More Climate Change=Less Water=Less Sanitation=More Disease

What do toilets have to do with climate change?

Mayuri Bhattacharjee, 16 November 2018 (World Economic Forum)

“…[T]he rise in extreme weather events is proving challenging to sanitation systems around the world…[Despite the UN's Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.2 calling] for universal sanitation, 4.5 billion people globally lack safely managed services…[W]ater availability is becoming less predictable, and increased incidences of extreme weather events such as floods threaten sanitation facilities and risk contaminating water sources…[while] extreme drought leads to insufficient water resources for flushing sewage systems…[In India, the] world’s biggest toilet building programme, Swachh Bharat Mission (Clean India Mission), is underway, aiming to end open defecation in the country by October 2019…[But] toilets built for it in flood-affected villages are] becoming dysfunctional due to the absence of climate-resilient design. And in water-scarce areas, people often resort to open defecation due to a lack of water for flushing toilets…

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Nearly 55% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, and this proportion is expected to increase to 68% by 2050. In most densely populated cities in the developing world, untreated sewage and faecal sludge are major causes of environmental and water pollution…Globally, human waste converted to fuel could have a value equivalent to about $9.5 billion of natural gas…[and there is a] business case for turning human waste into valuable resources such as fertilizer, animal feed and high-value proteins…Various stakeholder groups have recognized the need for toilets that can not only withstand extreme weather events, but also help mitigate climate change…Sanitation innovators across the world are developing products based on the principles of the circular economy…There are sparks of hope, but what we need is a global toilet revolution…” click here for more

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