funds Provide housing improvement and improve well-­‐being Enable the poor to secure shelter assets, particularly land and infrastructure Those with land who need to improve the dwelling Housing improvement Those without secure tenure, basic services and adequate housing Land, infrastructure and occasionally housing improvement Savings generally essential; deposit may be required Deposit required; savings process not important Irrelevant May be required Savings & deposit may be required Generally not Possible Attitude to the very poor Avoid Generally avoid; some specialist programs Purpose of the collective (community organization) None May be used as guarantor Amount Generally under US$500 Term Generally over US$10,000 Inflation +Margin of 8-­‐
15% 15-­‐30 years Depends on orientation; but requirement for land likely to exclude the poorest May be used as guarantor; sometimes additional community support is a part of the process Generally between US$100-­‐$5,000 Inflation + Margin to cover the costs of 10-­‐
20% 1-­‐8 years Collateral Mortgage Personal guarantees, goods, co-­‐signers Financial Sustainability Generally considered essential, but may be state subsidies None Desired – support for product development Additional support Interest rate Linking role Inflation + Margin of 15-­‐
45% < 1 year To other financial institutions 93 Personal guarantees, goods, co-­‐signers, mortgage Desired – support for product development; occasionally integrated with subsidies for land development To other financial institutions; may involve the municipality in slum upgrading program Nearly always considered necessary because of complexities of land development Generally seeks to help the very poor if they are residentially stable Lending is collective and the role of the group is seen as essential to address the exclusion of the poor Generally under US$1,000 Inflation + Administration 3-­‐20 years (generally shorter) Can be title deeds but emphasis on collective loan management Seek state support to offer subsidies for land development and services in order to include lower income families To state and municipality Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre Appendix 4: Approaches in development finance
94 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 4.4 SUSTAINABLE RURAL ELECTRIFICATION
Related Sustainable Development Goals Goal 07 Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all Goal 08 Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all Goal 12 Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns Goal 13 Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts 4.4.1 Introduction
It is estimated that 85 percent of the 1.2 billion people in the world living without access to electricity reside in rural areas, which is attributable to the marginalization of the poor as well as their long distance from established electrical grids¹. In order to address this lack of access to electricity and to prevent a growing dependence on fossil fuel, researchers have argued for the use of small-­‐scale renewable energy production². This brief will focus on Sub-­‐Saharan Africa (SSA) as a region in great need of rural electrification since it only has 14.2% rural electrification, which makes it the most energy poor rural area in the world². By the year 2012, of the USD 41 billion, which is annually needed in the power sector in Africa in order to achieve universal energy access by 2030, the continent invested approximately USD 11.6 billion³. This brief will focus on analyzing finance mechanisms that can contribute to fill this substantial gap. It will also concentrate on solar-­‐
powered electrification systems that are one of the most common small-­‐scale electrification system types of the region. In fact, solar energy in particular is a great opportunity for pro-­‐poor energy access in Africa because it is naturally ubiquitous, accessible in large quantities, progressively low cost, non-­‐vulnerable to supply or price fluctuation 4
(contrarily to fossil fuel), and compatible with the global consensus to increase low-­‐carbon energy generation . This brief’s main objective was to inventory innovative and efficient mechanisms for financing rural populations access to sustainable energy -­‐specifically photovoltaic systems (PV)-­‐ and to identify critical indicators for evaluating their efficiency. For this purpose, case studies and models of finance mechanisms were analyzed and assessed by weighting their weaknesses and strengths, and assessing their feasibility and adaptability within remote areas in SSA in order to the three best-­‐fitting finance mechanisms determined by our metrics analysis. 4.4.2 Sector-Specific Issues
Mostly, non-­‐urbanized lowly populated, rural areas with a lower educated and poor population represent a big challenge in the expansion of electrification through renewable energy. The three main problems for financing renewable energy infrastructure and the provision of services are: level-­‐playing field for all types of energy, easy market, and political and regulatory investment risk³. From these main three barriers there are some ramifications that also hamper the development of PV in rural areas. Those barriers can be financial, technological, and cultural. Financial hurdles to rural electrification are ascribed to: 1) a lack of appropriate end-­‐user financing mechanisms, 2) a difficulty for local businesses to access working capitals and credits at low cost, 3) a lack of relevant mechanisms and organizations to convey finance towards end-­‐users (small enterprises and consumers), and 4) an investment uncertainty (Risk of non-­‐payment by end-­‐users and small enterprises. Technologically, rural regions are expensive to electrify because they are far from the grid ending in general on the outskirts of cities. 4.4.3 Finance Mechanisms
Utilizing quantitative and qualitative information gleaned from a review of case studies and peer-­‐reviewed research papers on rural electrification, finance mechanisms for rural electrification were evaluated based on criteria that assess the mechanisms’ ability to overcome sector-­‐specific barriers. Nine criteria were derived from the sector-­‐specific barriers and ranked in order of importance for success (Table 1). The criteria rankings were used to apply a weight to each mechanism, from 1.3 to 0.6. Then the finance mechanisms were rated according to each criterion from 1 to 10 (please see explanations for the ratings in Appendix 1). The finance mechanisms rankings were weighted according to the criteria rankings, resulting in weighted total points for each finance mechanism. The results of this point’s assessment are shown in figure 1. Total points were the highest for Pay-­‐as-­‐you-­‐Go, Fee-­‐for-­‐Service, and NGOs (i.e., donations). In order to illustrate the workings of these three finance mechanisms, we selected case studies, which are detailed in the following section. 95 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
Financial sustainability Reliance on government financing or policy support Ease of initial implementation Ability to mitigate risk Scope of reach Cost to consumers Reliance on business or administrative supports Breadth of applicability across countries and contexts Ease of use with solar PV technologies. Table 1: Criteria of Finance Mechanisms Evaluation Case Studies that illustrate the top three mechanisms
Pay-as-you-Go (PAYG)
The small scale enterprises and end users finances constitute the key finance chasm for rural electrification; in fact, the high cost of working and start-­‐up capital for those enterprises make their products and services less affordable for rural populations. The pay as you go model, a mobile-­‐enabled payments method, has proven to be a good tool to remove those barriers. Indeed, it enables to decrease the working and start-­‐up capital for investors, and allows flexibility in 5.
