284
P. Heck
a sustainable economic policy based on the local potential that promotes innovationdriven modernisation of developed and emerging economies alike.
The utility of BEVs is well understood, but planning, developing and implementing BEVs is a complex process. Starting with the MFM process, a substantial
amount of time and money is required to set up a BEV. Moreover, the required level
of human capital, which can create opportunities out of problems, is large. However,
the benefits of BEVs far outweigh the costs and complexities of implementation. Let
us illustrate this point taking a common issue in any community or village: solid
waste. Organic waste is a bothersome and expensive problem for communities in a
conventional waste management context. However, in material flow management,
organic waste is a vital resource and input for energy and fertiliser production.
10
Conventionally, this unused material flow is dealt with in compliance with environmental management and pollution prevention requirements. This siphons off scant
financial and labour resources without generating any added value. As depicted in
Fig. 14.3, The Throughput System, this would lead to a net loss of financial resources
and further perpetuate an unsustainable system. As opposed to the aforementioned
status quo system, should the principles of MFM and the CE be applied to this, the
waste stream would no longer exist, and instead a resource stream for energy and
fertiliser would be established. This, in turn, would create income, environmental
benefits and employment opportunities as well. Such applications are the building
blocks of BEVs.
This example can be transposed to most other socio-industrial metabolic systems
as well, such as food, transportation, land use, etc., and can cover resource streams
such as water, wastewater and energy. It is clear, therefore, that BEVs are sustainable
villages with regard to energy consumption, energy provision, and the participation
of local inhabitants in the energy management system. In the case of biomass use for
energy production, land use must be decoupled from the pressure on biodiversity,
soil erosion and nutrient oversupply. In this energy-climate era, it is necessary to
consider carbon and water storage in appropriate respective sinks/reservoirs to avoid
undesirable externalities. This is already happening in Germany.
An important question worth asking at this point is if it is possible to achieve
sustainable, decentralised community development. As mentioned earlier, it is a good
idea to perform a thorough systems analysis (usually an MFA) at the outset to determine the required level of human and financial capital. This helps clarify the reasons
for the poor allocation of resources—energy, water, money, human capital, etc.—and
as a consequence helps to prepare, design and execute technical and administrative
solutions. As experienced in many of IfaS’ applied projects, the resources needed
to organise this change or shift can be retrieved within the system itself. Otherwise,
market or public/government programmes may provide the necessary resources. The
10 For example, 1 ton of organic material is equivalent to 100 m 3 of biogas with at least 50%
CH 4 content, which means approximately 50 L of oil. The fermented residues contain in addition
approximately 600 kgs of organic fertiliser.
P. Heck
a sustainable economic policy based on the local potential that promotes innovationdriven modernisation of developed and emerging economies alike.
The utility of BEVs is well understood, but planning, developing and implementing BEVs is a complex process. Starting with the MFM process, a substantial
amount of time and money is required to set up a BEV. Moreover, the required level
of human capital, which can create opportunities out of problems, is large. However,
the benefits of BEVs far outweigh the costs and complexities of implementation. Let
us illustrate this point taking a common issue in any community or village: solid
waste. Organic waste is a bothersome and expensive problem for communities in a
conventional waste management context. However, in material flow management,
organic waste is a vital resource and input for energy and fertiliser production.
10
Conventionally, this unused material flow is dealt with in compliance with environmental management and pollution prevention requirements. This siphons off scant
financial and labour resources without generating any added value. As depicted in
Fig. 14.3, The Throughput System, this would lead to a net loss of financial resources
and further perpetuate an unsustainable system. As opposed to the aforementioned
status quo system, should the principles of MFM and the CE be applied to this, the
waste stream would no longer exist, and instead a resource stream for energy and
fertiliser would be established. This, in turn, would create income, environmental
benefits and employment opportunities as well. Such applications are the building
blocks of BEVs.
This example can be transposed to most other socio-industrial metabolic systems
as well, such as food, transportation, land use, etc., and can cover resource streams
such as water, wastewater and energy. It is clear, therefore, that BEVs are sustainable
villages with regard to energy consumption, energy provision, and the participation
of local inhabitants in the energy management system. In the case of biomass use for
energy production, land use must be decoupled from the pressure on biodiversity,
soil erosion and nutrient oversupply. In this energy-climate era, it is necessary to
consider carbon and water storage in appropriate respective sinks/reservoirs to avoid
undesirable externalities. This is already happening in Germany.
An important question worth asking at this point is if it is possible to achieve
sustainable, decentralised community development. As mentioned earlier, it is a good
idea to perform a thorough systems analysis (usually an MFA) at the outset to determine the required level of human and financial capital. This helps clarify the reasons
for the poor allocation of resources—energy, water, money, human capital, etc.—and
as a consequence helps to prepare, design and execute technical and administrative
solutions. As experienced in many of IfaS’ applied projects, the resources needed
to organise this change or shift can be retrieved within the system itself. Otherwise,
market or public/government programmes may provide the necessary resources. The
10 For example, 1 ton of organic material is equivalent to 100 m 3 of biogas with at least 50%
CH 4 content, which means approximately 50 L of oil. The fermented residues contain in addition
approximately 600 kgs of organic fertiliser.