Smart Sanitation Solutions

Scepticism about achieving essential development goals and fighting poverty is fading away. Since the Millennium Development Summit in 2000, when 189 heads of state declared their full commitment to achieving the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the world has had an unprecedented opportunity to improve the living conditions of billions of people in rural and urban areas. MDG 7 is particularly relevant to this booklet. Target 10 of that goal is to halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation by 2015. The Netherlands is ready to take concrete steps in this field and that is why I pledged in 2005 to contribute towards providing access to safe drinking water and sanitation for at least fifty million people by 2015. The time for lengthy discussions is over. Now it is time for action. Political will, increased resources, affordable technologies and new partnerships are in place to increase access to safe drinking water and sanitation. We must realise, however, that most sanitation facilities used by households or operated by small-scale enterprises were built without external support. This shows there are alternatives to the large centralised conventional systems. More importantly, small-scale solutions have proven to be cost effective. Implemented in large numbers, they can boost health, improve agricultural production and generate local business all at the same time. That is why large-scale dissemination of these technologies is crucial. Smart technologies like this help us to tackle poverty immediately. Capacity building in both software and hardware is equally important to success -- not only for users and institutions, but also for small and medium-sized enterprises. This book gives examples of household and community-based sanitation solutions that have proven effective and affordable. It illustrates a range of innovative sanitation technologies that have already helped thousands of poor families to improve their lives. The technologies described are a source of inspiration.