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Sustainable Sanitation and Climate Change Sustainable Sanitation and Climate Change CONTENTS Sustainable sanitation and climate change Sustainable sanitation and climate change CONTENTS 1. Introduction 1 2. Discussion 1 2.1. Problem Statement 2-3 2.2 Focus areas 5-7 2.3 Format of the Webinar 9-11 2.4. Who should be invited 12 3. MediaPlan 13 4. Marketing and Advertising Plan 13 Sustainable sanitation and climate change 1. INTRODUCTION The World Toilet Day seeks to inspire action to tackle the global sanitation crisis and help achieve Sustainable Development Goal No 6 (commonly known as SDG 6), which promises sanitation for all by 2030. Since lack of sanitation affects other developmental aspects and targets such as gender equality, health, environment and nutrition, sanitation should be a priority, thus the need to raise its profile in order to change the mindsets of ordinary citizens, decision makers, all spheres of government and all stakeholders through advocacy programmes and campaigns. This year, the World Toilet Day will be celebrated on 19 November 2020, which will focus on “Sustainable Sanitation and Climate Change”. The effects of climate change are evident. Floods, drought and rising sea levels are threatening sanitation systems – from toilets to septic tanks and treatment plants. Everyone must have sustainable sanitation with handwashing facilities alongside clean water to help protect and maintain health security and stop the spread of deadly infectious diseases such as cholera and typhoid and more recently the fight against COVID-19. Sustainable sanitation systems must also explore the reuse of waste water and waste to safely boost agriculture, reduce and capture emissions for greener energy. So, what does a sustainable sanitation system look like? Sustainable sanitation is about human excreta that is safely managed across the whole value chain. It begins with the humble toilet that effectively captures human waste in a safe, accessible and dignified setting. The waste then gets stored in a tank or pit, which can be emptied later by a collection service, or transported away by pipework (sewer network). The next stage is treatment and safe disposal. Safe reuse of human waste helps save water, reduces and captures greenhouse gas emissions for energy production and can provide the agricultural sector with a reliable source of water and fertilizer and by products filled with nutrients. 2. DISCUSSION The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) in collaboration with the Water Research Commission (WRC) are planning a webinar with sanitation experts in the sector on the theme “Sustainable Sanitation and Climate Change”. This is in line with the international theme to advocate for on-site sanitation systems to reduce the use of water due to the effects of climate change. For on-site sanitation systems to be sustainable, faecal sludge needs to be safely managed sanitation across the sanitation value chain. The platform could also be used to popularise the upscaling of the Shit Flow Diagram as a tool to manage faecal sludge. According to Sustainable Development Goal 6.2.1, countries have to ensure safely managed sanitation services across the whole sanitation value chain. The concept will also touch on the need to facilitate the uptake of sanitation innovation and appropriate technologies that have a potential to minimise the use of water resources and treat waste on-site. 01 01 Sustainable sanitation and climate change 2.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT In South Africa, significant progress has been made in addressing the sanitation backlog and providing appropriate sanitation to poor households in the country since 1994. According to the STATS–SA General Households Survey 2019 report, nationally, the percentage of households with access to improved sanitation increased from 61,7% in 2002 to 83,0% in 2018. Currently, 17,0% of households do not have access to a basic level of sanitation and it is the Sustainable Development Goal that all households should be served or have access to sanitation by 2030. Access to improved sanitation have doubled since 2002, but remains limited in provinces such as Limpopo. (Source: Stats SA) Percentage of households that have access to improved sanitation per province 2002 - 2018 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Furthermore, almost two-third of South African households have access to a flush toilet whilst 82,6% had access to improved sanitation and 1,4% have no access to sanitation facilities. 