The ROSA project–a new approach to sustainable sanitation in Eastern African cities

Abstract

The ROSA project promotes resources-oriented sanitation concepts as a route to sustainable and ecologically sound sanitation. These concepts shall be applied in four cities in Eastern Africa, namely Arba Minch (Ethiopia), Nakuru (Kenya), Arusha (Tanzania) and Kitgum (Uganda). The project consortium comprises two partners from each of these countries, a university and the municipality as an end-user. For the pilot cities Strategic Sanitation and Waste Plans (SSWPs) will be developed for the whole city area. These SSWPs will come up with the best solution for the city combining several techniques according to the local requirements. Research topics addressed within ROSA are targeting the gaps for the implementation of resource-oriented sanitation solutions in peri-urban areas. They include an implementation study of the updated WHOguidelines for use of wastewater and excreta, the improvement and adaptation of resource-oriented sanitation technologies and the development of community based operation and management strategies. For the implementation of the complete SSWPs the ROSA consortium will develop strategies for further financing. The paper describes the general outline of the ROSA project and the situation in the four pilot cities based on the outcomes of completed baseline studies.