2009 Water Symposium

Symposium 2009 opening: Dr Kloppenburg, Member of the Board KfW Bankengruppe, Dr. Konukiewitz, Director of Global and Sectoral Policies (BMZ) and Prof. Duncan Mara, Leeds University

Improving Hygiene Awareness and Sanitation

On the 8th and 9th of October 2009, KfW Entwicklungsbank hosted its first Water Symposium with focus on financing sanitation. It was sponsored by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and KfW Entwicklungsbank with the French Development Agency (AFD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) as Co-Convenors.

Dr. Kloppenburg, Member of the Board, KfW Bankengruppe, Dr. Konukiewitz, Director of Global and Sectoral Policies (BMZ) and Prof. Duncan Mara from the University of Leeds, welcomed the Symposium participants. Next, more than 70 participants from the sciences, from development banks, government institutions and non-governmental agencies explored the challenges of sanitation and discussed ways to further develop innovative financing mechanisms for improved hygiene, sanitation and wastewater management in low income countries.

Four thematic areas were highlighted by detailed background papers and presentations. The panel and open floor discussions directed particular emphasis towards the question of how development banks can better extend their activities to low income groups, especially in fast growing peri-urban and informal areas.

A Results-Oriented Discussion

The experts agreed that in well prepared and tested campaigns to change hygiene behaviour the return on investment is high and that development banks can contribute to scale up existing approaches. The other domain for ?soft? investment is creating a sanitation market. Professional marketing can create demand (??beautiful private toilets?) and local artisans and entrepreneurs can be trained and supported to provide better quality supplies and services.

A functioning market with good low cost solutions can best serve lower income groups. Financing institutions have to be well aware of the entire sanitation chain (capture, storage, transport, treatment, disposal or reuse) and the existing financial landscape before they address the remaining financing gap for poor households. Output based aid and partnering with micro-finance institutions seem to provide the best leverage for targeted subsidies.

The big challenge for the upcoming years lies in the tremendously high urban growth. On-site sanitation might be still adequate in lower density urban areas and shared facilities might be the only option in very poor and very crowded areas. However, experience from Latin America and Asia shows that improved central and semi-central sewer and treatment systems are often the best solutions. Simplified sewers and integrated modular approaches are not only interesting for servicing the poor but for all rapidly growing urban areas. Still, changes in planning approaches and mind-sets are required to make full use of the low-cost solutions available.

Impression from the Discussion

Jon Lane and Dr. Jürgen Welschof at the Symposium

Worldwide, professional and commercially oriented water and sanitation utilities have a major role in service provision. The discussions have shown that utilities can partner successfully with communities, NGOs and small private service providers in order to further improve services to the poor. Financing mechanisms need to set the right incentives for utilities and protect their financial viability at the same time.

The symposium provided a platform for debate and knowledge sharing. A detailed paper summarising the symposium findings and recommendations is presently being drafted and will be made available on this website.