Environment & Poverty Times

07 2012 Water pollution

Towards the Millennium Development Goals: from sanitation to a safe environment

By Pierre Flamand

In many developed countries the sewerage system is the main system used for waste- water treatment. Data on sewerage coverage in European countries such as Denmark, the UK and the Netherlands show that sewerage systems in these countries cover more than 90 per cent of the population. Japan has a little-known but different and interesting profile, which is rooted in its unique history.

Growth of cities

The history of human waste treatment in Japan from ancient times to the present day has been closely linked to the growth of cities. Human waste problems, like those of other household wastes, are an intrinsic part of human communities. In early times, human waste was simply discharged as natural waste. But over time a system gradually developed whereby human waste was used as fertiliser for agriculture. To secure food supplies for cities, agriculture developed in suburban areas during the Edo Period (17th to mid-19th century). These areas in turn received human waste as manure, giving rise to a circular flow of resources. The high-volume, low-cost hu- man manure available from large cities was indispensable to the growth of commercial farming, since Japanese agriculture lacked a self-regenerating soil fertilization process.

The flow of urban human waste for farm use as manure continued to increase until the end of the Edo Period (19th century), but this system gradually started to collapse in the early 1900s. Among contributing factors were the difficulty securing farm labour due to the population exodus to industrial cities, an imbalance in supply and demand caused by a reduction in farmland in suburban areas, and the introduction of chemical fertilisers.

Inspecting septic tanks during a field visit in Bhutan. Japan Sanitation Consortium

Consequently, human waste generation began to exceed demand in some cities, giving rise to environmental and public hygiene prob- lems. Some city governments took over the responsibility of human waste collection and discharged it into sewers or the ocean. Sewer systems in those days were almost non-existent or only intended for the treatment of house- hold wastewater (excluding human waste) and industrial effluent. The discharge of human waste into public sewers was undertaken as an emergency measure due to the lack of other fa- cilities or means for disposing of human waste.

Shift in demand With the decline in demand for the use of human manure on farms and the resulting supply/demand imbalance in human waste, problems associated with the inappropriate handling of surplus human waste began to appear around 1950, in the form of envi- ronmental pollution as well as the spread of waterborne diseases, parasitic infestations

Sanitation field assessment in Indonesia. Japan Sanitation Consortium

and other health hazards. Improvement of public hygiene was recognized as one of the most urgent national policy goals. In response the central government put forward a number of policy measures to promote mechanized human-waste transportation, the sanitary treatment of human waste and combined treat- ment of human waste and wastewater. Human waste finally came to be treated and disposed of in a hygienically sound manner within a socio-economic framework. Japan’s very first treatment facility for human waste and night soil was built in Metropolitan Tokyo in 1952. Today around 1 100 facilities are operating all over the country, treating human waste and sludge in a hygienically sound manner. For comparison, more than 2 070 wastewater treatment plants are now operating in Japan.

The use of sewerage facilities rapidly ex- panded and in the late 1980s they became the main sanitation system used in Japan. Through massive investment (1 per cent

of GNP invested annually – equivalent to the defence budget), numerous national subsidies, and an appropriate legal and insti- tutional framework initiated through strong political determination, Japan achieved total sanitation coverage within 40 years. The sewerage system now accounts for more than 70 per cent of total sanitation coverage, whereas decentralized systems such as the johkasou system and night-soil collection and treatment system cover the rest of the population (20 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively). By combining various systems designed to meet different needs and specific local conditions, enhanced by tremendous technological development, Japan has effec- tively addressed water-related issues. Today in Japan, people can drink water from the tap and enjoy a safe and sound environment.

Knowledge hub for sanitation Building on Japan’s expertise in sanitation, the Japan Sanitation Consortium (JSC) is a newly established organisation that was internationally recognized in 2009 as the Asia-Pacific Water Forum’s knowledge hub for sanitation in the region. Knowledge Hubs is a network of regional water knowledge hubs, including 17 hubs with various areas of expertise. It was initiated by the Asia-Pacific Water Forum – a non-profit, non-partisan, non-political organisation – to generate and share knowledge while developing capacity in various fields of water science domains. JSC is a unique organisation because its area of expertise covers basic sanitation (toilets), as well as on-site and off-site sanitation. JSC aims to support countries of the Asia-Pacific region with low access to sanitation through information sharing and advice. The aim is to enable them to acquire the knowledge and capacity to develop and diffuse sanitation sys- tems in order to improve public health and living conditions and reduce water pollution.

Holistic approach Treatment of human waste and wastewater requires a holistic approach, its ultimate aim being to preserve the quality of water re- sources. Decisions such as the choice of toi- let and selection of (individual or collective) treatment processes should not be made on a case-by-case basis, but rather from a broader perspective that takes into consideration the overall development and sustainability of the system and its impact on the environment. Furthermore with rising demand for water, efficient use of this resource has become an urgent goal and one that can be achieved by reducing daily consumption per capita and reusing and recycling water through appropriate wastewater treatment. Equally important is public awareness on health and hygiene issues, the development of sanita- tion policy – including legal, regulatory and institutional structures – and the training of experts and staff so that they have the proper level of expertise in managing waste-water and sludge treatment systems.

JSC’s aim is not to sell technology. Its main goal is to assess and advise on sustainable ways to improve local sanitation conditions while advocating for sanitation to become a high-profile political issue. More specifically, JSC aims to promote the empowerment of local communities through education, training and knowledge exchange, in or- der to create demand-driven systems. By developing strong networks and sharing our success stories, together we can take a big step towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals for sanitation.

About the author: Pierre Flamand is a survey

staff member at the Japan Sanitation Consortium, mainly involved in international networking and country sanitation assessments in the Asia-Pacific.