The objective of this thesis is to develop an ecological economic framework for the assessment and establishment of protected areas (PAs) that are aimed at conserving forests and biodiversity. The framework is intended to be both rigorous and relevant to the decision-making process. Constructivism is adopted as the paradigm guiding the research process of the thesis, after firstly examining also positivist philosophy and ???post-normal??? scientific methodology. The tenets of both ecological and environmental economics are then discussed. An expanded model of human behaviour, which includes facets derived from institutional economics and socioeconomics as well as aspects of neoclassical economics, is outlined. The framework is further developed by considering, from a contractarian view point, the implications of intergenerational equity for biodiversity conservation policies. The issues of intragenerational distribution and allocation are then considered. In this regard, cost-benefit analysis (CBA), as applied to the valuation of forests, PAs, and biodiversity, is critically reviewed. A participatory approach to decision-making, which may also include CBA, is then proposed. The resulting ecological economic framework may be thus summarised: (a) ecosystem use patterns should be chosen on the basis of their sustainability, distributional, and efficiency aspects; (b) systems of PAs should be established in order to achieve minimal intergenerational equity; (c) intragenerational equity requires the correction of the asymmetrical distribution of the costs and benefits arising from the establishment of PAs; (d) the institutional features relevant to the environmental-economic issues being analysed should be considered; and (e) the decision-making process should be participatory and action oriented. The framework is applied to two case studies in Vanuatu. These applications detail (a) stakeholders??? views and trade-offs faced in relation to forest management (b) modes of participatory research and decision-making, (c) forms of compensation that may be adopted in correcting asymmetrical distributions of the costs and benefits of PAs, and (d) institutional influences on ecosystems use and implications for conservation projects. The institutional arrangements developed for the establishment of the PAs are presented. The application of this ecological economic framework has resulted in the formal establishment of one PA and the identification and assessment of five other PAs.

The aims of this thesis were to evaluate caries-preventive measures from a societal perspective, to demonstrate the use of resources in preventive dentistry, to develop and discuss techniques suitable for evaluating dental care costs and outcomes, and to test costs and consequences within a health economic decision model adapted to preventive dental care. The thesis is based on three separate studies with three separate cohorts. In the first study, performed at a single dental clinic, analysis was made of data on dental caries progression over four years in 92 adolescents, along with the use of resources for preventive treatment. In the second study, data from the intervention study “Evaluation of caries-preventive measures” (performed between 1995 and 1999 at 26 dental health clinics throughout Sweden) were used for economic evaluation. Three different approaches to calculating unit cost were discussed, each of which reflect the differences in treatment costs as influenced by the practitioner’s level of skill and competence (salary) and by methods of handling overhead cost allocation. These methods seem useful for evaluating costs in cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) and cost-benefit analysis (CBA). The CEA showed an incremental cost-effectiveness over four years of SEK 2 043* per averted decayed (D) enamel (e) and dentine caries, missing (M) and filled (F) surface (S) (DeMFS). In the third study, 82 19-year-old individuals agreed to participate in a pilot exploratory case-control study. Individuals with high caries experience formed the test group while the control group consisted of individuals with no caries experience. To explore whether any differences existed between these two groups in perceived oral health-related quality of life (OHRQOL), two OHRQOL measures were used. Additionally, the willingness of these individuals to pay (WTP) for a preventive strategy was elicited using the contingent valuation method (CVM) within a cost-benefit approach. Using these WTP values, the cost-benefit analyses showed positive net social benefit (NSB) values for both study groups, meaning that the benefits of prevention exceeded the costs. A new outcome measure, Value of Statistical Oral Health (VOSOH), was also presented. Consideration was also made, within the economic framework fundamental to this thesis, of the trend away from a strictly bio-medical paradigm towards a biopsychosocial perspective. The health economic decision model encompasses a number of different techniques for comparing costs with consequences, each with its own advantages and disadvantages and each with its own field of application. These techniques should be seen as complementary rather than competing. Preventive dentistry plays a central role in Swedish dental health care, and it is important that resources are used properly. Accurate evaluation methods are necessary in order to improve the basis for public decision-making; the methods proposed in this thesis seem to be of potential use in this endeavour. *SEK8.54 = US$1 (December 1999).

