| This action submitted in Local Actions at 4th World Water Forum (2006). | |
| Date | Mar.2,2007 |
| Region | America |
| Country | Mexico |
| Actor(s) [Nation (Ministry, Agency)/Organization] |
Sarar Transformación, SC. |
| Partner(s) | EcoSanRes UNDP |
| Title | TepozEco- Municipal Ecological Sanitation Pilot Project |
| Objective | TepozEco is organized around complementary subprojects, managed by interdisciplinary teams drawn from three technical components: Water and Sanitation Services, Urban Agriculture and Composting, and Environmental Education and Training. While generating a working example of applied ecological sanitation (ecosan) in a specific community, the wider objective of the Project is to change the focus of the municipal W&S sector, including its regulatory and institutional framework. The periurban town of San Juan Tlacotenco, an indigenous, water-scarce community of approximately 2000 people, is proving to be an ideal context to demonstrate a cost-effective, holistic ecosan model. Building upon community expressed needs and initiative, the San Juan subproject has implemented 30 household-centered ecosan systems. CEAMA, the State Water and Environment Commission, subsidized the construction materials, while the community provided labor. Current plans to construct 100 additional systems by mid-2006 are a reflection of acceptance by both the community and CEAMA. The long-term goal is to develop the first regulated ecosan town in Mexico without expectations of sewerage. A key element of sustainable sanitation is the reuse of sanitized products in agriculture, resulting in improved food security and quality of life. Project activities support a youth group (Impetu Joven) in establishing a community eco-station to provide maintenance for the household systems, including collection, processing and recycling of organic by-products at their composting center and plant nursery. The eco-station micro-enterprise is ensuring the action’s sustainability while providing employment opportunities to discourage migration of valuable community members. In the wider context, TepozEco has facilitated greater consensus between key municipal, state, and national stakeholders regarding adequate W&S regulations, mechanisms towards sustainable use of water resources, and appropriate technologies for treatment of wastewater. This has included three parallel lines of action: lobbying for constructed wetlands as a viable alternative for municipal wastewater treatment, a strategic assessment of W&S conditions in Tepoztlán, and establishing sanitation guidelines within local building regulations. The wetland is now the preferred solution among decision-makers; discussions for establishing a decentralized organization for W&S management are in progress; and the new building code awaits approval by the City Council. Whereas a few years ago sanitation was hardly mentioned, today the need to view sanitation as a system accessible to all is slowly permeating different levels of government. Applied research has focused on promoting public and domestic waterless urine harvesting – collection, transportation, storage and application. These activities have raised awareness regarding water conservation and the benefits of urine as a fertilizer. By “demystifying” urine, the Project has helped to sensitize people towards ecosan in general. Another micro-enterprise, in its pilot phase, is dedicated to construction, rental and maintenance of public portable male/female, waterless urinals – a unique opportunity for collecting and recycling “liquid gold”. Volumes collected have grown rapidly (by 240% compared to last year). The Demonstration Center displays working ecosan systems; provides information, training and support to the general public; and develops new prototypes or upgrades existing technologies. So far, the Project has held 12 workshops, advised 139 families, and designed 22 systems for institutions and private households. |
| Contents | Tepoztlán is a microcosm of socio-economic and environmental conditions for much of Latin America, displaying enormous contrasts: natural beauty and overexploitation of resources, rapid population growth but lack of planning, large income-generating activities but little spent on conservation, luxurious weekend homes and indigenous villages that lack basic services. Tepoztlán, seventy kilometers south of Mexico City, lies within El Tepozteco National Park in a strategic water catchment area at the top of the Río Balsas watershed. The main water source is an aquifer supplying public and private wells. The aging, inefficient municipal water distribution network caters to the urban area, while the remaining population is provided through tank trucks, private wells, springs, and rainwater harvesting – often at higher costs. Due to soil conditions and topography, conventional centralized sanitation is unfeasible. Sanitation practices in the urban core include approximately 70% septic tanks with infiltration pits; the remaining 30% is comprised of latrines, open defecation