Assessing the potential to use serious gaming in planning processes for sanitation designed for resource recovery

There is an urgent need for innovations in the sanitation sector to minimize environmental impacts and maximize resource recovery. Uptake of innovations may require changes in established technical practices, organisational norms and/or individual behaviours. Achieving change in any of these areas requires influencing cognitive, normative and relational learning processes. Serious games have been identified a potential tool for planners and environmental managers to influence such learning processes. This study designed the serious game RECLAIM to share knowledge about resource recovery from sanitation and to support attitude-change and collaboration between players. A structured framework was applied to assess if the game: 1) increased understanding of resource recovery (cognitive learning), 2) changed worldviews (normative learning), 3) led to more collaboration (relational learning), and 4) was a positive experience. Proof-of-concept testing of the game in Uganda found that it was positively received. The game provided cognitive learning on environmental and health impacts, resource recovery, and sanitation in general. Players gained an appreciation of the need for collaboration and it was deemed to have the potential to influence worldviews of a larger stakeholder group. Future recommendations include embedding the game in planning processes, including several gaming sessions that would strengthen cognition learning and the potential for changing practices

EVAS - a practical tool to assess the sustainability of small wastewater treatment systems in low and lower-middle-income countries

Small wastewater treatment systems (WWTSs) in low and lower-middle income countries still face challenges to achieve optimal performance and acceptable levels of sustainability. Thus, a practical tool, easy to apply by locals, to diagnose the actual status of WWTSs is required in order to identify weak areas for further improvement. This study presents a sustainability assessment tool, EVAS (EVAluaci\uf3n de Sostenibilidad: EVAluation of Sustainability), for small WWTSs in low and lower-middle income countries. The EVAS tool is developed based on a set of contextualized sustainability indicators and sub-indicators in five dimensions (technical, environmental, social, economic, institutional). Each indicator or sub-indicator is broken down into factors, each associated with specific targets to fulfil, and scored using a traffic light scale (0 to 4) indicating unsustainable-low-medium to high levels of sustainability. The tool was developed taking into consideration that local data may sometimes be incomplete and encourages the collection and monitoring of relevant data. The assessment results support local managers or other stakeholders responsible for wastewater management with the identification of weaknesses that need to be addressed. The tool was tested using two case studies involving WWTSs in Bolivia. One WWTS received a medium sustainability rating, whereas the other system received a low sustainability rating, which indicates that several improvements are required in all sustainability dimensions. Stakeholders in the case studies found the tool useful, and suggested ways in which it could be further improved. It is expected that the application of this tool can contribute to raising the sustainability level of small WWTSs in low and lower-middle-income countries

Importance of triggers and veto-barriers for the implementation of sanitation in informal peri-urban settlements – The case of cochabamba, Bolivia

An estimated 2.4 billion people lack access to improved sanitation which has devastating consequences for human health and the environment. Understanding what constitute sanitation demand is crucial for accelerating the spread of improved sanitation. This study aims to understand the adoption mechanisms for improved sanitation. An informal peri-urban settlement in Cochabamba, Bolivia was selected as a case study to understand adoption patterns. Various qualitative methods of data collection and analysis were employed. The findings showed that pour-flush toilets was the only preferred sanitation alternative at the study site. An adoption framework for waterborne toilets was developed based on diffusion of innovation theory. Factors that influence adoption were identified. Some functioned as triggers and initiated adoption, whereas some factors blocked adoption and constituted veto-barriers. Most factors were connected to the individual household situation and its members, but neighborhood development also affected pour-flush adoption. Based on adoption time the residents were divided into the following adoption groups: first adopters, early majority, late majority, laggards and non-adopters. Each adoption group followed its own adoption route with specific characteristics and respective triggers or veto-barriers. We argue that the strong demand for waterborne toilets in peri-urban areas need to be recognized and the developed framework could be used for customizing sanitation improvement programs for certain target groups

Unpacking Sanitation Planning Comparing Theory and Practice

Lack of proper sanitation is linked to significant negative impacts on environmental and public health, economy, and human dignity. Despite the efforts made to reach the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, the world will miss its target of halving the percentage of people without access to improved sanitation by 2015; and there is general agreement within the field of sanitation that the sector has failed to deliver substantial improvements to the most needy. This global challenge of providing sanitation services to the underserved highlights the need to critically evaluate and change the way in which sanitation planning and service provision is approached.The overall objective of this thesis is to better understand the planning processes used in the field of sanitation and their importance for the sustainability of sanitation efforts. To achieve this, it attempts to bridge the professions of urban planners and sanitation engineers. Specifically it explores how sanitation planning processes are structured, to what extent participation plays a role in sanitation planning, and to what extent different perspectives of criteria for sustainable sanitation appear in the process. In order to unpack the planning process into these different elements this thesis develops an analytical framework (the SanPlan Scan) based on a mixture of theory and practice from planning and sanitary engineering. The performance of this framework is subsequently tested for its ability to identify interesting trends in participation levels, procedural planning modes, and criteria for sustainability in a number of case studies from sanitation projects in West Africa and popular sanitation planning guidelines. The resulting analyses identify critical differences between sanitation planning guidelines and practice in the field. For example, the guidelines consistently recommend more collaborative and participatory planning styles, especially including users, than was seen in the cases studied. The results also show that the process of designing sanitation options, and to some degree the selection process, remained dominated by expert-led planning styles, despite the abundance of rhetoric regarding the need for participation. The main conclusion that can be drawn from the multiple studies within this thesis is that more attention is needed to how the planning process itself is designed and conducted. This thesis supports the development of systematically adapted sanitation planning processes, by providing a starting point for discussing and understanding the practice of sanitation planning

