Background
Sanitation and hygiene interventions in rural communities usually have a strong focus on human excreta, promoting the construction and use of toilets as well as handwashing at critical times. However, a growing body of research shows that a more comprehensive approach is needed to target the multiple pathogen pathways in the local environment. Beyond human excreta, this includes for example reducing exposure to animal excreta and strengthening food and water hygiene practices. In the same vein, all major household and community waste flows containing nutrients, organic matter and water need to be safely and efficiently reused to enhance agricultural production and environmental sustainability. In many rural settings this implies the safe reuse of animal and human urine and faeces, ash, greywater and organic waste.
However, there is a lack of sanitation implementation frameworks supporting such integrated risk and resource management, leading to un-coordinated and partial interventions. ‘Clean and Green’ aims to fill this gap by combining the advantages of the community engagement of the Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach with the system view of ecological sanitation.
Level 0 is the typical baseline situation in many rural communities. Level 1 is often part of rural sanitation interventions, eliminating open defecation and adopting basic hygiene practices. At Level 2, the ambitions are raised, with a more comprehensive management of local risks on the “Clean” side as well as the safe and productive management of waste resources on the “Green” side at household level as well as community level.
This discussion brief presents an updated version of Clean and Green framework, and gives an overview of tools that support the implementation in Burkina Faso.
On World Water Day 2023, Swedish EU Presidency, FAO Liaison Office in Brussels, and SIANI, are hosting a seminar on sustainable water and sanitation management.
Clean and Green is the first rural sanitation implementation framework that explicitly addresses efficient local resource management
Key lessons for future ecological sanitation projects, from four "return to learn" initiatives in Burkina Faso.
