Exploring eco-industrial development in the global south: recognizing informal waste-picking as urban-industrial symbiosis?

Industrial ecology (IE) is discussed as a suitable approach to resolve three widespread socio-ecological problems in the so-called global south: waste accumulation, unemployment, and lack of adequate housing. As the IE framework was developed mainly in the global north, its applicability in the global south is uncertain. The issue is discussed along the use of municipal waste as building materials as a concrete application of circular economy (CE) and IE principles, which could contribute to the alleviation of the aforementioned social-ecological problems. The study focuses on San Martin, a district in the Buenos Aires metropolitan areawhich suffers from these problems dispite its industrial capacities. A SWOT analysis that includes all PESTLE dimensions was applied to identify risks for the success of an IE-based strategy, including the main actors and stakeholders of local waste management. Key issues include the informality and low agency of non-profit organizations, fluctuations in the national economy, inefficiencies in waste collection and recovery, and a lack of awareness and policies on waste separation. One major challenge is the undervaluation of the relevance, expertise and efficiency of waste sorting and processing by informal waste pickers and non-profit organizations. These practices should be recognized as a symbiosis of the urban with the industrial metabolism. This way, the epistemic basis for the eco-industrial development (EID) framework can be layed to make it capable to empower them rather than further displace the people involved. In this way, urban EID could become a useful strategy to channel different scientific disciplines, knowledge and actors, knowledge and actors towards sustainable development.Fil: Tröger, Danny. University of Kassel; AlemaniaFil: Becerra Araneda, Abraham Alexis. Universidad Nacional de San Martin. Instituto de Arquitectura y Urbanismo; ArgentinaFil: Busnelli, Roberto. Universidad Nacional de San Martin. Instituto de Arquitectura y Urbanismo; ArgentinaFil: Yajnes, Marta Edith. Universidad Nacional de San Martin. Instituto de Arquitectura y Urbanismo; ArgentinaFil: Williams, Fernando. Universidad Nacional de San Martin. Instituto de Arquitectura y Urbanismo; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Braun, Andreas Christian. University of Kassel; Alemani

“Industry impacts more than nature” - Risk perception of natural hazards in more-than-human worlds

Gefördert im Rahmen des Projekts DEA

Exploring eco-industrial development in the global south: recognizing informal waste-picking as urban-industrial symbiosis?

Gefördert im Rahmen des Projekts DEA

Pinus plantations impact hillslope stability and decrease landscape resilience by changing biogeomorphic feedbacks in Chile

Forest plantations with exotic species are planted extensively in the southern hemisphere for soil conservation and shallow landslide mitigation. The extent to which these are suitable for fulfilling their protection goals is the subject of debate. A biogeomorphic framework was applied to link land use, soil conservation and natural hazards. It consists of a feedback loop with the two effect pathways hillslope stability and vegetation fitness. The study site is located in Chilean Patagonia, where thixotropic Andosols are widespread and Pinus plantations were planted initially in conservation areas, and later on private land. We were testing the hypothesis whether soil stability differs between primary and secondary forests, Pinus plantations, wildfire sites (ex. plantations) and pastures. Shear strength, liquid limit, consolidation degree and available water capacity were used as soil stability indicators and set as dependent variables using non-metrical multidimensional scaling (NMDS), representing mechanical and hydrological biogeomorphic interactions. Soil texture, topographic and vegetation properties were post-hoc correlated as independent variables. Vegetation assemblage correlates most strongly with soil indicator variance. The soils under secondary native Nothofagus forests have significantly higher liquid limits than Pinus plantations (41 ± 4.9% vs. 31 ± 14%, p < 0.1, A Horizon). Consolidation degree is higher under secondary forests than in Plantations (A and B Horizon), due to a significantly higher root abundance. Primary forests provide landscape by maintaining the water cycle balance and biodiversity. Secondary forests establish the biogeomorphic feedback loop through mechanical effects and enhancing vegetation fitness. Pinus plantations cause a slight improvement in soil stability properties, but with trade-offs in water balance and vegetation fitness. Landscape resilience is thus impaired by the higher risk of wildfires, erosion and landslides. Pastures show good values in the soil stability parameters, but their biogeomorphic interactions are unlikely to rebuild landscape resilience

Pinus plantations impact hillslope stability and decrease landscape resilience by changing biogeomorphic feedbacks in Chile

Forest plantations with exotic species are planted extensively in the southern hemisphere for soil conservation and shallow landslide mitigation. The extent to which these are suitable for fulfilling their protection goals is the subject of debate. A biogeomorphic framework was applied to link land use, soil conservation and natural hazards. It consists of a feedback loop with the two effect pathways hillslope stability and vegetation fitness. The study site is located in Chilean Patagonia, where thixotropic Andosols are widespread and Pinus plantations were planted initially in conservation areas, and later on private land. We were testing the hypothesis whether soil stability differs between primary and secondary forests, Pinus plantations, wildfire sites (ex. plantations) and pastures. Shear strength, liquid limit, consolidation degree and available water capacity were used as soil stability indicators and set as dependent variables using non-metrical multidimensional scaling (NMDS), representing mechanical and hydrological biogeomorphic interactions. Soil texture, topographic and vegetation properties were post-hoc correlated as independent variables. Vegetation assemblage correlates most strongly with soil indicator variance. The soils under secondary native Nothofagus forests have significantly higher liquid limits than Pinus plantations (41 ± 4.9% vs. 31 ± 14%, p < 0.1, A Horizon). Consolidation degree is higher under secondary forests than in Plantations (A and B Horizon), due to a significantly higher root abundance. Primary forests provide landscape by maintaining the water cycle balance and biodiversity. Secondary forests establish the biogeomorphic feedback loop through mechanical effects and enhancing vegetation fitness. Pinus plantations cause a slight improvement in soil stability properties, but with trade-offs in water balance and vegetation fitness. Landscape resilience is thus impaired by the higher risk of wildfires, erosion and landslides. Pastures show good values in the soil stability parameters, but their biogeomorphic interactions are unlikely to rebuild landscape resilience