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New WSP Study Says Access to Sanitary Toilets Still Rising in Rural Vietnam Communities Years after Sanitation Marketing Project End In the three years since a rural sanitation marketing pilot project ended in Vietnam, the sample communes are demonstrating sustained rates of increased access to sanitary toilets. This is according to a WSP case study to assess the sustainability of a rural sanitation marketing pilot project implemented in two provinces of Vietnam from 2003 to 2006 by International Development Enterprises. Case Study on Sustainability of Rural Sanitation Marketing in Vietnam, slated for release next month, shows that overall access for poor people to sanitary toilets jumped from 44 percent in 2006 to 59 percent in 2008, maintaining the average annual growth rate achieved during the pilot project. Community health workers, women’s union leaders, and village heads had continued to promote safe sanitation in addition to performing their usual job duties, albeit at a lower intensity and using fewer methods. Of the providers interviewed, three-quarters said that they now had more customers and over half reported a greater business volume. Two-thirds said that they made more profit and had higher incomes in the last three years. Though the providers expanded their services and customer base, sales and marketing efforts had not developed further. While many results were promising, the case study also found that under current conditions, sustainability is not ensured. The lack of integration of the sanitation marketing approach in provincial and district strategies, the absence of budgeting for an ongoing supply of promotional materials, and the lack of continuous training of new promoters and providers are among the reasons found. The study was executed by International Water and Sanitation Center and Vietnamese consulting firm ADCOM in collaboration with WSP. Source: www.wsp.orgSanitation Finance for the Poor that Works
Financing On-Site Sanitation seeks to identify the best-performing approaches and the relevant factors and issues to consider in designing a sanitation financing strategy. The report offers guidance to sector professionals developing on-site sanitation projects and programs, which play the leading role in providing access to sanitation.
The study compares alternative financing approaches based on a set of common indicators, including in terms of the effectiveness in the use of public funds and targeting.
“Each of the six sanitation programs studied enabled significant numbers of people to improve their sanitation,” said co-author and World Bank Senior Water and Sanitation Specialist Pete Kolsky. “The numbers of people benefiting varied. The India case enabled the most people to gain access, at over 21 million, while the Ecuador program enabled access for over 140,000 people.”
Forty percent of the world’s population does not have access to a basic level of sanitation, while one in five people practices open defecation, according to the UNICEF/WHO Joint Monitoring Program (2008). This crisis in sanitation has clear consequences: diarrhea kills over 1.5 million children each year, and 88 percent of these deaths are attributed to fecal contamination from inadequate sanitation, hygiene, and water supply.
The lack of sanitation spreads many other diseases, pollutes water and land, and robs poor people of basic dignity. Most of those without sanitation live in rural areas or on the fringes of cities beyond the reach of sewerage networks.
The first step up “the sanitation ladder” for those without access is on-site sanitation, the report says. "Promotion of household investment in sanitation is a cost-effective public health intervention, in terms of the ratio of public cost to estimated health benefits," said co-author and WSP Senior Water and Sanitation Specialist Eddy Perez. "The case studies reveal a wide spectrum of options: from a minimal investment in start-up of a revolving fund, to significant community mobilization and demand stimulation, all the way to hardware subsidies of up to 75 percent of capital costs in addition to community mobilization. The choice is thus not 'Subsidy or no subsidy?' but rather, 'What form and level of public funding makes sense in a specific context?' "
The report also shows that households are key investors in on-site sanitation, and careful project design and implementation can maximize their involvement, satisfaction, and financial investment. It also found that hardware subsidies of some form played a critical role in all six case studies.
