Municipal Service Project (MSP)

This is the web site of the Municipal Services Project (MSP), which has been running since 2000 and has now entered its third phase (2008-2013). Phase III of MSP is an inter-sectoral and inter-regional study that systematically explores ‘alternatives to privatisation’ in service delivery, with a thematic focus on health, water/sanitation and electricity and a regional focus on sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Asia.

MSP partners include universities, labour unions, NGOs, social movements and activists from South Africa, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Bolivia, El Salvador, Canada, UK and The Netherlands. MSP is coordinated by the Institute for Social and Economic Research, Rhodes University, South Africa and the Southern African Research Centre, Queen’s University, Canada. The MSP is funded in large part by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and in particular the Governance, Equity and Health (GEH) programme

The MSP web site includes all project publications since the start in 2000 and links to related research, publications and web sites. A discussion forum, and lists of events and multimedia are being developed.

Water, sanitation and hygiene standards for schools in low-cost settings

Adams, J., Bartram, J., Chartier, Y. and Sims, J. (eds) (2009). Water, sanitation and hygiene standards for schools in low-cost settings. Geneva, Switzerland, World Heath Organization. ix, 41 p.
ISBN 978-92-4-154779-6
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Guidelines on water, sanitation and hygiene in schools are widely available, but additional guidance and standards for low-cost settings are needed. The development and implementation of national policies, guidelines for safe practices, training and promotion of effective messages in a context of healthy schools will decrease the toll taken by inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene.

These guidelines deal specifically with water, sanitation and hygiene, and are designed to be used in schools in low-cost settings in low- and medium-resource countries to:

• assess prevailing situations and plan for required improvements;
• develop and reach essential safety standards as a first goal; and
• support the development and application of national policies.

The guidelines are written for use by education managers and planners, architects, urban planners, water and sanitation technicians, teaching staff, school boards, village education committees, local authorities and similar bodies.

Introducing SaniFOAM : a framework to analyze sanitation behaviors

Devine, J. (2009). Introducing SaniFOAM : a framework to analyze sanitation behaviors to design effective sanitation programs. (Learning to scale up. Working paper). Washington, DC, USA, Water and Sanitation Program. 28 p.

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SaniFOAM is a conceptual behaviour change framework that can be used both in community-led and in sanitation marketing approaches. It is designed to help program managers and implementers to promote sanitation at all stages of their interventions, from program design through implementation to monitoring and evaluation.

The paper describes the four elements of the framework and provides examples from formative research findings and field-based experiences.

The elements of SaniFOAM are:

F for Focus: What are the desired sanitation behaviors, and who is the target population?
O for Opportunity: Does the individual have the chance to perform the behavior?
A for Ability: Is the individual capable of performing it?
M for Motivation: Does the individual want to perform it?

SaniFOAM is one of the tools being developed in the Global Scaling Up Sanitation Project, implemented by the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP). The project is currently applying SaniFOAM in three countries: Tanzania, Indonesia and India. Most notably, in East Java, Indonesia, the SaniFOAM framework has been used to design qualitative and quantitative surveys, develop communication materials supporting community-led efforts aimed at eradicating open defecation and design a strategy aimed at strengthening the supply of sanitation products and services.

Study for financial and economic analysis of ecological sanitation in Sub-Saharan Africa

Schuen, R. and Parkinson, J. (2009). Study for financial and economic analysis of ecological sanitation in Sub-Saharan Africa. Nairobi, Kenya, Water and Sanitation Program-Africa. xi, 32 p. : 14 fig., 9 tab.

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This study on financial and economic analysis of ecological sanitation (ecosan) in Sub-Saharan Africa focuses on a comparison of sanitation technologies suitable for urban settlements.

It compares ecosan with conventional sanitation systems in terms of financial and economic costs and benefits based. An analytical framework and a computer model were developed to assess and compare different technologies in terms of financial and economic Net Present Value (NPV).

The economic benefits derived from improved sanitation include health and environmental benefits, as well as those which are associated to excreta reuse.

The study is based on three case studies, which all promoted Urine Diverting Dry Toilets (UDDTs):

• Kabale, Uganda
• eThekwini, South Africa
• Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

The economic and financial performance of these projects is compared with traditional sanitation technologies such as ventilated improved pits (VIPs) and sewerage. The model uses capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operational expenditure (OPEX) data, assigned to different elements of a sanitation system. These include costs for both hardware, such as the cost of the latrine itself and software, which includes all promotional, training and other capacity building activities.

The results show that operational and maintenance costs determine the financial performance (in terms of NPV) from a household perspective in situations where latrines are heavily subsidized. However, when subsidies are removed and overall project costs are taken into account, the picture changes remarkably, as the capital costs become the most critical factor which influences the financial performance of each option.

