Household-Centred Environmental Sanitation (HCES)
The Household-Centred Environmental Sanitation approach (HCES) was conceived in 2000 by the Environmental Sanitation Working Group of the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC). The HCES model is strongly based on the Bellagio Principles.
The HCES concept was described in the 2005 publication Household-Centred Environmental Sanitation – Implementing the Bellagio Principles in Urban Environmental Sanitation: Provisional Guidelines for Decision- Makers (Eawag/WSSCC, 2005).
A ten-step process
The HCES guidelines propose a 10-step process initiated with a direct request from a commnity or community leader and culminating with the implementation of plans developed during the planning process. The figure below shows the steps that were used as a foundation for case studies.
The 10-step process in the HCES approach. (Source: Eawag/WSSCC 2005)
Stakeholder Involvement
HCES is a bold departure from past central planning approaches. It places the stakeholder at the core of the planning process and the approach responds directly to the needs and demands of the user. There are several features which distinguish it from previous, top-down approaches:
- Stakeholders are members of a “zone”, and act as members of that zone (“zones” range from households to the nation).
- Decisions are reached through consultation with all stakeholders affected (for example, votes at national level in a democratic system, town hall meetings at local level or informal discussions at neighbourhood level).
- Problems should be solved as close to their source as possible. Only if the affected zone is unable to solve the problem should the problem be “exported”, i.e. referred to the zone at the next level.
- Decisions and the responsibility for implementing them flow from the household to the community to the city and finally to the central government. Policies and regulations are determined by central government with implementation delegated to the appropriate levels flowing towards the household.
Circular System of Resource Management
An important principle of the HCES approach is to minimize waste transfer across circle boundaries by minimizing waste-generating inputs and maximum recycling/reuse activities in each circle. In contrast to the current linear system, the Circular System of Resource Management (CSRM) emphasizes conservation (reducing imports) of resources as well as recycling and reuse of resources used (minimizing exports).
Resources in the case of environmental sanitation are water, goods used by households, commerce and industry, and rainwater. The circular system practices what economists preach: waste is a misplaced resource. By applying this concept, the circular system reduces “downstream” pollution
Case studies
The guidelines were based on the combined experiences and practical knowledge of the authors, but it had never been tested in the field. From 2006 until the end of 2008 the HCES guidelines, and the concept of a participatory top-down/bottom-up planning approach, were tested in 7 different urban and periurban sites across Africa, Asia and Latin America. Case studies from four of the seven sites are presented and analysed in People’s Choice First: A 4-Country Comparative Validation of the HCES Planning Approach for Environmental Sanitation.
References/Links
Eawag/WSSCC (2005). Household-Centred Environmental Sanitation: Implementing the Bellagio Principles in Urban Environmental Sanitation. Provisional Guideline for Decision-Makers. Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland.http://www.eawag.ch/organisation/abteilungen/sandec/schwerpunkte/sesp/hces/index_EN
Eawag and WSSCC. (2000). Bellagio Principles . Eawag and WSSCC: Switzerland. http://www.eawag.ch/organisation/abteilungen/sandec/publikationen/publications_sesp/downloads_sesp/Bellagio_Statement.pdf
Lüthi C, Morel A, Kohler P, Tilley E. (2009). People’s Choice First. A 4-Country Comparative Validation of the HCES Planning Approach for Environmental Sanitation. NCCR North-South Dialogue 22. Bern, Switzerland: NCCR North-South. http://www.eawag.ch/organisation/abteilungen/sandec/publikationen/publications_sesp/downloads_sesp/nccr_dialogue.pdf
Resources
This article is linked to the article on Environmental Sanitation Planning for the Urban Poor. Other related sections are:
- Strategic Sanitation Approach/Strategic Sanitation Planning (SSA/SSP)
- Sanitation 21
- Household-Centred Environmental Sanitation (HCES)
- Hygiene Improvement Framework (HIF)
- FOAM and SaniFOAM
This collection of atricles were contributed by Elizabeth Tiley (project officer at Eawag) and Andy Peal. The issues and topics addressed are based on the title, Hygiene and Sanitation Software: An Overview of Approaches., by Andy Peal, Barbara Evans,and Carolien van der Voorden.
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