United Nations Environmental Programme
Sanitation, Wastewater Management and Sustainability: From Waste Disposal to Resource Recovery offers a new conceptual framework for planning and investing in sustainable systems, centring on resource recovery and reuse. It examines the social, governance, economic, health, environmental and technological dimensions of sustainable sanitation and wastewater management and resource recovery.
– Arno Rosemarin, (Senior Research Fellow),-Stockholm environment institute
The second edition of Sanitation, Wastewater Management and Sustainability: From Waste Disposal to Resource Recovery aims to focus on how very few other sectors have as much an impact to the environment as sanitation and wastewater management. Wastewater and human wastes are commonly seen as useless, however they can be valuable resources, which if utilized correctly can help to improve the ecosystem health and our own wellbeing. There has been a growing need for proper wastewater management, as there are many resources in wastewater can be reused. The rich organic matter contained in our excreta and wastewater can be used to improve soils or produce clean-turning, low-carbon biogas – and if properly treated, wastewater can be used for agricultural irrigation or even clean drinking water This book discusses the latest experiences on how to make sanitation and wastewater management more sustainable.
Water, Water resources, Sanitation, Health Sanitation, Gender Sensitization
The aim of the book is to bring together the latest thinking and practice in sustainable sanitation and wastewater management. Giving real-world examples and illustrations, it aims to make the key issues in system design, implementation and operation accessible to policy audiences and development practitioners, while still providing a useful overview for technical and academic readers more directly involved in sanitation and wastewater management.
| The aim is to bring about change by showing how improved sanitation and wastewater management can benefit both humans and the environment. |
The book mainly talks about the following topics-
- Current thinking on sustainable development as an analytical framework. The main focus is on sanitation systems – which account for the vast majority of wastewater – and on recovery of the resources found in wastewater, excreta and other organic waste flows for productive reuse in agriculture, energy production and a range of other applications.
- It discusses in broad terms some of the ways the resources in wastewater, excreta and other organic waste can be recovered, as well as the potential for sustainable sanitation and wastewater management with resource recovery, along with some of the major challenges that need to be overcome to realize it.
- It delves deeper into the concept of a resource management approach to sanitation and wastewater management, and gives some guidance on how to estimate the potential for resource recovery and reuse in a given system.
- Looks at the technical dimension of sustainability, and particularly how to combine technologies into a system that best meets the needs and constraints of the specific context.
- The two more dimensions of system sustainability: protecting public and environmental health, respectively.
- Discusses the role of the government and local authorities in creating an enabling environment for sustainable sanitation and wastewater management. It also explores sustainability issues in the social sphere, particularly how to win social support for sanitation and resource reuse, and how to maximize social benefits such as safe and equitable access.
- The issues of financial and economic sustainability, including how to calculate the costs and benefits of a shift to sustainable management, and how to finance it.
- It presents some specific examples of technological solutions for resource recovery and reuse.
The current status of wastewater management differs widely around the world. Most of the world’s population lives in big cities which have sewer systems however large segments live in areas which do not have proper sewage systems. Many countries do not treat their wastewater which pollutes water bodies and agricultural land. More efficient use, reuse and recycling of the resources found in excreta and wastewater can contribute to multiple SDGs. Sustainable management of natural resources is also a core focus of the circular economy, which has gained a lot of recognition during the last decade. Since the concepts and frameworks of circular economy are largely still evolving, and the management of wastewater and excreta are often not explicitly mentioned in circular economy strategies, there are good opportunities for giving sanitation and wastewater a more central position in the circular economy.
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References of work:
https://www.sei.org/publications/sanitation-wastewater-and-sustainability/
