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

在小规模社区将废物处理与资源回收结合起来，可以促进全球卫生倡议的进展。然而，在量化和传达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此类举措的实施。这个IRES轨道一项目将在哥斯达黎加进行，在那里，66%的化粪池污泥在排放前没有得到适当处理，86%的污水在排放前没有经过处理。未经处理的废水造成的污染危及哥斯达黎加依赖生态旅游的国民经济。因此，该项目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跨学科研究经验。学生将运用社会科学和工程方法，利用废水管理的三重底线（社会、环境和经济）决策策略，提高小型社区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，同时解决哥斯达黎加快速城市化城市的社会经济和文化背景下的全球卫生挑战。随着来自代表性不足群体的学生越来越多地参与进来，该项目将有助于培养多样化的美国劳动力，以解决具有全球意义的环境问题。该项目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的安全管理和综合资源回收。这个IRES Track I项目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名美国学生提供国际和跨学科的研究经验，以解决哥斯达黎加圣埃琳娜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融合的知识；为美国学生提供发展跨学科全球技能和能力的机会；促进哥斯达黎加废水的安全管理和资源的综合回收。这个项目的智力价值源于跨学科的研究，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。这项综合研究将促进全球技能和能力的发展，并将促进哥斯达黎加对废水的安全管理和资源的回收。在这个IRES项目中，本科生和研究生将接受水质检测、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，与广泛的当地利益相关者合作，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）可持续性指标，并使用多标准决策分析（MCDA）来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种新的MCDA工具。该工具将允许服务于人口少于10,000人的小型社区的废水公用事业公司在分散、半集中和集中实施规模的替代解决方案的多个标准下比较绩效。IRES学生将发展跨学科技能和能力，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。这一点，加上来自代表性不足群体的学生的更多参与，将有助于培养多样化的美国劳动力。该项目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取得进展。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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。

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.