Abishek S Narayan, a member of IWA’s Inclusive Urban Sanitation Task Force, reflects on the ‘state of the art’ of the CWIS approach, following discussions on the subject at IWA’s World Water Congress & Exhibition in Toronto, Canada.
Urban sanitation has come a long way since the turn of the century, with Citywide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) providing a much-needed impetus since 2016. The CWIS approach incorporated various developments around equitable and sustainable service delivery, and redefined sanitation as a comprehensive service considering the entire service chain, embracing both sewered and non-sewered technologies. For water professionals, CWIS represents a crucial shift in how we approach urban sanitation, moving beyond a conventional infrastructure focused approach to welcome innovative service models.
CWIS is an approach built on the foundations of the Human Right to Sanitation that was ratified in 2012, and the sanitation related targets that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) introduced in 2016. CWIS emphasised that an enabling environment for sanitation – including policy, institutions and accountability, inclusive and equitable planning, financing, and capacities – were essential for any technological intervention to deliver results sustainably.
State of the art of CWIS
Since its inception, CWIS has evolved through various research and implementation experiences. From more than 75 scientific articles and practitioner-targeted reports that were labelled as CWIS – and that directly used the concept – an IWA paper discussing its ‘state of the art’ was published recently.
In this paper, four conceptual frameworks on CWIS are identified, which were developed by the Asian Development Bank, Eawag, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the World Bank respectively. There is considerable overlap and commonality between these frameworks. They do not explicitly contradict each other, but rather simply attach different importance to the various aspects of the concept.
Conceptual priorities
Most of CWIS publications reviewed covered institutions, regulations and planning, while technologies and public health have been given less coverage. This is not to claim that CWIS sees the latter as less important, but simply that the latter have had major coverage in conventional urban sanitation literature, and CWIS literature seems to have given more balance to the ‘software’ aspects of urban sanitation.
Despite the significant quantum of knowledge products related to CWIS, there is a lack of practical guidance on adopting the CWIS approach to effect holistic change. IWA’s Inclusive Urban Sanitation Stories have curated a valuable collection of examples that have demonstrated the CWIS approach through various policies and practices in low- and middle-income contexts.
Emerging issues that are highly relevant for urban sanitation, including climate resilience, integration with urban development, and sanitation worker safety, have been missed from much of the sanitation literature. The spirit of CWIS will keep evolving and, in time, incorporate new evidence, and so produce new concepts.
World Water Congress & Exhibition 2024
IWA’s World Water Congress & Exhibition in Toronto, Canada, served as an excellent platform for discussion. This was apparent from the increased prominence of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), and particularly sanitation, in the conference agenda.
During the event, several useful formal and informal discussions related to CWIS took place. One important thread that emerged was during a technical session that showed a combination of technologies at different scales could co-exist in the same city and be optimised to achieve multiple goals. For example, a city could have a mix of centralised and decentralised sewer-based systems, varied types of on-site blackwater and greywater treatment, and even reinvented household-level treatment. Such a mix could potentially be optimised for not only improved public health and environmental protection, but also for greenhouse gas emissions, and resource efficiency and recovery.
Another major theme that emerged was around the innovation of WASH systems – addressing both technology and service models. A wide range of innovations in regulations, financing and low-cost technologies were showcased in various sessions, showing the potential actors (or stakeholders) that may be involved in sanitation provision. Finally, several discussions in youth-driven sessions and university partnerships, such as ‘WASH Canada’, focused on enhancing capacities for the next generation of water and sanitation professionals, highlighting the critical importance of any new approach to WASH, including CWIS.
Developments in the sector
The CWIS approach has benefitted from the long-standing commitment of various sector institutions, which have supported its conceptualisation, the development of decision support tools, and capacity-building initiatives. The shift in the strategies of certain donors towards a more technology-driven approach will undoubtedly have an impact on the momentum of CWIS. Notwithstanding this shift, it is important to recognise that CWIS has gained considerable traction among key implementation actors over the years. Governments, multilateral development banks, and UN agencies have embraced CWIS principles, demonstrating the broader acceptance and sustainability of the approach.
As the sector evolves the focus should now be on consolidating the progress made thus far and building upon this foundation. Whether projects are labelled as ‘CWIS’ or not, the approach has given the sector a comprehensive set of factors to work with, bolstering a holistic view of sanitation. The approach should continue to evolve, incorporating the latest knowledge, and remain fluid in its contextual applicability.
More information
Discussion paper on the State of the Art of CWIS (IWA Publishing):
iwaponline.com/ebooks/book/934/Discussion-PaperCitywide-Inclusive-Sanitation
CWIS resources (Eawag-Sandec): www.sandec.ch/cwis
IWA’s IUS initiative plans to support the evolution of CWIS through a global consultation process that aims to gather insights from diverse stakeholders. Emphasising input from local authorities, utilities and service operators, this consultation will compile ‘voices from the field’ to capture practical experiences and knowledge that inform the development of more effective and responsive global sanitation solutions. This effort will culminate in the CWIS Global Forum, scheduled for 2025 at IWA’s Water and Development Congress & Exhibition. Further information will be made available through IWA’s communication platforms.
To find out more, visit: iwa-network.org/projects/inclusive-sanitation
The author: Abishek S Narayan is a researcher at Eawag, Switzerland, and a member of IWA’s Inclusive Urban Sanitation Task Force