By reusing excreta, households with ecosan toilets can generate monetary benefits and increased crop production can have a positive impact on them financially. The key factors influencing the viability of ecosan in urban environment are the amount of land available, and the agricultural conditions.

The results indicate that the benefits from crop production can offset the higher capital and operational costs, but the benefits may not be sufficient to cover additional costs required for implementing ecosan.

The study also points towards the need to reuse excreta as close to the point of generation as possible, whilst keeping the costs of installation down. Where this is not viable, a communal excreta reuse system becomes economically attractive, provided the project management and capacity building costs associated with the promotion of ecosan can be lowered.

Based on the case study analysis, none of the currently implemented systems are seen to provide an obvious model for scaling up without considerable external support. Much research is still required to assess the costs of marketing ecosan compared with conventional sanitation, and to assess the costs of different management arrangements. A communal excreta management system such as that in Burkina Faso may overcome some of these constraints, and is more appropriate in denser urban environments.

There is need to look in more detail, at the different management arrangements and costs for setting up and operating house-to-house collection services. There may also be ways of introducing more cost effective technologies to enhance the efficiency of the operation.

Arsenic in groundwater : a world problem

Appelo, T. (ed.) (2008). Arsenic in groundwater : a world problem : seminar Utrecht 29 November 2006. (NNC-IAH publication ; no. 5). Utrecht, The Netherlands, Netherlands National Committee of the IAH. iv, 136 p. ISBN 978-90-808258-2-6
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This publication presents the problem of arsenic in groundwater in a manner accessible to a broad and involved public that might not normally have access to scientific literature. It includes sections on: sources and distribution of arsenic in groundwater and aquifers; geochemical experimentation and modelling are tools for understanding the origin of arsenic in groundwater in Bangladesh and elsewhere; review of arsenic behaviour from groundwater and soil to crops and potential impacts on agriculture and food supply; and health effects in inorganic arsenic.

For more information see the IGRAC Special Project page on Arsenic in Groundwater Worldwide

Water and war: ICRC response

ICRC (2009). Water and war :  ICRC response. Geneva, Switzerland, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). 21 p.
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This brochure looks at key water and sanitation issues in conflict-affected countries where the ICRC works. It analyses challenges from the point of view of operational practice, which has developed and become more professional as the years have gone by.

The atlas of water (2nd ed.)

Black, Maggie and King, Jannet (2009). The atlas of water. (2nd ed.). London, UK, Earthscan. 128 p. ISBN 9781844078271
Price: £12.99
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The new edition of the atlas shows water distribution worldwide, and reflects the latest thinking and emerging issues.

With updated data throughout, the atlas covers a wide range of topics to map how our limited water resources are shared and used around the world, as well as the challenges posed to their management by population and environmental pressures.

It includes new maps on climate change, water for tourism, dam construction, biodiversity, and water management, commerce and legislation. With snapshots of especially vulnerable areas and major polluters as well the global picture, the atlas is aimed at general readers as well as policy makers and students.

Divided into six parts, each prefaced with an introductory essay, the atlas investigates the nature of the resource itself, through its uses in all kinds of human activity, to the vexed questions of how to manage water well and avoid the threat of ‘water conflicts’.

More information and table of contents

Water – Alphabet City series

Knechtel, J. (ed.) (2009). Water. (Alphabet City ; 14). Cambridge, MA, USA, MIT Press. 320 p. : 200 colour ill. ISBN-10: 0-262-01329-0. ISBN-13: 978-0-262-01329-1
Price: $15.95/£11.95 (cloth)
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In this full-colour artbook, writers, scientists, architects, and artists consider the many aspects of water, at levels from the microscopic to the global, touching on subjects that range from new water infrastructures to ancient bathing rituals.

Water includes a chemist’s accounting of the true cost of water; photographs taken inside a city’s secret waterways; an urban planner’s description of how Toronto, New York, Hamburg, and Seoul have redesigned and rethought their waterfront areas; a conceptual artist’s series of water bottles “branded” with various modern credos; photographs of a water-damaged ledger from the 1905 Yukon gold rush; two architects’ rethinking of how to collect, divert, and transport water from water-rich to water-poor regions; a philosopher’s invocation of the spiritual lessons of water; and photographs of a disturbingly beautiful flooded landscape.

Read John Knechtel’s introduction to Water.

Read the related features The Waters of Metaphysics by Timothy Stock and The Public Bath and the City By Christie Pearson.

View the full table of contents.

Image from Water the book. Photo: Alphabet City

Water is the 14th annual anthology in the Alphabet City series. Each volume in the series addresses a one-word topic of global concern and draws on the diverse perspectives of writers and artists from many cultures and disciplines. Alphabet City, founded by John Knechtel in 1991, appears each October accompanied by an arts and ideas festival in Toronto, Canada.