end-­‐users payments Not only does this payment method allow consumers to split their monthly bills into smaller and more affordable installments payable at any time, but also it decreases the uncertainty for investors by an ongoing payment⁶’⁷. The situation of SSA, where less than 37% of the population has access to electricity but where the mobile network covers more than 74% of the population⁸, represents a great opportunity for this innovation⁵. Thus, new innovating models of PAYG have been created, for example, M-­‐Kopa, Mobisol, Azuri Technologies, and Fenix International⁵’⁶’⁷’⁹. More than 82 million people in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, and about 59 million only in Nigeria, West Africa could have access to energy through the mobile enabled energy service. In Kenya, South Sudan, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Rwanda, and South Africa, Azuri technology uses the indigo scratch cards system for electricity payment of 20,000 customers. Customers pay US$10 for installing a home lighting system and then a scratch card of about US$1.50 per week enabling them to have electricity. Consumers can pay off their unit and upgrade for the Escalator, which is a more powerful model. Fee-for-Service
A common finance mechanism used across Africa is the fee-­‐for-­‐service utility model. This follows the finance model of a leasing arrangement, wherein the company—in this case the Energy Services Companies (ESCOs)—supplies the PV equipment (which remains the property of the company) and also provides the service and maintenance³. “The initial investment for these solar home systems remains unaffordable for the majority of the end users living in rural areas of developing countries⁹. Some experts argue that these models can provide greater affordability to rural households because large capital purchases are not necessary¹⁰. “People don’t take care of things that they get for free¹⁰”, especially when there is no information on how to manage the solar equipment. On the other hand, by the fact that the ESCOs provide end-­‐users with information and feedback allows them taking more care of the equipment. Thus, the equipment lasts longer, which makes it more profitable for the ESCOs⁹. In countries like South Africa, Morocco, Argentina, Kiribati, and Zambia, governments have opted to take partial responsibility for funding the infrastructure development and supply a subsidy. “The PV solar equipment needs to be subsidized because the purchasing power of inhabitants remains low and there are no local financial institutions ready to offer loans to small rural companies, subsidies must cover 50-­‐70% of the capital cost”¹¹. But the state alone cannot manage to be responsible for the whole process, so some of them rely on public-­‐private partnerships (PPP). The South African and Zambian governments are involved in the financing of solar photovoltaic equipment that private business (the fee-­‐for-­‐service schemes) needs to supply its energy services in rural areas. In these successful PPP cases, the Zambian government bought equipment with donated money and lent them to the Energy Services Companies (ESCOs), which in turn must pay this money back in 20 years ¹¹.Some of the successful cases of fee-­‐for-­‐
service mechanisms have demonstrated that it depends on the stability and commitment of the government for financial support through appropriate budgetary allocations³. But although the main financing comes from the government, the fee-­‐for-­‐service model gives opportunities for an entrepreneurial approach. 96 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre Non-Governmental Organizations
Non-­‐Governmental Organizations (NGOs) can work as a valuable mechanism to provide PV solar services to rural communities in SSA. At local level they can serve as intermediaries between donors or equipment/service providers and the community, but they can also break the top-­‐down structural barriers and fill the intermediate level between the national, local and political¹². The main services that NGOs provide in PV solar services are those of purchasing, guidance, support and advising on the benefits of solar technology and the correct use of the system/service¹³. In Africa, NGOs tend to operate on a more commercial model than government-­‐run programs and encourage the use of global funds to support sustainable development projects¹⁴. “Experience shows that some traditional NGOs have operated successfully as Market facilitation organizations by adopting a greater private-­‐sector orientation” ¹⁰. These relationships can also be viewed as a PPP. An example of an effective NGO is the Traditional Energy Development (TaTEDO) of Tanzania. TaTEDO promotes and establishes small-­‐ and medium-­‐scale entrepreneurs and works closely with governments and communities to develop partnerships and consultancy services in the green energy sector ¹⁵. TaTEDO has experienced that the lack of management (besides traditional thinking and gender) is one of the major constraints. “The solution lies in securing good management through income by generating productive use of electricity” ¹². The downside of NGOs is that the projects work when the NGOs are on site before, during, and after the implementation; but the projects fail when they leave the local communities without the empowerment and pertinent preparation needed for continuing administrating the electrification programs¹⁶. 4.4.4 Opportunities and Risks
No one mechanism to finance rural electrification via solar in Africa is truly the best across all criteria. Governments must therefore take into account their own rural electrification, environmental and development goals and solvency capacities to support the finance mechanism that will satisfy these goals. “The most powerful incentive mechanism for renewable energy deployment in developing countries was the establishment of clear national targets for renewable energy” ¹⁷. Thus, financing for solar electrification-­‐-­‐and presumably all sustainable development financing-­‐-­‐ does not occur in a vacuum, but instead requires the coordination of public and private forces. In many of the successful cases, more than one finance mechanisms were implemented and incorporated into a singular program, wherein the government and private entities work together to create socially as well as financially profitable outcomes. Lessons drawn from cases such as the PAYG show that those countries can use business structures that are already in place to achieve sustainable development goals. The role of the government in this example is to create a conducive environment for such solutions to growth exemption on solar products, or reduce import taxes ¹⁸. Instead of financing development sectors for sustainability in a piecemeal manner, a more holistic view can be taken in order to accomplish several development goals with one program. 4.4.5 Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge Michael Ronan Nique, Strategy Analyst at GSMA London United Kindom, and Xavier Lemaire, senior research associate at the UCL Energy Institute London UK, for their valuable input in validating this brief. 97 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 4.4.6 References
