trends and future of sustainable development - TransEco

so far the target seems out of reach. The annual population growth rate was 2,3 % in 2000-2008, andwith the total population of 12,6 million it means several more people without adequate sanitaryfacilities. Inadequate sanitation causes spreading of diseases such as cholera and dysentery.Contaminated water and unhygienic disposal of excreta increase exposure. The under five mortality ratein Zambia is one of the highest in the world at 148/1000 live births and diarrhoea accounts forapproximately 1/5 of all deaths among infants. (UNICEF 2008.)Another threat to sanitation is the growth of urban population, which usually indicates an increase ininhabitants of peri-urban areas. In 2000-2008, the growth rate of urban population was 2,5 %. In 2008,the urbanisation rate was 35 %. (UNICEF 2010.) According to statistics, composting toilets only accountfor 0,1 % of the latrines in urban households in Zambia (CSO et al. 24, 2009). The target for sanitationcoverage in rural areas is 35 % by 2010 and 60 % by 2015, whereas in the urban areas the target is 70 %by 2010. (National Water Policy 1994.) In the light of our current knowledge, the targets are far fromreached.3. Ecological sanitationEcological sanitation, or ecosan in short, is meant by sanitary methods which allow the recycling offaeces and urine back to soil. An ecosan latrine is considered as one method of improved sanitation, withthe added bonus of it providing fertiliser in form of diluted urine and composted faeces. (InternationalHydrological Programme 2006, 11.) In this paper, the term ecosan covers only the composition ofhuman faeces and separation of urine for fertiliser purposes, and thus refers to the use of dry toilets withseparation facilities.Traditionally, human waste has been used as fertiliser in Zambia, and although it is not widelydiscussed, informally the method is accepted. Especially poor farmers who cannot afford to buyinorganic fertiliser often buy and sell human manure as fertiliser. People in peri-urban areas are knownto take their irrigation water from sewage line, which has been found beneficial for the growth of thevegetables. (ECZ 2010; Lusaka City Council 2010.) However, if not treated properly, human waste can bea serious threat to public health.According to the Integrated Land Use Assessment (2005), most small-scale farmers cannot afford tobuy inorganic fertiliser to meet their production requirements. This means that farmers can increaseproductivity only buy expanding the cultivation area or using shifting cultivation, which have negativeeffects to forest areas. Only 11 % of small-scale farmers buy fertiliser, while only less than 1 % invests onirrigation facilities. The poor productivity of land has effects on nutritional health but also on thesurrounding lands under agricultural pressure. Crop diversification is being considered in order toimprove food security to promote alternative grains such as sorghum or millet, which are not asdependant on fertiliser.The need for recycling nutrients for fertiliser use and irrigation does not require an immediate lackof water. The high potential of underground water aquifers in Zambia is largely unexploited. There areover 1 740 380 million cubic meters of underground water resources, as well as plentiful surface waters.(The National Agricultural Policy 2004-2015, 2004.) The National Irrigation Plan (2005) proposes“full, efficient and sustainable exploitation” of these said water resources to ensure agriculturalproduction of various crops. Of Zambia’s entire irrigation potential, estimated at 423 000 ha, only ca.149