and dry toilets. This proportion is inverted within periurban and rural settlements. Septic systems are constructed to avoid maintenance – often connected to fissures in the volcanic soil. Sludge is not regularly emptied, so risk of groundwater contamination is high. Recent water quality tests indicate that fecal coliform and nitrate levels exceed national standards. In 2002 and 2003 municipal, state, and federal funds were allocated to construct fully subsidized sewerage for the downtown area to serve approximately 4,000 PE. To date, only a fraction of the planned 7 km collector pipe is completed and there is no consensus on the treatment technology. In the meantime, some untreated sewage is collected in tank trucks and discharged at the municipal garbage dump, while the rest flows into nearby ravines. This situation reflects not only lack of vision from authorities, but also inequities in infrastructure allotments that favor the rich at the expense of the poor. Although legislation sets clear guidelines for regulating waterborne sanitation, effective enforcement is practically nonexistent. The conditions in Tepoztlán are a reflection of the national situation. Indeed, even though law requires municipalities to treat their wastewaters, treatment plants are rare, while those that exist are either non-functional or operate below design efficiency. Moreover, the status quo favors unsustainable solutions, such as sewage without treatment, and does not consider decentralized, low-tech, –-but more sustainable–- sanitation options. Furthermore, national law establishes a 3-year municipal term with no reelection, seriously inhibiting long-term vision and strategic planning to address chronic W&S needs, while reinforcing lack of continuity in development programs initiated by previous administrations. The TepozEco Municipal Ecological Sanitation Pilot Project addresses critical interrelated problems common to many Latin American municipalities: low sanitation coverage; wastewater-induced pollution –-which limits access to safe water, threatens public health, and endangers ecosystems–- and mismanagement of natural resources, including non-renewable nutrients for agricultural production. The project’s integrated closed-loop systems approach, which focuses on sustainable management of separate domestic residue flows (urine, faeces, greywater, organic and non-organic solid waste), radically reduces water consumption, while safely recycling valuable nutrients into the soil. |
| Means of Implementation |
StakeHolder; TepozEco is involved with a wide range of stakeholders, from local to international level: TEPOZTLÁN Families, user groups and local organizations in San Juan Tlacotenco, as well as other neighborhoods (colonias and barrios) of Tepoztlán. Close relationships with youth and women groups have been critical. Local Government, including the town representatives (ayudantías) and municipal councilpersons. Comisariado Ejidal (local farmland management authority). Tepoztlán Valle Sagrado AC, representative municipal civil society organization (CSO) formed under the auspices of a national sustainable tourism initiative. Colegio de Arquitectos (Achitects’ association). La Jugarreta, which works with local youth, and other local CSOs. El Taller Artes y Oficios AC, collaborated in a diploma course, various workshops and the design and production of training materials. Various schools, from preschool through to the CONALEP, technical college based in Tepoztlán. Consejo Empresarial (Chamber of Commerce). MORELOS STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES CEAMA – Morelos State Commission for Water and Environment. CONANP – National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (Sarar/TepozEco is the only NGO on the Morelos State Advisory Board). CIMMA – State Children’s Environmental Summit. Sarar/TepozEco plays an active role in the organization. SEMARNAT-INE – Environment and Natural Resource Ministry / National Institute of the Environment. INDESOL – Ministry of Social Development supports ecosan capacity building. Secretaría de Economía y Comercio – Ministry of Finance and Commerce. Ministry of Tourism (Agenda 21). NATIONAL NGOs Fundación Comunidad AC – funded ecosan capacity building. Centro Mexicano del Agua, Guadalajara. INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS UNDP / BDP / EEG – United Nations Development Program / Bureau of Development Policy / Energy and Environment Group. SEI – Stockholm Environment Institute / Sida – Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency – global EcoSanRes (Ecological Sanitation Research) program. NCCR-N/S – National Center for Competency in Research – North/South (Switzerland). WASTE advisers on urban environment and development – The international ISSUE program funded by Government of the Netherlands. PRIVATE SECTOR VERNA Ekologi – Swedish partner in EcoSanRes Network. Comercializadora GERALI S.A. de C.V., and ADDICOM, Mexican and South African waterless urinal manufacturers and distributors, respectively. CITA – Centro de Innovación para la Tecnología Alternativa, produces cement and fiberglass UD seats and urinals. Peter Osvik AS – Norwegian industrial and furniture designer collaborates to develop more attractive user-friendly ecotoilet fixtures. UNIVERSITIES and RESEARCH CENTERS Alliant International University, Mexico City – Sustainable water management training and diploma courses. UAEM – Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos – Department of Agriculture and Microbiology Laboratory for analysis of compost, urine and water samples. SLU - Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences / Department of Biometry and Engineering. SANDEC/EAWAG - Water and Sanitation in Developing Countries, Switzerland. ACEPESA – Costa Rica. CENCA – Instituto de Desarrollo Urbano, Peru. NETWORKS LaRedSeco – Latin American Ecological Sanitation Network, coordinated by Sarar. Red AGUILA – Latin American Urban Agriculture Network. RECALL – Latin American Rainwater Harvesting Network. Red de Género y Medio Ambiente. FANCA – Freshwater Action Network of Central America. Means; Sarar/TepozEco maintains a close relationship with many key international organizations, several of which manage important ecological sanitation programs funded by their own national governments. The nature of these partnerships includes program and strategy development, information exchange, capacity building, networking and financial support. TepozEco receives core funding from EcoSanRes/Sida (Sweden) and UNDP/BDP/EEG, as well as targeted financial support from NCCR-North/South (Switzerland) and WASTE (Netherlands). The project has received funding from Mexican institutions such as INDESOL (Institute of Social Development), CEAMA, and Fundación Comunidad AC. Local partners that have made significant cash and in-kind contributions include: the Municipal Government of Tepoztlán, the Comisariado Ejidal, El Taller Artes y Oficios AC, Tepoztlán Valle Sagrado AC, and members of the population in San Juan Tlacotenco. Support from international donors has been used primarily for funding technical assistance (i.e. the TepozEco project team) and small infrastructure facilities for demonstration. The construction of household esosan units has been financed by user families whenever possible, and in the low-income demonstration settlement of San Juan, with materials subsidized by CEAMA. Families have provided some local materials and covered all of the labor costs (about 30% of total). Local government authorities have played a critical role in organization and follow-up. System monitoring and support services are being provided by local groups: Impetu Joven in San Juan for domestic ecosan system maintenance and Oro Líquido (liquid gold) in Tepoztlán town for rental and maintenance services of public urinals. With support from the Secretaría de Economía y Comercio, TepozEco is providing guidance towards developing these initiatives into sustainable micro-enterprises. The Project coordinates closely with a range of local, state and federal organizations in implementation of integrated municipal ecological sanitation strategies. The following list illustrates how some of these organizations impact in the different components of the program: Local government: Integrated W&S management - Solid waste management & composting - Urban agriculture - Wastewater treatment - Greywater management - Public education TVS: Integrated W&S management - Urine harvesting - Solid waste management & composting - Wastewater treatment - Greywater management - Public education Ejidatarios : Solid waste management & composting - Wastewater treatment NGOs: Integrated W&S management - Urine harvesting - Solid waste management & composting - Urban agriculture - Wastewater treatment - Greywater management - Public education Consejo Empresarial : Integrated W&S management - Urine harvesting - Solid waste management & composting - Greywater management CEAMA : Integrated W&S management - Solid waste management & composting - Wastewater treatment - Public education Ministry of Tourism : Integrated W&S management - Solid waste management & composting Ministry of Environment : Integrated W&S management - Solid waste management & composting - Wastewater treatment - Public education CNA : Integrated W&S management - Wastewater treatment IMTA : Urine harvesting - Wastewater treatment GERALI : Urine harvesting SEDESOL : Integrated W&S management - Public education Commercial associations : Solid waste management & composting National universities : Solid waste management & composting - Urban agriculture - Wastewater treatment - Greywater management - Public education Ideas; If governments of developing countries seriously expect to achieve the MDG sanitation target, they must realize that conventional waterborne systems are simply too expensive and unsustainable to cater to most of the population. With ecosan it is possible to reduce domestic water consumption by as much as half, recycle a significant amount of greywater, increase soil fertility (through application