Water-bout the future?

The story so far…

It is evident that the sanitation sector has been historically dominated by colonial power dynamics that thus now requires the collaboration of many stakeholders to progress, especially in the wake of climate change.

The COP26 summit brought together various parties to accelerate action towards the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The water sector launched the first ever Water Pavilion this year (2021), attending by “over 30 organisations, governments and companieswith an interest in water”. Though deemed “cutting edge, science-based advise” – were the key stakeholders actually involved?

Having discussed the colonial overhang that exists insub-Saharan Africa, community engagement appears to be the priority in best addressing sanitation support in the areas suffering the most. For me –I am thus skeptical if corroborating between international investors in an echo chamber of Western-dominated discussion is likely to bring forth the radical change necessary to reach SDG6.

Impending Climate Change

In my opinion, the challenges within the sanitation sector in regards to climate change can be summarised as a dyad:

A) Climate change will exacerbate the challenges faced by sanitation

B) Current sanitation strategies contribute to climate change and thus accelerate A.

 

Naafs and Kibuuka summarise the interactions between climate change and sanitation in 4 ways:

Figure 1: Sanitation Service Chain and Interaction with Climate Change. Source: IRC 

Number 1 and 2 are particularly relevant in the context of urban slums in Sub-Saharan Africa. 1) drought is likely to create rural-urban migration in search of water which will increase pressure on already scarce urban sanitation services – some of which rely on water. 2) Increased rainfall and flooding affects urban slums which often sprawl into high-risk areas (wetlands) and low-elevation coastal zones. Flooding can lead to the contamination of drinking water supplies through the spillage of faecal matter – leading to rise in diseases.

Number 3 links to my point B where sanitation and wastewatersystems contribute to greenhouse gas emissions (both directly through breakdown of discharged excreta, and indirectly through energy consumption of sanitation services). Particular culprits for emission contribution include trucks which transport faeces and also built infrastructures through which water is flushed and sewage is filtered out.

There are solutions on the market (such as the PooPee) but there are many issues that need to be ironed out in order for soft approaches to become pragmatic.

The future...

In particular, I think it is necessary to challenge the social and political connotation of the flush and discharge systems which were once promoted as a sign of hygiene, affluence and belonging. As evidenced by the desire of such infrastructures in Africa (see Cape Town protests), the colonially charged infrastructures of WASH are still viewed as socially and culturally lauded. Perhaps radical, but viewing such systems as a counter to social and ecological sustainability goal may propel the sector.

Where sub-Saharan Africa has historically contended with colonial legacies thus leaving them underdeveloped, climate change brings an unprecedented dimensions which perhaps makes the “developed” systems outdated, and has the potential to render sub-Saharan Africa as the site of a radical sanitation revolution.