Abstract Summary
A Circular Water Economy is a system’s concept and therefore goes far beyond recycling loops and innovative technologies. It must be an integrated, interdisciplinary approach that rethinks how we effectively manage water and its associated resources. This work builds on the contributions of over 50 authors to identify, review and provide foresight into the various principles and factors that will enable a Circular Water Economy. The result of this ongoing collaboration will be published as a book entitled Circular Water Economy: principles, enabling factors and case-studies. In this talk, we aim to propose a model with our collective vision for Circular Water Economy. It draws on existing models for circularity, together with bibliometric analyses and the collective authors’ expertise and experiences during the writing of this book. It identifies and clarifies the role of each of the 6 enabling factors identified, which include: innovative technologies, digitalisation, innovation ecosystems, policy and regulatory frameworks, social capital and decision making. In addition, we will also discuss the experience and associated challenges of having these interdisciplinary and intersectorial discussions during the book writing process, hoping to draw conclusions that can be useful for making this concept a reality.