of sanitized products as organic fertilizers), and close the loop to urban agriculture. Ecosan addresses water scarcity, improves health and food security, and diminishes reliance on non-renewable fertilizers, such as phosphates. Through participatory and social marketing approaches and a range of products catering to distinct socio-cultural tastes and habits, TepozEco is demonstrating that ecosan solutions are suitable for different socio-economic population segments. Water borne double-flush urine diversion (UD) toilets, pioneered in Sweden, offer an alternative for those who have resistance to dry sanitation. Earth composting toilets, such as the fossa alterna and arborloo, are low-cost alternatives – and major improvement – to pit latrines and open-air defecation. The UD dry toilet has demonstrated to be versatile and adaptable in many regions: East Asia, Latin America, Scandinavia, and Africa. In partnerships with local manufacturers and foreign product developers, TepozEco is researching and testing new technologies and products to make ecosan more available and acceptable. In conjunction with GERALI (Mexico) and Addicom (South Africa), an innovative, low-cost odor trap for urinals and UD seats is now being produced in Mexico. New models with this trap should significantly improve acceptability of and access to ecosan. In collaboration with international specialists, TepozEco is also breaking new ground in the development of greywater treatment systems that are easy to maintain, inexpensive and effective. Mulch beds show great promise for domestic treatment and reuse. Consistent with the vision of ecosan as a complete system, ecotoilet models in San Juan include rainwater harvesting, an integrated washbasin, greywater treatment in mulch beds, and urine collection for later application in agriculture. Families also separate organic and inorganic residues and the composted organic fraction is incorporated into their fields. In the next phase, modular units will include options for bathing and washing facilities with proper greywater treatment –and more emphasis on integrating the module to the house. Perhaps the most innovative aspect of the Project is to involve different sectors of the population to ensure quality and sustainability, not just quantity of units built. The use of participatory techniques has been crucial to allow community participation, personal involvement in decision-making processes, appropriation of ecosan systems, and adequate operation and maintenance. Preliminary work involved a gender-oriented evaluation of sanitation facilities and practices, which sparked women’s participation in the remainder of the process. Also during early stages, TepozEco provided ecosan training to motivated youth, who are now offering monitoring services, establishing a micro-enterprise, and enjoying improved status within the community. Local masons were trained during the construction of dry toilets, so they are now capable of replicating these systems. Costs; The Swedish EcoSanRes Project coordinated by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) has provided core funds for the TepozEco Project. Since the program is conceived mainly as technical support, most of these funds have been applied to salaries and fees, as well as administrative costs, for a multidisciplinary team of part-time and full-time ecosan experts and local counterpart staff (e.g. architect, biologists, agronomists, environmental and water management engineers and social scientist). Women have constantly been more than 50% of the professional team. Another major source of funding has been the United Nations Development Program (UNDP/BDP/EEG), primarily for research and international outreach. Recent research has focused on groundwater quality for strategic assessment of W&S; vulnerability and risk analysis as a baseline for sanitation regulations; and development of guidelines for urine application and fecal composting. Outreach activities consist of attending –and hosting– seminars, conferences and training relating to ecosan and appropriate technologies. Recently, team members gave presentations at the Third International Conference on Ecological Sanitation in Durban, South Africa. In September the Project hosted an international Workshop on Urban Agriculture and Ecological Sanitation, with participants representing several Latin American countries (see WWF4 registration). During 2004, the Project received funding from the NCCR-NS/EAWAG (Switzerland) PAMS (Partnership Actions for Mitigating Syndromes of Global Change) initiative to develop a urine harvesting system. Approximately half of the budget was used to pay salaries and fees of product designers and social promoters, while the remaining half financed initial product development and the construction of 12 portable male/female urinals. Equipment, such as a pump and containers ranging from 20 to 1000 liters, was also purchased with these funds. Currently, NCCR-NS/EAWAG is funding activities that will help ensure sustainability in the San Juan