1THE PILOT OF ECOLOGICAL SANITATION PROJECT IN MAJUMBASITA, DAR ES SALAAM- TANZANIA

This paper describes the on going pilot project of Ecological Sanitation in Tanzania, the project that has been introduced in Tanzania at the end of last year (November 2000). The project is funded by Unicef and implemented by EEPCO a National NGO based in Dar Es Salaam. Just like many African countries, unplanned settlements have kept increasing in many Tanzanian towns and Dar Es Salaam in particular there are more than ten including Majumbasita and there are no immediate means to upgrade these settlements. A substantial population is currently found residing on un-surveyed land mainly on the hillside areas of Dar Es Salaam. The City has the estimated population of 4 millions in a land of 139300 hectares. A baseline survey carried out by EEPCO in 1999 indicated that the level of sanitation service was unsatisfactory about 68 % coverage including the temporally tradition toilets. Although the master plan stipulates the removal of these squatter areas, they are likely to remain in existence for many years to come, because of their political sensitivity. Many problems arise due to the poor existing infrastructures, lack of hygienic sanitation; poor disposal of waste, consistently negative balances of nutrients there is widespread processes of soil fertility decline which most of them end up into eutrophication of Msimbazi river. The problems of diarrhea and other faecal –related diseases remain highly endemic. In ability of existing sanitation systems to manage adequately the massive and still increasing volume of human excreta is the main cause for the high incidence of infectious diseases in most of our settlements. This has contributed significantly to the wide increase in ecological problems. The main reasons behind these problems are rapid population growth and an unsuitable technological response. Conventional sanitation technologies based on flush toilets, sewers, treatment and discharge cannot solve these problems in urban areas like Majumbasita where the lacking of necessary resources such as water, money and institutional capacity are existing, that is why the use of ecological sanitation has been proposed and implemented to solve these problems