South Asia and in particular the rural centers in South Asia are at a very crucial juncture. The water security and public health situation in most of the rural areas in South Asia is very poor due to inefficient ways of handling the existing as well as newly augmented fresh water supplies. The urban centers are seen as water guzzlers by the Periurban and rural areas from where the water is diverted to cities. Uncontained and untreated excreta, does not only threaten the health for the unprotected rural poor but also causes damage to the entire rural economies with increased strain on health systems, and loss of productivity.
Given the huge scale of capacity development needs in the field of Ecological sanitation (a.k.a EcoSan), it is necessary to create resource pool of guides well versed with the concept so as to take up capacity building activities in a well networked manner.It is in this context that CapNet South Asia Regional Secretariat feels that there is a strong need to address the sanitation issues and start building capacities and synergies in the region.
With this background, it is proposed that a 3 day regional level workshop on eco-sanitation technologies and an initiation meeting of a network of guides be organized for developing capacities in understanding eco-sanitation and discussing the feasibility of forming a network of users across South Asia to take the debate forward as well as start individual actions for collective lobbying.
To read more about the workshop refer workshop resource guide - compiled by U.N.Ravikumar, Mysore
Presentations from the workshop:
Strategy for Capacity Building for Ecological Sanitation - by Dr.Jasveen Jairath, Regional Coordinator, CapNet South Asia
Ecological Sanitation and Health Aspects - by Prof Thor Axel Stenström, Senior Research Fellow, Health and Hygiene Expert, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Sweden (Thor.axel.stenstrom@sei.se)
EcoSan Experiences - by Subbaraman, SCOPE, Trichy
Government of India Presentation - by Urvashi Prasad
Global Perspectives - What is EcoSan? - by Ass. Prof. Dr Björn Vinnerås, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, National Veterinary Institute
UNICEF Presentation - by Lizette Burgess, Chief WES, UNICEF Delhi
Ecological Sanitation - A Global Perspective - by Cecilia Ruben
Future Agenda of Ecosan - Urban Experiences - by Prakash Kumar, UNICEF
Presentation from Ecosan Services Foundation - by Nanchoz Zimmermann, Executive Engineer, Ecosan Services Foundation, Pune
Policy and Institutional Arrangement for Sanitation services in Bangladesh: A Decade of Rapid Movement towards MDG - by Prashanta Saha, NGO Forum for DWSS, Md. Golam Rabbani, Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies
Sri Lankan Situation- by Dr. Gamini Jayakody, Public Health Specialist, Ministry of Health – Central Province, Sri Lanka
MYRADA Kolar Project -by Participatory integrated domestic water management programme
Reuse of human excreta in Bangladesh: A case study- by NGO Forum for Drinking Water Supply & Sanitation
Use of Human urine in Agriculture - by G.Sridevi, C.A.Srinivasamurthy, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bangalore