Category: publications

Philippine Allotment Garden Manual

The “Philippine Allotment Garden Manual is a product of research and extension activities of the Periurban Vegetable Project (PUVeP) of Xavier University College of Agriculture in cooperation with the city government of Cagayan de Oro, barangay administrations, local communities as well as universities and local government units from Germany and Belgium.

What started in October 1997 as an international research project on urban and periurban vegetable production, has resulted in eight allotment gardens for almost 100 urban poor families of Cagayan de Oro, a city in the Philippines.”

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Global Atlas of Excreta, Wastewater Sludge, and Biosolids Management

2551UN Habitat recently published a new “Global Atlas of Excreta, Wastewater Sludge, and Biosolids Management” with a focus on “Moving Forward the Sustainable and Welcome Uses of a Global Resource”.

“The idea for the creation of this Global Atlas of Excreta, Wastewater Sludge, and Biosolids Management originated at the IWA Biosolids Conference, “Moving Forward Wastewater Biosolids Sustainability: Technical, Managerial, and Public Synergy” held in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada in June 2007.”

The 5,4 MB PDF is 632 pages long and can be downloaded here for free.

(ISBN: 978-92-1-132009-1)

RUAF magazine with special focus on productive sanitation

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The new issue of the RUAF Urban Agriculture Magazine “Water in Agriculture” features a special section on reuse-oriented or productive sanitation systems.

Productive sanitation stands for closing the nutrient loop between sanitation and agriculture to achieve higher agricultural production and improved food security.

The RUAF Magazines can be downloaded here: http://www.ruaf.org/node/101

Issue 20 features among other interesting articles:

  • Page 38: Productive Sanitation: Increasing food security by reusing treated excreta and greywater in agriculture by Robert Gensch
  • Page 41: Ecosan Fertilizers with Potential to Increase Yields in West Africa by Linus Dagerskog, Simeon Kenfack and Hakan Jönsson
  • Page 44: Reuse of Ecological Sanitation Products in Urban Agriculture: Experiences from the Philippines by Robert Holmer and Gina Itchon

free publication on sanitation systems

compendium-2There’s an upcoming “Compendium of Sanitation Systems and Technologies” aimed at planners, engineers, development experts and indivuals who are dealing with sanitation.

The Compendium is a joint production of Eawag/Sandec and the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) and will be available free as downloadable PDF, or be ordered for US$ 30 from Sandec in due time.

“By presenting an extensive array of available options, we hope that this Compendium helps promote people-centred solutions to real sanitation problems by providing information to those who are looking for alternatives to the most common offerings.” (source)

I had a look at a preview edition of this compendium the other day and have to admit it really is a very smart & handy publication for those who would like to get an overview of existing technologies and approaches. It will certainly become very popular as it is devided into two sections:

  • Section 1 describes different system configurations at the macro scale.
  • Section 2 consists of 52 different Technology Information Sheets, which describe the main advantages, disadvantages, applications and the appropriateness of the technologies required to build a comprehensive
    sanitation system. Each Technology Information Sheet is complemented by a descriptive illustration.

Contrary to many other recent publications in the sanitation sector, it doesn’t focus on the political framework issues, but instead provides an ideal overview on existing technical solutions and those to come.

Compendium of Sanitation Systems and Technologies
158 Pages, 52 Technical Drawings, 29,7 x 21 cm.
Eawag/Sandec and WSSCC, 2008
ISBN: 978-3-906484-44-0

The ‘Great Stink’ of the 21st Century

INVITATION to a World Water Day 2008 event hosted by Earthscan and The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Join us for a panel discussion to launch The Last Taboo*: Opening the Door on the Global Sanitation Crisis – a new book supported by UNICEF, on the global sanitation crisis

thelasttabooTOPIC: The ‘Great Stink’ of the 21st Century

Why do 1.5 million children die each year from diarrhoeal disease? Because tiny particles of excreta get into their mouths. How? Because 150 years after ‘The Great Stink of London’ brought about a sanitation revolution, 2.6 billion people – 40% of the global population – do not have a decent place to ‘go’ and their bodily wastes are left lying about. Diarrhoeal diseases are not ‘water-related’, they are ‘s**t-related’. Until we call a spade a spade, this scandal will continue.

2008 is the International Year of Sanitation, and now is the time to speak out boldly and open up the excretory frontier. Join the speakers to insist that ways be found to overcome the silence which inhibits the access of millions of people from that basic necessity for public health and human dignity – a toilet.

Speakers: Maggie Black, co-author of The Last Taboo; Professor Sandy Cairncross, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; Girish Menon, International Operations Director at Water Aid, DFID speaker to be confirmed

When: 20th March 2008

Time: 1pm – 2:30pm

Venue: The Lucas Room, London School of Tropical Hygiene and Medicine, London, UK

Location map: www.lshtm.ac.uk/location

*About the book
The Last Taboo: Opening the Door on the Global Sanitation Crisis, by Maggie Black and Ben Fawcett, brings this neglected topic out of the closet. This highly readable book is aimed at all readers interested in the causes and consequences of this global sanitation crisis. Discounted copies will be available at the event. Those who can’t make it to the event can purchase copies online.