Water and Sanitation Feature Story 35806 Hygiene and Low Cost Sanitation Improvement for the Urban Poor in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia #14 March 2006 Over 900,000 people in peri-urban areas inadequate. Roads are in a permanent state (called Ger districts) in Ulaanbaatar, of disrepair.The Ger areas are prone to flash Mongolio lack basic infrastructure services. flooding as they are situated on flood plains Since 1997, the World Bank has supported and hill slopes. They also suffer from water Mongolia at a glance the Government of Mongolia to improve pollution from untreated sewerage that services to Ger dwellers. A 2004 social contaminates both the surface water and the assessment revealed that on-site sanitation groundwater due to the prevalence of poorly is very high on the list of priorities for constructed pit latrines. residents in the Ger areas. The Government of Mongolia is now addressing this problem Solid waste collection is haphazard and supported by a grant from the Japan Social drainage is poor. Soil and land pollution are Development Fund (JSDF). As an initial step ubiquitous as a result of open dumping of in advancing sanitation and hygiene in the solid waste. There is no central heating. This Population: 2.5 million; 57% Ger areas, the World Bank has provided results are poor air quality, due pollution urban, 43% rural; 1% annual growth rate technical assistance to the Mongolian from thermal power plants, coal-fired cooking Government through the Sanitation, Hygiene and heating stoves. Surface area: 1,566,500 km2 and Wastewater Support Service (SWAT). The technical work and consultations were a The urban immigration results in an Life expectancy: 66 years first step to pave the way for a more holistic increased strain of the municipality's safety GNI per capita: 590 USD approach to improving sanitation in nets and basic social services. The weakness Ulaanbaatar's urban periphery. of Ulaanbataar's municipal finances prevents Human Development Index the municipality from rapidly expanding ranking: 114 out of 177 BACKGROUND infrastructure service and maintenance into Mongolia is a landlocked country of nearly the Ger areas. % below the basic needs poverty line: 36.3% two and a half million residents, 915,000 of whom live in the capital, Ulaanbaatar. The % with improved water transition from a centrally planned system to access: 62% a market economy has been characterized by large-scale migration of the country's % with improved sanitation access: 59% traditionally nomadic population to the capital, where they have settled in the outskirts, creating vast, underserved neighborhoods. In Mongolia, urban poverty is a relatively new phenomenon. In the former centrally planned system, most basic services were provided for free and consumer goods WORLD BANK SUPPORT subsidized by the state. Poverty is generally From 1997 to 2003, the World Bank concentrated in the "Ger Districts"--peri- supported the Government of Mongolia to urban settlements that have sprung up on respond to the new demand for improved the outskirts of UlaanBaatar. and expanded services to the urban poor through the Ulaanbaatar Services LACK OF BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE, Improvement Project. The project resulted HYGIENE AND SANITATION IN GER in more reliable water supply services to AREAS about 140,000 people, by connecting water The Ger areas lack basic infrastructure kiosks to the network, as well as other services. The water supply network is service improvements in seven ger areas. Water Supply and Sanitation Feature Stories tell how the World Bank supports countries to ensure efficient, affordable, and sustainable delivery of water supply and sanitation services. The World Bank provides approximately 1.5 Billion USD in new lending for water supply and sanitation per year. It is the largest external financier as well as a leading institutions in knowledge and learning in the sector. Based on the experience in this project, the ownership for Mongolian-led process. The Second Ulaanbaatar Service Improvement consultation with the community was also Project (USIPII) was designed. used as an opportunity to test and validate The social assessment carried out during the the modified version of the Participatory RELEVANT PROJECTS preparation of USIPII revealed that on-site Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation sanitation is very high on the list of priorities Technique (PHAST) as methodology for Ulaanbaatar Service for residents in the Ger areas. Given the high demand-creation. Improvement Project Country Mongolia cost of providing a sewerage service, the lack Project ID P036052 of indoor plumbing, and the very low water