Financing resource recovery and reuse in developing and emerging economies: enabling environment, financing sources and cost recovery

Abstract

Resource Recovery and Reuse (RRR) is a subprogram of the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE) dedicated to applied research on the safe recovery of water, nutrients and energy from domestic and agro-industrial waste streams. This subprogram aims to create impact through different lines of action research, including (i) developing and testing scalable RRR business models, (ii) assessing and mitigating risks from RRR for public health and the environment, (iii) supporting public and private entities with innovative approaches for the safe reuse of wastewater and organic waste, and (iv) improving rural-urban linkages and resource allocations while minimizing the negative urban footprint on the peri-urban environment. This subprogram works closely with the World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), United Nations University (UNU), and many national and international partners across the globe. The RRR series of documents present summaries and reviews of the subprogram's research and resulting application guidelines, targeting development experts and others in the research The authors Anita Lazurko holds a BSc in Civil Engineering from the

Gender dimensions of solid and liquid waste management for reuse in agriculture in Asia and Africa

“…(a) Access to finance A common bottleneck in most developing countries, not only for starting RRR businesses, is the lack of local capital markets that provide long-term financing for small-and middle-scale infrastructure projects (Lazurko et al 2018). There is a particular lack of options for project needs valued at USD 10,000 to USD 100,000, which are often too small for the corporate sector and too large for micro loans (Winpenny 2003).…”

“…There is a particular lack of options for project needs valued at USD 10,000 to USD 100,000, which are often too small for the corporate sector and too large for micro loans (Winpenny 2003). Access to diverse public and private funding sources for capital and operational costs is particularly critical for financing RRR as RRR solutions have unique characteristics that introduce challenges to financiers, including high up-front costs, a range of project scales, long payback periods, lack of track record, limited technology diffusion and challenges related to valuing non-economic benefits (Lazurko et al 2018). For larger projects, these returns on investment would come in the form of socioeconomic benefits from improved sanitation and health, which are fully internalized by governments and citizens, but very difficult for a private company to monetize (Muspratt 2016a).…”

Investment priorities for research and innovation in urban agri-food systems: Toward more resilient cities in the Global South

“…• The transformation into compost of food waste (not used as feedstock) for urban crop farmers, including locationspecific financial and institutional business models and a supportive regulatory and financial environment to exploit research-based quality improvements and increase the viability and scale of municipal compost use (Lazurko et al, 2018);…”