Having been running for over 10 years, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is considered an innovative and successful mitigation initiative. CDM has the dual aims of helping industrialised countries achieve compliance with their emission limitation and reduction commitments in a cost-effective way, while simultaneously assisting developing countries in sustainable development. This thesis does a comprehensive analysis of the dual aims of CDM and is intended to assist in discussions about the post-2012 regime regarding CDM. To analyse the aim of assisting mitigation in a cost-effective way, the prices of certified emission reductions (CERs) on the international carbon market was studied and the provision of CDM was tested by comparing the amount of CERs with the mitigation commitments of the Annex I countries. It was found that CDM plays an important role in maintaining the international carbon price at a low level and that the total amount of CERs alone had already reached up to 52.70% of the entire mitigation commitments of industrialized countries by the end of 2010 and was continuing to grow before 2012. A theoretical analysis of the impacts of CDM showed that CDM has a double mitigation effect in both developing countries and industrialised countries, without double counting at present. A quantitative evaluation of the effects of China’s CDM projects on China’s total emissions showed that the contribution of CDM projects to limiting total emissions is small due to the dominance of fossil fuels, but CDM’s role in stimulating renewable energy is significant, e.g. about 11% of hydropower and 93% of wind power was generated by CDM projects in 2010. The results provide strong evidence in support of CDM’s contribution under the current Kyoto Protocol mitigation regime. To analyse the aim of promoting sustainable development in developing countries, popular methods such as checklist, Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) and Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) were reviewed, a CBA of co-benefits of China’s CDM projects was carried out, and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method was applied in an experimental study. The results showed that every method has its own advantages and problems. In other words, neither the CBA of co-benefits nor the AHP method alone is able to assess sustainable development in a completely satisfactory way. Currently, a bottom-up approach through engaging local stakeholders in CDM design and approval, combining a mandatory monitoring and evaluation of co-benefits, could be more effective for safeguarding local sustainable development than any consolidated standards. The future of the CDM is still unclear mainly due to uncertainties about the post-2012 regime. This thesis shows that there is more than sufficient reason for CDM to continue after 2012. Industrialised countries in general should make more substantial efforts to reduce their domestic emissions rather than blaming developing countries. For developing countries, learning from the CDM projects and further applying the knowledge, technology and experiences to their domestic development agenda could be more valuable than the present CER revenues. CDM can be an important starting point for developing countries to gradually make incremental greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction and limitation efforts. / QC 20110817

The objective of this thesis is to develop an ecological economic framework for the assessment and establishment of protected areas (PAs) that are aimed at conserving forests and biodiversity. The framework is intended to be both rigorous and relevant to the decision-making process. Constructivism is adopted as the paradigm guiding the research process of the thesis, after firstly examining also positivist philosophy and ???post-normal??? scientific methodology. The tenets of both ecological and environmental economics are then discussed. An expanded model of human behaviour, which includes facets derived from institutional economics and socioeconomics as well as aspects of neoclassical economics, is outlined. The framework is further developed by considering, from a contractarian view point, the implications of intergenerational equity for biodiversity conservation policies. The issues of intragenerational distribution and allocation are then considered. In this regard, cost-benefit analysis (CBA), as applied to the valuation of forests, PAs, and biodiversity, is critically reviewed. A participatory approach to decision-making, which may also include CBA, is then proposed. The resulting ecological economic framework may be thus summarised: (a) ecosystem use patterns should be chosen on the basis of their sustainability, distributional, and efficiency aspects; (b) systems of PAs should be established in order to achieve minimal intergenerational equity; (c) intragenerational equity requires the correction of the asymmetrical distribution of the costs and benefits arising from the establishment of PAs; (d) the institutional features relevant to the environmental-economic issues being analysed should be considered; and (e) the decision-making process should be participatory and action oriented. The framework is applied to two case studies in Vanuatu. These applications detail (a) stakeholders??? views and trade-offs faced in relation to forest management (b) modes of participatory research and decision-making, (c) forms of compensation that may be adopted in correcting asymmetrical distributions of the costs and benefits of PAs, and (d) institutional influences on ecosystems use and implications for conservation projects. The institutional arrangements developed for the establishment of the PAs are presented. The application of this ecological economic framework has resulted in the formal establishment of one PA and the identification and assessment of five other PAs.

