Economic Benefits of Expanding the Brazilian Sanitation
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ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF EXPANDING THE BRAZILIAN SANITATION QUALITY OF LIFE, PRODUCTIVITY, EDUCATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL APPRECIATION Contents Introduction Sanitation in the World Sanitation in Brazil Highlights Sanitation and Quality of Life Sanitation and Productivity Sanitation and Education Sanitation and Environmental Appreciation 2 Introduction A country that aspires to stand out on the This work promotes for the first time an international scene as developed cannot be international comparison and shows that Brazil, among the most underdeveloped nations on the the world’s 7th biggest economy, is the 112th in most basic issue - sanitation. 21st century Brazil, the sanitation ranking. It also shows that the 4.1% host of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer yearly sanitation expansion rate decreased in Olympics, is not capable of providing treated water, the 2010s - in the previous decade it was 4.6% – sewage collection and treat-ment to all its citizens. what puts Brazil even farther from the already far goal established by the national government to According to data from the Ministry of Cities offer universal access to these services by 2030. (the 2011 National System of Sanitation Indexes, SNIS in Portuguese) about 36 million Brazilians However, the worrying data should not prevent do not have access to treated water yet, only people from seeing the opportunities of 48.1% of the population have access to sewage considerable gains generated by the choice of collection, and of what is collected, less than making a public policy priority of offering universal 40% is treated. These numbers are reflected in access to treated water and sewage, which can the pollution of water resources and in diseases be planned and executed through partnerships during infancy and childhood that put Brazil between governments, companies, academy and far from any comparison with European, North the society. From this prioritization, to be signalized American and even some South American countries. by the government, there will be improvements in health, education, job creation and income, Besides compromising people’s health and quality productivity, real estate appreciation and tourism. of life, pollution also re-duces and makes water more expensive, harming agriculture, commerce, We are confident that the results highlighted industry, and tourism, among other sectors of in this work will offer a clearer view of the the economy. The lack of sanitation is one of opportunities generated by solving this challenge, the main reasons for employees absent from and, this way, incentivize governments and work, for students’ learning difficul-ties, for the companies to invest in sanitation in order to hospitalization of workers and their relatives, and make the reality of the Brazilian infrastructure also the com-munities around production units. adequate to the size and importance of Brazil. Being aware of these impacts, but especially of the opportunities arising from investments in basic sanitation, the Trata Brasil Institute and CEBDS (Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development) joined forces to carry out the study “Economic Benefits of Expanding the Brazilian Sanitation”, which is hereinafter presented. Édison Carlos Marina Grossi Executive President CEO Instituto Trata Brasil CEBDS 3 Opção 4: Dias 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 14 e 15 de julho de 2014 (Manhã) Sanitation in the World Sanitation 112th place in the international ranking and Human In the most recent international comparative data, Brazil is in Development the 112th position in a ranking of 200 countries. This position is, beyond the shadow of a doubt, shameful for a country that is the Internationally, Brazil has a large gap regarding sanitation 7th biggest economy in the world. Brazil’s score in the Sanitation issues. Not only treated water but also sewage collection and Development Index – a number that takes into consideration treatment are very far from being universally accessible, which the current sanitation coverage and its recent development – causes losses to the quality of life and the economy. And since was 0.581 in 2011. This index is calculated similarly to the HDI, the Brazilian situation is especially deficient regarding access from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), to the sewage collection system, the environmental impact and takes into consideration the percentage of population is too high, what diminishes the value of the real estate and that has access to sanitation services in a given year and the the economic potential of activities that depend on good increase of this services coverage between 2000 and 2011. environmental conditions to be fully executed. The Brazilian index is below North American and European averages. But Brazil is not only behind the richest countries, whose sanitation development