Sustainable Sanitation Systems: Health, Environment and Governance Challenges The Case of Human Rights-Based Policy Reform in Alternative Wastewater Management Strategies Florian Thevenon WaterLex Highlights WaterLex is an international public interest development Context: About 2.5 billion people Limits: Field awareness campaigns Policy reform: Integrating the Human organization based in Geneva, Switzerland. It is a UN- do not use an improved sanitation and advocacy actions are Rights to Water and Sanitation Water Partner with UN ECOSOC special consultative status. facility, and about 1 billion people encouraged to improve and monitor into policies and regulations, Its mission is to develop sustainable solutions based on practise open defaecation which is water quality and hygiene practices; including for service providers and human rights to improve water governance worldwide, one of the main causes of drinking because wastewater, even when regulators, could therefore be used particularly in regard to consistent water law and policy water pollution and diarrhoea treated, is highly enriched in to increase the access to safely frameworks. It works with an alliance of interested parties incidences. There is an urgent hazardous pollutants. Wastewater managed sanitation services and to improve water-governance frameworks, bringing them need to increase the access to recycling, safe water reclamation achievement of SDG 6. Local and in line with country obligations under international human safely managed sanitation services, and reuse must therefore be national governments therefore rights law. It is an official member of the UN Environment and a need for a paradigm shift regulated and aligned with national need to integrate their national Global Wastewater Initiative. towards affordable technological quality standards or international and international commitments for alternatives; tailored to local and guidelines; for example, FAO improving access to sanitation into WMO Building, 2nd Floor, specific environmental, political and guidelines for the safe reuse of policies, action plans and budgets. 7 bis avenue de la Paix, socio-economic contexts. wastewater in agriculture. 1202 Geneva, Switzerland Strategy: Governments need to T +41 22 900 16 64 Solutions: An option for low income Method: SDG 6 and the human ensure that no-one is left behind, in E [email protected] countries and rural areas, is to rights framework. The Sustainable particular, the most vulnerable and promote wastewater treatment Development Agenda stresses the marginalised communities. States in artificial ponds and lagoons, as importance of “leaving no one also need to assess environmental well as the utilisation of the treated behind”, which is grounded in the impacts on human rights and to effluents for crop irrigation and human rights framework. SDG 6 make environmental information aquaculture. The improvement of for drinking water, sanitation and public, to facilitate participation in sanitation systems is therefore not hygiene furthermore addresses environmental decision-making, and only important for public health, but some normative criteria and to provide access to remedies for also for climate change mitigation principles of the Human Rights environmental harm. Sustainable and adaptation. Moreover, the to Water and Sanitation. In fact, sanitation services should therefore valuation of faecal sludge-derived ensuring that everyone has access to be part of a holistic approach products can offset treatment cost adequate sanitation facilities is not to Integrated Water Resource and act as an incentive to create only fundamental for human dignity Management. Safe wastewater sustainable wastewater treatment and privacy, but also for protecting reuse, and the consideration of The Global Wastewater Initiative and services. Developing market- the quality of drinking water sources; minimum water quantity needed based approaches with business with significant benefits for human for domestic uses and subsistence models can also provide long- health and economic development, agriculture, should all be encouraged The Global Wastewater Initiative is a voluntary multi- term social benefit and profit in a as well as for the protection of at watershed level and from a long- stakeholders platform aiming to provide the foundations sustainable manner. water-related ecosystems (services). term perspective. (including information, tools and policy mechanisms) for partnerships to initiate comprehensive, effective and sustained programmes addressing wastewater management. The Initiative intends to bring a paradigm shift in world water politics; to prevent further pollution and damage and emphasize that wastewater is a valuable resource for future water security. The Secretariat for the Global Wastewater Initiative is provided by the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities, a UN Environment-administered intergovernmental mechanism. P. O. Box 30552 (00100), Nairobi, Kenya T +254 20 762 5187 E [email protected] © Florian Thevenon © Florian Thevenon List of abbreviations Foreword BOOT Build–Own–Operate–Transfer In 2015, WaterLex published with United BOT Build–Operate–Transfer Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the CFU Colony Forming Units Marine Environment from Land-based Activities CLTS Community Led Total Sanitation (GPA), a report providing information about CO2 Carbon Dioxide the good practices for regulating wastewater CSO Civil Society Organisation treatment (UNEP, 2015a). Many reports have been published by international agencies with EAWAG Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology regard to the new 2030 Agenda; and some ECOSAN Ecological Sanitation technical reports exist on low-cost technological EU European Union alternatives to centralised sewers and wastewater FAO Food and Agriculture Organization treatment. However, to date, there is a crucial lack GEMI Global Enhanced Monitoring Initiative on water of international guidelines and public knowledge concerning (i) the technological alternatives to GLASS UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water conventional sewer-based sanitation systems that GPA Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from require lots of water and are expensive to build, Land-based Activities operate and maintain; and about (ii) the impacts GW2I Global Wastewater Initiative of (partially treated) wastewater effluents on © Scott Harrison(Photoshare) HCES Household-Centred Environmental Sanitation public health, environments and ecosystems functioning. Comprehensive and standardized monitoring methodologies are therefore urgently needed HRWS Human Rights to Water and Sanitation to better evaluate the quality of water and wastewater; as well as for understanding the complex and IWQGES International Water Quality Guidelines for Ecosystems dynamic responses of (aquatic) ecosystems to climate change and environmental degradation. IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ISO International Organization for Standardization The 2030 Agenda which was one of the outcomes from the Rio +20 conference of 2012, and the adoption IWRM Integrated Water Resources Management of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by all member states of the United Nations in 2015, dedicated JMP WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation a goal to water and sanitation (SDG 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all) with eight targets, not only focusing on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene; but also MDG Millennium Development Goal on integrated water resources management, water and wastewater quality, and ecosystems protection. NHRI National Human Rights Institutions However, the successful realisation of SDG 6 requires some major and urgent improvements in wastewater OHCHR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and sanitation (and solid waste) management in many countries, including in institutional capacity and PPP Private Public Partnership effectiveness. There is an imperative need for a paradigm shift towards consideration of technological alternatives which have to be tailored to local and specific environmental, political and socio-economic SDG Sustainable Development Goal contexts. The operation and maintenance approaches need to ensure the management of sanitation UDDT Urine Diverting Dry Toilet infrastructures and services; whereas municipalities should facilitate private sanitation suppliers and UN United Nations installation. The underlying vision of the 2030 Agenda on eliminating inequalities (“Leave no one UNEP United Nations Environment Programme behind”) features the realisation of human rights to safe water and sanitation, with special consideration for the poorest and marginalised communities such as the residents of informal settlements, women UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and children. There is therefore a crucial need of (1) information campaigns to raise sanitation and UN-HABITAT United Nations Human Settlements Programme hygiene awareness, (2) training programs on water and sanitation governance, (3) business solutions for UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund managing faecal waste, and for (4) incorporating the human rights to water and sanitation into policies, VIP Ventilated Improved Pit (VIP) regulations and institutional framework,