Philippine Symposium on Sustainable Sanitation, Makati City, Philippines, 15‐16 October 2009

Organised by: Philippine Ecosan Network (PEN) under the Stockholm Environmental Institute – EcoSanRes 2 Philippine Knowledge Node Project, and with support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Theme – “Sustainable Sanitation Capacity Development for Decision Makers”

The Symposium will open with a Global Handwashing Day Celebration.

The objectives of the Symposium are:

• To promote Sustainable Sanitation and hygiene concepts, ideas and principles among major sanitation stakeholders and decision makers;
• To sustain the momentum of Sanitation initiatives created by the 2008 International Year of Sanitation and the National Sanitation Summits of 2006 and 2008;
• To gather and give recognition to leading institutions who have embarked on essential programs, innovative projects and good practices on sustainable sanitation and hygiene for everybody to learn from; and
• To share and inform the participants on major policy reforms and programmatic efforts by key stakeholders and support institutions.

The organisers also expect that the outcomes symposium will feed into the East Asia Ministerial Conference on Sanitation 2 (EASAN-2) in January 2010 to be hosted by the Government of the Philippines.

Tentative Programme [PDF file]

Read more on the PEN web site.

For further inquiries, please contact Ms. Majen Tong at telephone number +632 433-9042 or thru email at sussanphils [at] caps.ph

Philippines – Floating sanitary toilets

Feature: Floating toilets, anyone?

The ‘floating sanitary toilets’ (FST), a local innovative sanitation technology, was developed by the Center for Health Development of the Department of Health for La Union, Pangasinan and Ilocos residents.

The FST is a low cost pour-flush sanitation facility which floats on water. Its structure and waste treatment materials are made of locally available indigenous materials such as bamboo, nipa, sawali, used plastic drums, sea corals or river gravel/stones, charcoal and garden soil.

It was conceptualized in response to the challenge of preventing the contamination of the different bodies of water with e. coli, vibrio cholera and other micro-organisms causing severe diarrheal diseases and outbreaks.

So how does the FST work?

There are actually three models of FST. For FST Model A, the fecal materials go to the digestion chamber then it is de-sludged offshore. This model is good for one to two persons.

For FST Model B and C, the fecal materials go to the digestion chambers where an aerobic decomposition occurs. The effluents then go to the treatment chamber which further improves the quality of the wastewater to levels within the DENR wastewater standards.

Model B is good for one household composed of four to five persons, while model C is communal and can serve four households.

The FST’s primary targets are fish cage/fishpen watchers and operators, households living along riverbanks or coastal areas, floating villages and people needing sanitation facility for aqua culture activities /projects in open rivers and seas.

The cost of materials for FST is quite minimal as per the estimated cost of operation and maintenance per person. Model A costs 18,000 with a P3 cost of operation and maintenance per person. Model B costs 25,000 with maintenance of one peso per person while model C costs 50,000 with less maintenance of less than one peso.

The FST is beneficial both for the bodies of water and the public. Aside from being a low-cost sanitation facility option for bodies of water, it is easy to use and readily accessible. It provides government and the constituents of the opportunity to resolve sanitation issues in a collaborative manner at an affordable cost.

FST is also an interim and long = term solution to the problem of water-borne and water-related diseases and epidemics.

Source: PIA Information Services, Aug. 27, 2009

Documentary Film: Coming Clean on Sanitation

This 22-minute documentary film, produced in 2009 by the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) with assistance from 5 national broadcasting companies in the region, showcases the difficulties experienced and actions undertaken by individuals, communities, organizations, and governments in the following 6 countries:

• China, People’s Republic of –  A photographer documents the degradation and revival of Suzhou Creek.
• India – People clamor for individual household toilets after realizing its benefits.
• Indonesia - A dedicated teacher and her students campaign for the use of public toilets.
• Pakistan - A cleanup woman comes home to a community of garbage, without water and sanitation.
• Philippines - Lakeside slums deal with water pollution and the consequences of water-borne diseases.
• Viet Nam - A dying lake is revived by a huge development project, benefiting lakeside towns.

To get a DVD copy – go here

Source: ADB

Philippines – Dagupan okays first of its kind health, sanitation code

DAGUPAN CITY, Jan. 16 (PNA)–The city council here has passed Dagupan’s own comprehensive health and sanitation code which was dubbed as a “milestone legislation”.

City Health Officer Leonard Carbonell hailed the code authored by Councilors Jesus Canto and Michael Fernandez, that codified all national laws and existing city ordinances dealing on health and sanitation.

He said he was able to ask the authors of the code to insert as one of its provisions proper septic management practices for homes and industries so that the city’s aquifer would be protected.

The code was passed during the regular session on Monday by the city council presided over by Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez.