Main text references 1. World Bank Global Electrification Database. (2012). 2. Javadi, F. S., Rismanchi, B., Sarraf, M., Afshar, O., Saidur, R., Ping, H. W., & Rahim, N. A. (2013). Global policy of rural electrification. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 19, 402-­‐416. 3. Bhattacharyya S., (2013). Financing energy access and off-­‐grid electrification: A review of status, options and challenges Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 20, 462–472 4. Deichmann, U., Meisner, C., Murray, S., & Wheeler, D. (2011). The economics of renewable energy expansion in rural Sub-­‐
Saharan Africa. Energy Policy, 39(1), 215-­‐227. 5. Wilson, E., Rai, N., & Best, S. (2014). Sharing the Load: Public and private sector roles in financing pro-­‐poor energy access. IIED, London. 6. Rolffs P., Byrne, R. et al. (2014). Financing Sustainable Energy for All: pay-­‐as-­‐you-­‐go vs. Traditional solar finance approaches in Kenya, STEpS Working paper 59, Brighton: STEpS centre. 7. Pueyo, A. (2013). Real time monitoring technologies for pro-­‐poor access to electricity, Theme 7, Evidence Report 12, Brighton: Institute of Development Studies. Retrieved from: http://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/123456789/2831/ER12%20Final%20Online.pdf?sequence=1 8. Nique, M. (2013). Sizing the Opportunity of Mobile to Support Energy and Water Access. GSMA Mobile enabled community services and UKAid, London 9. Lemaire X., (2011). Off-­‐grid electrification with solar home systems. The experience of a fee-­‐for-­‐service concession in South Africa. Energy for Sustainable Development. 15, 277–283. 10. Martinot E., Chaurey A., Lew D., et .al (2002). Renewable Energy Markets in Developing Countries. Annu. Rev. Energy Environ. 27, 309–48. 11. Lemaire X., (2009). Fee-­‐for-­‐service companies for rural electrification with photovoltaic systems: the case of Zambia. Energy for Sustainable Development. 13, 18-­‐23. 12. Ahlborg H., Hammar L. (2014). Drivers and barriers to rural electrification in Tanzania and Mozambique -­‐ Grid-­‐extension, off-­‐
grid, and renewable energy technologies. Renewable Energy 61, 117e124 13. Bauner D., Sundell M., Senyagwa J., Doyle J., (2012). Sustainable Energy Markets in Tanzania, Report I. Stockholm Environment Institute & Renetech. Retrieved from http://www.renetech.net/wp-­‐
content/uploads/2013/03/Sustainable_Energy_Markets_in_Tanzania_I_final_.pdf (accessed 19 November 2014). 14. Rickerson W., Hanley C., Laurent C., Greacen C. (2013). Implementing a global fund for feed-­‐in tariffs in developing countries: A case study of Tanzania. Renewable Energy 49, 29-­‐32 15. Tanzania Traditional Energy Organization (TaTEDO). Retrieved from http://tatedo.org/ (Accessed on November 9, 2014) 16. Barry M., Steyn H., Brent A., (2011). Selection of renewable energy technologies for Africa: Eight case studies in Rwanda, Tanzania and Malawi. Renewable Energy 36, 2845-­‐2852. 17. Glemarec, Yannek. (2012). "Financing off-­‐grid sustainable energy access for the poor." Energy Policy 47, 87–93. 18. Nique M., (December 7, 2014). Expert -­‐ personal correspondence. 98 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 4.5 Appendices
Appendix 1: Research methodology
Table 1: Explanation of Criteria Ranking Scale Criteria Explanations Financial Sustainability 10: the finance mechanism always maintains solvency 7: the finance mechanism usually maintains solvency 5: the finance mechanism sometimes maintains solvency 3: the finance mechanism often leads to insolvency 1: the finance mechanism always leads to insolvency Reliance on Govt Financing/Policy 10: the finance mechanism requires no government financial or policy support whatsoever 7: the finance mechanism relies on one fairly difficult-­‐to-­‐maintain policy and/or some government funding 5: the finance mechanism relies on one fairly difficult-­‐to-­‐maintain policy and/or some government funding 3: the finance mechanism relies on a moderate number and/or somewhat politically difficult to maintain policies and/or financing 1: the finance mechanism relies on many and/or politically very difficult-­‐to-­‐maintain policies and/or financing Ease of Implementation 10: implementation is practically automatic; all infrastructure is already existing 7: much existing infrastructure and/or required infrastructure is not extensive, time-­‐consuming or costly to establish 5: some existing infrastructure and/or required infrastructure is somewhat extensive, time-­‐consuming and costly to establish 3: little existing infrastructure and/or required infrastructure is fairly extensive, time-­‐consuming and costly to establish 1: no existing infrastructure and required infrastructure is extensive, time-­‐consuming and costly to establish Mitigates Risk 10: completely removes all financial, technological, and political risk 7: removes most financial, technological, and political risk 5: removes some financial, technological, and political risk 3: removes little financial, technological, and political risk 1: removes no financial, technological, and political risk Scope of Reach 10: reaches all of the target population 7: reaches much of the target population 5: reaches some of the target population 3: reaches a very low percentage of the target population 1: reaches almost none of the target population Cost to Consumer 10: energy provided is practically free to consumers 7: consumers spend a relatively low percentage of their monthly household budget on energy 5: consumers spend an expected percentage of their monthly household budget on energy 3:consumers spend a fairly high percentage of their monthly household budgets on energy, not cutting into other necessities such as food or health care 1: consumers spend a high percentage of their monthly