Technologies, innovation and circularity
Technological advances are key to overcoming some of today’s pollution challenges, both when it comes to creating non-polluting alternatives and for restoring degraded landscapes. The healing powers of nature, so far largely underestimated, should also be harnessed and widely disseminated.
- Waste, wastewater management
- Access to green technology
- Infrastructure planning/support services
- Nature-based solutions
- Innovative solutions
- Circularity: redesign, reuse, remanufacture, repair, recycling
Solution
Share innovative technologies and ecological infrastructure for pollution management and control
Innovative technologies and nature-based solutions can play an important role in preventing and managing pollution. The 2019 World Water Development Report shows that nature-based solutions are key to improving the supply and quality of water and that reservoirs, irrigation canals and water treatment plants are not the only water management instruments available. There are many nature-based solutions that are often not used because of lack of knowledge of their existence or maturity. One example is phytoremediation, which uses plants to restore soils contaminated by heavy metals, such as those found at mine dumps and polluted industrial sites. To identify and bring these innovative technologies and nature-based solutions to the forefront so that they become more widely used is one of UNEP’s ongoing pollution-reduction initiatives.