Translating the ‘water scarcity – water reuse’ situation into an information system for decision-making

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Andrea B. Müller - , United Nations University - Institute for Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources (UNU-FLORES) (Author)
  • Tamara Avellán - , Independent Consultant for Sustainable Natural Resource Management (Author)
  • Jochen Schanze - , Chair of Environmental Development and Risk Management, Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (Author)

Abstract

One key challenge of water resources management is the identification and processing of the information necessary for decision-making. This article aims to provide avenues for translating a ‘water scarcity–water reuse’ (WS–WR) situation into an information system. It is dedicated to supporting an integrated assessment in decision-making with the final goal of optimising water scarcity risk reduction and water reuse sustainability. The approach combines the following two strands: (1) specific interpretation of systems thinking and (2) systemic characterisation and interlinkage of indicators. The result is an analytical concept that translates the WS–WR situation into an information system consisting of two structured components, a multi-layer (ML) and a lane-based (LB) approach. While the multi-layer approach supports the description of the elements of the biophysical and information systems such as endpoints and descriptors, respectively, the lane-based approach aids in understanding the importance of indicators within the entire system and their distribution across risk and sustainability realms. The findings from a generic exemplification of the analytical concept depict the feasibility of identifying system-based endpoints representing the WS–WR situation and their translation via descriptors to an interlinked indicator set to jointly assess water scarcity risk and sustainability of the water reuse measures. Therefore, this analytical concept supports addressing the water resources management information challenge via a structured representation of the system’s complexity and the quantification and visualisation of interlinkages between the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of water scarcity risk and water reuse sustainability.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)9-25
Number of pages17
JournalSustainability Science
Volume17
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - 21 Dec 2021
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 85121382945

Keywords

Keywords

  • Decision-making, Indicator interlinkage, Sustainability assessment, Systems thinking, Water reuse, Water scarcity