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From Indicators to Policies: Open Sustainability Assessment in the Water and Sanitation Sector

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  • Martín Alejandro Iribarnegaray

    (Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía No Convencional (INENCO), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Salta (UNSa), Avenida Bolivia 5150, A4408FVY Salta, Argentina)

  • María Laura Gatto D’Andrea

    (Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía No Convencional (INENCO), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Salta (UNSa), Avenida Bolivia 5150, A4408FVY Salta, Argentina)

  • María Soledad Rodriguez-Alvarez

    (Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía No Convencional (INENCO), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Salta (UNSa), Avenida Bolivia 5150, A4408FVY Salta, Argentina)

  • María Eugenia Hernández

    (Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía No Convencional (INENCO), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Salta (UNSa), Avenida Bolivia 5150, A4408FVY Salta, Argentina)

  • Christian Brannstrom

    (Department of Geography, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA)

  • Lucas Seghezzo

    (Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía No Convencional (INENCO), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Salta (UNSa), Avenida Bolivia 5150, A4408FVY Salta, Argentina)

Abstract

A water and sanitation sustainability index (WASSI) was developed and estimated in four cities of the province of Salta, in northern Argentina. The index was built with nine descriptors and fifteen indicators that covered all essential aspects of the sustainability of local water and sanitation management systems. Only one of the cities studied obtained a sustainability value above the acceptability threshold adopted (50 of 100 points). Results indicate that the water company needs to address some environmental and social issues to enhance the sustainability of the systems studied. The WASSI was conceptually robust and operationally simple, and could be easily adapted to the case studies. The index can be followed and updated online on a web site specially developed for this project. This website could be useful to promote participatory processes, assist decision makers, and facilitate academic research. According to local stakeholders, a more open sustainability assessment based on sustainability indices and supported by virtual tools would be relevant and highly feasible. It would help decision makers improve the sustainability and transparency of water and sanitation management systems, and promote more sustainable water policies in the region and beyond.

Suggested Citation

  • Martín Alejandro Iribarnegaray & María Laura Gatto D’Andrea & María Soledad Rodriguez-Alvarez & María Eugenia Hernández & Christian Brannstrom & Lucas Seghezzo, 2015. "From Indicators to Policies: Open Sustainability Assessment in the Water and Sanitation Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(11), pages 1-21, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:7:y:2015:i:11:p:14537-14557:d:58025
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    2. Vanesa García-Searcy & Mariana Villada-Canela & María Concepción Arredondo-García & Marisol Anglés-Hernández & María Candelaria Pelayo-Torres & Luis Walter Daesslé, 2022. "Sanitation in Mexico: An Overview of Its Realization as a Human Right," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-38, February.
    3. Xue, Jingyan & Liu, Gengyuan & Casazza, Marco & Ulgiati, Sergio, 2018. "Development of an urban FEW nexus online analyzer to support urban circular economy strategy planning," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 475-495.
    4. Kelsey Shaw & Christopher Kennedy & Caetano C. Dorea, 2021. "Non-Sewered Sanitation Systems’ Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Balancing Sustainable Development Goal Tradeoffs to End Open Defecation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-16, October.
    5. Elyfas Allyjackson Morais Rodrigues & Artur Paiva Coutinho & Júlia Daniele Silva de Souza & Ialy Rayane de Aguiar Costa & Severino Martins dos Santos Neto & Antonio Celso Dantas Antonino, 2022. "Rural Sanitation: Scenarios and Public Policies for the Brazilian Semi-Arid Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-18, June.
    6. Badir S. Alsaeed & Dexter V. L. Hunt & Soroosh Sharifi, 2022. "Sustainable Water Resources Management Assessment Frameworks (SWRM-AF) for Arid and Semi-Arid Regions: A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-31, November.
    7. Anitha Vidhyadharan, 2023. "Disparities in Drinking Water and Sanitation in the Urban Slums of Kerala, India," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-19, May.
    8. Richard Filčák & Daniel Škobla, 2021. "Sanitation Infrastructure at the Systemic Edge: Segregated Roma Settlements and Multiple Health Risks in Slovakia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-11, June.
    9. Yang, Qing & Liu, Gengyuan & Casazza, Marco & Campbell, Elliot T. & Giannetti, Biagio F. & Brown, Mark T., 2018. "Development of a new framework for non-monetary accounting on ecosystem services valuation," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 34(PA), pages 37-54.
    10. Michaela F. Prescott & Meredith F. Dobbie & Diego Ramirez-Lovering, 2021. "Green Infrastructure for Sanitation in Settlements in the Global South: A Narrative Review of Socio-Technical Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-21, February.

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