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| Hanging latrines in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where only about 3 percent of its urban population still practices open defecation, an improvement from 6 percent two decades ago. Photo by: Gary White |
Almost two decades ago, open defecation was
the norm in Bangladesh. Today, the situation has improved dramatically,
with more and more people having access to toilets and latrines.
But does the process of waste disposal and management stop there?
Not quite, according to Netherlands-based development organization SNV,
which is trying to push the next step in sanitation and hygiene issues
in the South Asian nation with innovative solutions that can potentially
turn human waste into energy and agricultural products, among other
possibilities.
This form of fecal sludge
management is a pro-poor approach designed not only to address WASH
issues in Bangladesh but also the country’s power, livelihood and
agricultural needs.
“The project aims to
contribute to a change in the way in which fecal sludge is managed by
demonstrating city-wide fecal sludge management services,” said SNV’s
senior adviser Rajeev Munankami, adding that once a good process is in
place, possibilities are practically endless, although “many puzzles”
are needed to be solved first.
Sanitation and hygiene issues have, in one way or another, improved Bangladesh’s overall development, with only about 3 percent of the country’s urban population still practicing open defecation compared to about 6 percent two decades ago.
This
data however is nationwide, and the situation in urban areas is not the
same as in the countryside, where a quarter of the population is still
not engaged in modern waste disposal. Munankami noted that the program
plans to address this little by little, targeting one city and two towns
in the country once it rolls out.
“The
purpose is to demonstrate financially viable and sustainable fecal
sludge management solutions,” he told Devex. “It will use a pro-poor
market-based approach, developing business models for both toilet
upgrading and fecal sludge emptying services, and testing innovative
technologies as well as introducing health and safety standards.”
Munankami
added that the primary goal is to provide solutions on concerns
including integrating business models in public service delivery,
identifying clear-cut roles for stakeholders in fecal sludge management,
integrating technology in development programs and ensuring that these
sanitation programs are truly pro-poor.
Partnerships
Munankami argued that WASH efforts in Bangladesh have been progressive, but lacking innovation.
“Most
of the sanitation programs addressing MDG targets have focused more on
the access to sanitation, and Bangladesh has done fantastic in terms of
decreasing open defecation and increasing toilet coverage,” he noted.
“Unfortunately, successful examples of innovative alternative sanitation
solutions for managing the sludge at scale are limited in [the country]
and the region.”
The SNV official added
that the lack of investment in sewage for the whole country, coupled
with the lack of “attention to safe fecal sludge management services,”
has led to the issue of managing waste, “which are now directly or
indirectly being disposed in the water bodies without treatment,
polluting the environmental health … of the population.”
Partnerships
will play a key role in this endeavor, Munankami stressed, not only in
terms of capital and technical investment, but also in engaging the
local communities making the initiative more empowering and sustainable.
“The
project will work closely with communities … to develop service models
that are safe, affordable and generate employment and income,” he
explained, noting that part of this partnership approach is the aim of
changing the behavior of the people toward WASH.
Implemented by SNV, the Bangladeshi government and the local chapter of WaterAid,
the program will first be put under study as there are many “pieces of
the puzzle yet to be solved” before viable solutions including energy
generation could be in place.