Source: (Water and Sanitation Program - World Bank) http://www.wsp.org/index.cfm?page=page_disp&pid=21560 Green concerns take root, funds shoot up Green federalism has got embedded in the fiscal character of the country now. The government has accepted the 13th Finance Commission’s recommendation to disburse more than Rs 15,000 crore on environmental considerations to states. Rs 5,000 crore each will be provided for promoting forestry, renewable energy and water management to the states. Also, a special provision of Rs 120 crore for restoration of the largest fresh water lake in Asia — Wullar lake in J&K — has been made. The commission responded strongly by recommending a massive financial fillip to environmental concerns. But the commission has made the new tranche of grants conditional on states delivering on green issues. For years, states with high forest cover have been complaining to the Centre that they carry the burden of maintaining green cover on behalf of the country at the cost of their own economic development. Recognising this, the finance commission has recommended that forestry grants for the first two years be untied but for the next three years be linked to the number of approved working plans which the state forest department prepares. This linkage could become a cause for heartburn in regions where forests are controlled by communities. The finance commission has also provided an incentive of Rs 5,000 crore to generate grid-connected renewable power. With climate change and energy security gripping international and domestic policy circuits like never before, the recommendation could go a long way in increasing renewable energy capacity. The third component for water management could be the toughest to sell to states with the condition that the states fix minimum water tariffs. The grant is meant to push for reforms in the water sector, a critical political issue that requires states to set up a regulatory authority that would push for cost recovery. A Push For Planet FORESTRY Rs 5,000cr Criteria | State’s area under forest cover and its quality Conditional upon | Making working plans for conservation of forest land RENEWABLE ENERGY Rs 5,000cr Criteria | Grid-connected renewable energy capacity to be increased Conditional upon | Access being given to renewable developers to power markets at competitive rates WATER MANAGEMENT Rs 5,000cr Criteria | Improved water management and regulation Conditional upon | Setting water tariffs and recovering 50% of the water costs  Source: epapertimesofindia.com dated: 26 February 2010 Green code to minimize CWG carbon footprint Times of India, 18 February, 2010 New Delhi: To ensure that the Commonwealth Games does not leave behind carbon footprints, the Delhi government has released an ‘environment code’. Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit said initiatives such as plantation of saplings, waste management and energy efficiency were being taken to mitigate carbon footprints of the event. The ‘Delhi Ecological Code’ aims at making the Games the first carbon consumption-neutral sporting event. Minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor, who is also chairman of the sub-committee on Green Games, hoped the environment-friendly measures would ‘‘leave a lasting legacy’’. ‘‘We must take the opportunity to create awareness for sustainable development,’’ he said. On the ecological code, chairman of the Organising Committee (OC) Suresh Kalmadi said the Games will be the ‘‘first carbon consumption-neutral Games’’ in the history of sporting events. Asked about the amount of carbon footprint to be generated by the event, an OC official said it will be over 1,50,000 tonnes. Satindra Bindra of UN Environment Programme, which will provide the OC with technical advice on implementation of the code, lauded the Delhi government for creating a benchmark in using green technologies in construction of the Thyagraj stadium. ‘‘Thyagraj stadium will set a global benchmark,’’ said Bindra. The UNEP will also put in place a mechanism to measure the carbon footprint generated by the event. On the efforts being taken by the government to make the Games a green event, Dikshit said: ‘‘Our efforts include waste management, energy efficiency, water management, ecofriendly transport, green procurement and many other initiatives.’’ Noting that the green cover in the national capital was increasing, she said over five lakh potted plants will be used during the event. She said a plan was being finalised to convert wastes into gas, along with two gasbased plants in Ghazipur and Wazirpur which will generate power from wastes. STEPS TAKEN Forest plantation Thyagaraj Stadium as model green sporting venue NDMC’s Commonwealth garden at Africa Avenue Multiple sensitisation and communication campaigns such as cleaner Delhi and energy conservation drives, Water Day celebration, sustainable transport promotion campaign Partnering with UNEP Green Games Environment Sub-Committee  ECO-FRIENDLY STEP: (Left to right) Shashi Tharoor, Suresh Kalmadi and Sheila Dikshit release the Delhi Ecological Code on Wednesday
Source: www.epapertimesofindia.com Dated:18 Febraury 2010 |
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Public investments of varying forms enable an absolute increase in the number of poor people gaining access to sanitation, varying from 20 percent to 70 percent, according to a study of six cases in Bangladesh, Ecuador, India, Mozambique, Sénégal, and Vietnam by the World Bank-administered Water and Sanitation Program (WSP).