Turning Two Millions
Tons of Waste - Equal to Over Two Billion
Tons of Wastewater - into Economic Resource
Could Benefit Human Health, Agriculture
and the Environment
Nairobi (Kenya), 22
March 2010 - Transforming wastewater from
a major health and environmental hazard
into a clean, safe and economically-attractive
resource is emerging as a key challenge
in the 21st century.
It is a challenge that
will continue to intensify as the world
undergoes rapid urbanization, industrialization
and increasing demand for meat and other
foods unless decisive action is taken says
a new United Nations report released today.
Urban populations are
projected to nearly double in 40 years,
from current 3.4 billion to over six billion
people - but already most cities lack adequate
wastewater management due to aging, absent
or inadequate sewage infrastructure.
The new report, called
Sick Water?, says some two million tons
of waste, estimated to equal two or more
billion tons of wastewater (see notes to
editors) is being discharged daily into
rivers and seas spreading disease to humans
and damaging key ecosystems such as coral
reefs and fisheries.
Wastewater is a cocktail
of fertilizer run-off and sewage disposal
alongside animal, industrial, agricultural
and other wastes.
The report says that
the sheer scale of dirty water means more
people now die from contaminated and polluted
water than from all forms of violence including
wars. Dirty water is also a key factor in
the rise of de-oxygenated dead zones that
have been emerging in seas and oceans across
the globe.
Yet many of the substances
that make wastewater a pollutant - for example
nitrogen and phosphorus- can also be useful
as fertilizers for agriculture. Wastewater
can also generate gases to fuel small power
stations or be used for cooking.
The report notes that
already some 10 per cent of the world's
population is being supplied with food grown
using wastewater for irrigation and fertilizer
and with better management and training
of farmers this could be increased substantially.
The report, launched
to coincide with World Water Day, goes so
far as to say that the concentration of
nutrients in wastewater "could supply
much of the nitrogen and much of the phosphorous
and potassium normally required for crop
production. Other valuable micro-nutrients
and organic matter contained in the effluent
would also provide benefits".
Some Solutions
The report underlines
that reducing the volume and concentrations
of wastewater will require multiple actions
ranging from reducing run-off from livestock
and croplands to better treatment of human
wastes.
Some solutions may involve
water recycling systems and multi-million
or multi-billion dollar water sewage treatment
works: the report cites the success of those
installed in the Bali coastal resort of
Nusa Dua in Indonesia.
Others may involve investing
and re-investing in nature's natural purification
systems which include wetlands, mangroves
and salt marshes.
Studies in the Mississippi
valley of the United States indicate that
the value of a restored wetland may be as
high as over $1,000 a hectare if its full
range of services, from water filtration
to recreational use, is factored in.
Establishing markets
and economic instruments for such services
could offer the kind of financial incentives
that favour conservation and restoration
over draining wetlands for farmland.
Other solutions can
be small-scale: The report cites the coral
coast of Fiji where it was estimated that
up to 40 per cent of harmful nutrients being
discharged into the marine environment were
from pigs, which produce three times more
concentrated nitrogen waste than humans.
Sawdust beds which soak
up the liquid run-off from pig pens have
now been introduced, and soiled sawdust
is shipped to nearby farms as fertilizer.
Emissions to coastal waters have been cut
and the farmers are pleased too.
This is because the
more comfortable sawdust beds seem to make
the pigs happier and thus bigger, so farmers
have more meat to sell.
Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary
General and Executive Director of the UN
Environment Programme (UNEP), said: "If
the world is to thrive, let alone to survive
on a planet of six billion people heading
to over nine billion by 2050, we need to
get collectively smarter and more intelligent
about how we manage waste including wastewaters".
"The facts and
figures are stark - pollution from wastewater
is quite literally killing people, indeed
at least 1.8 million children die annually
as a result of contaminated water. The impacts
on the wider environment and in particular
the marine environment are also sobering,"
he added.
"But the report
also points to the abundant Green Economy
opportunities for turning a mounting challenge
into an opportunity with multiple benefits.
These include the savings from reduced fertilizer
costs for farmers and, incentives for conserving
ecological infrastructure such as wetlands
alongside new business and employment opportunities
in engineering and natural resource management,"
Mr Steiner said.
Mrs Anna Tibajuka, Executive
Director of UN-Habitat, said: "Urban
and industrial wastewater composed of sediment,
nutrients, organic matter, trace metals
and pesticides, among others, adversely
affects the entire food chain and thus human
health".
"Many water and
sanitation utilities, especially in developing
countries, are forced to spend more financial
resources in water treatment due to increased
pollution. Excess nutrients and wastewater
can also lead to uncontrolled growth of
algae and aquatic plants such as water hyacinth
which cause practical problems for marine
transportation, fishing and at intakes for
water, hydro power and irrigation schemes,"
she added.
"It is my hope
that activities taking place globally today
will raise public awareness of the water
quality challenges facing humanity, and
the need to commit to concrete remedial
actions at all levels," said Mrs Tibajuka.
Christian Nellemann,
a lead author on the report, added: "Some
estimates suggest that around 2 million
tons of waste are spilled into sewage systems
every day: this may be producing well over
two billion tons of polluted water every
single day, 365 days a year, right into
our freshwaters and oceans".
The Rapid Response Assessment,
entitled "Sick water? The central role
of wastewater management in sustainable
development", has been compiled by
a special taskforce consisting of the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the
UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT),
and the UN Secretary General's Advisory
Board on Water and Sanitation (UNSGAB).