Towards Better Design of the Process of Planning for Sanitation

The provision of sanitation services is more than just technical solutions, but closely connected to the cultural and capacity of the society in which it is implemented. Given that the general opinion in the sanitation sector is that large-scale sustainable results are lacking on the ground, there is a need to start questioning how planning is done today and how it can be done better. This paper presents key entry points for understanding the process of sanitation planning by highlighting options for how it should be done (procedural planning theory), who to involve (participation), and criteria for decision-making. By focusing on these key aspects of planning, the process can be adapted to meet the needs of the local context. In the future sustainable urban sanitation will start with a specifically designed planning process that uses a mixture of planning modes and technical systems to meet the needs of diverse populations

Towards Better Design of the Process of Planning for Sanitation

The provision of sanitation services is more than just technical solutions, but closely connected to the cultural and capacity of the society in which it is implemented. Given that the general opinion in the sanitation sector is that large-scale sustainable results are lacking on the ground, there is a need to start questioning how planning is done today and how it can be done better. This paper presents key entry points for understanding the process of sanitation planning by highlighting options for how it should be done (procedural planning theory), who to involve (participation), and criteria for decision-making. By focusing on these key aspects of planning, the process can be adapted to meet the needs of the local context. In the future sustainable urban sanitation will start with a specifically designed planning process that uses a mixture of planning modes and technical systems to meet the needs of diverse populations

Adapting Life Cycle Thinking Tools to Evaluate Project Sustainability in International Water and Sanitation Development Work.

The United Nations Millennium Development Goals have called issues of water and sanitation to the forefront of international development efforts. Engineers and other development workers are answering this call in increasing numbers. In order to achieve these goals it is necessary to overcome the historically low sustainability rates of development projects. This paper presents a logical framework for identifying and analyzing the factors that affect sustainable development of water and sanitation projects. It identifies five sustainability factors that are common in development literature and the policies of international aid organizations: 1) socio-cultural respect, 2) community participation, 3) political cohesion, 4) economic sustainability, and 5) environmental sustainability. A life cycle thinking approach is used to assess how project sustainability can be improved throughout the project life. Five life stages are identified to represent the life of a development project: 1) needs assessment, 2) conceptual designs and feasibility, 3) design and action planning, 4) implementation, and 5) operation and maintenance. Using the defined sustainability factors and life cycle stages, an assessment matrix is developed. A series of guidelines for each matrix element are given for scoring the sustainability of a project. The guidelines are derived from best practice approaches to effective international development. The proposed sustainability matrix can be used as a guide for project planning or as an evaluation system to identify strengths and weaknesses in project approaches

Adapting Life Cycle Thinking Tools to Evaluate Project Sustainability in International Water and Sanitation Development Work.

The United Nations Millennium Development Goals have called issues of water and sanitation to the forefront of international development efforts. Engineers and other development workers are answering this call in increasing numbers. In order to achieve these goals it is necessary to overcome the historically low sustainability rates of development projects. This paper presents a logical framework for identifying and analyzing the factors that affect sustainable development of water and sanitation projects. It identifies five sustainability factors that are common in development literature and the policies of international aid organizations: 1) socio-cultural respect, 2) community participation, 3) political cohesion, 4) economic sustainability, and 5) environmental sustainability. A life cycle thinking approach is used to assess how project sustainability can be improved throughout the project life. Five life stages are identified to represent the life of a development project: 1) needs assessment, 2) conceptual designs and feasibility, 3) design and action planning, 4) implementation, and 5) operation and maintenance. Using the defined sustainability factors and life cycle stages, an assessment matrix is developed. A series of guidelines for each matrix element are given for scoring the sustainability of a project. The guidelines are derived from best practice approaches to effective international development. The proposed sustainability matrix can be used as a guide for project planning or as an evaluation system to identify strengths and weaknesses in project approaches

Sanitation Planning - A Tool to Achieve Sustainable Sanitation?

The global sanitation crisis and its importance to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is reflected in the specific sanitation target adopted in 2002. An enormous amount of funds will need to be invested in sanitation over the coming years in order to meet the MDGs. It is important that these funds are invested in sustainable sanitation systems, since providing sanitation systems that are not sustained is a very costly short-term solution that may contribute to long-term problems. The authors strongly believe that sanitation planning is one key to sustainable sanitation. Recent planning frameworks for sustainable sanitation systems suggest the utilization of a number of steps: (i) recognizing the existence of different domains across the city, (ii) analysis of the interests driving desire for the sanitation system and services for the stakeholders across the domains, (iii) analysis of external drivers and context that impact behaviour in each domain (iv) analysis of technical options, in relation to findings on context and criteria, (v) analysis of management requirements for proposed technical options, (vi) critical assessment whether the proposed system is fit for the purpose. This paper will discuss the merits and challenges of these planning methodologies in reference to experience from West Africa and Sweden. The intent is to illustrate the potential of these methods for increasing sustainable sanitation, but also to raise some key questions that may be missing from the frameworks