household budgets on energy, cutting into other necessities such as food or health care Reliance on Business/Admin Support 10: the finance mechanism requires no, or almost no, financial institution/business and administrative support 7: the finance mechanism requires limited financial institution/business and administrative support 5: the finance mechanism requires some financial institution/business and administrative support 3: the finance mechanism requires much financial institution/business and administrative support 1: the finance mechanism requires continued and intensive financial institution/business support and/or continued and intensive administrative support Breadth of Applicability 10: the finance mechanism can be applied in any country and in any context 7: the finance mechanism can be applied in most countries and in most contexts 5: the finance mechanism can be applied in some countries and in some contexts 3: the finance mechanism cannot be applied in many countries and contexts; the mechanism may require specific circumstances to function properly 1: the finance mechanism cannot be applied in most countries and contexts; the mechanism requires very specific circumstances to function Ease of use with solar PV/Longevity 10: systems are always high quality and well-­‐maintained; financing and program type are ideal for use with solar PV 7: systems tend to be of higher quality and are well-­‐maintained; financing and program type are generally suitable for use with solar PV 5: systems may be cheaply made and ill-­‐maintained; financing and program type may be suitable for use with solar PV 3: systems tend to be cheaply made and ill-­‐maintained; financing and program type not very suitable for use with solar PV 1: systems tend to be cheaply made and ill-­‐maintained; financing and program type not at all suitable for use with solar PV 99 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre Figure 2: Financing Mechanisms Evaluation 100 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 5 Discussion
The goal of this report is to bridge the gap between science and policy by providing a selection of topics that analyze and compare recent scientific findings or suggested financing options for addressing sustainable development. In this section the covered topics are connected to each other and to the SDGs. This allows to identify overlapping areas, as well as areas not touched upon by the covered topics. Table 1. Linkages between SDGs and topics Passive Housing (PH) Urban Agriculture (UA) Rare Earth Elements (REE) Beyond Fair Trade (BF) Slum Upgrading (SU) Sustainable Rural Electrification (SRE) Finance Brief Conserving Traditional Seed Crops (TSC) SDG 1 SDG 2 SDG 3 SDG 4 SDG 5 SDG 6 SDG 7 SDG 8 SDG 9 SDG 10 SDG 11 SDG 12 SDG 13 SDG 14 SDG 15 SDG 16 SDG 17 Science Digest Blue Energy (BE) SDG Table 1. highlights the interlinkages between the certain topics and the SDGs. When addressing the table vertically, one can identify the direct and indirect linkages between the topic and the SDGs. Direct linkages are the direct relations between the outcome of the topic and the goal (dark shade), whereas indirect linkages are the possible effect on a longer term (light shade). To clarify, a direct outcome from urban agriculture is that it can end hunger, achieve food security and promote sustainable agriculture (SDG 2). An indirect effect is providing inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable human settlements (Goal 11). In addition, the table can also be read horizontally. In this way, one can assess how often a SDG is represented by different topics. The table shows that SDG 12 is most relevant for the topic selection, as it is relevant for five different topics. Further, SDGs 7 & 8 are directly represented by four different topics and SDG 1, 11 & 15 by three different topics respectively. No direct connection between our topics is made to SDG 4,5, 14 and 16, which will be explained in ‘SDG achievability’ paragraph. The selected range of topics can be clustered and interlinked to larger themes in the context of sustainable development. Therefore, the three dimensions of sustainable development are used to show main messages our topics focus on (see figure 1). 101 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre Figure 1. Main messages of some selected topics in connection to the three dimensions of sustainable development First, several topics (BE, PH, REE & RE) have a common message in the field of environment. These topics stress the importance of adaptation of new technical innovations, such as sustainable energy technologies for sustainable development. Rare earth elements support the production of highly technological renewable energy devices. Blue energy uses the technology of semi-­‐permeable membranes to create a new source of renewable energy. Passive technologies used in housing decrease the energy demand and GHG-­‐emissions of buildings worldwide. Technologies for expanding the nationwide electrification grid can help rural areas in their development. These topics thus all address SDG 7, as they aim to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. All of these topics also have a linkage to SDG 9, since their technologies can all be implemented in the process towards a more sustainable infrastructure and stimulate economic growth and innovation. Second, most topics (BE, PS, UA, REE, BF, RE, SU) have a common message in the field of economics. The second message is the importance of sustainable supply-­‐chain management in globalized markets. The topics address the vitality of making efficient use of natural resources in order to ensure durable consumption and production patterns that relate to SDG 12. Improving production conditions and recovering of rare earth elements, as a natural resource, can ensure the sustainable management and efficient use of these. By going beyond fair trade and setting up mechanisms to finance supply chains, sustainable consumption and production patterns are supported. Third, a few topics (PH, TSC, SU) have a common message in connection to the social field of sustainable development. These topics mostly approach urban development. Topic distribution
