WISIONS of sustainability

	New Topic	Application	Background	Objectives	Criteria	Topics

New PREP Brochure: "Water for Energy and Energy for Water"

There is at the time no new PREP topic.

ADEID

PREP topic: Water for Energy and Energy for Water

In 2004, WISIONS presented good practice examples on water and energy in its second brochure “Water and Energy – Precious Resources”. Three years on, the topic is as important as it was then. For example, the current UN “Water for Life” Decade 2005-2015 stresses the importance of taking immediate action on water-related issues dealing with health, biodiversity, environment, agriculture and energy, as well as gender and the fulfilment of the Millennium Development Goals.

The urgency becomes clear when bearing in mind that, at present, 1.1 billion people in developing countries have no access to save drinking water. Furthermore, 2.6 billion people lack access to basic sanitation. Around 70% of consumed surface or ground water is used for agricultural purposes. Moreover, withdrawals for land irrigation are estimated to grow by 14% from 2000 to 2030. Additionally, the agricultural sector is facing competition from other sectors that are also increasing their demand for water, forcing agriculture to improve irrigation efficiency, to decrease pollution and to use recycled water.

Above all there is the connection between water and energy. Water, on the one hand, is a driving agent for renewable energy with great potential to improve the energy supply for people who lack reliable access to electricity or use inefficient energy sources. On the other hand, renewable energy can be a promising solution for the provision of drinking and/or usable water.

Small hydropower plants are a reliable supplier of electricity generation, especially for rural populations without access to grid electricity. Furthermore, in comparison to their larger counterparts, these plants are both environmentally and socially sound and can lead to independence from other energy providers. More recent attempts to use water for energy generation are evident in the establishment of wave and tidal power plants. The kinetic and potential energy of the waves, derived from the wave’s orbital movements and head difference between crest and trough, are converted into electrical energy.

Providing water of an optimal quality usually requires energy, for example groundwater pumping, desalination or irrigation. These activities are especially challenging in remote regions lacking access to conventional energy systems. In such circumstances, renewable energy, especially solar energy, can be a good alternative as it is a decentralised source of energy. However, regions with grid access can also take advantage of the use of renewable energy for the different kinds of water provision. For example, desalination of water is often needed in areas with high solar radiation and using the sun as a source for energy is a reliable solution which benefits the environment as well as the economic situation.

In this context, WISIONS would like to renew its call for good practice examples on water and energy that help to fulfil the commitments and, to that end, invites the submission of examples of good practice.

Fields of Interest include:

·	projects concerned with socially and ecologically sound small hydropower
·	projects focussing on wave or tidal power
·	projects that reduce water poverty by e.g. desalination of salted or brackish water with the help of renewable energy
·	projects that support water treatment systems running with renewable energy to improve sanitation and the reuse of water
·	projects that address the use of renewable energy for water pumping and resource efficient irrigation systems

This background text for the PREP Topic "Water for Energy and Energy for Water" can be downloaded here.

Main Criteria for Application

With its upcoming brochure, WISIONS aims to focus on the benefits of a combined energy and water approach and to collect world-wide successful project approaches that have already been implemented and promote them further. The fields of interest should be considered, though other related and sustainable alternatives are not excluded.

The outline of the “good practice project” should be such that a quick evaluation of the project quality and the core project details, as well as its replicability in projects of other regions, can be applied.

Using a key number of internationally accepted criteria, WISIONS will assess all projects being applied for promotion. The main consideration will be their successful implementation, energy and resource efficiency but also social aspects like the inclusion of local population is of relevance. The assessment of the project will include consideration of regional factors. This implies different needs and possibilities.

All projects sent in will be independently reviewed, and up to five with the potential to have the greatest impact on global resource efficiency will be published and receive a grant of 500 Euros.

Sharing Knowledge for Developing Appropriate Solutions

As many different technological / organisational options exist, the demands vary region wise and also differ with culture.

Consequently, the options which fit best to the local demands need to be identified and implemented target-driven and effectively. This can be facilitated by sharing knowledge of successful options of good practice in different parts of the world and foster their locally adapted implementation.

Background to PREP
Why promote resource efficiency?

Sustainable development depends on the efficient use of resources, and specifically on the widespread use of clean, renewable energy. Present use of energy shapes climate change, many aspects of human health and causes the depletion of ecologies world-wide. As the global population rises and more countries see the advantages of economic growth, these challenges will increase. There has never been a greater need for a practical guide to efficient use of resources.

