Recent symposiums have indicated that there is a need for a new paradigm in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. This new paradigm is called ‘ecosan’, Recent symposiums have indicated that there is a need for a new paradigm in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. This new holistic approach to sanitation and water management is called ‘ecosan’. This approach is based on the systematic closure of local material flow-cycles rather than on linear, expensive and energy intensive end-of-pipe technologies. The new approach recognizes human excreta and water from households as a reusable resource and not as a waste.

This conference will focus on the following themes:
• ecological sanitation solutions in rural and peri-urban areas
• Decentralised Wastewater Treatment Systems (DEWATS)
• stakeholder participation
• education and training
• regulatory framework
• financing and socio-economic aspects
• hygiene and environmental assessments
• hygienic agro-reuse
• decision-making tools.