Weserdomen 2015 resulterade i en strängare tolkning av EU:s ramdirektiv för vatten vilket bland annat innefattade att inga exploateringar får tillåtas om dessa medför att minst en kvalitetsfaktor i vattnet får en sämre statusklass, oavsett hur övriga kvalitetsfaktorer påverkas. Den strängare tolkningen, i kombination med en ökad urbaniseringsgrad, ställer högre krav på samhällets hantering av spill- och dagvatten. Ett vanligt sätt att säkerställa ovanstående krav är att tillämpa olika lösningar för lokalt omhändertagande av dagvatten (LOD). Syftet med dessa lösningar är att hantera dagvattnet så nära uppkomstkällan som möjligt. I vissa fall kan det dock tänkas att det finns mer effektiva åtgärder för att säkerställa god vattenstatus.   En åtgärd som syftar till att kompensera för frånvarandet av en annan åtgärd kallas för kompensationsåtgärd. I det här examensarbetet har fallet med att spåra och åtgärda felkopplingar i ledningsnätet (spillvatten kopplat på dagvattennätet) undersökts som kompensationsåtgärd för LOD. Den specifika LOD-lösning som använts i arbetet har varit dagvattendammar. Examensarbetet har utrett rådande lagstiftning vad gäller kompensationsåtgärder samt gjort en fallstudie för Bällstaån med en kostnads-nyttoanalys där åtgärdandet av felkopplingar jämförts med anläggandet av dagvattendammar.   Resultatet av undersökningarna visade att kompensationsåtgärder idag är ett begrepp som kan tolkas olika, där det även i domstolen genom åren har tolkats olika. Nuvarande praxis är dock att en kompensationsåtgärd inte kan åberopas för att tillåta en exploatering som annars hade funnit avslag. Att kunna nyttja åtgärdandet av felkopplingar som kompensationsåtgärd för LOD är således, med dagens regelverk, väldigt osannolikt.   Fallstudien visade att åtgärdandet av felkopplingar, med avseende på vattenkvalitet är en betydligt mer kostnads-nyttoeffektiv åtgärd i jämförelse med anläggandet av dagvattendammar. Bristen på studier och utredningar på felkopplingar av denna typ är, mot bakgrund av fallstudien, förmodligen en indikator på att mer resurser bör läggas inom detta område. / In 2015 the Weser Case resulted in a more stringent interpretation of the EU Water Framework Directive. For instance, the ruling stated that no projects should be given permission if even as little as one quality factor ends up with a lower status, regardless of how the other quality factors are affected. The stricter interpretation, combined with an increasing grade of urbanization, places higher demands on society’s management of wastewater and stormwater. One common way of ensuring the above requirements is to apply different solutions of best management practices for stormwater (BMP). The purpose of these solutions is to process the water as close to the source of origin as possible. However, in some cases it may be that there are more effective measures to ensure good water quality.   A measure taken with the purpose of compensating for the absence of a different action is called a compensatory measure. In this thesis, the case of fixing incorrect connection of sewage pipes (where wastewater pipes have been incorrectly connected to stormwater pipes) was investigated as a compensatory measure for stormwater ponds (a common BMP). The prevailing legislation regarding compensatory measures was analysed and a case study has been conducted for Bällstaån. The case study included a cost-benefit analysis where the fixing of incorrectly-connected sewage pipes was compared with the implementation of stormwater ponds.   The investigation regarding the legislative aspect showed that compensatory measures are a concept that can be interpreted somewhat differently. This has also been the case in the court over the years. However, current practice shows that a compensatory measure cannot be invoked to allow a project that otherwise would have been refused. Being able to use the fixing of incorrect connections as a compensation for BMP is thus, with today’s regulation, very unlikely.   The case study showed that fixing incorrect connections in sewage pipes is, with regard to water quality, a far more cost-beneficial measure compared to the construction of stormwater ponds. Furthermore, the lack of studies regarding this kind of incorrect connections is, in the light of the results from the case study, probably an indication that this is a problem that fairly few people work with and where more resources could be a good investment for future water quality.

