Abstract
The lack of adequate water supply and sanitation services is a major issue related to sustainable development in many parts of the developing world. New strategic planning approaches which directly address users’ needs and demand—often referred to as demand-responsive, community-based or household-centred approaches—are regarded as a crucial step towards improving the situation. This paper investigates household needs and demand for improved water supply and sanitation services in peri-urban, low-income settlements, known as “ger areas”, in the city of Darkhan, Mongolia. The paper is based largely on a household survey conducted in a selected ger area subdistrict in Darkhan. The results reveal a complex picture. Even if the existing situation can be regarded as largely “improved” in terms of the definitions stipulated by the Joint Monitoring Programme for water supply and sanitation, it is shown that there is a need for action nonetheless. The paper also argues that the household survey is a useful method for assessing users’ needs and demand and for meeting the requirements of demand-responsive sanitation planning approaches.
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Notes
The general institutional framework conditions for dealing with water related problems are discussed in Horlemann and Dombrowsky (2011).
This is the meaning intended in this paper by the phrase “the households surveyed”.
The JMP is the United Nations programme tasked with monitoring progress towards the Millennium Development Goal 7, target 7c. The achievement of the MDG is measured by indicators using an improved/unimproved dichotomy.
Interview statement May 2009.
Multiple answers possible.
Blackwater is the mixture of urine, faeces and dry cleansing material, e.g. toilet paper.
Multiple answers possible.
According to the local service provider USAG, water consumption in the study area has increased fivefold since the nine water kiosks were connected to the central grid (interview statement September 2010).
Greywater accounts for half of the total organic load and for up to two-thirds of the phosphorous load in domestic wastewater (Morel and Diener 2006).
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by funding from the Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) in the framework of the project “IWAS—International Water Research Alliance Saxony” (Grant 02WM1027). Thanks are due to the assistants and interviewees involved in the household survey, and to various colleagues, especially Johannes Schiller, for their helpful advice and comments. Special thanks go to three anonymous referees for very useful comments which helped to significantly improve this article.
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Sigel, K., Altantuul, K. & Basandorj, D. Household needs and demand for improved water supply and sanitation in peri-urban ger areas: the case of Darkhan, Mongolia. Environ Earth Sci 65, 1561–1566 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-011-1221-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-011-1221-7