What is it about?
This paper discusses how nature, like forests, wetlands, and soil, naturally helps to treat human waste, but this role has been overlooked in previous research. The authors estimate that globally, nature treats around 41.7 million tons of human waste each year, which they say is worth at least $4.4 billion annually. They use examples from 48 cities around the world to show both the potential and challenges of measuring these "sanitation ecosystem services." They emphasize that recognizing nature's role doesn't mean engineered solutions aren't important, but rather suggests that combining natural and engineered approaches can be more effective and sustainable. They suggest further research in this area could lead to better-designed and more cost-effective sanitation systems.
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Why is it important?
Safe disposal of human waste is crucial for human health and wellbeing. Understanding the role of ecosystems in treating human waste highlights a natural solution that can contribute to improving public health globally. Overall, this research contributes to addressing pressing global challenges related to public health, environmental conservation, economic development, and sustainability. It underscores the importance of recognizing and leveraging the services provided by ecosystems for the benefit of both people and the planet. The research spans 48 cities worldwide, indicating its relevance and applicability across diverse geographic and cultural contexts. Quantifying the economic value of nature's contribution to waste treatment provides policymakers and stakeholders with tangible data to support investment in ecosystem conservation and restoration.
Perspectives
Contributing to this paper was an exciting experience, because it reports on research conducted by a UK-India interdisciplinary research team, drawing on ecology, economics, geography, planning and sanitation engineering. It emerged from a fantastic research project focused on a single city, Hyderabad, India that was guided by practitioners working in the sanitation sector in Hyderabad. This expressed an extension of our work in Hyderabad on the everyday challenge of sanitation services to a global level to exploring the extent to which ecosystems services delivered sanitation.
Professor Kenneth Lynch
University of Gloucestershire
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Nature provides valuable sanitation services, One Earth, February 2021, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/j.oneear.2021.01.003.
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