Urban sanitation : the challenge to communities, private sector actors, local governments and external support agencies : proceedings of the 11th Aguasan Workshop, Gersau, Switzerland, 26-30 June, 1995

The workshop concentrated on the strategic and organisational problems of urban sanitation. The workshop was based on four case samples drawn from Karachi, Pakistan; Jogyakarta, Indonesia; Cocuta & Los Patios, Colombia; and Kumasi, Ghana. The cases were presented by the key initiators and motivators of each individual project. The main objectives of the workshop were to (1) familiarise participants with the challenge of urban sanitation; (2) identify key issues; (3) formulate directions and lessons for more effective approaches, and (4) draw consequences for the participants' own work situation. Topics discussed included social and economic issues of urban sanitation, cost, service delivery, operation and maintenance. Also discussed were various participatory approaches to urban sanitation: community-based, area-based, functionally -based and process-based. The challenges faced by each project, their strengths and weaknesses, and the characteristics that led to them were highlighted, as well as the relationships between the various participants involved in the projects. Following a comparative review of the four cases, the workshop closed with a set of recommendations pertaining to the role of the community; the relationships between users, governments and private sector actors; appropriate technology and access to credit; and the need for consistent, long-term application of learning tools.