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BORDA BNS Network at the World Water Week in Stockholm - DEWATS Presented as the Proven Sanitation Solution
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 The international expert community of the conference was informed about the DEWATS solutions by 34 DEWATS-experts of the BNS network participating in various seminars, by means of the presentation of the film “ DEWATS - The Sanitation Solution with Smart Technology”, a paper presentation in the workshop “The Sustainable City” and in the form of various informational talks at the DEWATS booth on the showground. The feedback of the conference participants showed that the main message of the BORDA BNS Network about DEWATS as the proven solution was understood and accepted. This is a remarkable success for a network of organizations, which normally concentrate on implementing sanitation more than on attending conferences and thus have not been noted much before. In his speech on August 17 Andreas Ulrich (BORDA Regional Project Coordinator South East Asia) presented the fundamental arguments for the practicability of and the need for the DEWATS solutions. In the following the key messages are summarized: Citywide up-scaling of the community sanitation & decentralized wastewater treatment program is needed Key Achievements by BORDA BNS Network - Improved sanitation and wastewater treatment facilities provided for over 250.000 inhabitants of low-income areas in over 150 cities in Africa and Asia
- 60% reduction of hygiene and sanitation related diseases in intervention areas
- DEWATS best practices (e.g. SANMAP, HIA, CBS, DEWATS-SME, QMS, STP) developed, tested and integrated into a Quality Management System that allows for further up-scaling and dissemination
- Over 1000 implementing agents trained
- 100 % “hardware” costs, 50% “software” costs financed by private and public sector – multiplying German development funds by 5
- Over 500 sanitation experts (community facilitators, craftsmen, engineers etc.) work for the program every year
- Transaction costs for improved sanitation reduced to 70-100 $ per capita
- Professional implementation network established
WANTED: A systematic and concerted demonstration of tested DEWATS options is needed “on scale” in small and medium cities  DEWATS best practices (e.g. SANMAP, HIA, CBS, DEWATS-SME, QMS, IPLT) have not been demonstrated in a concerted effort as a “decentralized sanitation package”. - Despite DEWATS being the largest decentralized sanitation solution, current coverage in target cities is below 5 %.
- Small/medium towns demand manageable, sustainable and up-gradable “open packages” for which the main platform-modules can be implemented in a limited timeframe
- Multi-million $ investments for centralized sewerage & WWT systems will be limited to major cities and are hardly realistic options for urban low-income areas and SMEs.
- The majority of existing residential areas in non-industrialized countries and low-income settlements will depend on on-site and decentralized sanitation systems.
- Hygienic and environmentally sound handling & management of feco-sludges increasingly required in small and medium towns to avoid public health hazards.
- Only a concerted comprehensive “real-scale” approach that combines multiple options “on scale” has a realistic chance of donor buy-ins and future mass-replications.
Main features of “real-scale” city wide DEWATS-CBS demonstration programs  Foundation: Only agreed tested technical options (e.g. SANMAP, HIA, SANIMAS, DEWATS, IPLT) and implementation principles (demand-based approach, self-selection multi-stakeholder approach, multi-source financing, high community participation, compatibility with legal framework) are used.- Objective: Demand oriented demonstration of city-wide decentralized sanitation and waste water treatment solutions in a selected number of small to medium sized cities (100.000 – 500.000 inhabitants)
- Target:10% HH coverage per town within 3 yearsBasic system, capacities & infrastructure to be established: Sanitation development and business plans, sludge treatment plant, 10 - 50 DEWATS-CBS & 10 -20 DEWATS-SME, local community facilitation and technical implementation expertise
- Built-in up-scaling: Detailed “city sanitation development plans” and cost efficient implementation allow for a further up-scaling after the project ends.
- Immediate cost-efficiency due to “economies of scale”
- Initial project timeframe: 3 years & open ended follow-up
- Total annual budget required: +/- 2.000.000 $ (= co-financing 50% of costs)
- Direct co-operation with community organizations, technical experts and local governments
- Regular feedback to national & international sector key-stakeholders
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