The overall objective of the code is to make the land, air and water of Dagupan safer for the benefit of its more than 150,000 population, he said.

The code was drafted by the council consistent with the Sustainable Sanitation in East Asia (SUSCEA) of which Dagupan City is one of the pilot places in the Philippines.

The sanitation code likewise has provisions regarding food and water and also sets sanitary requirements for all establishments and business, practices which were not observed before.

“It is a milestone legislation in the sense that you can count in your fingers the number of cities with existing sanitation code and gladly, Dagupan is now one of them,” he said.

Read More – Philippines News Agency

Indonesia: Pampanga dengue cases up by 200%

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Health officials in Central Luzon recorded a whooping 238 percent increase in dengue cases in the region compared to the same period last year.

(…)  The DOH is calling on local communities to actively participate in environmental sanitation activities like clean up drives.

Read all Sun Star

Philippines: Suspected cholera outbreak in Philippines kills 21

MANILA, Philippines: A suspected cholera outbreak in a remote southern Philippine township has killed 21 people and sickened at least 50 others, the mayor and the Red Cross said Wednesday. (…)

Read all International Herald Tribune

Philippines – Asian Development Bank 2nd National Sanitation Summit

The Asian Development Bank advocates that sanitation be an urgent priority for governments in Asia. It promotes the need for better and affordable facilities for individuals, disease prevention and healthy environments for communities, and financial viability of sanitation services for provider governments and utilities.

ADB also invites other agencies—public and private—to help governments, utilities, and communities make sanitation a priority and accelerate actions that will achieve better sanitation results.

In response to ADB’s call, the Philippine Government is moving its sanitation agenda forward with this 2nd National Sanitation Summit: Better Water Quality and Safety through Improved Sanitation. The Summit, organized by Philippines’ Department of Health and supported by ADB, that focused on the links between sanitation and water quality and safety, especially in light of recent outbreaks of water-related diseases.

More – ADB

Philippines: San Fernando’s Dry Alternative

Three years ago, residents of coastal and upland villages in San Fernando City polluted their drinking water with their own excreta. Today, they take pains to practice safe hygiene and sanitation. An innocent looking dry toilet (UDDT – urine-diverting dehydration toilet) and an untiring city mayor propelled this shift through a 2-town ecological sanitation pilot project that has evolved into a citywide movement. Can the city carry the momentum forward to the entire province and neighboring towns?

Read more: ADB, Mar 2008

Water Sanitation Program (WSP) – New sanitation reports

Below are links to interesting WSP reports from the WSP May 2008 Newsletter:

1 – Title: Lessons from a Low-Cost Ecological Approach to Sanitation in Malawi (pdf, full-text)

Low cost Ecological Sanitation programs in Malawi have led to the building of over 11,000 compostproducing toilets since 2003. While the toilets are affordable and simple to construct, the fact that they convert human waste into valuable odor-free compost, enables cost recovery for households and is a prime driver in popularizing EcoSan designs.

2 – Title: Economic Impacts of Sanitation in Southeast Asia-Summary (pdf, full-text)

This document is published in light of the International Year of Sanitation 2008. It is a summary of a four-country study in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam under WSP’s Economics of Sanitation Initiative (ESI). This study examines the major health, water, environmental, tourism and other welfare impacts associated with poor sanitation in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. By examining the economic impacts of poor sanitation, and the potential gains from improved sanitation, this study provides important evidence to support the need for investment in sanitation.

3 – Economic Impacts of Sanitation in the Philippines-Summary (pdf, full-text)

This is a detailed individual country report that delves into the major health, water, environmental, tourism and other welfare impacts associated with poor sanitation in the Philippines. The report shows decision makers at the country how the negative impacts of poor sanitation can be mitigated by investing in improved sanitation.

4 – Economic Impacts of Sanitation in Vietnam-Summary (pdf, full-text)

This document looks into the major health, water, environmental, tourism and other welfare impacts associated with poor sanitation in Vietnam. The report shows decision makers in Vietnam how the negative impacts of poor sanitation can be mitigated by investing in improved sanitation.

Philippines: LGUs told to observe sanitation in facilities

The executive director of the National Water Resources Board in Dumaguete City is calling on local chief executives to make sure that sanitation is observed in public facilities in their localities. Ramon Alikpala of the NWRB said public places such as city and municipal halls should have safe, clean water and soap in the public comfort rooms.

He said the province takes this issue more seriously and should be commended for trying to increase awareness of this problem that is plaguing the entire country. (…)

The Department of Interior and Local Government said almost 31 percent of the reported illnesses in the country from 1996-2000 were caused by unsafe water due to poor sanitation. Contaminated drinking water is one of the most prevalent causes of illnesses, and about 18 Filipinos die each day from water and sanitation-related causes, the DILG added.

Read all