subproject. The Project has channeled a portion of these funds to assist the Impetu Joven youth group in constructing the eco-station as a support mechanism to the 30 domestic ecosan systems. In addition, WASTE--Advisers on Urban Environment and Development, The Netherlands, through their government supported ISSUE program, has provided a small grant to assist in regional outreach, networking and capacity building. Perhaps most important is the fact that international donor funds have been used to leverage local and national resources to support ecological sanitation initiatives, including input from local families, the municipal government, the farmers association, CEAMA, Fundación Comunidad AC (with sponsorship from a large private enterprise), and INDESOL, among others. A partial list of external funding: Year 2005: SEI: Core funding Total: $105,000 USD UNDP: Applied research, study visits Total cost: $34,200 USD NCCR-NS/ PAMS: San Juan community ecosan project Total: $26,092 USD CEAMA: Materials subsidy for domestic ecosan systems Total: $22,017 USD Year 2004: SEI: Core funding, technical specialists, administration Total: $100,000 USD NCCR-NS/ PAMS: Urine harvesting project Total: $20,000 USD INDESOL: Educational materials Total: $2,700 USD TEPOZTLÁN MUNICIPALITY: In-kind support eco-station Total: 10,028 USD |
| CSD Decision |
D-a-(vii):Targeting subsidies for the poor, including connection costs; D-j-(ii):Allocating a specific and adequately resourced budget for sanitation; D-a-(vi):Employing the full range of policy instruments, including regulation, voluntary measures, market and information-based tools and cost recovery of water services that contribute to the sustainability of services provision, without cost recovery objectives becoming a barrier to access to safe water by poor people; D-j-(i):Establishing an institutional home for sanitation, prioritizing sanitation in national development plans, and incorporating sanitation in integrated water resources management plans; D-a-(ii):Strengthening capacities of national and local authorities in resource allocation and management, quality control, development and implementation of water supply projects, and monitoring of service provision; D-b-(iii):Promoting and strengthening commercial capacities of local suppliers; D-k-(i):Providing managerial and technical training to public utilities, community-based organizations and small-scale providers for development, operation and maintenance of sanitation systems; D-k-(iv):Promoting and strengthening commercial capacities of local suppliers in establishing sustainable sanitation delivery models; D-m-(i):Promoting gender-sensitive sanitation and hygiene education and awareness, including through social marketing and public information campaigns such as Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for All (WASH), and improve understanding of the linkages among sanitation, hygiene and health; D-b-(ii):Tapping local and indigenous knowledge in project development and implementation; D-c-(i):Promoting access to appropriate low-cost and environmentally sustainable water use and supply technologies through North-South and South-South cooperation and partnerships; D-k-(iii):Tapping local and indigenous knowledge in project development and implementation; D-l-(ii):Investing in research and development projects including in applications of indigenous technologies and ecological sanitation; D-l-(iv):Strengthening North-South and South-South cooperation in developing and applying sanitation technology; |
| Attachment | |
| Situation | Ongoing |
| Target Year | When choosing sanitation systems, authorities seldom have the proper tools or background to evaluate environmental, social, economic, and health factors. Instead, conventional sanitation options are viewed as recipes to be applied in all circumstances, for all people, without performing a weighed analysis of these and other key issues. TepozEco is developing tools to steer the decision-making process towards sustainability, based on a strategic, multi-stakeholder approach to municipal planning. They include: Participatory methods, based on PHAST/SARAR methodologies. Open Planning of Sanitation Systems, developed in collaboration with EcoSanRes. Matrices for comparison of different sanitation systems, which include economic, health, environmental, and cultural aspects. Strategic Environmental Assessment for W&S planning. These tools have helped to facilitate a productive dialogue with both civil society and government, understand better each system’s functions, and refine criteria for adequate sanitation. Prevalent national political and structural conditions inhibit long-term municipal planning because every three years a new administration takes over –including W&S service providers who are usually appointed by the municipal president. Therefore establishing a decentralized water utility, with increased community participation, is crucial to foster the proper environment for sustainable use of water resources. TepozEco’s work in