Sustainability assessment of ecological sanitation using multi criteria analysis

The government of Uganda like many other countries is promoting the use of ecological sanitation as one of the strategies of halving the people without access to proper sanitation by 2015 (Target 10 of MDG 7). The 10 year national strategy on ecological sanitation aims at achieving at least 15% of the total sanitation coverage in Uganda by 2018 (WSP, 2008). A number of ecosan facilities have been installed since 1997. However, no study has been carried out to look into its sustainability. This study was carried out to assess the sustainability of ecosan in Kabale, Uganda. The study was carried out with aid of questionnaires, stakeholders’ workshop, key informant interviews, field observations and literature review. Through a stakeholder workshop, multiple sustainability criteria and indicators were identified and weighed to get their relative importance. The ecosan was assessed for sustainability and a sustainability index calculated. The study showed that all the ecosan facilities in Kabale are double vault Urine Diversion Dry Toilets (UDDTs). Sustainability indicators include exposure to pathogens, use of local materials and labour, robustness, replication, land requirement, environmental pollution, convenience, perception, adaptation to user needs, affordability, nutrient, legal acceptability, responsibility distribution and enforcement. Relative weights of sustainability criteria are health 18.8%, technical 18.7%, and environment 15.8%, socio-culture 15.6%, finance 16.2% and legal & institutional aspects 15.0%. Overall, the ecosan in Kabale was found to be sustainable with a sustainability index of 79.7%. However, improvement is required for the criteria that performed poorly like the capital cost which is high leading to low affordability by the poor people who are the majority.