2021/12/17     Dresden, Germany

From agri-food and forest systems to climate change and biodiversity, researchers at UNU-FLORES engage in a range of research themes to advance the Resource Nexus. In further advancing the nexus mindset, we also consider various analytical perspectives from governance to health.

A truly integrated management of environmental resources calls for a study of not only the individual components of the Resource Nexus but also the interlinkages between them. To get an idea of what our researchers have been busy with, here are our recent publications:

Buying Practices in the Textile and Fashion Industry: Past, Present and Future in Sustainable Textile and Fashion Value Chains: Drivers, Concepts, Theories and Solutions
Lisa Koep, Jonathan Morris, Nina Dembski, Edeltraud Guenther

Unsustainable practices along the supply chain result in negative ecological and social impacts and contribute to mounting pressure on the textile and fashion industry to adopt more sustainable procurement practices. This chapter describes traditional and sustainable buying practices in the sector, provides suggestions on which additional elements to consider, and calls for a more comprehensive approach to sustainable procurement.

Designing Policy Mixes for Emerging Wicked Problems. The Case of Pharmaceutical Residues in Freshwaters
Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning
Sabrina Kirschke, Hannah Kosow

Wicked problems are characterised by goal conflicts, complexity, and uncertainty. The effects of participatory policy designs to solve them are widely unclear given their indefinite nature. Based on a literature review, this paper sheds light on the debate by developing and applying a systematic structural approach to assess policy mixes for emerging wicked problems.

Discounting and Life Cycle Assessment: A Distorting Measure in Assessments, a Reasonable Instrument for Decisions
International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology
Stefan Lueddeckens, Peter Saling, Edeltraud Guenther

The weighting of impacts occurring at different points in time—known as discounting—is still controversial in life cycle assessment practice. This article structures those issues and compares them to the original discounted utility model. The authors conclude that intertemporal equity controversies can be solved if discounting is applied as an individual decision instrument and suggest avoiding discounting in environmental information instruments.

Hydraulic Properties of Forest Soils with Stagnic Conditions
Forests
Stefan Julich, Janis Kreiselmeier, Simon Scheibler, Rainer Petzold, Kai Schwärzel, Karl-Heinz Feger

This study analyses the soil hydrologic properties and pore size distribution at three forest stands of different age and kind, and one pasture on soils with stagnant water conditions. All sites are located in the Wermsdorf Forest, Germany. The results demonstrate that an adapted forest management is important, especially at sites affected by stagnant water conditions.

Implications of the Resource Nexus on International Relations: The Case of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam
Zeitschrift für Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik
Raimund Bleischwitz, Sabrina Kirschke, Nora Adam

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is causing tensions and potential for conflict along the Nile. In this context, this article discusses the nexus between water and energy in International Relations. A constructivist perspective helps to elaborate potential solutions on energy systems, water demand management, and food that may be helpful in upcoming talks and in institution-building in similar endeavours.

Organic Waste Composting through Nexus Thinking: Practices, Policies, and Trends
Hiroshan Hettiarachchi, Serena Caucci, Kai Schwärzel

Even though organic waste composting itself is not a new topic, aligning a project with nexus thinking might get challenging due to the lack of necessary information. With nine case studies from four continents, this book aims to fill the above gap in literature. While current literature on composting is often found to be limited to either the soil and agriculture sector or the waste management sector, this book presents a combined point of view.

Utilization of Plastic Wastes for Sustainable Environmental Management: A Review
ChemSusChem
Sunil Kumar, Ekta Singh, Rahul Mishra, Aman Kumar, Serena Caucci

Due to the increasing quantities of plastic waste, recycling methods have attracted much interest. Recycling not only protects the environment and resources for future generations but also reduces energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. This review highlights various sustainable research avenues and potential routes to reduce the environmental impact of plastic waste based on both traditional and potential approaches for its use.

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