This uneven distribution could be explained by the way the topics have been selected. In the context of this project, conducted in an academic setting, the topic choices were subjective and influenced by several factors. First, the participating Universities (State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University) are two life sciences universities located in developed countries. The focus of both universities could be a reason for the tendency towards natural science based rather than social science based topics. Further, as this project was conducted by students, working on a time limited course assignment, there might be bias in the preferences for new trends in science and more concrete, tangible subjects. SDG achievability
Additional reasons for the uneven distribution could be the differences in the SDGs. As some are broader or more easy to address than others. In general, in the field of social development lessons can be drawn on the achievability of certain goals (SDG 1 -­‐ 5). These issues are on the one hand crucial to solve, but hard to achieve on a short term. Ending poverty in all its forms everywhere (SDG 1) is difficult since poverty is a complex concept and hard to generalize from certain locations to others since it is influenced by many compounding factors. Whereas developed countries are 102 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre ahead in using new technologies to reach sustainability goals, gender inequality (SDG 5) is still a present issue in e.g. the business world. While most of the selected topics place the implementation of technology central, the multi-­‐layered socio-­‐
economic context, in which technologies do not seem to have a central role, is neglect in several topics. However, technological innovations are not simply a solution for all SDGs, since cultural habits are often the reason behind the (perceived) development issues, as well as the barrier to change the societal problems. In order to achieve change, the societal mind-­‐set of people must modify and adapt to innovative ideas and this process is often not achievable on a short term or through one technology. Topic inter-linkages
In the report we have analyzed topics one by one. However, initiatives for sustainable development cannot be seen in an isolated context, since they can be influenced by other initiatives. Therefore, we chose to link topics to see how these could likely interact amongst each other. Future passive houses, for instance, could be implemented in the development of urban human settlements to make them more resilient and sustainable. At the same time, passive houses could be combined with rooftop-­‐farms or skyfarming methods of urban agriculture. In addition, public spaces for growing fruits and vegetables can contribute to embellish the cityscape. Urban agriculture furthermore has the potential to strengthen community bonding, which plays a part in slum upgrading since it can connect different groups of society. This collective community cohesiveness can be rebuilt in a growing ethnically heterogeneous city. The topic blue energy covers a large-­‐scale and is based on national implementation, but implementation could also take place on an individual and small-­‐scale level. Single salinity gradient power batteries could be installed in households as another source of renewable energy. This is not only limited to passive houses but also for making buildings more green and environmentally friendly in general. The provision of rural electricity could make use of blue energy technologies to deliver sustainable, GHG emissions-­‐free energy to low-­‐income houses. Furthermore, in the case of rural electrification, rare earth elements are of importance for the application of sustainable energy technology. Different national governments could largely implement this in rural areas, for example in Sub-­‐Saharan countries. Moreover, the rare earth element trading system can be linked to Fair-­‐Trade to enforce the importance of transparency in supply-­‐chains. Both topics also refer to the significance of establishing viable financial mechanisms to monitor and maintain sustainable supply-­‐chains in a global market that can address developing countries’ incomplete or the lack of trade regulations. As described above, initiatives for sustainable development cannot be seen individually, but rather in a network of actors. The four topics (BE, PH, REE & RE) mentioned in the previous section, which relate to the technological SDGs, can be seen as a dense network. There are several linkages and many possibilities to integrate their initiatives and technologies. However, these initiatives are currently focused on their own strategy. 103 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 6 Conclusions & Recommendations
The aim of this report was to provide an added value to the sustainable development debate by providing inputs for the UN Global Sustainable Report 2016-­‐2030. Not only by providing scientific digests and financial briefs that can assist in bridging the existing gap between science and policy, but also adding the ‘independent’ view of students that see trends in sciences and have direct contact to experts by being in academic surroundings. Therefore, there has been provided five innovative ideas on how to possibly structure and present the vast map of ‘emerging’ issues at the interface of sustainability science and policy (ToR task 1). These so-­‐called ‘emerging’ issues, discussed in science digests, give scientifically based background information on the specific topics, while it also makes conclusions for policy makers on how to possible contribute on confronting these issues. Next to the interface between sustainability science and policy, three innovative ideas have been discussed on how to use existing financial mechanisms for sustainable development issues (ToR task 2). The opportunities and risks of these mechanisms have been identified, which are afterwards combined with the science digests to make also general recommendations. Finally, we will tell something regarding the project process and the value of such projects. Science digests topic specific conclusions (ToR 1)
