Compilation of 13 factsheets on key sustainable sanitation ... - SSWM

Executive summary
The target audience for this document includes a wide range <strong>of</strong>
readers who are interested in aspects <strong>of</strong> sustainable sanitation
and their links with other environmental and development topics.
Possible readers include practitioners, programme managers,
engineers, students, researchers, lecturers, journalists,
local government staff members, policy makers and their
advisers or entrepreneurs. The emphasis <strong>of</strong> this document is
on developing countries and countries in transition.
The Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA) is a loose,
informal network <strong>of</strong> organisations such as NGOs, private
companies, governmental and research institutions as well
as multilateral organisations that aim to contribute towards
achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by
promoting sustainable sanitation.
Sanitation generally refers to the provision <strong>of</strong> facilities and
services for the safe disposal <strong>of</strong> human excreta and domestic
wastewater. Personal hygiene practices like hand washing
with soap are also part <strong>of</strong> sanitation. Sanitation also includes
solid waste management and drainage but these two aspects
are not the focus <strong>of</strong> this publication. In order for a sanitation
system to be sustainable, it has to be economically viable,
socially acceptable, technically and institutionally appropriate,
and protect the environment and natural resources.
SuSanA contributes to the policy dialogue towards sustainable
sanitation through its resource materials and a lively
debate amongst the members during meetings, in the working
groups, bilaterally, through joint publications and via various
communication tools like the open online discussion
forum. This publication showcases the broad knowledge
base and state <strong>of</strong> discussions on relevant topics <strong>of</strong> sustainable
sanitation. All <strong>of</strong> the working groups have published one
or two <strong>factsheets</strong> providing a broad guidance relating to their
specifi c thematic area.
8 – Executive summary
The 11 working groups <strong>of</strong> SuSanA have the following
titles:
WG 1 Capacity development
WG 2 Finance and economics
WG 3 Renewable energies and climate change
WG 4 Sanitation systems, technology,
hygiene and health
WG 5 Food security and productive sanitation systems
WG 6 Sustainable sanitation for cities and planning
WG 7 Community, rural and schools
(with gender and social aspects)
WG 8 Emergency and reconstruction situations
WG 9 Sanitation as a business and public awareness
WG 10 Operation and maintenance
WG 11 Groundwater protection
Due to the inter-relationships between the working groups,
the <strong>factsheets</strong> are inter-related and where appropriate, are
cross-referenced. The <strong>factsheets</strong> relate to different parts <strong>of</strong>
the "sanitation chain", which consists <strong>of</strong> user interface, conveyance,
collection/storage, treatment, reuse or disposal. We
have attempted to visualise the linkages between the different
working groups and the sanitation chain in the following
schematic. There are some working groups which are dealing
with overarching themes and these have been placed in
the centre <strong>of</strong> the schematic.