Collaborative Research: IRES Track I: US-Costa Rica Collaboration to Quantify the Holistic Benefits of Resource Recovery in Small-Scale Communities

合作研究：IRES 第一轨：美国-哥斯达黎加合作量化小规模社区资源回收的整体效益

• 批准号: 2246348
• 负责人: Kevin Orner
• 金额: $ 13.39万
• 依托单位: West Virginia University Research Corporation
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-08-01 至 2026-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2246348&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; IRES; Track; US

Integrating waste treatment with resource recovery in small-scale communities can facilitate progress toward global sanitation initiatives. However, challenges in quantifying and communicating the holistic social, environmental, and economic impacts and benefits of wastewater management strategies can prevent the implementation of such initiatives. This IRES Track I program will take place in Costa Rica, where 66% of the septic tank sludge is not treated properly before disposal and 86% of the wastewater connected to sanitary sewers receives limited to no treatment prior to discharge. Contamination caused by untreated wastewater jeopardizes Costa Rica’s national economy, which is dependent on ecotourism. Consequently, this program will provide 18 U.S. students from West Virginia University, University of South Florida, and California State University, Chico with an international and interdisciplinary research experience in engineering and anthropology over the course of three years. Students will use both social science and engineering methods to improve the long-term sustainability of sanitation systems in small communities using triple-bottom line (social, environmental, and economic) decision making strategies for wastewater management. Students will develop interdisciplinary skills and competencies while addressing global sanitation challenges in the socioeconomic and cultural context of rapidly urbanizing cities in Costa Rica. Along with increased participation of students from underrepresented groups, this program will contribute to training a diverse U.S. workforce to address environmental issues of global significance. The program will strengthen and expand the partnership between collaborators in the U.S. and Costa Rica to facilitate progress toward safe management of wastewater and integrated resource recovery in a sustainable and culturally appropriate way.This IRES Track I program will provide 18 U.S. students from West Virginia University, University of South Florida, and California State University, Chico with an international and interdisciplinary research experience to solve complex sanitation challenges in the ecotourism community of Santa Elena, Costa Rica. This three-year research experience is motivated by the following driving objectives: develop convergent knowledge at the intersection of environmental engineering and anthropology; provide U.S. students the opportunity to develop interdisciplinary global skills and competencies; and facilitate safe management of wastewater and integrated recovery of resources in Costa Rica. The intellectual merit of this project stems from interdisciplinary research combining the fields of environmental engineering and anthropology to address issues of global importance in a sustainable and culturally appropriate way. This convergent research will spur the development of global skills and competencies and will facilitate safe management of wastewater and recovery of resources in Costa Rica. In this IRES program, undergraduate and graduate students will receive training and skill development in water quality testing, life cycle assessment, life cycle cost analysis, and qualitative and quantitative social science data collection and analysis. Students will work in multidisciplinary teams to engage a wide range of local stakeholders to identify and assess sustainability metrics relevant to small wastewater treatment integrating resource recovery to support decision-making in the sanitation sector. Students will assess triple-bottom line (social, environmental, and economic) sustainability metrics and use multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) to improve the long-term sustainability of sanitation systems. A new MCDA tool will be developed based on the social, environmental and economic context of Central America. The tool will allow wastewater utilities in small communities serving populations of less than 10,000 to compare performance across multiple criteria for alternate solutions at decentralized, semi-centralized and centralized scales of implementation. IRES students will develop interdisciplinary skills and competencies while addressing global sanitation challenges in the socioeconomic and cultural context of Costa Rica. This, along with increased participation of students from underrepresented groups, will contribute to training a diverse U.S. workforce. The program will strengthen and expand the partnership between collaborators in the U.S. and Costa Rica to facilitate progress toward safe management of wastewater and integrated resource recovery in Costa Rica.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

在小规模社区将废物处理与资源回收结合起来，可以促进全球环境卫生倡议的进展。然而，在量化和宣传废水管理战略的整体社会、环境和经济影响和效益方面的挑战可能会阻碍这些举措的实施。IRES第一轨道项目将在哥斯达黎加进行，在那里，66%的化粪池污泥在处置前没有得到适当处理，86%的连接到卫生下水道的废水在排放前没有得到处理。未经处理的废水造成的污染危害了哥斯达黎加依赖生态旅游的国民经济。因此，该计划将为来自西弗吉尼亚大学，南佛罗里达大学和加州州立大学奇科分校的18名美国学生提供为期三年的工程和人类学国际和跨学科研究经验。学生将使用社会科学和工程方法，以提高卫生系统的长期可持续性，在小社区使用三重底线（社会，环境和经济）决策策略的废水管理。学生将发展跨学科的技能和能力，同时解决在哥斯达黎加快速城市化的城市的社会经济和文化背景下的全球卫生挑战。沿着来自代表性不足群体的学生参与度的增加，该计划将有助于培训多元化的美国劳动力，以解决具有全球意义的环境问题。该计划将加强和扩大美国和哥斯达黎加合作者之间的伙伴关系，以促进以可持续和文化上适当的方式实现废水安全管理和综合资源回收的进展。该IRES轨道I计划将为来自西弗吉尼亚大学、南佛罗里达大学和加州州立大学的18名美国学生提供培训，奇科具有国际和跨学科的研究经验，以解决哥斯达黎加圣埃莱纳生态旅游社区复杂的卫生挑战。这三年的研究经验是由以下驱动目标的动机：在环境工程和人类学的交叉点发展趋同知识;为美国学生提供发展跨学科的全球技能和能力的机会;并促进废水的安全管理和资源的综合回收在哥斯达黎加。该项目的学术价值源于跨学科研究，结合了环境工程和人类学领域，以可持续和文化上适当的方式解决全球重要问题。这一趋同研究将促进全球技能和能力的发展，并将促进哥斯达黎加废水的安全管理和资源的回收。在这个IRES计划中，本科生和研究生将接受水质测试，生命周期评估，生命周期成本分析以及定性和定量社会科学数据收集和分析方面的培训和技能发展。学生将在多学科团队中工作，让广泛的当地利益相关者参与，以确定和评估与小型废水处理相关的可持续性指标，整合资源回收，以支持卫生部门的决策。学生将评估三重底线（社会，环境和经济）的可持续性指标，并使用多标准决策分析（MCDA），以提高卫生系统的长期可持续性。将根据中美洲的社会、环境和经济背景开发一个新的军事和民防资源工具。该工具将使服务人口少于10 000人的小型社区的废水处理设施能够在分散、半集中和集中实施规模下比较多个标准的替代解决方案的绩效。IRES学生将发展跨学科的技能和能力，同时解决哥斯达黎加的社会经济和文化背景下的全球卫生挑战。沿着来自代表性不足群体的学生的参与增加，这将有助于培养多样化的美国劳动力。该计划将加强和扩大美国和哥斯达黎加合作者之间的伙伴关系，以促进哥斯达黎加在废水安全管理和综合资源回收方面的进展。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。