Blue Energy could be a reliable, sustainable, renewable and modern type of energy source for the future (SDG 7, 13). For implementing blue energy an improvement of the fresh and salt water resource management is placed (SDG 6, 12). This will have an added value in mitigating climate change (e.g. a decrease in GHGs emissions) and it does not have an effect on the air quality (SDG 11). Furthermore, it can also restore unique ecological systems (e.g. creating a fish migration stream from salt to fresh water and vice versa; SDG 6). Next to the production of energy, other applications (purification and desalinisation of water) can create an adequate, safe and affordable way of creating drinking water. And another application is storing large amounts of energy in batteries, both as services for housing and slums (SDG 6, 11). Moreover, developed countries will take the lead in creating and adopting these blue energy pilots and plants. Herein, these countries can help strengthening the scientific and technological capacity of developing countries afterwards (SDG 12). By Conserving Traditional Seed Crops Diversity, the efforts gap between restoring biodiversity and improving agricultural productivity can be bridged (SDG 2). The conservation methods can restore biodiversity loss (SDG 15) while peasants and farmers empowerment can be implemented, which can support the efforts of eradicating poverty and hunger (SDG 1, 2). By improving conservation management and assistance, for increasing farmers’ access and rights to get and plant the seeds, can save local knowledge, increase community resilience and insure agriculture productivity (SDG 1, 2, 5, 15). In relation to SDG 1, Passive Housing can support low-­‐income households as low energy demanding houses decrease the household’s financial burden. Additionally, as certified passive houses and houses with passive technologies drastically lower energy demand, there is also a relation with SDG 7. However, the largest gain can be won by supporting the sustainable development of cities, human settlements (SDG 11) and also industries which relates to both SDG 9, 11 and eventually 13, as GHG emissions from houses takes up a large chunk of the worldwide total. The Rare Earth Elements topic is strongly linked to the production and consumption of renewable energy and energy efficiency (SDG 7). However, to support and increase sustainable energy production, the supply of REE should be ensured. In order to do so, considerations mentioned in the scientific debate should be taken into account which mainly link to resource efficiency (SDG 8, 9), sustainable consumption (SDG 12) and minimizing environmental impact (SDG 12). These considerations have led to the following recommendations. Urban Agriculture (encompassing of both Controlled and Uncontrolled Environment Agriculture) can, in recognition to the SDGs, assist in potentially decreasing hunger and poverty (SDG 1, 2). This is done by creating sustainable food production patterns (SDG 12, 15) and promoting the integration of environmental values in development (SDG 15). In terms of decreasing poverty and hunger, Urban Agriculture provides a mechanism for improving urban food security and providing entrepreneurship opportunities for low-­‐income individuals. In creating sustainable food patterns, Urban Agriculture is projected to reduce climate change-­‐related greenhouse gas emissions through reducing food production and distribution inputs. Furthermore, by incorporating waste management, nutrient recycling and energy recycling, Urban Agriculture utilizes environmentally sustainable practices in meeting the necessities of urban regions. 104 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre Finance briefs topic specific opportunities/risks (ToR 2)
In regard to the timber part of Beyond Fair Trade, the indicated market-­‐based schemes can be implemented virtually anywhere, wherever there are willing buyers and sellers. Generally speaking, these mechanisms are flexible and allow for incremental institutional changes with minimal economic disruption, because they are contingent upon consumer behaviors or market trends. Yet, the contingent character of such mechanisms also means that their efficacy is uncertain. For this reason, these market-­‐based schemes may work best when coupled with other regulatory policy instruments (e.g. public procurement policies, forest tax laws or seedling subsidies). Moreover, it is important to note that these schemes are not exclusive alternatives. Rather, they complement each other, and different combinations of them can be implemented in different contexts in order to minimize the risks associated with a single scheme (SDG 8, 10, 12, 15, 17). Overall, the greatest difficulties for the Beyond Fair Trade Electronics sector lay in generating equitable revenue streams for developing countries. To this end, the integration of sustainable supply chain principles, green marketing, and extended producer responsibility has the capacity to address the interconnected set of complex social and technical elements. Besides, institutions and consumption practices have been addressed which currently form a barrier against supporting a truly integrative global framework for sustainable electronics industries (SDG 8, 10, 12, 15, 17). Win-­‐win situations in Financing Slum Upgrading seem to not exist and jumping into quick solutions tends to cause an even greater problem than it was at the first place. The comparative review of the approaches, presented through the different cases, highlights the emergence of several new trends: the broadening of locally generated revenue sources; the strengthening of local financial management; partnerships in the financing of capital investments; and the enhancement of access to long-­‐term credit for municipalities (1, 3, 6, 8, 11, 17). There is no real best criteria found to fund Sustainable Rural Electrification via the use of solar energy in Sub Saharan Africa. In the sense that financing solar electrification does not occur in a vacuum, but instead requires the coordination of public and private forces. In many successful cases, more than one finance mechanisms were implemented and incorporated into a singular program, wherein the government and private entities work together to create socially as well as financially profitable outcomes. Instead of financing development sectors for sustainability in a piecemeal manner, we can take a more holistic view and accomplish several development goals with one program (7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13). General Recommendations
Although there were shown some limitations in the chapter on Interlinkages, there were also several connections made between the SDGs and the topics. They showed to what extent the different SDGs have been covered by the different topics. Moreover, they also show that there are several linkages indicated in between the topics as well. Taking this, and the above given topic specific conclusions, opportunities and risks into consideration, we hereby suggest for the UN the following as combined general recommendations: 1.
