Phosphorus Governance within Planetary Boundaries: The Potential of Strategic Local Resource Planning in The Hague and Delfland, The Netherlands

Abstract

In recent years, a growing body of research has explored the urban dimension of the critical resource phosphorus with a focus on urban metabolism analysis, recovery technologies and governance frameworks. However, there has been no tangible and holistic attempt at choosing between available measures and instruments for their implementation in the urban realm. With the growing and increasingly urban world population, cities have become more and more important as actors in phosphorus governance by fueling global phosphorus flows, e.g., via the consumption of food, agricultural products, and phosphorus recycling. Globally, a future-proof phosphorus metabolism may be contributed to by strategic local phosphorus planning. This article systematically explores the purposive potential of local phosphorus planning using a case study of The Hague, The Netherlands. Looking across multiple administrative and spatial dimensions, the study combines quantitative analysis of phosphorus flows with qualitative investigation of their drivers, the actors involved, current regulations and local scope for action. The research reveals the feasibility of meaningfully impacting phosphorus flows through urban action. The potential for strategic local resource planning is demonstrated in a grid of policy options and in the assessment of their socio-economic and environmental benefits. Additionally, the study draws up a list of key recommendations to transfer to other urban settings. It encourages further research aimed at closing data gaps for local phosphorus inventories, collaborative approaches in strategic resource planning, scope for action in other cities or jurisdictions, as well as improved quantification of the outreach of policy effects.