Events

International workshop on improving the nexus among water quality and quantity, sanitation, hygiene and agriculture at ZEF

Summary of the international workshop organized by the Center for Development Research (ZEF) which was held in Bonn, Germany on September 8th and 9th 2014.

The international workshop on "Improving the nexus among water quality and quantity, sanitation, hygiene and agriculture" brought together leading international researchers, policy advisers, NGO representatives and academics from different levels with the aim of highlighting current WASH issues and knowledge gaps. It also gave research partners an opportunity for presenting preliminary results of the case studies that were carried out in the various countries, to compare datasets and analytical approaches and to harmonize the assessment of impacts (see workshop program for detailed agenda).

The workshop focused on the following geographic areas and themes:

  1. Links and dynamics between WASH and agriculture in India
  2. Links and dynamics between WASH and agriculture in Bangladesh
  3. Links and dynamics between WASH and agriculture in Ethiopia
  4. Links and dynamics between WASH and agriculture in Ghana
  5. Lessons learned and challenges that were identified during the surveys
  6. Research opportunities on the nexus among water quality and quantity, sanitation, hygiene and agriculture
  7. Current state of affairs and way forward with WATSAN-Agriculture research

Introduction

In his introductory presentation, Prof. Joachim von Braun emphasized that inadequate access to safe water and sanitation services coupled with poor hygiene practices continues to kill, sicken and diminish opportunities of millions of people in developing countries. The research goals of the so-called AG-WATSAN project are to identify trade-offs, synergies, and thresholds in the nexus of water quality and quantity, sanitation and hygiene, as well as agriculture. The project also investigates implications for investment priorities and better health and nutrition outcomes. It aims at strengthening the capacity of households and communities to monitor and manage their own environment with regard to water, agriculture and health. In a more detailed analysis plan, Dr. Evita Pangaribowo presented the WASH-specific profiles of the countries in which the research activities are being implemented (i.e. Ghana, Ethiopia, India and Bangladesh), the respective researchers as well as the research tools.

Case studies

In sessions I to IV of the workshop, case studies from India, Bangladesh, Ghana and Ethiopia were presented. All studies specifically addressed the WATSAN agriculture nexus and related health and nutrition outcomes. Dr. Mahabub Hossain, a leading international development thinker who serves as Advisor to the Executive Director of BRAC, gave a public lecture with the title “Agriculture, nutrition, water and sanitation: A situation analysis for Bangladesh and BRAC experiences”.

Lessons learned

During a panel session, the PhD students presented a general overview of issues related to the implementation of household surveys and aspects of addressing issues and procedures in each specific study area. They reported that water collection at the point-of-use at a large scale is relatively new in WASH research and remains challenging. In India, stool sample collection posed a challenge because of the high rates of open defecation. Significant challenges were encountered by the students in implementing comprehensive and appropriate water quality testing, particularly in low-resource settings.

Research opportunities on the WATSAN-Agriculture Nexus

During a second panel session, Dr. Wiesmann (nutritionist and independent consultant) talked about the disease burden associated with poor water, sanitation, and hygiene conditions and DALYs (Disability Adjusted Life Years) loss due to water borne diseases. Sound datasets to draw a pattern and inference of health and malnutrition risk from poor water, sanitation and hygiene is vital. Dr. Rechenburg (Institute for Hygiene and Public Health, University of Bonn) presented the microbial and chemical burden of water for human consumption and its consequence for human health and nutrition outcomes. Linking the management of water resources to environmental aspects contributes to improving the quality of drinking water. Selected case studies in Eastern Africa were presented to provide empirical evidence on the links between water quality and health risks. Dr. Subramanian (ZEF, University of Bonn) discussed the complex relationship between water and human health. The complexity of this relationship includes the flow of water as interdependency between social actors, institutions and the biophysical system. The need to go beyond linear inference analyses leads to more interdisciplinary perspectives and data requirement. Dr. Tischbein (ZEF, University of Bonn) discussed irrigation water management and drinking water supply and presented irrigation water management in West Africa and Central Asia.

Current status and way forward

Future research at scale on better coordination of water use for domestic and agricultural purposes and seeking for synergies were the topics of this last panel session. The panelists were Dr. Asefa Admassie (EEA), Prof. Felix Asante (ISSER), and Dr. Mahabub Hossain (BRAC). They highlighted that the study countries (except Ghana) face a critical WATSAN environment in terms of water supply and sanitation and high levels of malnutrition. Furthermore, these countries are characterized by factors that directly affect the WATSAN environment such as climate change - where consequences are particularly severe in Bangladesh (through frequent floods) and Ethiopia (through drought), a fast increasing population and rapid urbanization in Ethiopia, which is putting the WATSAN environment under pressure, especially for peri-urban poor households. Rapid industrialization and urbanization in India and Ghana are impacting local WATSAN environments. Besides, irrigated agriculture plays an important role in these four countries and thus links between water, sanitation and agriculture are relevant to explain the WATSAN environment.

Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA)

During the workshop, Rahul Ingle (GIZ and SuSanA) presented a short description of the SuSanA platform and related activities. The WATSAN Agriculture research partners gained information on the benefits of the SuSanA network such as to use the SuSanA network in their future WATSAN research and activities. The Center for Development Research is one of the 240 partners of SuSanA. The WATSAN Agriculture project is presented on the forum and related publications are uploaded into the SuSanA library. The platform is used to communicate recent project findings to the WASH community on a regular basis.

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