2.
3.
That there is a need for fostering the present international platforms, initiated by the UN and other organizations, operating on the science-­‐policy interface of emerging topics. This fostering will enhance that 1) public (policymakers) and private (knowledge institutions, private companies) actors have the opportunity to discuss opportunities and potential implementation challenges regarding the specific topics more, 2) best practices and pitfalls of both successful and unsuccessful case studies are presented, and 3) data and literature gaps can be overcome even more. To make sure that the public and private actors can use and implement the gained knowledge of these fostered platforms, there seems to be a need for promoting financial incentives. These incentives are needed for, amongst others, additional research on the topics discussed in this report. Moreover, they should contribute to the accessibility of information and techniques, which should enhance the willingness and feasibility of implementation in both developed and developing countries. To promote using the combination of topic-­‐specific financial mechanisms. Therewith, the combination can complement each other in different contexts, which minimizes the risks associated with their single use. 105 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre These three recommendations together are in order to fulfill the full potential of the topics to contribute to sustainable development and by making these ‘emerging’ issues less emerging, the effectiveness on achieving the SDGs will be increased. Project process and value
This project provided the opportunity to gain experience working for the UN Division for Sustainable Development, which was highly appreciated by the student externs. Conversely, the student externs provided an ‘independent’ view, offering an original perspective on trends in sciences. This project has resulted in many new experiences, as for most participating students it was a first experience working as an external consultant. While working as a single team, divided over two groups, challenges emerged, were identified and overcome. The cultural diversity and the significant geographical distance within the team required fine-­‐
tuning of intercultural communication and negotiation. Moreover, this diversity provided great advantages, such as a variety in views, ideas and feedback. This project process resulted in the accomplishment of this assignment, and therewith proves mutually beneficial for both the externs and the client. 106 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre 7 GLOSSARY
Aeroponics: The process of growing plants in an air or mist environment without the use of soil or an aggregate medium. Allele: A variant form of a gene. Allele frequency: The relative number of copies of an allele in a population, expressed as a proportion of the total number of copies of all alleles at a given locus in a population. Aquaculture: Involves all processes used to cultivate marine life. Beneficiation: Phase in the treatment process of extract ore from mining, in order to separate the desirable mineral from residual materials. Blended finance: A composition of all the actors and instruments involved in the financing process that has the potential to provide an efficient solution for the needs of the dwellers of the slum. Bottom-­‐up finance approach: A term used when the real needs of the dwellers of the slum are taking into account in order to finance an activity or a project. Brackish water: Water that has less salinity than seawater but more than fresh water. Connection-­‐based subsidies: One-­‐time subsidy based on number of connections; to investors or to customers for down payments. Controlled environment agriculture: Includes any form of agriculture where environmental conditions (light, temperature, humidity, radiation and nutrient cycling) are controlled in conjunction with architecture or green infrastructure. Cross subsidization: The practice of charging higher prices to one group of consumers in order to subsidize lower prices for another group. Demo plant: The next step after a pilot plant towards the implementation of a power plant. A demo plant has a larger production volume than a pilot plant. Developed country: Country with a highly developed economy, technological infrastructure and high Human Development Index. Developing country: Country with a lower standard of living, less developed industries and a low Human Development Index. Direct subsidy: Cash grants, interest-­‐free loans. E-­‐mobility: Use of electric power for transportation vehicles, such as electric cars, e-­‐bikes or trains. Environmental risk: Potential negative effects on the environment due to human activities. Equity financing: The process of raising capital through the sale of shares in an enterprise. Equity financing is distinct from debt financing, which refers to funds borrowed by a business. Ex situ conservation: Conserving seed varieties under an controlled and artificial environment. Ex situ examples such as conserving genetic resources in the formal or community gene-­‐bank, botanical garden, agricultural research station and tissue culture collections. Finance mechanism: Method or source through which funding is made available. Flotation: A method for the separation of rare earth minerals from other minerals in the mining product. Gene expression: The process by which a gene produces messenger RNA and protein, and hence exerts its effect on the phenotype of an organism. Gene flow: The spread of genes from one breeding population to another by migration, thereby generating changes in allele frequency. Genetic diversity: The heritable variation within and among populations, which is created, enhanced or maintained by evolutionary or selective forces. Genotype: The genetic constitution of an individual organism. Hybrid seed: Seed produced by crossing genetically dissimilar parents. Hydraulic system: The system in a geographical place that connects the water