International Year of Sanitation

Image and Content Courtesy: DryToilet.org

The 3rd International Dry Toilet Conference- 2009- 2^nd announcement:
The conference will be held from12^th to 15^th of August 2009 in Tampere University of Technology, Finland . The Conference is organised by The Global Dry Toilet Association of Finland, in cooperation with Tampere University of Technology, TAMK University of Applied Sciences and University of Tampere.

The main theme of the DT 2009 conference will be the evaluation of the achievements in sanitation after the International Year of Sanitation in light of the Millennium Development Goals.

Main topics of the Conference:

1. Health and safety
2. Technical development of dry toilets
3. Prospects and challenges in the reuse of excreta
4. Social, cultural, economic and gender aspects related to dry sanitation

All experts are invited to submit their abstracts on any of the above mentioned topics or closely related ones.Read More

Forwarded to the Portal by : Ramesh Sakthivel
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Posters on Urine Harvesting

IIT Delhi and Vigyan Vijay Foundation have been implementing a pilot project on Waterless Urinals. The project is supported by Stockholm Environmental Institute and UNICEF. These posters below have been developed as part of that project.

The project aims to develop appropriate solutions for scaling-up Waterless Urinals at public places, institutions and homes.
One of the core objectives of the project is to advocate waterless urinals as an integral component of toilets especially at homes whereby water and energy can be conserved and the environment is protected.

We hope these posters will be of immense value to general public and practitioners looking for undertaking waterless urinals.

For more information contact Ramesh Sakthivel , ramsakthivel@yahoo.com

Click below to View Posters in full size :Read More

The Government of India, Ministry of Urban Development recently released the National Urban Sanitation Policy.

We attach the document below, as well as key excerpts. We request you to add your comments below regarding the provisions of the Sanitation Policy.

Click here to view the National Urban Sanitation Policy

The document is quite comprehensive and detailed. It lays out a vision for urban sanitation in India. It instructs states to come up with their own detailed state-level urban sanitation strategies and City Sanitation Plans. It moots the idea of totally sanitised and open-defecation cities as a target and the setting up of a multi-stakeholder City Sanitation Task Force to achieve this. Environmental considerations, public health implications and reaching the unserved and urban poor are given significant emphasis in the policy. Funding options are laid out including direct central and state support including through existing schemes, public-private partnerships, and external funding agencies. It directs that atleast 20% of the funds should be earmarked towards servicing the urban poor. The Center also plans to institute awards to the best performing cities, reminiscent of the Nirmal Gram Puraskar awards for villages.

Important Excerpts from the Policy:
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Image and Content Courtesy: IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre (IRC)

Organised by: IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre and WASHCost

Workshop objectives:
* to quantify the scale and extent of the challenge of "slippage of WASH services"and to increase the understanding of the main causes
* disseminating the results of the research and workshop, and scaling-up of good practices related to theRead More