Although the Johannesburg Summit in 2002 focused attention on the importance of sanitation, there remain millions of urban dwellers without adequate sanitation and the number is still rising. Agencies struggle to meet the needs of marginalised communities who lack access to adequate sanitation and a lack of resources undermines the sustainable operation of existing services. Although some projects have created localised schemes which provide examples of best practice, they have generally had little impact on policies adopted by mainstream service providers.

Research carried out by GHK International in association with Loughborough University’s Water Engineering and Development Centre produced guidelines for institutionalising strategic city-wide approaches to sanitation provision in urban areas in low-income countries. Based on practical experiences from a pilot planning exercise in Bharatpur, India, a methodology for strategic planning was developed. The strategic planning process is proposed as an approach to the provision of urban sanitation, especially in situations where resources are scarce. The authors argue that this approach aims to overcome some of the problems with traditional models of service provision:

• The traditional planning model has led to overly-ambitious master plans requiring large investments in infrastructure. These plans pay insufficient attention to financial and institutional constraints for maintenance and do not respond to what sanitation users actually want and are willing and able to pay for.
• The market model is based upon the hypothesis that the users of services are consumers who make informed choices about the level and type of service they require. However, experience suggests that in fact, users generally are not sufficiently equipped to make informed choices and public expenditure is necessary to overcome the large backlog in sanitation provision.
• The local collective action model, promoted by various NGOs at different levels, has empowered poor communities to take initiative and provide services for themselves. However, locally-built facilities are often constructed with insufficient consideration of the need for higher-level services and tend to work in parallel, rather than in synergy, with the official service providers.
• The Strategic Sanitation Approach, championed by the UNDP and the World Bank during the 1990s, stresses the need to respond to local stakeholders’ demands for sound finances and a city-wide approach change. However, its principles tend to ignore some of the ground realities and it pays insufficient attention to the need to develop the institutional framework for sustainable interventions.

As project outputs, key aspects of the planning process are analysed, and the stages that are required to enable local stakeholders to build a context-specific response to sanitation problems are considered. Amongst a wide range of practical suggestions, the authors recommend that:

• The development of formal local plans should be preceded by action to ensure that there is a genuine demand for sanitation and to draw all stakeholders into the planning process.
• Planning should be an adaptive process in which lessons learnt from earlier stages in the process inform those that follow.
• Plans should not only be about building new latrines or sewers: greater attention should be given to the operation and maintenance of completed facilities.
• Providers should recognise the need to first inform and then respond to user demand.
• It is neither necessary nor desirable for one organisation to be responsible for all aspects of sanitation provision.
• Sanitation facilities will not reduce the incidence of faecal-oral disease unless complemented by hygiene promotion activities. Messages should focus on changing a limited number of high-risk practices.
• Decisions should be based on information, not assumptions and prejudices.
• Planners and activists must look for the opportunities that are open to them in their existing situation.

The development of a supportive policy environment is critically important. Realities on the ground are often much more complex than assumed by theorists and existing attitudes and assumptions are likely to limit the options for action. The first task will often be to develop a planning culture, and this will usually require going far beyond individual municipalities. This suggests the need for governments and international agencies to direct greater resources towards activities that enhance the capacity of local stakeholders to think and act more strategically in response to the realities of the existing situation. There is also a need to develop much closer links between training and practice. As the case in Bangladesh has shown, trainers must understand the importance of adopting an adaptive approach in situations characterised by uncertainty and lack of information.

Source(s):
‘Urban sanitation: a guide to strategic planning’ by Kevin Tayler, Jonathan Parkinson and Jeremy Colin, ITDG Publishing, July 2003
‘Effective strategic planning for urban sanitation services: fundamentals of good practice’ by Kevin Tayler and Jonathan Parkinson, GHK International, March 2003 Full document.

Funded by: DFID (IUDD R7387, R6875)

id21 Research Highlight: 26 May 2004

Further Information:
Kevin Tayler
GHK International
526 Fulham Road
Fulham
London SW6 5NR
UK

Tel: 44 (0)20 7471 8000
Fax: 44 (0)20 7736 0784
Contact the contributor: taylerk@tinyonline.co.uk

GHK International, UK

ITDG Publishing
103-105 Southampton Row
London WC1B 4HL
UK

Tel: 44 (0)20 7436 9761
Fax: 44 (0)20 7436 2013

ITDG Publishing, UK

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'Water resources management and access to safe water and basic sanitation'

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