Ecological Sanitation

This course deals with options for sustainable sanitation in low-income countries, which will contribute to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for sanitation and related fields such as reducing poverty and hunger, reducing child mortality, improving lives of slum dwellers and ensuring environmental sustainability. The concept of ecological sanitation (ecosan) is presented. Ecosan is not a specific technology but a new approach to sanitation which regards sanitised human excreta and greywater as a resource, e.g. for application as a fertiliser and soil conditioner in (urban) agriculture. Ecosan strives to maximise the sustainability of sanitation systems, taking into account all aspects of sustainability.

Upon completion of the ecosan course, the participants will:

• Know the short-comings of conventional sewer-based ("flush-and-forget") or pit-based ("drop-and-store") sanitation systems, in the context of developing countries (with a focus on urban or peri-urban areas)
• Understand the need for a paradigm shift in urban sanitation and the relevance for the MDGs
• Have a good overview of the available technology and reuse options within the ecosan approach (collection, transfer and treatment of excreta and greywater; safe reuse; non-technical aspects; rainwater harvesting)

The course is designed for mid-career professionals who work in low-income countries or countries in transition, and deal with planning, promoting, designing, operating or managing sanitation systems for residents in urban, peri-urban, slum or rural areas. Participants are typically employed by government departments, private companies, local or international NGOs, universities, research institutions, aid agencies or international bodies such as WHO or UNICEF.

For more information, to register or to download a scholarship application form, please see our website:

www.unesco-ihe.org/education/short_courses/online_courses/ecological_sanitation

Further information can also be obtained from Mariska Ronteltap (m.ronteltap@unesco-ihe.org).

This course has previously been sponsored by:

Grontmij. Contact person: Bjartur Swart (bjartur.swart@grontmij.nl)

Stockholm Environment Institute. Contact person: Gunilla Brattberg (gunilla.brattberg@sei.se)

Huber Contact person: Stefania Paris (ps@huber.de)

Vitens Contact person: Siemen Veenstra (siemen.veenstra@vitens.nl