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Integrating Sanitation with Environment

by Zia-us-Sabur
THE Water and Sanlta tton Decade has drawn to a ctoae Globally. the policy-makers are opting for opening new horizons Perhaps the reason behind thia Is
ronment Environment en compasses a wide range of issues involving our surroundings. circumstances and Influences. Everybody seems to be pretty confused when It comes to launching progra mmes. As we are about to embark on the next decade, many are proposing an all out attack on environmental problems. Looking back tn anger the experts are tersely pointing out that In the race to service all people the environmental concerns were overlooked and now they are advocating to activate inttta ttws tn that direction. The Issue has gained further Importance because many of the environment related activities will add value to the economy by generating income. On the paper, the idea seems to be quite Impressive. But the have limited resources to spare and as the old saying goes we should indeed cut our coat as far as our cloth permits.
Speaking strictly from Forum's (NGO Forum for Drtn king Water Supply and Sanitation is a service delivery organisation of NGOs engaged in water and sanitation related activities In the country) point of the view the question is. should we keep our options open or continue to perform what we have been doing until now?
As the next decade Is about to unfold we have to sketch out our future courses of action in a well planned pragmatic manner. One point is worth emphasising here that plans dwell in the future in the realm of uncertainty Working out plans that completely fits tn with reality is less often possible than not Planners plan on the basis of certain as sumption, important variables are taken Into account tn search of predictable patterns out of chaotic reality. Therefore. it is too much to expect formulation of a concrete frame work of action plans readily translatable in to practice
Though there has been 32% increase during the third Five-Year-Plan compared to Second Five-Year Plan, yet the sectoral allocation for this sector declined from 2.1% to 1 2% Moreover, the ru-ral/urban ratio In terms of budget allocation for the two key government sector were :
The above trend suggests a market increase of preference for urban sanitation, we do not expect a radical shift of priority during the Fourth-Five-Year Plan, therefore, it Is highly probable that the allocation this time also won t fluctuate much. This is depressing as the targets to be achieved for the next decade will be a highly formidable task to per form, to say the least, we will be having 47 million more people to serve by the end of the year 2000. If by any sudden stroke of miracle the popuia tton growth comes to a stand still, we will have to serve 30 million people for providing safe water But it is more likely that there will be an addition of 47 million people bringing the number to 77 million. Let us draw a crude calculation; the material cost for each shal low tubcwcll Is 3000 (approx) Taka. With 77 million to serve we will be needing 2566 million Taka excluding capital expenditures. transportation and
administrative costs and of course, price hike of materials due lo inflation that steadily increases al a galloping rale per annum
On the otherhand. the sanitation scenario is so grim that any worthwhile breakthrough is unthinkable. If we take the liberty to assume that there was a total absence of sanitation coverage before the decade, in that case, we have achieved 5% coverage during this decade. For the next decade we will have to bring 95 million plus 47 million people under sanitation coverage. Assuming ft takes 400 Taka for a latrine to install with 10 people using a latrine, we will have to produce 14.2 million latrines by the year 2000 which will require an investment of 5680 million Taka, not to mention again the huge amount of capital expenditure for production centres and other charges, whereas the total budget allocation In waler and sanitation com-binedly amounted to 5.500 million Taka during this decade
Thal was the good news, the bad news Is. though, more than 70% coverage has been achieved yet only 12% of the beneficiaries use water for all purposes and the rest use safe water for drinking only On the otherhand. awareness for hygienic latrines can well be understood by only the 5% coverage.
The financial Investments for motivational support will going to be equally handsome as material support. Therefore, considering the enormity of fl nancial involvement for material support, changing the mind of the people should be
the prime point to ponder for the coming decade.
The idea is to keep things simple for maintaining the ef flclency and effectiveness of our present undertakings steady all along the next decade. But then again, keeping things simple Is not going to be that simple. Bringing the sanitation into an equitable position with water coverage Is no easy task to perform.
Sanitation lacks certain advantage is comparison with wa ter supply. Tubcwclls have demonstration effect. It is placed where people have easy access. Therefore, it speaks for itself. Install a tubewell In an areas Inhabited by 90 people, you can safely conclude that 90 people has been provided access to safe water. Use of tubewells is community based. It Is a meeting place and it is here that they discuss their problems, personal and of common Interest. On the other hand, use of latrines are family-based and is a subject that is not often taken about. Moreover, latrines continues to remain low priority luxury Item In villages In fact, tracing back Into our past we will be dismayed to see people of not only Bangladesh but the total sub-continent were, and still are. more or less oblivious of hygienic disposal of excreta As Dr Mishra. Consultant. Oxfam, Calcutta. Observes, "the re-
mains of our old forts and palaces throw enough light on luxurious way of living of the ra/as and nouxibs and we take enough pride tn showing cold and hot water hammams In these forts but probably, that Is the limit to which the con temporary taste for good living had grown and It could not develop beyond that. There has been hardly any evidence of latrines In these places and one Is only left to guess as to how the kings and queens used to case themselves! If that be the situation with the rulers. It will be futile exercise lo ask about the masses."
Again, If we consider the socio-economic dynamics of the country which Is Invariably Interlinked with the operational aspects of implementing such projects, our problem •411 only deepen For instance, resource mobilisation will require effective Interagency collaboration but the Institutional arrangements to expedite the process is riddled with too many loose ends and that does not make things any easier for
Therefore, only those challenges should be encountered which are reachable. By opening new frontiers In the other primary health or in other environmental sanitation related areas the Forum might find It self In the middle of nowhere
NGO Forum is an organlsa tton that specialises in water and sanitation. During all these years, with much trouble, the Forum has been able to create a carefully grafted organlsa ltonal set-up and operational mechanism to expedite the water and sanitation equation at the grassroots. Diversifying efforts towards different di reettons might mean sacrlflc Ing the quality of service that Forum has been providing till now Even in the water and sanitation sector we have to narrow down our priority and spearhead our major thrust of effort for the motivational sc tivltlcs If we can make a sue cessful sally out of It. we might as well be able to solve, specif ically the sanitation problem lo quite an extent. Hygienic dts posal of human excreta docs not really reauires prefabri cated material support, the solution, infact. Ites in the mind of the people
We have been subject to much of nice talks mingled with optimism since the very beginning but standing at the end of the decade It is dts quieting to sec things really did not turn around that way Since the major support pours tn from outside, we cannot an tietpate what we will be having in our pockets for the next decade. If there Is no substan tial Increase tn financial In vestment, we cannot expect to have any substantial change not only in motivating people but we wtll also not be able to bring sanitational coverage at a minimum equitable position with safe water coverage
But then again if the envi ronmental Issues are not taken into account we will be the losers in the long term. Keeping our first closed on the issue does not seem lo be very wise.
Unfortunately, as said before. we have to compromise our position, but is not that we do not have anything to do about environment. We can mount, at least to a limited extent. motivational campaign to build awareness about environment related Issues Therefore, the key point is let the water and sanitation Issues exist and environmental Issues subsist, for the coming decade.