Framework Convention on Climate Change

Extended producer responsibility

How circular is your tyre: Experiences with extended producer responsibility from a circular economy perspective

Repurposed materials in construction: A review of low-processed scrap tires in civil engineering applications for disaster risk reduction

Applying the extended producer responsibility towards plastic waste in Asian developing countries for reducing marine plastic debris

Over the last decades, a number of new environmental policies have been designed to improve waste management. Among them, extended producer responsibility (EPR) has introduced a mechanism to shift the environmental and financial burden of end‐of‐life products from public management to producers. Recently, EPR has been adopted by a growing number of developing countries, but this policy often struggles in being effectively implemented in such contexts, missing the opportunity of using waste management as a sustainability driver. By discussing the EPR for end‐of‐life tires (ELTs) in Ecuador, this paper proposes a different approach in designing and implementing EPR schemes in developing countries: it recommends consideration of social sustainability, rather than merely copying foreign management frameworks. To address this point, two case studies on socially directed ELT applications were designed and carried out. The case studies aimed at improving resilience of vulnerable populations to natural disasters by increasing the resistance of housing and settlements against catastrophic events using civil engineering applications. The analysis of the case studies’ outcomes brings to light possible policy adjustments, in which social sustainability goals are taken into account within the national EPR scheme. The Ecuadorian case also highlights the benefit of employing an adaptive governance approach when dealing with challenging urban management topics, such as informality (a widespread phenomenon in developing countries) and resilience.

End‐of‐life product management as a resilience driver for developing countries: A policy experiment for used tires in Ecuador

This article presents a review of the most relevant literature on resilience, from a practical point of view, and proposes a synthesis to provide a fresh perspective on the concept. The objective is to position the concept of resilience and its practices, or “resilience thinking,” as a multidisciplinary undertaking that can give rise to transversal initiatives to seek stability in people’s well-being and to provide a continuous life quality. Resilience has the ability, then, to generate debate and analysis on various, often archetypal, issues forcing policy makers, analysts, and professionals, in general, to look at the consequences of actions from a systemic perspective. From this point of view, resilience necessarily addresses aspects of sustainability and sustainable development that can contribute in our path to a stable world. Questions will be addressed such as: What is the relationship between resilience and sustainable development? And, how do we look at resilience from an urban perspective? Notwithstanding that, perhaps, the answer lies solely in the fact that humanity looks to the future and wants and must preserve much of what it now values for the future generations. It wants sustainability, and resilience is one way to achieve it.

Resilient Thinking: An Important Tool to Contribute to Sustainable Development

The Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda require building resilience and effective risk management in order to achieve a better possible future. It is also true that no urban sustainability is possible without taking into account the risk dimension. In this sense, indices are increasingly important for emergency and sustainable development planning at different levels, particularly with respect to identifying vulnerable settlements and mapping disaster potential. This paper provides both a critical literature review and an empirical case study that highlight the importance of different types of decisions in the construction of risk index. However, during the exercise, it was clear that a risk index to be constructed with contextual sensibility can be challenging, especially around what indicators should be included, or how should they be aggregated, and if they should have differentiated weights. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate a method of analysis, first based on existing information, second by proposing an aggregation method, and third proposing an overall risk index that can be graphically displayed. The case study focuses on the main natural hazards, exposure, and the social vulnerability of Quito, Ecuador. Overall results are calculated by applying Pareto ranking. The paper aims at providing an effective index to inform decision making and for effective urban planning in multirisks cities, with the final goal to reduce physical impacts and propose effective, sustainable, and resilient urban strategies.

R.I.S.Q: Risk Assessment Tool for Quito

This paper sets out to review the recent legislation that was put into place for eco-efficient design in Quito, the capital city of Ecuador. It is argued that the resolution for Quito is better suited to ecological building design parameters than using international certifications imported from abroad, such as LEED or BREEAM. The background of the parameters used for the resolution is explored in depth in this paper. The results of an international review workshop are then given, followed by a summary of the resolution being put into practice through a brief case study of the water systems proposed for a building designed under the legislation. Quito´s urban sprawl poses fundamental challenges from an ecological and economic perspective, but reverting this trend also provides a unique opportunity to plan, develop, build and manage a city that is simultaneously more ecologically and economically sustainable and more resilient. The present paper analyses how the New Resolution in Eco-efficient Design for Quito helps out in this task and becomes a versatile instrument, part of a broader tool, in contributing to the goals of eco-efficient design, providing incentives to the construction industry and reducing the number of private vehicles coming into the city. The paper concludes that it is possible to construct an effective eco-efficiency code aimed at reducing the environmental footprint of buildings whilst improving people’s quality of life. Furthermore, as the tool can be modified in future updates, research and better building practices are required to improve results and to adjust it to the ever-changing socio-economic contexts of the city. However, in order to be effective as the backbone of urban planning in Quito, the tool will need to be upgraded to the status of a municipal ordinance in future.

David Jacome Polit

Papers

End‐of‐life product management as a resilience driver for developing countries: A policy experiment for used tires in Ecuador

Resilient Thinking: An Important Tool to Contribute to Sustainable Development

R.I.S.Q: Risk Assessment Tool for Quito

The Recent Legislation for Eco-efficient Design in Quito, Ecuador: A Review and Case Study