this direction is well underway. Probably the strongest barrier to W&S sustainability is general lack of awareness and information about medium and long-term effects of present trends. Through its environmental education component, TepozEco is reaching many layers of society to share information and promote behavioral change that will result in more coherent practices. Perhaps the greatest impact, so far, has been on key institutional stakeholders who now have an increased awareness on these issues and are more committed to address them. Experience has shown that there is more resistance to change in populations where waterborne sanitation systems are already in place, even when not sustainable. It is also clear that if people see well functioning examples of ecological systems and have economic incentives to install them, such resistance diminishes. An unexpected outcome has been that state –rather than local– authorities have provided greater economic support to pilot ecosan activities. A key strategy of the Project is to “put ourselves out of a job” by facilitating the creation of a decentralized W&S institution that can provide the appropriate framework of regulations, incentives and tariffs to promote sustainable practices, on the one hand, in partnership with small and medium sized enterprises to share in service provision, on the other. The Project has generated significant learning in a critical, emerging field and international agencies have responded accordingly. At this stage, funding for further R&D is crucial so that technology and capacity are transferred to local communities. The next phase will focus on institutionalizing ecosan locally and disseminating information and capacity to interested partners in the rest of Latin America. EcoSanRes, the main international partner, has committed to at least two more years of funding, while the project generates additional support within federal housing, urban planning, sustainable agriculture, and poverty alleviation programs. |
| Target Area / Place | Region:Americas Scope:City |
| Expected Outcome(S) | TepozEco is one of three urban ecological sanitation pilot projects supported by EcoSanRes (along with China and South Africa) and shares research experiences with other ventures in Africa, Asia, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. These local actions are designed to implement and demonstrate alternatives (or complementary approaches) to conventional sanitation practices. As such, there is a strong emphasis on research and development to adapt technologies to local conditions. TepozEco is unique in that, unlike other ecosan pilot projects, which are primarily developing new systems, this project works in an established settlement. It must, therefore, compete against conventional systems and face the obstacles of dwellings that were not conceived with ecosan in mind. TepozEco has thus been described as “retrofitting a small town”. The challenge is partly technical: to design and refine ecosan systems for management and treatment of separate domestic and community “waste” flows – human excreta from UD ecotoilets, greywater, and organic solid waste. However, the Project is also confronted with the more difficult task of establishing an appropriate framework for ecosan to be considered in policy, planning and budget allotments, while most government decisions and programs are geared towards often unsustainable waterborne solutions. Since its outset, the TepozEco project has pioneered the links between sanitation and urban agriculture. Decreasing soil fertility, escalating prices of chemical fertilizers, and contamination of water bodies – due to leaching and runoff of agrochemicals– highlight the need to develop alternatives that recover the valuable nutrients found in human excreta for agricultural purposes. Adequately stored urine is sterile and most nutrients in human excreta are found therein – in forms ideal for plant uptake. Aside from its direct use in agriculture, urine can improve composting processes, both as an activator and accelerator. Compost may then be used as a soil conditioner. Public collection of urine is feasible and could provide a significant source of nutrients for urban agriculture. Nevertheless, given present agricultural practices, the total potential amount of urine in the municipality would be insufficient to substitute for all commercial fertilizers. Rather, to fertilize large-scale crop production, it will be advisable to combine urine application with other sustainable, organic agricultural practices. Urban urine harvesting (UH) can also have significant impact on water conservation, resulting in environmental, health and economic benefits. Finally, the project has demonstrated that local population – at least in Tepoztlán– can quickly overcome initial cultural rejections through demonstration and education. It is likely that urban and periurban collection services for surplus ecosan domestic by-products would have to be subsidized at the initial phase, just as wastewater treatment