Att sträva mot en hållbar utveckling, inom alla dess aspekter, är i dagsläget högst aktuellt. Särskilt då medvetenheten ökat kring de negativa effekter som exempelvis utsläpp, föroreningar och buller ger upphov till. Dessa effekter finns alla närvarande när man utvecklar en av samhällets allra mest vitala funktioner, nämligen transportinfrastruktur. Transportsystemen är, och har länge varit, ohållbara då bilar och andra motorfordon, som har stor miljöpåverkan, har prioriterats. För att minska utsläppen från transporter har Europeiska kommissionen uttryckt att andra typer av transportmedel, som kollektivtrafik, gång och cykling, bör ges högre prioritet. Flera stora städer i Europa har infört cykelvisioner och planer för att förbättra möjligheterna för att just cykla. Stockholm är en av dessa städer och en handfull projekt har därför införts för att rusta upp stadens cykelnät. Trots dessa cykelsatsningar görs dock få hållbarhetsanalyser av cykelinfrastrukturprojekt, vilket kan vara problematiskt då beslutsfattare ofta saknar adekvat underlag för att motivera investeringar. Arbetet har undersökt den sociala, ekonomiska och ekologiska hållbarheten hos ett cykelinfrastrukturprojekt genom att jämföra projektets investeringskostnad mot dess samhällsvinster via kostnads- och nyttoanalys (CBA). Projektet som har undersökts innefattar en byggnation av en 400 m lång gång- och cykelbana längs Skärholmsvägen i sydvästra Stockholm. Tidigare har vägen kantats av cykelfält på vardera sida och ingen gångväg har funnits längs sträckan. Projektet väntas vara klart under 2015 och beräknas kosta 4,16-5 miljoner kronor. Vid CBA utreds inledningsvis vilka effekter, som projektet ger upphov till, som ska beaktas i analysen. I detta arbete har hälsovinst, tidsvinst, bekvämlighetsvinst, olycksriskskillnad och miljövinst analyserats. Efter att effekterna kvantifierats omvandlas dessa kvantiteter till monetära termer för att kunna jämföras med projektets budget. Värdet för hälsovinster ges av minskad dödsrisk och värdet av ett statistiskt liv (VSL), tidsvinsten fås av ökad medelhastighet, bekvämlighetsvinsten beräknas genom att cyklisterna separeras från biltrafik, olycksriskskillnaden ges av förändringar i cyklisternas trafiksituation och miljövinsten fås av den andel nytillkomna cyklister som tidigare pendlade via bil. Projektet kommer, enligt utförda beräkningar, resultera i en samhällsnytta på mellan 1,05 miljoner kronor och 2,88 miljoner kronor beroende på mängden genomförda antaganden. Den effekt som bidrog mest till denna nytta är hälsoeffekter med ett bidrag på mellan 919 000 kr och 2,76 miljoner kr. Den effekt som bidrog med minst nytta är miljövinst med ett bidrag på mellan 168 kr och 630 kr. Nyttan kan sedan jämföras med projektets budget vilken förmodas minst uppgå till 4.16 miljoner kronor. Den planerade kostnaden för projektet uppgår dock till 5 miljoner kronor. Projektet kommer alltså slutligen ge upphov till en samhällskostnad på mellan 1,28 miljoner kr och 3,95 miljoner kr enligt genomförda beräkningar. Projektet kan möjligtvis anses vara samhällsekonomiskt gångbart om den procentuella bredden av gångbanan även motsvarar dess procentuella kostnad. Sedan miljöeffekten för projektet blev försumbar jämfört med övriga effekter kan ytterligare analysverktyg dock behövas för att vidare bedöma projektets miljöpåverkan. Detta är en indikation på att CBA är ett ofullständigt analysverktyg för att bedöma hållbarhet vad gäller cykelinfrastrukturprojekt. / Striving towards sustainable development, in all of its aspects, is currently exceedingly relevant. Particularly since the awareness of the negative side effects caused by emissions, pollution and noise have increased. These effects are all present while developing one of society’s most vital functions, namely transport infrastructure. The transport system is, and has long been, unsustainable as cars and other motor vehicles, having a large environmental impact, have been prioritized. To reduce transport emissions the European Commission has stated that other modes of transportation, such as commuting, walking and cycling, should be given higher priority. Several major European cities have implemented visions and plans to improve the possibility to bicycle. Stockholm is one of these cities and a handful of projects have thus been implemented to renovate the city’s cycling network. Despite these bicycle investments few sustainability analyses are made for bicycle infrastructure projects, which can be problematic since decision makers often lack proper support to justify investments. This work has examined the social, economic and ecological sustainability of a bicycle infrastructure project by comparing the investment costs of the project against its social benefits in a cost-benefit