Dry Sanitation Technologies: Developing a Simplified Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis Tool

Margarida Fidélis Santos (), Carolina Pires Castro, Rita Ventura Matos, Liliana Alves and José Saldanha Matos
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Margarida Fidélis Santos: Civil Engineering Research and Innovation for Sustainability (CERIS), Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal
Carolina Pires Castro: Civil Engineering Research and Innovation for Sustainability (CERIS), Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal
Rita Ventura Matos: Hidra, Hidráulica e Ambiente, Av. Defensores de Chaves, 31–1° Esq., 1000-111 Lisboa, Portugal
Liliana Alves: Civil Engineering Research and Innovation for Sustainability (CERIS), Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal
José Saldanha Matos: Civil Engineering Research and Innovation for Sustainability (CERIS), Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 19, 1-21

Abstract: Safely managed sanitation is indispensable for societies to ensure public health, environmental protection, and economic and social development. This could be achieved, in large areas of the world, through dry sanitation systems. Dry sanitation systems are especially used in water-scarce regions and low-income households. In dense peri-urban areas, the achievement of safe sanitation necessitates a comprehensive fecal sludge management (FSM) service chain, surpassing the mere provision of latrines. This research introduces an automatic Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) approach, which focuses on the particular interface/storage stage of the FSM service chain. The tool aims to support the decision-making process and may be especially useful in the early stages of sanitation planning as it compares different technologies with potential application in low-income countries. It includes different criteria and parameters for the Social, Economic, Technical, and Environmental dimensions of dry sanitation options (SETEds), being adaptable to different contexts and to different priorities. The main key strengths of the tool were found to be its minimal data requirements and ability to customize operation and maintenance cost parameters. These features are particularly relevant in data-scarce contexts, where traditional models may lead to unreliable recommendations or lack of solution ownership by users. The tool was applied to the Ambriz case study, a coastal town in Northern Angola, in West Africa. The obtained results are analyzed and show the tool’s application provides technology recommendations aligned with the site and community characteristics.

Keywords: decision support model; dry sanitation; low-income countries; multi-criteria analysis; on-site sanitation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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