| Author: |
Steven A. Esrey, 2001-11
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| Title: |
EcoSan: The Big Picture |
| Publisher: |
UNDP / BDP / Energy and Environment Group
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| Type: |
Books
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| Country / Region: |
Global
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| Categories: |
Water & Sanitation
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| Themes/Issues: |
Development
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| Date Posted: |
2005-03-21 |
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Ecosan is a closed-loop ecosystem approach to the management of human excreta. It has three basic principles. First, it promotes health and prevents disease. It does this by treating excreta as near as possible to where people defecate rather than flushing it downstream for the unfortunate to cope with. There are several ways to treat excreta, one of which NASA does, that is dehydration. Second, Ecosan approaches protect the environment while conserving resources. One of the main causes of fresh water pollution is sewage. By not using fresh water to transport excreta, and returning it to the land after treating it, water is conserved and protected. Finally, Ecosan approaches recover nutrients in excreta, return them to productive uses, and therefore recycle nutrients. Food for people, people for food. This is very important for certain nutrients like phosphorus, which has limited global supplies, is available commercially from only a few countries, and introduces toxic chemicals when used in commercial agriculture.
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