Planning for faecal sludge management in informal urban settlements of low-income countries :a study of Lusaka, Republic of Zambia

Abstract

Faecal Sludge Management is regarded as an affordable and viable option for providing sanitation services in complex informal urban settlements. This thesis examines to what extent current urban sanitation planning approaches and practices are suitable frameworks for achieving sustainable Faecal Sludge Management in informal settlements. The findings are based on a mixed methodology approach where primary data was collected from household level questionnaires (N=169) and a series of key informant interviews (N=35 at city and country level, N=14 at community level) during 2013 in Lusaka, Zambia. The development of a decision support tool that allows for the modelling, costing and comparison of various Faecal Sludge Management infrastructure and technology scenarios was also completed. The findings conclude that whilst many urban sanitation planning approaches exist, adaptation is required so that sustainable Faecal Sludge Management systems can be achieved in complex informal environments. Firstly, a more in depth understanding of social structures, dominant influences and their effect on service provision is required. In particular, an understanding of the role of politics, power, trust and history was shown to be vital. Insights from various decision-making domains including household, community, city and country level representatives was shown to be essential. Application of the developed decision support tool highlighted that obtaining accurate spatio-topological information on the existing sanitation and transport infrastructure networks and on the status and capacity of the containment, removal and transportation components of the Sanitation Value Chain is critical. These are required to ensure accurate long-term cost projections can be developed for various modelled scenarios, that comparisons can be made against other sanitation technologies and where appropriate, sustainable services can be implemented. This research bridges a gap in the sanitation sector by highlighting key socio-technical factors that need to be addressed in order to achieve sustainable sanitation provision for informal settlements in Zambia and beyond.