International institutions and non-governmental organizations are now looking toward more culturally and environmentally appropriate technologies complemented by hygiene education as more sustainable solutions to waste disposal. Systems that can be constructed locally, maintained by users, and accepted within the cultural framework have the highest chance of success. Keeping Costs Down Recent advancements in low-cost wastewater treatment are putting nature to work. In hot climates, sewage can be treated in waste stabilization ponds through natural physical, chemical and biological processes energized by the sun. Peter D. Rose of Rhodes University is currently developing a system for a village of up to 1,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa.
Any construction has to go hand in hand with hygiene education.
Women in particular must be targeted as agents of change, since they are most often the teachers of children and the providers of food and water. People who live on the growing outskirts of the world's cities increasingly suffer from lack of clean water and sanitation facilities. Although underground sewerage systems function properly in most of the industrialized world, the expense is often beyond the capacity of municipal budgets in developing countries. Furthermore, international loans and credits have not adequately targeted the poor, promoted water conservation or pollution prevention, or incorporated the costs of operation, maintenance and monitoring. Shayna Samuels completed the research for this story while working as an intern at Environmental Defense Fund in Oakland, California.