In their most recent study, Vanessa Heinrich, Svenja Klose and Magnus Fröhling explore Ghana’s informal e-waste treatment sector, which is a hotspot for e-waste treamtent in the Global South.
The e-waste treatment in Ghana is an important source of livelihood for the workers involved. However, important SDGs such as good health and well-being, as well as no poverty, remain problematic.
The study applies the System Dynamics methodology to develop a Causal Loop Diagram (CLD) that aims to offer an integrated view of potential cause-effect pathways and feedback mechanisms driving system behavior.
The study discovers a nested relationship between the SDG goals, the actors, and proposed measures in the system, where changes in one part – like income or training – can trigger complex and unpredictable effects across health, environment and livelihoods. For example, training and technology help, but can also create the risk of excluding the most vulnerable unless handled carefully.
For practitioners in the field and researchers, one implication is particularly important: i.e., the variables of the CLD can be understood as aspects of the SDGs that are interconnected in a dynamic system.
This is a valuable read for those interested in sustainability, SDGs, e-waste and Global South. You can find the publication here.
