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Med 4.2: Sustainable financing for Sanitation Sector

Session of the Mediterranean Cross Continental Process, coordinated by Jauad EL KHARRAZ (EMWIS/SEMIDE) & Nejib ABID (ONAS, Tunisia) to respond to the priority 4 of this process: "Urban and Industrial Wastewater collection and treatment"

Wednesday 14 March - 8:30 -10:30 - PEu1 Europa 1 Palais de l’Europe



During the World Water Forum held in Marseille from 12 to 17 March 2012, the Euro-Mediterranean Information System on know-how in the Water sector (EMWIS) coordinated with the Tunisian National Office for Sanitation (ONAS) the session Med 4.2: “Sustainable cost recovery (SCR) for sanitation services” under the Mediterranean Cross Continental Process, Priority 4: Urban and Industrial Wastewater collection and treatment.

Financing is a necessary (but not sufficient) condition for achieving adequate water and sanitation services and the resulting benefits on health, education and economic activity. In the last years, not only developing countries but also developed countries are facing difficulties to establish sustainable mechanisms to finance such sector. In Belgium for instance, the water price increase is due according to recent reports primarily to the cost of wastewater treatment, as the European Water Framework Directive is requiring regions more and more to treat their waters. Moreover, public finance in sanitation has focused on subsidies for household and public toilets and given grants to build sewerage networks and treatment facilities. However, across the world there are many examples of unused facilities –households not connected to available sewerage systems, defunct treatment plants and toilets used for storage. The Millennium Development Goal challenge of providing sanitation to an additional 2.4 billion people by 2015 demands a new finance strategy which responds to need and mobilises all available resources.

Hence, the objective of this session was to analyze and discuss the best mechanisms for financing urban and industrial sanitation services. One of the important mechanisms consists in considering the cost recovery scheme for the overall sanitation cycle in order to have a clear picture of all the costs and to match them with the necessary financial resources: tax payer money, tariffs and fees, and international financial aid (Transfer) i.e. the 3 Ts. This approach aims at answering the question "Who pays what?" On the other hand, it was also the occasion to discuss some emerging solutions such as: generating new revenues (reuse waste water & sludge, energy production) and payment for ecosystem (Eco-tax / environmental tax).

Some case studies from TunisiaMoroccoEgyptSpain, France and Israel were presented. The aim of the debates of this session was to respond to questions such as: Which financing means and responsibilities to set up a clear regulatory & institutional framework? How can we provide incentives to reduce pollutant discharges? How can we reduce the high cost of sanitation? Is it possible to adopt a standard or a unique schema for a sustainable cost recovery (SCR) in the developing countries?

This session took place on Wednesday 14/03 from 08h00 to 10h00 in room: “PC 13 - Patio 3 > Palais des Congrès (Level 1)”, in coordination with the sessions of the thematic process on "Financing water for all".

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Target Med 4.2:
By 2015, each Mediterranean country has defined a strategy of sustainable cost recovery (SCR) for sanitation services through the use of tariffs and fees, public subsidies and international financial assistance to ensure economical sustainability, equitable access for all and pollution control.

Folder Related
Folder Session presentations
PDF Session main outcomes Download (2 versions)
DOC Med 4.2 session outline Download (5 versions)
PDF Med 4.2 target report Download (3 versions)
URL 1.1.4 & CS2.4 Financing Mechanisms for Local Water and Sanitation Service Providers - 13 March 2012, from 08:30 to 13:00 / open
News Belgique : La facture d’eau devenue indigeste: "Consommation Retards de paiement et plans d’apurement se multiplient"
URL CS2 INTRO - Mobilising Finance for Water: Needs and Challenges - 12 March 2012, from 17:00 to 19:00 / open
URL CS2 SYNTH - Identifying Financing Tools, Solutions and Commitments to Move Forward - 14 March 2012, from 17:00 to 19:00 / open
URL CS2.1 Where Does The Money Come From? Moving Forward on Strategic Financial Planning for Water - 13 March 2012, from 08:30 to 10:30 / open
URL CS2.2 Strategic Resource Allocation for Soft Measures: Supporting Governments to Deliver at Scale Water Supply and Sanitation Services to Poor People - 14 March 2012, from 14:30 to 16:30 / open
URL CS2.3 Who Pays for Sustainable and Inclusive WASH Services? How to Achieve Sustainable Cost Recovery that is Financially Sustainable, Reliable and Socially Equitable - 13 March 2012, from 11:00 to 13:00 / open
URL CS2.5 Decentralised Solidarity Mechanisms: a Tool for Sub-national Institutions for Financing Universal Access to Water and Sanitation - 14 March 2012, from 11:00 to 13:00 / open
URL CS2.6 Integrated Water Financing - the Bigger Picture: Innovative Financing for Water Resources Management, Ecosystem Services and Agriculture - 13 March 2012, from 08:30 to 10:30 / open
URL CS2.7 Pro-poor Financing Solutions for Water and Sanitation that last - 13 March 2012, from 14:30 to 16:30 / open
XLS List of members Download
PDF Med 4.2 agenda Download
HTML Document Press release - Med 4.2: Sustainable financing for Sanitation Sector
5th Mediterranean Water Forum