The Global Environment Facility (GEF) financed the deployment of composting toilets in Tuvalu, as a sustainable method to conserve water, prevent groundwater pollution, and mitigate the effects of recent droughts in Tuvalu.
5 March 2012: A documentary video by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) showcases the experience with composting toilets as a solution to freshwater scarcity in Tuvalu.
The video documentary, titled “Falevatia: A toilet for our future,” focuses on the use of composting toilets as a sustainable method to conserve water, prevent groundwater pollution, and mitigate the effects of recent droughts in Tuvalu.
According to the GEF, under the impacts of climate change, the region has been subject to droughts that have threatened the environment, food security and community health. Existent flush and septic systems waste water and pollute groundwater reserves. This GEF initiative promotes the installation of composting toilets that use almost no water, while enriching the soil, a solution that is already being promoted in other Pacific countries, including Tonga, Nauru and the Marshall Islands.
This GEF initiative is part of a wider project on “Implementing Sustainable Water Resources and Wastewater Management in Pacific Island Countries,” executed regionally through the Secretariat of the Pacific Community’s Applied Geoscience and Technology Division (SOPAC). In partnership with SOPAC, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) are implementing agencies. [GEF Documentary]