was consolidated throughout 112ª Colocação na classificação the centuries, but also behind patterns registered in North Africa and Middle East, which are ancient populations but internacional de Saneamento with average incomes lower than Brazil’s. Ecuador (0.719), Chile (0.707), Honduras (0.686) and Argentina (0.667) also have indexes that are much higher than Brazil’s in 2011. For all those countries, the scores are better not only because they have SANITATION DEVELOPMENT INDEX, better coverage levels, but especially because the expansion THE CLOSER TO 1 THE BETTER rate of the sanitation coverage is faster. This means that Brazil, regardless of its recent developments, is still distancing itself from this group of countries regarding sanitation development. 1 Data related to 2011. Repercussions on development North America Germany 0.642 Asia Europe (Western 0.504 0.640 and Eastern) 0.582 Middle East 0.576 Central America 0.636 North 0.563 Africa 0.227 Sub-Saharan Brazil 0.581 Africa 0.542 0.594 South Oceania America World Development Indicators and Atlas do Desenvolvimento Humano no Brasil de Brazil is in the 112th position in the 200-country international ranking 4 The precarious situation of sanitation is also reflected in the Repercussions on development population’s longevity. The 73.3 years life expectancy in Brazil in 2011 was lower than Latin America’s average (74.4 years). Compared to geographically closer countries, Brazil is far The sanitation issue has immediate repercussions on health behind Argentina (75.8 years) and Chile (79.3 years). indexes. In Brazil, the infant mortality rate was 12.9 deaths for every 1,000 infants born alive in 2011. This number is much The effects on the economy are evident. Tourism, an activity higher than the world’s average or infant mortality rate in Cuba that depends on good environmental conditions to grow, (4.3‰), Chile (7.8‰) or Costa Rica (8.6‰). The graph below suffers with the lack of sanitation. Those Latin American shows the relation between infant mortality rate and access economies that perform better on sanitation issues have fairly to sanitation for the group of countries analyzed in 2011. It larger international touristic influxes. Cuba, Chile and Argentina is clear that the larger the access to sanitation, the lower the received 238, 176 and 139 foreign tourists respectively for every infant mortality. one thousand habitants in 2011. In Brazil, this number was only 27 tourists for every one thousand habitants in the same year. For those reasons, the level of sanitation development ends 140.0 up being clearly reflected on countries’ human development. As illustrated on Graph 1.2, the 120.0 access to sanitation is positively correlated to the Human Development Index by UNDP. 100.0 Countries with high indexes of access to sanitation (greater 80.0 than 0.650) also have high HDI (greater than 0.750). 60.0 40.0 20.0 Mortalidade (mortos infantil por mil nascidos vivios) Infant mortality births) per thousand live (deaths 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 Access to Sanitation Index Índice de acesso ao saneamento Brazil 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 Índice de Desenvolvimento Humano 0.4 0.3 Human Development Index Human Development 0.2 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 Access to Sanitation Index Índice de acesso ao saneamento Brazil 5 Sanitation in Brazil Sanitation deficit and its impacts in the country Brazil’s lag in sanitation issues has a historical background. 50 years ago only one in every three dwellings was connected to the sewage collection or to the river network. This means that Slow growth only 1/3 of the population had sewage taken far from where they lived. Regarding sewage treatment the situation was even worse: not even 5% of the sewage collected received any Data from the last decade lead to apprehension. The growth treatment before being disposed in the environment. During rate regarding the level of access, of 4.1% per year, was below the last decades the situation improved, although in a very the historical average of 4.6% per year. slow pace. In 2010, the number of dwellings with bathrooms connected to the sewage collection or rainwater systems Generally, in the last decade the growth rate was higher on reached 31.5 million, according to data from IBGE ’s census. states with less access to sanitation services. For instance, The portion of dwellings covered by this system reached 55%, some states in the North region had a faster growth. Tocantins and it is worth highlighting we can not consider connecting had the highest: almost 21% per year between 2000 and 2010, sewage to the rainwater system a correct option, even resulting from great government investments. though IBGE takes this into consideration in its calculations. Dwellings with and without access to the sewage*, in millions The South region, which also lacks basic sanitation, was driven 70 by growth on states with higher deficits: Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina, both with rates higher than 7% per year.