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: 2246350
• 负责人: Nancy Romero-Daza
• 金额: $ 8.31万
• 依托单位: University of South Florida
• 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=2246350&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.

将废物处理与小型社区的资源回收融为一体可以促进朝着全球卫生计划的进步。但是，在量化和传达废水管理策略的整体社会，环境和经济影响以及收益方面的挑战可以防止实施此类倡议。这项IRES轨道I计划将在哥斯达黎加举行，在处置前，有66％的化粪池污泥未正确处理，而与卫生下水道相关的废水中有86％的废水在出院前没有接受任何治疗。未经处理的废水危害哥斯达黎加的国民经济造成的污染，这取决于生态旅游。因此，该计划将为西弗吉尼亚大学，南佛罗里达大学和加利福尼亚州立大学的18名美国学生提供三年的工程和人类学研究经验。学生将使用三个底线（社会，环境和经济）决策策略来改善小社区的卫生系统的长期可持续性。学生将发展跨学科的技能和能力，同时在哥斯达黎加快速城市化城市的社会经济和文化背景下应对全球卫生挑战。随着代表性不足小组的学生的参与增加，该计划将有助于培训美国潜水员的劳动力，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与哥斯达黎加的合作者之间的合作伙伴关系，以促进以可持续且在文化上适当的方式进行废水管理和综合资源恢复的进步。这项IRES Track I计划将为西弗吉尼亚大学，南佛罗里达大学和奇科加州州立大学的18名美国学生提供国际和跨学科的研究经验，以解决哥斯达黎加圣埃琳娜的生态旅游社区的复杂卫生挑战。这项为期三年的研究经验是由以下驱动目标的激励：在环境工程和人类学的交集中发展收敛知识；为美国学生提供发展跨学科的全球技能和能力的机会；并支持哥斯达黎加的废水的安全管理和资源的综合恢复。该项目的智力优点不再是跨学科研究，结合了环境工程和人类学领域，以以可持续和文化的方式解决全球重要性的问题。这项融合研究将促进全球技能和能力的发展，并促进哥斯达黎加的废水和资源的安全管理。在此IRES计划中，本科生和研究生将获得水质测试，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。学生将在跨学科团队中工作，以吸引各种本地利益相关者，以识别和评估与小型废水处理相关的可持续性指标，从而整合资源恢复以支持卫生领域的决策。学生将评估三底线（社会，环境和经济）可持续性指标，并使用多准则决策分析（MCDA）来改善卫生系统的长期可持续性。将根据中美洲的社会，环境和经济环境开发新的MCDA工具。该工具将允许在少于10,000人口的小社区中的废水公用事业，以比较分散，半居中和集中式实施范围的多个标准的性能。 IRES学生将发展跨学科的技能和能力，同时在哥斯达黎加的社会经济和文化背景下应对全球卫生挑战。这以及来自代表性不足小组的学生的参与增加将有助于培训美国潜水员的劳动力。该计划将加强和扩大美国与哥斯达黎加的合作者之间的合作伙伴关系，以促进哥斯达黎加的安全管理和综合资源恢复的进步。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是通过基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响审查标准来通过评估来获得的支持。