trends and future of sustainable development - TransEco

Table 3.The main policy documents on sanitation and recycling of nutrients.PolicyNational HealthStrategy Plan (2005)The National WaterPolicy (1994)The Main ObjectivesIncludes the strategies to improve environmental public health, such asstrengthening capacity in enforcement of environmental health policies andlegislation as well as promoting the provision of appropriate and suitablewater and sanitation facilities in peri-urban and rural areas. In order toachieve this, the Public Health Act and the Food and Drugs Act and NationalEnvironmental Health Policies have been reviewed and developed.Enforces separation of water resources management from water supply andsanitation as well as increasing the use of technologies more appropriate tolocal conditions. One key aspect of the policy is to increase the governmentpriority and budget spending on the sector, which already heavily supportsplain water resources instead of integrated sanitation services. Programmeson development of national rural and urban water supply and sanitation havebeen launched in 2008 to improve the conditions in the country.The NationalAgricultural Policy2004-2015 (2004)National Policy onEnvironment (2005)The policy also raises the point of the abundance of water resources andassures that the growing demands on water for all its usage could be met.However, the water resources rely heavily on surface water, as groundwaterusage is hardly monitored or regulated, being privately owned. Water savingin irrigation is being supported, but there is no mention of potential use oreven research on wastewater in irrigation.Aims at the promotion of sustainable and environmentally sound agriculturalpractices and irrigation development. However, the policy emphasises mainlythe high potential of underground water aquifers which are largelyunexploited. The National Irrigation Plan (2005) proposes “full, efficient andsustainable exploitation” of these said water resources to ensure agriculturalproduction of various crops. The objectives are to promote sustainabletechnologies for adoption by small-scale farmers, by developing alternativesoil nutrient sources and the use of input technologies.Lists the main challenges of Zambia, including deforestation at 250-300thousand ha per year, land degradation in many areas which facedeforestation, soil erosion, and inadequate sanitation and water pollution.This is due to insufficient incorporation of international standards withinnational legislation as well as limited involvement of local communities in theimplementation and enforcement of related legislation. Also lack ofcooperation between the authorities and coordination mechanisms foreffective integration of legislation are part of the problem due to insufficientresources.The number of actors involved in sanitation, wastewater treatment and agricultural issues is vast.Not only is it challenging to find suitable solutions for inadequate sanitation and degradation of naturebut it also requires a great effort to agree on exact goals, priorities and responsibilities amongst thevarious actors. (Ascher and Healy 1990). As can be seen from tables 1 and 2, the goals of the differentpieces of legislation and policies vary greatly from sector to sector. A uniform view is yet to be found.The local authorities have to cooperate with other actors, such as commercial utilities,nongovernmental organisations and communities. In the sanitation sector alone, much of the actualwastewater treatment is dependent on commercial utilities, such as the Lusaka Water and Sewage154