analysis (CBA). These benefits include health, time, comfort, accident risk and environment, which have been calculated through a cost benefit analysis (CBA). The examined project consists of a roughly 440 yard path for pedestrians and bicyclists located along Skärholmsvägen, southwest of the Stockholm city centre. Previously the road was lined with two bicycle fields on either side of the road with no path for pedestrians existing prior to the renovation. The project is planned to end during 2015 and the estimated cost amounts to 4,16-5 million SEK. In a CBA the effects which the project generates are initially investigated to assess which of the effects to consider in the analysis. In this work, health benefits, time benefits, comfort benefits, traffic accidents and environmental benefits have been analyzed. After the effects have been quantified these quantities are converted into monetary values to enable a comparison between the effects and the budget of the project. The value for health benefit is determined through decreased mortality risk and the value of a statistical life (VSL), the time benefit is calculated through an increased average velocity, the comfort benefit is determined through separating cyclists from car traffic, accident risk is estimated through the change in the bicyclists traffic conditions and the environmental benefit is calculated through the share of new cyclists who previously commuted by car. The project will, according to performed calculations, result in a societal benefit of in between 1.05 million SEK and 2.88 million SEK depending on the amount of performed assumptions. The effect which contributed the most to this benefit is the health benefit with a contribution of in between 919,000 SEK and 2.76 million SEK. The effect which contributed the least to the societal benefit is the environmental benefit with a contribution of in between 168 SEK and 630 SEK. The benefit can then be compared with the budget of the project which is estimated to amount to at least 4.16 million SEK. However the planned cost for the project amounts to 5 million SEK. The project will thus eventually yield a societal cost of in between 1.28 million SEK and 3.95 million SEK according to the calculations performed. The project can possibly be considered sustainable if the percentage of the width of the path corresponds to the percentage of its cost. Since the environmental effect could be neglected in this project compared to the other effects additional tools would thus be required to assess the environmental aspects of the project. This is an indication of CBA being an incomplete analysis tool to assess sustainability.

The subject of the diploma thesis is to acquaint the reader with the issue of a public investment project and then apply the information found to the case study in the form of a financial and economic evaluation of the selected investment plan. The evaluated investment project is the reconstruction of a cinema in the village of Hustopeče in the South Moravian Region, while the identified outputs were achieved using the cost method of cost-benefit analysis using the eCBA application. Part of the evaluation also includes a risk analysis in the form of a sensitivity and qualitative analysis.

Ghana as a rapidly growing and urbanizing middle-income country is facing a number of challenges, including (1) implementing a sanitary, environmental-friendly, and economically-sound waste management system; (2) increasing its agricultural productivity in a sustainable way to meet the growing domestic food demand; and (3) providing livelihood opportunities in both rural and urban areas. Using the black soldier fly (BSF), a particularly beneficial insect, to locally and cost-effectively valorise abundant, high-impacting, and nutrient rich organic waste streams, such as food waste (FW) and faecal sludge (FS), into affordable and sustainable farming inputs like organic fertilizer and animal feed products, could tackle all these challenges at the same time. Therefore, this study aimed at (1) providing a comprehensive overview of BSF technology; (2) investigating the technical feasibility of valorising food waste and faecal sludge using a low-tech BSF bioconversion system; and (3) assessing the economic viability of such system in the Ghanaian context. First, through an extensive literature review and field visits of BSF units, the different dimensions of the BSF technology were discussed, BSF waste treatment method was compared to other options for organic waste valorisation, case studies of implementation were documented, the status of the research was highlighted, and research gaps were identified. In a second step, a 10-week field work consisting of establishing a BSF colony and recording rearing