2008 might be the UN's International Year of Sanitation, but it's hard to say that sanitary conditions are really on the rise worldwide. With populations steadily growing and costly sewer projects low on the priority list for many developing nations, the UN is fighting an uphill battle to achieve it's goal to halve the number of people without access to proper sanitation or at least latrines. Although efforts seem to be falling behind the curve, some scientists are optimistic about new and cheaper strategies to use nature to filter the developing world's waste.It's estimated that about 90% of the sewage in developing countries runs straight into water sources completely untreated -- not too great for swimming or drinking. An experiment at a prison in Mombasa, Kenya will test an alternative method to traditional underground sewers. By building an artificial wetland, officials plan to filter and process sewage from the prison's 4,000 inmates into water that's safe for farming and livestock.
According to scientists, areas of wetlands, forests, and mangroves can effectively process sewage, as well as aiding the entire local water cycle. Coming in at a cost of only $117,000, projects like the wetlands could ease the developing worlds sanitation woes, making better use of their precious water resources. The wetlands project includes plans for a fish farm -- utilizing the filtered sewer water -- producing fish that the prison will sell or feed the prisoners. Yum!
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