Mapping as a basis for sanitation implementation in Pakistan : the case of the Orangi Pilot Project

In Pakistan, the Orangi Pilot Project - Research and Training Institute (OPP-RTI) and its partners use mapping predominantly in informal urban settlements. Mapping is part of OPP-RTI's wider approach to development, based on research and extension applied to support people in the informal settlements of Orangi Town in Karachi. Mapping started in 1981 to help people design local sewerage systems and has since been extended to mapping all major drainage channels and the entire sewerage system of Karachi. The production of maps is kept in-house at OPP-RTI and carried out by youths from informal settlements with low-tech and low-cost technologies. Apart from helping one million people in Orangi and elsewhere in Karachi to gain access to safe sewage disposal, mapping has had profound repercussions on sanitation policy and practice in Karachi and elsewhere in Pakistan. The major factors for OPP-RTI's success in using mapping are linked to (1) the production of maps themselves, which is oriented at the capabilities of mapping agents in informal settlements, (2) the advocacy strategies employed including multiple channels of dissemination such as academia, media, CBO networks, informal contacts with government officials, etc and (3) to OPP's philosophy, which encourages critical assessment of past mistakes and internal learning processes. (Author's abstract)