Water management and the circular economy: a critical analysis of the emergence of a dominant paradigm

Abstract

The circular economy framework has become a popular paradigm framing interventions in the water sector. The promise is to sustain economic growth while decreasing the water footprint of societies. This paper goes beyond the discursive association between the circular economy and the water cycle that dominates the literature. It unpacks the contradictions that exist when confronting the ‘neat’ principles of the circular economy to the ‘unruliness’ of water flows and practices. We call for the adoption of a grounded approach to assess the scope for the circular economy framework to support sustainable and just water management.

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BibTeX RIS

BibTeX

@article{neverre2026water,
  title = {{Water management and the circular economy: a critical analysis of the emergence of a dominant paradigm}},
  author = {Noémie Neverre and Nassim Ait-Mouheb and Jean-Christophe Maréchal and Marcel Kuper and Jean-Philippe Venot},
  journal = {International Journal of Water Resources Development},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.1080/07900627.2026.2723327},
  url = {https://brgm.hal.science/hal-05773315v1},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}

RIS

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Water management and the circular economy: a critical analysis of the emergence of a dominant paradigm
AU  - Noémie Neverre
AU  - Nassim Ait-Mouheb
AU  - Jean-Christophe Maréchal
AU  - Marcel Kuper
AU  - Jean-Philippe Venot
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/23
JO  - International Journal of Water Resources Development
DO  - 10.1080/07900627.2026.2723327
UR  - https://brgm.hal.science/hal-05773315v1
AB  - The circular economy framework has become a popular paradigm framing interventions in the water sector. The promise is to sustain economic growth while decreasing the water footprint of societies. This paper goes beyond the discursive association between the circular economy and the water cycle that dominates the literature. It unpacks the contradictions that exist when confronting the ‘neat’ principles of the circular economy to the ‘unruliness’ of water flows and practices. We call for the adoption of a grounded approach to assess the scope for the circular economy framework to support sustainable and just water management.
SN  - 0790-0627
SN  - 1360-0648
ER  -

Abstract

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