plants generally are. The advantage, however, is that a neighborhood or community eco-station and composting facility would ensure proper treatment while encouraging the adoption of sustainable sanitation practices. Lobbying for the inclusion of UH within existing state and municipal legislation is crucial to allow and encourage activities for closing the nutrient loop, while maintaining environmental and health risk standards. The WHO guidelines for the safe use of urine in agriculture, proposed by EcoSanRes, are a major step in that direction. By questioning the prevailing water-focused paradigm, TepozEco is demonstrating a feasible alternative to improve health, conserve water, and prevent pollution – while safely returning valuable nutrients to the soil for improved agriculture and food security. It is indeed clear that in water-scarce communities, ecosan can be a leapfrogging mechanism to bypass expensive, wasteful and non-functional conventional infrastructure, while obtaining similar standards and additional benefits. Just as cellular phones now thrive in areas that awaited cable telephones for decades, we expect ecosan to provide a long sought-for solution to almost half of the world’s households. We are thus working today to ensure that the option for the future is available when needed. The Project has contributed significantly in the regulatory and institutional framework. Undoubtedly a great challenge of the 21st century is to shift the momentum of the W&S sector, which is currently driven by linear, end-of-pipe uni-sectoral thinking, into a more holistic and sustainable perspective. On the one hand, it is becoming increasingly evident that the challenges of the MDGs cannot be addressed through conventional centralized top-down approaches. On the other, existing laws, institutional arrangements, and financial mechanisms seriously inhibit – if not prohibit – alternative, community based decentralized actions. It is for this reason that TepozEco has joined hands with other national and international experts to reconsider the setting in which present W&S programs operate, while encouraging local, state, and national stakeholders to engage in a constructive dialogue to consider testing sustainable alternatives on a pilot basis. Whereas the solutions will be context-specific, the basic approach can be readily applied to most of Latin America and other regions. Indeed, this is already happening through enriching south-south – as well as north-south and south-north – partnerships and exchange of ecosan technologies. Inspiring, training, and supporting others are an essential part of the Sarar/TepozEco mission. During the next phase, activities will intensify the delivery of technical support and capacity building services to community groups, NGOs, private entrepreneurs – such as housing developers – and the general public. In fact, one of the most important by-products of the process has been the consolidation of a skilled, experienced and committed team of ecosan professionals who are poised to share their unique knowledge and capacity. Finally, perhaps the key achievement of the Project has been satisfied local “customers”, which has, in turn, generated increased demand for ecotoilets in San Juan. The Project has demonstrated that by providing an aesthetically appealing, functional and affordable ecotoilet system, it is possible to overcome the stigma of the “dry toilet” as the inferior, temporary solution only until sewerage becomes available. These lessons have also underscored the need to put more attention to design elements to stimulate demand, financial and credit mechanisms to increase access, and improved service delivery and maintenance support to assure user satisfaction and sustainability. All of these, together with an appropriate regulatory and institutional environment, will be critical for institutionalizing ecosan in Tepoztlán –and beyond. |
| Relevance to the Plan of Implementation of WSSD |
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| Progress | |
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| Other Information |
Type of Action; Isolated Relevant Agencies; Government,Multilateral,Civil,NGO Orientation; Corrective/Preventive Replicability; Yes 4th World Water Forum: Local Actions ID; LA0955 Forum Secretariat Recommendation ; Yes Kyoto Prize Finalist; No Presented in Sessions; Yes Original Language; English |
| Contact Person | Ron Sawyer |
| Position | Ron Sawyer Director of Sarar Transformación, he has more than 30 years of experience in Latin America, Africa and Asia, providing technical support and training in the use of participatory methods focused on water and sanitation. He manages a regional program for promoting ecological sanitation in cooperation with UNDP (UNDP/BDP/EEG), as well as the TepozEco Pilot Project with support from EcoSanRes/SEI of Sweden. Ron has been living in Mexico for the past 25 years. |
| rsawyer@laneta.apc.org | |
| Tel | +52(739)395-3755 |
| Fax | |
| Address | |
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