performance in the one hand, and running two waste treatment trials using a low-tech BSF system on the other hand, enabled demonstrating the technical feasibility of co-digesting FW and FS with the BSF, as well as artificially rearing the BSF in Ghana using a low-tech system. However, further research is needed to characterize the bioconversion products, determine the optimal FW/FS ratio, and optimize the rearing performance of the system. Finally, a costbenefit analysis was conducted to compare three scenarios: (1) co-composting FW and FS into fertilizer; (2) co-digesting FW and FS with BSF into only animal feed; and (3) co-digesting FW and FS with BSF into both animal feed and fertilizer. By building financial models for each scenario and performing a sensitivity analysis, it was established that, in the Ghanaian context, scenario (3) was the most likely to be viable, as well as the most profitable, followed by scenario (1).  On the other hand, scenario (2) was associated with a much lower likelihood to be viable. Eventually, the choice of the optimal valorisation option for FW and FS should consider the local context and priorities. / Ghana, ett snabbväxande medelinkomstland med kraftig urbanisering, står inför ett antal utmaningar, bland annat att (1) införa ett sanitärt, miljövänligt och ekonomiskt avfallshanteringssystem; (2) öka sin jordbruksproduktivitet för att möta den växande inhemska efterfrågan på livsmedel på ett hållbart sätt, och (3) erbjuda möjligheter till försörjning både på landsbygden och i städerna. Genom att använda den svarta soldatflugan (SSF), en särskilt fördelaktig insekt, för att lokalt omvandla rikligt förekommande och näringsrika organiska avfallsströmmar, såsom matavfall (MA) och fekalslam (FS) till prisvärda och hållbara jordbruksinsatsvaror, såsom organiskt gödselmedel och djurfoder, skulle man på ett kostnadseffektivt sätt kunna ta itu med alla dessa utmaningar samtidigt. Därför syftade denna studie till (1) att ge en övergripande översikt över SSF-teknik; (2) undersöka den tekniska möjligheten att skapa värdefulla produkter av matavfall och fekalslam med hjälp av ett biotekniskt system med lågteknologisk SSF i Ghana; och (3) bedöma det ekonomiska systemets bärkraft. Först, baserat på en omfattande litteraturstudie och fältbesök, diskuterades SSF-teknikens olika dimensioner, jämfördes SSF-avfallshanteringsmetoden med andra alternativ för organiska avfallsvalorisationer, dokumenterades fallstudier, redovisades forskningsläget och identifierades kunskapsluckor. I ett andra steg genomfördes ett 10 veckors fältarbete som bestod dels av att etablera en SSF-koloni och dokumentera uppfödningsprestanda, dels att göra två avfallsbehandlingsförsök med hjälp av ett SSF-system med lågteknologi. Därigenom visades att det är tekniskt möjligt att sambehandla MA och FS med SSF, liksom att föda upp SSF i Ghana med hjälp av ett lågteknologiskt system. Det behövs dock ytterligare forskning för att karakterisera slutprodukterna, bestämma det optimala MA/FS-förhållandet och optimera systemets uppfödningsprestanda. Slutligen genomfördes en kostnadsnyttoanalys för att jämföra tre scenarier: (1) kompostering av MA och FS till gödselmedel; (2) sambehandling av MA och FS med SSF till endast djurfoder; och (3) sambehandling av MA och FS med SSF till både djurfoder och gödningsmedel. Genom att bygga modeller för varje scenario och genomföra en känslighetsanalys fastställdes att för Ghana var scenario (3) mest sannolikt livskraftigt, liksom det mest lönsamma, följt av scenario (1). Scenario (2) förknippat med en mycket lägre sannolikhet att vara genomförbart. Till sist bör valet av det optimala behandlingsalternativet för MA och FS ta hänsyn till lokala förhållanden. / Le Ghana, pays en voie de développement connaissant une forte croissance et urbanisation, est confronté à un certain nombre de défis, parmi lesquels (1) la mise en place d’un système de gestion des déchets performant du point de vue sanitaire, environnemental, et économique ; (2) l’augmentation durable de sa productivité agricole afin de répondre à la demande alimentaire croissante dans le pays ; et (3) la création d’opportunités économiques pour ses populations rurales et urbaines. Utiliser la mouche soldat noire (MSN), un insecte particulièrement bénéfique, pour valoriser localement et à moindre coût des déchets organiques abondants, riches en nutriments, et responsables d’importants dommages sanitaires et environnementaux, tels que les déchets alimentaires (DA) et boues de vidange (BV), en intrants agricoles écologiques et bon marché, comme des produits alimentaires pour animaux ou de l’engrais organique, contribuerait à relever tous ces défis à la fois. Ainsi, cette étude visait à (1) réaliser un état de l’art de la technologie liée à la MSN ; (2) étudier la faisabilité technique de valoriser les DA et BV à l’aide d’un system à faible technologie reposant sur la MSN ; (2) analyser la viabilité économique d’un tel system dans le contexte Ghanéen.  