Ecological sanitation (ECOSAN): a new sanitation approach in Senegal : paper prepared for the West Africa Regional Sanitation and Hygiene Symposium, 10-12 Nov 2009, Accra, Ghana

As a new approach, Ecological Sanitation has been introduced in Senegal since 2002. The population has accepted to use the urine diverting dry toilets as well as the sanitized products as agricultural fertiliser and soil conditioner. Initial efforts were concentrated on introducing Ecosan on a small scale in rural areas, but a dissemination including urban areas was recently started. The project has been implemented in urban areas through the construction of unisex urinals in some green areas where there are intensive urban agricultural activities. Interesting results have been obtained so far in terms of research findings and achievements in the field. Ecosan has changed the life of farmers who accepted to use the products as fertilizers. Local and national actors have been trained in Ecosan precisely in the technology, treatment, collect, reuse of fertilizers and health and hygiene education,...The Ecosan concept and research findings have been shared with the population and integrated into the curricula of some Schools (Primary school of keur Daouda CISSE and research institutions (National School of Sanitary and Social Development). In addition, the Ecosan technology has been adopted and integrated in the Manuel of the Millennium Water and Sanitation Programme initiated by the Senegalese Government to meet the Millennium Development Goal in Water and Sanitation, but some advocacy programme still needs to be done to implement it on the ground. However some cultural constraints have been faced in the implementation of the Ecosan approach. For instance some traditional belief states that human excreta as well as domestic wastes are the shelter of supernatural beings such as “Djiins” then we should dispose them of in the quickest way. (authors abstract)