Floods in north Bihar are a recurring disaster, which annually take thousands of human lives, apart from killing livestock and destroying assets worth millions. In addition, Bihar also happens to have a high incidence of open defecation. This practice continues during floods as well, despite problems such as lack of privacy, lack of spaces for defecation, erratic timings to be followed, and extreme self-restraint exercised by women on their bodies. Furthermore, in areas here with high water tables, open defecation increases the risk of fecal contamination of the groundwater, thereby compromising drinking water quality. With flood patterns becoming more irregular due to climate change, the issue of safe sanitation is becoming more complex. ICIMOD and Megh Pyne Abhiyan (MPA) under HI-AWARE are piloting flood-resilient sanitation in Pashchim (West) Champaran District in North Bihar to alleviate the effects of poor sanitation in general, and especially during floods. In addition, the pilot is also creating a space for safe sanitation within the flood-resilient habitat framework, which also includes safe drinking water, sustainable housing, and local flood-adaption measures.

The issue

When conducting climate change research in mountain environments, it is important to account for the different impacts and vulnerabilities that affect upstream and the downstream communities. Water from the hills and mountains of the HKH flows down to the plains as rivers and streams that are important resources for the lives and livelihood of downstream communities.

Flowing through the north Bihar region in India are eight major rivers – Ghaghra, Gandak, Burhi Gandak, Bagmati, Kamala, Bhutahi Balan, Kosi and Mahananda – that end up in the Ganga, making 77 percent of north Bihar vulnerable to floods. Flooding of these rivers once brought prosperity to the region; but with human interventions (such as embankment construction) and erratic rainfall patterns, the floods now have vastly different impacts.

The purpose of embanking the river is to prevent river water from spilling into the countryside and thereby reduce the impact of floods on humans, livestock, and agriculture. Embanking the river meant dividing the landscape into two prominent sections – riverside and countryside. The former is located between the river and the embankments, and the latter is the area ‘protected’ by the embankment. The countryside, apart from being vulnerable to dangerous breaches of the embankment, is particularly affected by water-logging, thus becoming a source for numerous communicable diseases. Villages on the riverside are completely disregarded habitation sites and thus are extremely vulnerable. The impact of poor sanitation is pervasive both in the countryside and the riverside areas and is not limited by embankments. Therefore, such a scenario requires a solution that takes care of both developmental (health) and adaptation needs.

The solution

The piloting of the ‘Ecological Sanitation’ (Eco- San) Toilet or the ‘Phaydemand Shauchalay’ (meaning beneficial/productive toilet), as it is locally known, attempts to address the sanitation problems in the area during floods. The intervention is being piloted through MPA in Naya Tola Bhishambharpur (NTB), a village located in Bhagwanpur Panchayat (village council), in Nautan Block of Pashchim Champaran District of Bihar.

The Eco-San toilet/Phaydemand Shauchalay is an innovative, self-sustaining sanitation unit that can function without plumbing and drainage facilities. Further, it also provides several other benefits:

• It is flood-resilient and emits less odour
• It is a double-chambered toilet that converts human waste to ‘humanure’, which is used as fertilizer in crop fields and kitchen gardens
• It collects urine separately, which can be used as a substitute for urea in the crop fields or vegetable gardens after it is mixed with water in the ratio of 1:7 (litres)
• It does not require flushing and hence saves water
• It collects waste above the ground and so prevents groundwater contamination
• It provides the community, especially women, girls, and the elderly, a secure and clean enclosure for defecation even during floods

Impact and uptake

The pilot has already received recognition from the state’s poverty-alleviation and rural-livelihoods programme, JEEViKA, which has given financial support directly to women beneficiaries for constructing Phaydemand Shauchalay, in the form of the SHAN (Sanitation, Health and Nutrition) fund. A 2016 study also shows the cost effectiveness of the Eco-San toilet, because it provides benefits in the form of reduced health costs and allows farmers to not spend on chemical fertilizers. It states that, for example, a six-member household would see an annual benefit of approximately INR 5,123 (around USD 80). Upscaling this pilot could vastly improve health and hygiene outcomes in the state and other flood-prone areas in the HKH.

Contributors

Nuvodita Singh, ICIMOD

Vinay Kumar, WA

Kumod Kumar Das, MPA

Aparna Unni, MPA

Eklavya Prasad, MPA

Further reading/information

Jamwal, N. (2017, November 4). Ecosan toilets are making it safer for rural Bihar’s women to defecate during floods. The Wire. Retrieved from https:// thewire.in/194206/phaydemand-shauchalaya- ecosan-toilets-humanure-women-north-bihar-flash- floods.

Jamwal, N. (2016, August 9). The Swachh Bharat Mission may just trip up Bihar’s fledgling ecological sanitation movement. Scroll.in. Retrieved from https://scroll.in/article/812385/the-swachh-bharat- mission-may-just-trip-up-bihars-fledgling-ecological- sanitation-movement.