KEY RECOMMENDATIONS Project $18.1 consumption in Ger areas, improved low cost The key recommendations identified during cost million on-site sanitation is the best option for the consultation process were as follows: Type IDA improving the sanitary conditions in these Timeframe 1997 - residential areas. · Develop policy and regulatory framework 2003 to support hygiene and sanitation Status Closed The Government of Mongolia obtained a activities. $1.98 Million grant from the Japan Social · Establish an institutional framework that Second Ulaanbaatar Service Development Fund (JSDF) to finance low-cost can support community-based promotion Improvement sanitation and hygiene activities in the Ger of hygiene and sanitation initiatives. Project areas. The JSDF grant complements the · Establish a mechanism for coordination Country Mongolia USIPII project that focuses mainly on water between the government, local and Project ID P074591 supply and institutional development. international Non Governmental Project $22.98 Organizations (NGOs), donors, the private cost million TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Type IDA sector and users for improved services. Timeframe 2004- As an initial step in advancing sanitation and · Design a mechanism for "instituting 2010 hygiene in the Ger areas, the World Bank has learning" to share best practices. Status Active provided technical assistance to the · Develop appropriate low cost sanitation Mongolian Government through the technologies for offering `informed Sanitation, Hygiene and Wastewater Support choice'. MORE Service (SWAT). Consultations were · Promote community education, promotion INFORMATION conducted with all key stakeholders, followed and community-based monitoring and Implementation by the organizing of a national consultative evaluation system. Completion Report, workshop. The Project Management Unit, · Ensure capacity and confidence building Ulaanbaatar Service with support from the technical assistance within the government planners and Improvement Project, team, guided the key stakeholders to map implementers and the NGOs to support World Bank, June 2004 out the existing hygiene and sanitation community-based hygiene and sanitation Project Appraisal situation. This included the mapping out of activities. Document, Second existing resource materials for the Ger areas. · Support to create supply-chain. Ulaanbaatar Service Improvement Project, The consultations were a novel event for IMMEDIATE OUTPUTS World Bank, March 2004 Mongolia. For the first time, all key The immediate outputs of the technical JSDF Project information professionals and decision makers in the assistance are five documents in Mongolian Sheet, Community-led hygiene and sanitation sector came together that were developed with inputs from key Infrastructure to address the sanitation issues and explore stakeholders. These included a situation Development for the the best solutions for the Ger areas. report laying out the results of the analysis of Urban Poor in hygiene and sanitation in Ulaanbataar's Ger Ulaanbaatar, 2004 The consultations were a first step to pave areas; two manuals on low-cost technologies TA reports, H. Briones, S. the way for a more holistic approach to and promotion of hygiene and sanitation, a Lahiri and I. Battulga, improving sanitation in Ulaanbaatar's urban "Community Dialogue Toolkit" to facilitate December 2005 periphery. The national consultation community participation, and implementation including: workshop was followed up with a second guidelines for low cost sanitation under the Hygiene and Sanitation Situation Report workshop at the district level in order to JSDF grant. Manual on Hygiene and share the conclusions, recommendations and Sanitatoin Promotion validate the situation on the ground. EXPECTED OVERALL OUTPUTS Manual on Sanitation The outputs of the technical assistance have Community Dialogue The overall summary of the findings and all been adopted for use in the JSDF-funded Toolkit recommendations from the two consultative project. The JSDF grant will help the Guidelines for Implementation of Low meetings were then shared with the Ger Government of Mongoia to pilot an enabling Cost Sanitation Project communities at Bayankhoshou. The environment for scaling-up of implementation in Ger Areas, Mongolia consultation strengthened the participatory of low cost sanitation activities for Ger areas approach and provided a better insight and in Mongolia. Water Supply and Sanitation Feature Stories are published by the Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Board of the World Bank. They are available online at http://www.worldbank.org/watsan and in hardcopy from whelpdesk@worldbank.org.