Dans un premier temps, un examen approfondi de la littérature scientifique et des visites d’unités de recyclage utilisant la MSN ont permis d’analyser les différentes dimensions de cette technologie, de la comparer à d’autres options de valorisation pour les déchets organiques, de présenter des études de cas, de donner un aperçu de l’état actuel de la recherche, ainsi que de d’identifier les principales lacunes et besoins en matière de recherche. Dans un second temps, dans le cadre d’une étude de terrain réalisée sur une période de dix semaines, un système d’élevage en captivité de MSN a été mis en place et son efficacité analysée, tandis qu’en parallèle deux séries d’expériences de traitement des déchets ont été réalisées. Ces différentes activités ont permis de démontrer que le co-traitement des DA et BA, ainsi que l’élevage en captivité de la MSN à l’aide d’un system low-tech est techniquement réalisable dans le contexte Ghanéen. Toutefois, des recherches supplémentaires sont nécessaires afin d’analyses les propriétés des produits de valorisation, d’établir le ratio DA/BV optimal, et d’optimiser les performances d’élevage. Enfin, une analyse coûts-bénéfices a été réalisée afin de comparer trois scenarios : (1) co-compostage des DA et BV afin de produire de l’engrais ; (2) co-traitement des DA et BV à l’aide de la MSN débouchant sur la production d’aliments pour animaux ; et (3) co-traitement des DA et BV à l’aide de la MSN pour produire à la fois des aliments pour animaux et de l’engrais. La construction de modèles financiers et la réalisation d’une analyse de sensibilité ont permis de démontrer que dans le contexte Ghanéen, le scenario (3) présentait la plus grande probabilité d’être viable et était le plus rentable, suivi par le scenario (1). En revanche, la probabilité que le scenario (2) soit viable s’est révélée beaucoup plus faible. Ultimement, la sélection de la meilleure méthode de valorisation devrait tenir compte du contexte et des priorités locaux.

<p>This dissertation focuses on the creation of a paradigm shift in building innovation. Challenges in achieving building energy-efficiency at scale highlight the complexity of the building performance problem, which is embedded with social, cultural, physical, environmental, and economic factors. Traditional approaches to building design have difficulty accounting for these multi-faceted variables and related longitudinal barriers and intangible impacts. Firstly, key stakeholders and their economic constraints change throughout time, and this variability is not traditionally considered upfront or addressed throughout a building’s operation. Secondly, buildings have social, cultural, environmental and economic implications that are difficult to quantify and evaluate against strictly functional design objectives. Therefore, current deeply technical and often system-specific building design strategies could benefit from whole-building solutions that account for this complexity and enable a paradigm shift in design toward human-centered outcomes (i.e., well-being, health, financial sustainability) and effective (i.e., equitable and sustainable) buildings. </p> <p>To drive this shift, an impact-based innovation framework was employed to pursue system-level and ecosystem-level strategies to optimize longitudinal building value assessment and distribution. First, a grounded theory study was pursued which identified gaps in current design practice that miss underlying building subsystem interactions which influence building performance. A system-level taxonomy of the building was then defined, linking identified sub-system synergies to functional, emotional and social building benefits for inhabitants. Then, an exploratory mixed-methods study was pursued, yielding a longitudinal building value framework that helps characterize key stakeholders, building design choices, and shared efficacy metrics. Building on these inputs, a multi-stakeholder, longitudinal building value assessment model was developed. The model was tested on two residential building development scenarios, highlighting its ability to capture the true impact of buildings on affected stakeholders over time in terms of tangible and intangible building costs and benefits. Finally, business model innovation concepts were employed to identify specific changes in stakeholder value delivery and capture strategies that could redistribute building costs and benefits over time, and thereby facilitate a shift in the paradigm of design and value capture in the residential building industry. </p>