Programme de bourses "Echanges Universitaires"

Sustainability Analysis of Ecosan: A Case Study about the Introduction of Ecological Sanitation in Bhutan. Assessing Ecosan in the Context of Quality of Life.

The overall context of the present paper is a sustainability assessment of the Ecological Sanitation Approach (ecosan) in the context of quality of life.

By highlighting impacts of ecosan it shall be analysed how the approach can contribute to counteracting the worldwide prevailing sanitation dilemma, particularly in developing countries. Former research has shown a significant lack of demand for sustainable sanitation approaches. Therefore it is one objective of the study to uncover motivating drives and barriers for implementing ecosan toilets. The results shall contribute to answering the question of how ecosan promotion strategies can be improved in order to effectively stimulate demand.

By putting the Capabilities Approach, originally developed by the Nobelprize winner Amartya Sen, in the centre of the assessment approach, a new understanding in terms of improving individual life quality through the use of ecosan is being highlighted.

Moreover it is expected that various structural drives and barriers, the so called structural capabilities, do exist that influence the implementation process of ecosan with a view to its success or failure. Accordingly, they must be considered in terms of the enhancement of quality of life through an ecosan intervention. In this regard, structural drives can be understood as preconditions for realising individual well-being and structural barriers can be regarded as constraining aspects to achieving an enhancement of quality of life. Without the consideration of these structural capabilities, it is assumed that individual well-being is difficult to be adequately measured.

To explore the so far unknown space of structural capabilities, theories of environmental governance are used in order to generate a holistic assessment framework for analysing ecosan implementations.

During a field work phase in Bhutan, ecosan specific individual drives and capabilities as well as barriers and constraining factors have been identified. Furthermore, structural dimensions of relevance for an ecosan implementation process were explored and have been assembled in a structural capabilities list.

A comparison of individual and structural dimensions being identified as relevant regarding ecosan, its implementation process and the satisfaction of its users, have shown a significant interconnection of individual and structural capabilities.

It was possible to assess ecosan as an adequate approach for the local context of rural Bhutan.

Based on the findings of the sustainability assessment, recommendations for an improvement of the ecosan implementation process have been made in order to upscale the dissemination of the approach in the future.

                        
Picture 1 Ecosan toilet owner in front of her ecosan toilet in Paro, Bhutan.

Picture 2 Old unimproved pit latrine

Contact:
Juri Lienert:     
Student at the University of Basel.
juri.lienert@stud.unibas.ch

Supervisors:

Prof. Dr. Paul Burger:            
Head of the Program Sustainability Research. Professor for the socio-cultural domain within the interdisciplinary Master Program in Sustainable Development.  Scientific advisor for this master thesis.
Paul.Burger@unibas.ch

Dr. Johannes Heeb:     
University lecturer and senior consultant of seecon gmbh (Switzerland). Secondary scientific advisor for this master thesis.
Johannes.Heeb@unibas.ch

Partner Organisations:

Seecon international

Michael Kropac:                       
Project Manager of seecon gmbh (Switzerland). Practical advisor for the master thesis.
Michael.Korpac@seecon.ch

PHED of the Royal Government of Bhutan:

Ugyen Rinzin:             
Executive Engineer of the Public Health Engineering Division (PHED) at the Ministry of Health of the Royal Government of Bhutan.
rinzin_ugyen@yahoo.com