Sustainable Sanitation How Can We Improve Sanitation Systems In The Global South

The report is a product arising from the work of the Sustainable Sanitation Alliance which was initiated prior to the International Year of Sanitation in 2008 in an attempt to inject sustainable development ideas into the sanitation sector. It functions as a vision document for those policymakers, researchers and practitioners that are striving towards fundamental reform and improvements within the sanitation sector in both rural and urban populations in all countries of the world. It reviews the global progress being made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target on sanitation. A literature review is presented on sanitation provision including human health impacts and the estimated costs and benefits of achieving the MDG target. The report also provides a critique in that the UN has not yet introduced the concept of sustainability into the MDG programme in general and in particular into the sanitation sector which is highly dysfunctional and suffering from limited political leadership at both the local and global levels. It introduces the various sustainable sanitation options available and what approaches can be taken to improve sanitation systems – not just toilets which are only a small part of the overall system of food, nutrients and water cycles. The study estimates the numbers of urban and rural households, including slum populations that are being targeted in all world regions. It also evaluates the historic trends in morbidity and mortality linked to diarrhoea arising from lack of functioning sanitation services comparing these to the UN data on sanitation coverage. The report estimates the potential fertiliser replacement capacity that reuse of human excreta can have for all world regions. Finally it provides a vision for future development within the sector where more sustainable options like source separation and reuse are promoted giving positive environmental or “green” impacts but also catalysing greater involvement and understanding on the part of individuals in society.

This volume is the result of years of commitment with world-wide sanitation challenges from various research networks linking the editors and authors of this volume to many other sanitation scholars and professionals. Major contributions to this volume are derived from the work done in the PROVIDE project (working on sustainable urban infrastructures in cities of the Lake Victoria Basin, East Africa), the DESAR project (research and pilot projects in Decentralized Sanitation and Reuse, the Netherlands), and among others within NETSSAF (large scale implementation of sanitation in Africa), and EcoSan networks. The major milestone for this book to emerge was however the IWA Sanitation Challenge Conference of May 2008 in Wageningen, the Netherlands where all the authors of this book presented their papers. The conference was organized by a consortium of sanitation specialists at Wageningen University’s Environmental Policy Group (the editors) and the s- department of Environmental Technology, LeAF (Lettinga Associates Foundation) and Wetsus (Center of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology in the Netherlands). It was a unique event as it enabled a truly multi-disciplinary approach in discussing Sanitation Challenges in North and South with social and political scientists, natural scientists, environmental engineers and practitioners in one s- entific conference. This volume presents a selection of the social scientific insights and research results presented at the Sanitation Challenge Conference: the concepts, decisi- making support tools and the perspectives from farmers and consumers towards sanitation innovation.

Over a third of the current 7.3 billion people worldwide are burdened with poor sanitation services. The resulting social, relational and ecological exclusion make the realisation of the human right to sanitation (HRS) a critical concern development concern. However, the literature has evolved in a largely compartmentalised manner, focusing on the formal recognition of the HRS in domestic legal systems, without sufficiently addressing the drivers of poor sanitation services. This research expounds on the impact of the HRS on human wellbeing and the environment within the context of a developing country like Nigeria as a case study. The findings show that contrary to the focus in the literature, the drivers of poor sanitation services are not confined to legal factors, such as the formal recognition of the HRS within domestic legal systems. Rather, the drivers include social, economic and environmental limitations to improved sanitation services. Based on the findings, the book argues that the focus in the literature on the formal recognition of the HRS in national legal systems is insufficient for tackling the main drivers of poor sanitation services. It is therefore necessary to reformulate the HRS discourse using complementary governance instruments that advance social, relational and ecological inclusion.

Transitioning is a key co ...

The issues surrounding water services are some of the most critical challenges facing not only the United States, but also the global community today. The Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine of the Institute of Medicine convened a workshop in October 2007, summarized in this volume, to address objectives related to Sustainable Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Services. One of the objectives of the workshop was to think about the interdependence of environmental health and human health as connected through water. Organizations cannot discuss water without considering the interrelationship of sanitation and hygiene. It is the convergence of these strategies that promotes healthy outcomes for both individuals and the environment. A second objective of the workshop was to consider how planning, management, and interdisciplinary approaches-including technology, social behavioral issues, gender, health, environment, economic, and political aspects-can be integrated to arrive at sustainable solutions. Many organizations and agencies are trying to forge a path toward sustainable practices in water, but the various sectors utilizing and governing water services are not interconnected. More integration and a greater understanding of holistic approaches are needed.

Bridging academic discussion and real-world case studies, this book considers the challenge, posed by SDG6, of balancing the provision of the basic human right of access to water whilst not eroding our capacity to live sustainably in a rapidly changing world.

This report presents the institutional progress made in selected member countries towards achieving sanitation goals, as reported in an ESCAP-led survey. Institutional progress consists of changes in administrative, legal and financial rules and practices that have been made with sanitation goals in mind. It also includes the 'slow-moving' institutions, which are social norms and practices, general awareness of the public and the ensuing demand for sanitation services.