Promotion on policy level

Since the legislation does not clearly mention ecological sanitation, its use is not either forbidden or promoted, and the overall view on ecosan is left unclear. The various national policies, however, do not seem to encourage the use of ecosan, and tend to concentrate on flush toilets, inorganic fertilisers and exploitation of groundwater for irrigation. The policies set by various ministries are guidelines for the local authorities as well as communities to show which direction the development is intended to be heading. The following describes the most relevant policy documents and showcases their conflicting motives.

At the beginning of the 21^st century, the National Environmental Health Programme was formulated. Environmental health and food safety is a multi-sectoral problem, involving the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Energy and Water Development, and Ministry of Local Government and Housing. The main challenges for environmental health include a review of the Public Health Act to meet present day issues to strengthen the multi-sectoral approach to environmental health. The strategies to improve environmental public health include strengthening capacity in the enforcement of environmental health policies and legislation as well as promoting the provision of appropriate and suitable water and sanitation facilities in peri-urban and rural areas. In order to achieve this, the Public Health Act and the Food and Drugs Act and National Environmental Health Policies have been reviewed and developed. (National Health Strategy Plan 2005.)

The National Water Policy (1994) enforces the separation of water resources management from water supply and sanitation as well as increasing the use of technologies more appropriate to local conditions. One key aspect of the policy is to increase the government priority and budget spending on the sector, which already heavily supports plain water resources instead of integrated sanitation services.

Programmes on the development of national rural and urban water supply and sanitation have been launched in 2008 to improve the conditions in the country. The target for sanitation coverage in rural areas is 35 % by 2010 and 60 % by 2015, whereas in the urban areas the target is 70 % by 2010. (National Water Policy 1994.) In the light of our current knowledge, the targets are far from being reached.

The National Water Policy also raises the point of the abundance of water resources and assures that the growing demands on water for all its usage could be met. However, the water resources rely heavily on surface water, as groundwater usage is hardly monitored or regulated, as it is privately owned. The policy goes on in stating that although Zambia is generally considered to have abundant water resources, it could experience severe water shortages in the near future due the localised growing demand on water for industrial and domestic use. (National Water Policy 1994.) Water saving in irrigation is supported, but there is no mention of the potential use of or even research on wastewater in irrigation.

With somewhat conflicting views on irrigation, the National Agricultural Policy 2004-2015 aims at the promotion of sustainable and environmentally sound

mainly the high potential of underground water aquifers, which are largely unexploited. There are over 1 740 380 million cubic meters of underground water resources, as well as plentiful surface waters. (The National Agricultural Policy 2004-2015, 2004.) The National Irrigation Plan (2005) proposes “full, efficient and sustainable exploitation” of these said water resources to ensure the agricultural production of various crops. Of Zambia’s entire irrigation potential, estimated at 423 000 ha, only ca. 50 000 ha are currently irrigated. Zambia has suffered severe droughts from time to time despite the abundant water resources. In soil and crops research, the objectives are to promote sustainable technologies for adoption by small-scale farmers, by developing alternative soil nutrient sources and the use of input technologies. Similar issues are valid in irrigation development, where sustainable technologies and techniques are required especially for small-scale farmers. (National Agricultural Policy 2004-2015, 2004.)

According to the Integrated Land Use Assessment (Zambia Forestry Department 2005), most small-scale farmers cannot afford to buy inorganic fertiliser to meet their production requirements. This means that farmers can increase productivity only by expanding the cultivation area or using shifting cultivation, which have negative effects on forest areas. Only 11 % of small-scale farmers buy fertiliser, while less than 1 % invest in irrigation facilities. The poor productivity of land has effects on nutritional health but also on the surrounding lands under agricultural pressure. Crop diversification is being considered in order to improve food security to promote alternative grains such as sorghum or millet, which are not as dependent on fertiliser.

The National Policy on Environment lists the main challenges Zambia is facing as deforestation at 250-300 thousand ha per year, land degradation in many places facing deforestation, soil erosion, inadequate sanitation and water pollution, among other things. According to the policy, the population growth rate of 2.9 % per annum contributes to an increasing depletion of resources. Some reasons for the serious state are, according to the policy, insufficient incorporation of international standards within national legislation as well as the limited involvement of local communities in the implementation and enforcement of related legislation. Also lack of cooperation between the authorities and coordination mechanisms for effective integration of legislation are part of the problem due to insufficient resources. The

potential solutions, often different from the policies of other sectors. (National Policy on Environment 2005.)