Piloting sustainable sanitation in Nuwara Eliya through regional cooperation

This paper describes how the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is working to promote sustainable sanitation and wastewater treatment in Sri Lanka through the Environmental Cooperation-Asia (ECO-Asia) Program. A pilot project is being developed in Nuwara Eliya Municipal Council to demonstrate an effective strategy for providing improved sanitation and addressing key constraints in the sanitation sector. Key constraints include lack of understanding of options within municipal councils, lack of awareness of pollution impacts within communities, and inadequate financing strategies and recovery frameworks. The pilot will build on the findings, capabilities and networks of the USAID-funded Transparency, Accountability and Local Governance (TALG) project in Sri Lanka and the experiences of the USAID-funded Local Initiatives for Affordable Wastewater Treatment (LINAW) project which is working with seven local government units in the Philippines. The chief implementing organizations for both projects are Planning and Development Collaborative Inc. (PADCO) and The Asia Foundation (TAF).