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Exploring circular and self-sufficient resource management of energy, water, and nutrients : the conditions for implementation and the outcomes

Year: 2026
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The future resource management of energy, water, and nutrients faces two potentially conflicting challenges: to contribute to reducing environmental impact from human activities and to increase resilience for provisioning of these vital resources, i.e., increasing security of supply. This thesis focuses on a circular and self-sufficient approach which, as motivated based on resilience and circularity principles, could potentially contribute to addressing these challenges. More specifically, it concerns the conditions for moving towards this approach in terms of local planning and management practices as well as the outcomes from implementing such technologies. To reflect the complex, multifaceted, and value-laden nature of this research problem, transdisciplinarity was used as an overarching mindset for the knowledge development with Knivsta municipality as a collaborator as well as case study. The thesis illustrates that a circular and self-sufficient approach is not a silver bullet to resolve both societal challenges at present and in similar settings. While previous research supports that this approach increases resilience of provisioning, the thesis research shows that there are substantial possibilities but that it is not sufficient to cover the whole demand at the present level of consumption, and implementation currently increases some types of environmental impact in places where the conventional approach is efficient and well-developed. Furthermore, the thesis highlights some critical challenges in terms of local planning to adopt a circular and self-sufficient approach. Some insights about the conditions for local change could be central to address for future resource management of energy, water, and nutrients regardless of whether specifically a circular and self-sufficient approach is seen as desirable, such as considering and being open to renegotiate underlying views as well as practices.
Language: English
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7134026743
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