from sources to different users. It is also the normal flow of the water of rivers in an area. In situ conservation: Conserving crop species in their natural habitat such as natural reserves, conservation corridors and on farm. Indirect subsidy: Subsidies that could be favorable tax policies, loans, import quotas, and price supports. Informal urban settlements: Neglected parts of cities where living conditions are extremely poor. Innovative financing: Range of non-­‐traditional mechanisms to raise additional funds for development aid. Introgression: Transfer of genetic material between the hybridizing taxa through backcrossing. Investment-­‐based subsidies: Capital subsidies targeting the initial investment; often to private investors or developers. Lanthanoids: Group of elements comprising the fifteen metallic chemical elements with atomic numbers 57 through 71, from lanthanum through lutetium. 107 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): Technique to assess the environmental aspects and potential impacts associated with a product, process, or service. Life cycle: The phases of a product or material from cradle to grave. Microfinance: Providing financial services to customers who are not served by traditional banks. Mineral criticality: Describes a criticality matrix according to the three indicators; supply risk, economic importance and environmental implications. Natural hybridization: Secondary contact between two populations that have evolved separately over a long period of time. Outgrower scheme: Contractual partnership between corporations committed to social responsibility and smallholder plantation grower. Passive technologies: Technologies used in passive houses or other types of construction, which make it more energy efficient compared to standard buildings and constructions. Payments for Environmental Services: Incentives offered to farmers or landowners in exchange for managing their land to provide some sort of environmental service. Permanent magnets: Magnetic material that retains its magnetism ability even in absence of a magnetic field. Phenotype: The visible appearance of an individual, with respect to one or more traits, which reflects the reaction of a given genotype with a given environment. Pilot plant: Relatively small industrial system developed to research the behavior of a newly developed technology under different real life situations assessing the feasibility to implement it on bigger scale. Poverty: Earning below the international poverty line of a $1.25 per day (at 2005 prices). Pre-­‐treatment techniques: Techniques required to extract dissolved organic substances from water that is entering into the process of producing blue energy. Public–private partnerships: Partnerships between national governments and other public sector entities with actors outside the public sphere. Raw material: The basic material needed for the production of a certain good. Renewable energy: Energy from resources, which are naturally replenished on a human time scale. Resilience: Capacity to absorb a wide range of disturbance keeping the equilibrium. Semi-­‐permeable membrane: Membrane that is permeable for either water or ions. Skyfarming: Vertical integration of agriculture in multi-­‐story buildings or vertical farming. Social housing: Umbrella term referring to rental housing, which may be owned and managed by the state, non-­‐profit organizations, or a combination of the two, usually with the aim of providing affordable housing. Species: A class of individuals capable of interbreeding, but reproductively isolated from other such groups with many common characteristics. Supply chain: Network through which materials move and are transformed from source to end consumer. Sustainable building: Structure and use of a building that is environmentally responsible and resource-­‐efficient throughout its life-­‐cycle. Sustainable development: Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainable energy technology: Technology, which either supports the production of sustainable energy, or improves energy efficiency in applications. Tailings: Highly detrimental waste to the environment produced from the extraction of rare earth elements, composed of finely milled particles, waste water and flotation chemicals. Teosinte: Hypothesized ancestor of maize. Traditional seed: A domesticated seed that can be named local seed or landrace. Transition country: Countries moving from centrally planned to market-­‐oriented economies. Transpiration: Evaporation of water into the atmosphere from the leaves and stems of plants. Tri-­‐sector partnerships: Partnership of the state (public), private and voluntary sectors. Uncontrolled environment agriculture: Any form of agriculture done in open space. Universal energy access: Access to modern energy services for the entire global population, often defined in contrast to ‘traditional’ energy services. Urban agriculture: Growing, processing, and distribution of food and other products through plant cultivation and sometimes raising livestock in and around the cities. Urban food systems: All processes, inputs, outputs and infrastructure involved in feeding an urban population. Variety (species): Naturally occurring subdivision of a species, with distinct morphological characters. Variety (crop plant): Defined strain of a crop plant, selected on the basis of phenotypic, sometimes genotypic, homogeneity. Value chain: Chain of activities of a specific firm or industry in order to deliver a valuable product or service to the market. Water management rules: Management rules regarding the extent of water use and purpose in a certain geographical area. 108 Assessing Sustainable Development for the 2014/2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Wageningen University and Research Centre Wild seed: Non domesticated seed. Zero-­‐ acreage farming (Z-­‐farming): Soil-­‐less agriculture based on hydroponic systems. Zoonotic disease: Disease that can be passed between animals and humans. 109