02 Sustainable sanitation and climate change Percentage of households by type of toilet facility and province 2018 Flush Toilet 65,4% Pit latrine/toilet with 17,2% ventilation pipe Pit latrine/toilet without 13,4% ventilation pipe Other 3,9% Due to rounding number may not add up to 100% Although a larger proportion (percentage) of households are using the flush toilets. A full flush toilet connected to the sewer network and waste water treatment works however, are not sustainable due to water shortages in the country, especially in provinces such as Free State and Northern Cape. South Africa is anticipated to have a 17% deficit between water demand and supply by 2030. Furthermore, approximately 56% of waste water treatment works are in a poor to critical condition thereby discharging poorly treated effluent into the water sources. According to STATS SA, 2019, 10% (507 732) of households served with onsite sanitation technologies have full pits. The lack of regulatory mechanism for on-site sanitation systems such as Ventilated Pit Latrines (VIP) has led to the ineffective operation and management of these systems. Full and overflowing VIP toilets pose a health hazards to communities and compromise their dignity. 03 Sustainable sanitation and climate change WHAT HAVE TOILETS GOT TO DO WITH CLIMATE CHANGE? Flood, drought and rising sea levels threaten sanitation systems – from toilets to septic tanks to treatment plants. Everyone must have sustainable sanitation that can withstand climate change and keep communities healthy and functioning. 04 Sustainable sanitation and climate change 2.2. FOCUS AREA It should be noted that sustainable sanitation services implies the following: • sanitation solution appropriate for geographical and infrastructure constraints, • Safe faecal sludge management across the sanitation value chain, • Safe disposal and reuse, recycle of waste for beneficiation. Although the sanitation backlog is reducing rapidly, what the sector needs to pay more attention to is the matter of operation and maintenance of the facilities that have been provided so that they remain functional. FAECAL SLUDGE MANAGEMENT: Many of the Ventilated Improved Pit (VIP) toilets which have been constructed across the country since 1994 are steadily filling up or full and could potentially have reached their lifespan, therefore, it is clear that a large number of these toilets require servicing by emptying of the pit contents. On-site sanitation technologies are affordable and sustainable if the entire service value chain including capturing, collection, transportation, treatment, safe disposal or end-use is properly managed. There should be an effective and appropriate faecal sludge system to manage on-site sanitation technologies. Effective faecal sludge management should be based on an integrated system which includes the proper planning, management and right or appropriate technology. PLANNING & MANAGEMENT: Faecal Sludge Management( FSM) has to be planned properly but municipalities do not have properly budgeted plans in place to adequately address O&M of on-site facilities. Proactive maintenance of sanitation facilities is important so that they can be used on an ongoing and sustainable basis. The planning and management of municipal interventions for ongoing sanitation service such as formalizing pit emptying programmes with appropriate organizational, health and safety, financial arrangements is one of the important challenges that is currently being addressed by the proposed Faecal Sludge Management initiatives developed by the department. The planning stage requires the situational analysis using tools such as Shit/Excreta Flow Diagram and Sanitation Safety Plans, determination of legal and technical aspects of the entire FSM in sanitation service chain to the final end use product or disposal. 05 Sustainable sanitation and climate change The faecal service value chain also require regulation and enforcement, therefore, municipal by-laws, regulations and policies needs to ensure that activities involved in faecal sludge management are regulated. The Department is currently or intending to pilot faecal sludge management system in the Polokwane Local Municipality. Lessons and experiences will be shared with other municipalities during and after the completion of the project. It will be important to take this opportunity to touch on the Shit Flow Diagram (SFD) (tool developed by World Health Organisation (WHO) which is gradually being introduced in the sector by the Water Research Commission and were piloted in a few municipalities in the Eastern Cape and Kwa-Zulu Natal. The SFD is a tool that provides an easily visualized graphic of how faecal waste is managed through the sanitation value chain and even a better understanding of the state of on-site sanitation. To this end, the Department would like to collaborate with the WRC to undertake a programme to develop the SFD diagrams and utilize the data to establish, analyse, intervene, assess or project the sanitation status in a town, municipality, region or even national status. With SFD’s developed, the programme will eventually be able to demonstrate how well
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