Resource productivity strategies and policies have resulted in environmental gains that translate into fewer resources used per unit of product or service, contributing to a factor 4/10 resource efficiency goal. It is clear that decrease in unit resource use can easily be neutralised, if the global amount of resource use rises. In this way, the problem of preventing depletion in the natural capital needs to be viewed from a different perspective. Here efforts have to be directed at achieving the highest possible wealth with the lowest possible input of resources.

However, significant improvements and innovations representing tremendous opportunities have been achieved in the last decades.

PREP seeks to overcome potential barriers by promoting projects where resources, and especially renewable energies, have been used to provide an economically, socially and environmentally sound future.

Objectives

PREP objectives

PREP has the key objectives of publishing and promoting good practice in resource efficiency. It is probable that a successful project in one part of the globe can lead to new ideas and improved ways of developing and implementing similar projects in other areas of the world.
PREP focuses on one important topic in resource efficiency over a selected number of months. All good practice projects are reviewed independently and up to 5 of each topic will be published in brochures. Additionally, these chosen projects will receive a grant of 500 Euros. This amount should be used to foster and support the projects or, if not necessary, can be donated alternatively.

By doing this, successful projects will get the publicity they deserve and also provide useful ideas for people in other countries to improve the efficient and sufficient use of resources

PREP Main Activities

·	Regular online and brochure publications of up to 5 good practice projects plus a grant of 500 Euros for each selected project
·	Promotion of other additional good practice examples to a wide audience through WISIONS access to decision-makers, scientists and market influencers

Benefits of using PREP

·	Successful good practice projects are being published in PREP brochures
·	The chosen projects will be supported additionally by a small grant
·	PREP brochures will be promoted to relevant stakeholders from government to economy and science
·	All successful projects are promoted on WISIONS homepage
·	Network building by using WISIONS´ as well as participants´ contacts

Practical proof that sustainable development works - presented in a format that helps replicate success

Criteria

Criteria for being published by PREP

Through the PREP project, WISIONS will publish successful good practice projects in the use of resource efficiency world-wide.

Any body, company, or organisation is eligible to submit successful project summaries. All types of successful good practice, in any forms of energy and resource efficiency or sufficiency will be considered. Those that demonstrate how to use or harness resources in practical and cost-effective ways will be selected for presentation.

PREP has a set of criteria used in selecting projects with strategically relevant examples of good practice.
The following are the main 5 criteria for being accepted for publication

·	Project success

To be considered, any project must already be implemented and the benefits of the project must be clear and recognisable.
The project must also be relevant to the current focus of the resource efficiency topic which changes regularly.

·	The replicability of the good practice for other related projects

The project should be such that its good practice example(s) can be put to effective use in other forms of projects in other regions of the world. This means, factors such as the basic conditions of the project, including national characteristics, the types and numbers of project participants, the levels of investment costs, etc. are considered.

·	Economic and technical viability

Important for the positive evaluation of the good practice project is further an efficient use of the financial resources and the invested time. Suitable data to confirm the explanation is welcome.

·	Innovation in solving market, technological or other challenges

The objectives of the project must have been achieved and realised using either innovative or very effective good practice procedures. All additional relevant data to support and confirm your good practice project details is welcome.

·	Durability and sustainability

Regarding the overriding objective, a financial as well as a technological projects' durability is of importance. Effective dematerialization strategies, as well as increased resource productivity of products and services will be taken into account. It should be clear whether the project leads to actual reductions by substitution or diminution of resources or to potential reductions. Furthermore, the project should not have any serious ecological side effects within other ranges.

Additional Criteria

As the goal of sustainable development requires an integrated approach, some additional criteria are also applicable:

·	Social aspects such as gender issues and poverty reduction

If the project addresses the life of women where they are disadvantaged or burdened because of their sex, the project may be considered to have added value.

WISIONS understands poverty in an integrated not merely economic way that focuses on serving the basic needs of the poor (such as providing or improving water supply, cooking facilities, etc.).

Therefore, if the project has made a proven positive contribution to poverty reduction, this might be an additional argument in favour of the project.

·	Inclusion of local population/structures

The inclusion of the local population and structures in your project could help address essential problems and thus improve the practical relevance of the project. Additionally, capacity-building may also be considered of good value.

·	Employment potential

Employment potential generated through a possible extension of the project may create economic impetus and thus help integrate ecological and economic objectives which are crucial for fostering sustainable development. Securing existing jobs or the creation of new production capacity may also be seen as an additional positive effect of the project.