It has also involved
experts from UN Water and UNEP's GRID Arendal
in Norway and was launched today at UNEP
headquarters and at the World Urban Forum
in Rio de Janeiro in support of this year's
World Water Day with the theme Clean Water
for a Healthy World.
The report shows that
the impact of poor wastewater management
and degrading sewage systems is not only
costing billions of dollars and degrading
ecosystems, it is also challenging the achievement
of the Millennium Development Goals, sustainable
development, jobs, labour productivity and
the health of hundreds of millions of people
worldwide.
Conversely, a recent
report by the UNEP Green Economy Initiative
underlined the economic benefits of investing
in this resource. It argues that every dollar
invested in safe water and sanitation has
a pay back of $3 to $34 depending on the
region and the technology deployed.
Some Facts and Figures
from the Report
At least 1.8 million
children under five years-old die every
year from water related disease, which is
one child every 20 seconds.
It is estimated that
close to 90 per cent of diarrhoea cases,
killing some 2.2 million people every year,
is caused by unsafe drinking water and poor
hygiene.
Over 50 per cent of
malnutrition cases globally are associated
with diarrhoea or intestinal worm infections.
Diarrhoeal diseases come second after respiratory
infections in terms of labour productivity
lost due to illness.
Over half the world's
hospitals beds are occupied with people
suffering from illnesses linked with contaminated
water.
Almost 900 million people
currently lack access to safe drinking water,
and an estimated 2.6 billion people lack
access to basic sanitation. South Asia and
sub-Saharan Africa have the highest proportion,
with around 221 million and 330 million
respectively living without basic sanitation.
90 per cent of the wastewater
in developing countries discharged daily
is untreated. 80% of all marine pollution
is land based - most of it wastewater, damaging
coral reefs and fishing grounds
Each day each one of
us uses - and discards - some 150-600 litres
of water: 60-150 litres per person per day
in developing countries to 500-800 litre
per person per day in the industrialized
world
People in the industrialized
world generate 5 times more wastewater per
person than in developing countries - but
treat over 90% of the wastewater compared
to only a few percent in developing countries
Improved wastewater
management has resulted in significant environmental
improvements in many European rivers, but
dead zones in the oceans are still spreading
worldwide
Agriculture accounts
for some 70-90% of all water consumed, mainly
for irrigation. But large amounts also return
to rivers in terms of run-off - near half
of all organic matter in wastewater comes
from agriculture
Industrial wastes, pesticides
from agriculture and tailings from mining
also create serious health risks and threats
to water resources, costing billions of
dollars to monitor, much more to clean.
Use of bottled water
is increasing, but it takes 3 litres of
water to produce one litre of bottled water
- and in the USA alone an additional 17
million barrels of oil.
Worldwide 200 000 million
litres of water are produced every year,
creating also an enormous waste problem
from spent plastic bottles.
20 million tons of phosphate
is mined to fertilize crops, and there are
concerns that natural phosphate may become
scarcer over the coming decades.
Nearly half of the agricultural
phosphate applied is washed away and ends
up rivers and oceans where it plays a part
in triggering algae blooms that in turn
damage ecosystems and fish stocks.
The area of dead zones
- locations of reduced or absent oxygen
levels - has now grown to cover 245,000
km2 of the marine environment including
in North America; the Caribbean, Europe
and Asia.
Wastewater also generates
methane, a climate gas 21 times more powerful
than C02. It is also generating nitrous
oxide which is 310 times more powerful than
C02.
It is estimated that
wastewater-linked emissions of methane and
nitrous oxide will rise by 25 per cent and
50 per cent respectively in just a decade.
Climate change may aggravate
the problem with droughts concentrating
wastewater pollution in rivers and lakes
and increased flooding overwhelming ageing
sewage infrastructure in cities and towns.
The report provides
six major recommendations:
Countries should adopt
a multisectoral approach, including ecosystem
management, to cope with rising wastewater
production
Countries must establish
national plans from water source to ocean
and create national to local strategies.
Over 70% of the water is consumed by agriculture
for irrigation.
Financing and investment
are urgently needed and must address design,
ecosystem restoration, construction, operation
and maintenance of waste water infrastructure.
Public management of the water supply and
wastewater management have provided best
results for broad public benefit, with private
sector mainly beneficial in improving operation
and maintenance
Communities and nations
should plan for increasing incidents of
extreme weather and rising urbanization
in the future.
For effective waste
water management, social, cultural, environmental
and economical aspects must be carefully
considered
Education has a crucial
role to play in water and wastewater management,
helping to ensure water, nutrients and future
opportunities for employment and development
are not wasted.
Notes to Editors
The report "Sick
water ? the central role of wastewater management
for sustainable development" can be
accessed at www.unep.org or at www.grida.no
including high and low resolution graphics
for free use in publications. Credits and
sources for the photographs can be found
at the back of the report.
2 billion tons of wastewater
versus two million tons of waste: The two
million tons relates to the dry weight of
the solids and other materials entering
rivers and the marine environment. Two billion
tons or more estimates the weight of both
the solids and the contaminated water itself.
The calculation is:-2
million tons of waste and 1,500 km3 of wastewaterper
year which is 4.1 km3 per day - which is
2 billion tons or more daily depending on
the definition of wastewater.
For more information,
please contact
Nick Nuttall, UNEP Spokesperson/Head of
Media
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