Clean Water and Sanitation: Comparing Developing and Developed Nations

This essay delves into the critical issue of clean water and sanitation, framed within the context of sustainable development goals. It begins by highlighting the global challenges related to water scarcity and inadequate sanitation, emphasizing the impact of human actions on these resources. The essay explores the multifaceted ways in which human activities, such as population growth, urbanization, and unsustainable practices, exacerbate the problems of clean water and sanitation. It then provides a comparative analysis, contrasting the situations in developed and developing countries, with a specific focus on the United Kingdom and India. The analysis covers disparities in access to clean water, sanitation facilities, and the impact of these factors on public health and overall well-being. The essay discusses various factors such as infrastructure, government policies, and community involvement. The essay ultimately aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the complexities surrounding water and sanitation issues, emphasizing the need for sustainable practices and equitable solutions to ensure access to clean water and sanitation for all.

Running head: SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS
Sustainability and Environmental Systems
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS
Introduction
The concept of sustainable development is also referred as global goals that aims at
the development and the removal of the issues that arise at the global level. The main aim of
the study is to provide an environment of sustenance for the flourishing of life. The prosperity
of the nation is the concept that holds the focus of development. To ensure that the population
across the globe receives clean water and sanitation facilities is one of the key responsibility
of the sustainable development growth. The scarcity of water is the main issue that is faced
by the population of the world and the issue is increased at a rapid rate. The main contributors
to this problems are often imposed on global changes in climate but the human activities are
the major reason that lead to an increase in these problems. However the major share of
population has gained access to clean water and sanitation but the disparities in the
availability of potable water and sanitation facilities are the major issues that are experienced
by the population across the globe. In the process of modernization people are on the verge of
depleting the fresh water resources that are available. The increase in the rate of famines that
are experienced all across the globe shows the pace at which the fresh water resources are
depleting across the world. It has been brought into notice that if the pace at which water is
utilized there will be shortage of water all across the world by the year 2050 (Campbell et al.
2015). The inadequacy in the infrastructures for sanitation has increased the problem. The
unhygienic conditions increase the risks in the sphere of health. There are 2.3 billion people
in the world who do not have access to proper sanitation facilities. This increases the risks
that are faced by the population across the globe. It is often indicated by the studies that
poverty plays a major role in the increase of the issues (Cairncross and Feachem 2018). It has
been analysed that due to the lack of proper sanitation facilities there has been an increase in

2SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS
health issues. A number of diseases arise due to the lack of sanitation facilities that lead to an
increase in the mortality rate among the population.
Effect of human actions on clean water and sanitation
With the number of people increasing across the globe the issues of clean water and
sanitation are also increasing. According to the World Health Organization more than 600
million people are experiencing issues related to sanitation and clean water. The living
conditions are constantly degraded due the increase in the number of people. There are been
movements that have been initiated to solve the problem of proper sanitation facilities. The
increase in the population of the urban area poses a challenge to the sanitation facilities. The
rate at which sanitation programs are initiated in the developing areas is lesser than the rate of
growth. The over population and the overcrowding of the urban areas and the lack of
knowledge that people have to about the sustainability of the resources have increased the
problem a lot more. The illegal accommodation of people and encroachment of areas that
held the sources of water that served the purpose of the local population led to the
aggravation of the problems (Kiani Masimo Corp 2016). The governments of the areas do not
provide permission to the people living in the areas and that makes it difficult for them to
construct proper structures for their housing and sanitation facilities that lead to the lack of
disposing facilities which increases the waste accumulation and has adverse effects on the
environment. The adverse effects lead to the pollution of the water resources and lead to
scarcity of water resources. The slums that have been have been constructed in many areas
are the main contributor to the problem of the clean water and sanitation. The lack of
disposing facilities has led to many diseases that has lowered the health rate. Diseases like
diarrhea and cholera are constantly increasing due to the improper management of resources.

3SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS
The areas where the people have limited access to water facilities has led to the emergence of
these diseases.
In the urban areas, the poorly constructed houses and the inadequate facilities of
disposal has led to the lack of potable water and proper facilities to relieve themselves. The
construction of proper sanitation facilities in the houses that are located in narrow and
congested streets increases the problem as it becomes difficult to construct the chambers and
connect them to the sewers that are necessary for the disposal of human wastes. In the rural
areas people are unable and unaware about the factors that are necessary to maintain proper
hygiene at personal level. There are populations in many areas that are economically weak
and cannot afford to build proper toilets for themselves. The houses in certain areas lack the
facilities of garbage collection that leads to the disposal of wastes in the water bodies that
lead to contamination of the water bodies. In the western countries, it was reported that due to
the lack of public toilets and latrines at home people adopted the practice of wrap and throw
in the open surroundings. The accumulation of wastes in the surrounding areas lead the
contamination of water bodies as people resort to use the water bodies to dispose the wastes.
These activities have led to environmental complications and that has directly affected the
balance in nature. The dumping of wastes in water bodies has led to the contamination of the
food that was sourced from the sea and the diseases due to consumption of the contaminated
food items also increased.
Conditions around the world
The access to clean and potable water and proper management of sources is
necessary in creating sustainable conditions in the world for the survival and flourishing of
life. Around 40% of the global population lacks the access to clean water resources. The lack
of fresh water resources has an adverse effect on the food resources. The share occupied by

4SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS
the agricultural water purposes is 70% of the sources that are available on earth. Developing
countries are the ones that suffer from the issue of water shortages. It is estimated that around
80% of the illness that are experienced throughout the globe are due to the inaccessibility to
the water and sanitation facilities. The rate at which the level of pollution is rising at an
alarming rate. It is also reported that a large portion of women population is affected by the
lack of clean water and sanitation facilities. All these activities can increase the threats that
are experienced by them in the sphere of health and safety. Women are responsible for the
management of household chores and thus can make greater contributions in managing and
sustaining of water resources. Poor management of water resources has led to an increase in
the water and sanitation issues in the developing countries. As per the report published by the
WHO and UNICEF 36% population of the world’s population lacks the access to the proper
sanitation facilities and 768 million of the population does not receive clean water to drink
(Reinhart et al. 2017). The proper facilities for the disposal of human wastes is lacking in the
developing countries. There should be tracking of the population that needs proper sanitation
facilities. The lack of sanitation facilities for girls has decreased their participation in the
educational process and has hampered their growth. The challenge is reduce the issues faced
by the developing countries and speed up the growth of these resources.
The long concept that prevailed that economic resources can bring stability in water
resources is now a myth. Scarcity of water has increased due to the improper management of
resources is increasing. It is stressed that water should be used with more efficiency. The
country of Japan experiences heavy rainfall still the issue of water contamination and lack of
water supplies is on the rise. In the European countries, famines and droughts have been
experienced and the water bodies are receiving constant threat from the water tourism and
agricultural purposes. In the United States water is used at a more fast pace than the amount
that can be replenished by nature. Australia is considered as the driest continent and the

5SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS
agriculture of the land is suffering more. The lack of water is increased due to an increase in
the in global warming. Thus, it can be said that water resources are over utilized in the
developed countries and has led to reduction of the natural resources. The developed
countries are said to face more severe conditions in the near future it they do not take the
necessary steps for the management of water resources that are available to them. The issue
of sanitation is not that adverse in the developed countries as they use proper management of
human wastes through the construction of public toilets.
Issue in developing country
India being the second most populated country in the world comprises of more than 1
billion people with more than half of the population faces the problem of relieving
themselves in the open. The World Bank reported that about 21% of the diseases that are
experienced amongst the Indian population is contributed by the unhygienic sanitation and
lack of clean water. More than 500 children die every day in India due to diarrhea which is
caused by unhygienic sanitation conditions. However new plans are being implemented in the
sector of healthcare and sanitation to bring the problem under control (Hammer and Spears
2016). The trend has increased in the population of India as in the year 1990, only 72% of the
population had access to water whereas 88% of the population has access to these resources
in the year 2008 which shows that development has occurred considerably (Coffey et al.
2015). The rate is said to be slow when comparison is drawn between the growth of
population and facilities. India is at the top when the issues of sanitation and access to clean
water are taken in to consideration. The population in the urban areas is estimated at 5 million
who will face the issues of improper sanitation. A lot of initiatives are taken into
consideration to tackle the issues of sanitation of clean water that includes the building of
public toilets by the governments and the community toilets by the communities that work for

6SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS
social welfare. The rates are improving at a considerable pace as it was reported in the year
2019, that 98.9% of the population in India has access to basic sanitation facilities (Kumar
and Vollmer 2013). The water supply ratio has also increased as the government has
increased the facilities by adopting the policy of installing a water pump that will serve 250
persons on an average. Thus, it led to the reduction in the problem of water accessibility
(Andres et al. 2017).
The issue in UK
The water and sanitation services are usually good in the United Kingdom due to the
institutional structure in which the structures are made. The population has access to the
facilities of clean water and sanitation. In the year 2015, all the people in the United Kingdom
had access to potable water and 99% of the population had access to sanitation facilities that
shows the improved state of facilities offered by the governmental institutions. The
government has led to the programs that aim at the conservation of ground water. The rain
water is transported to the artificial water bodies that are constructed to hold water and help
them in future utilization of the resources. The rate of sanitation is higher as most of the
houses in England have their latrines connected to the main sewers of the areas. This has
showed that the diseases experienced due to lack in sanitation are not visible there. The health
index is comparatively higher in UK. The growth is shown by the collective efforts of the
governmental and the charitable organizations that are ran campaigns about the necessity of
the proper sanitation facilities.
Comparison between the developed and developing country
The process of disposal of wastes is very different in India and UK as the both the
countries have different structures in the form of economic development and the management

7SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS
of resources (Patel et al. 2015). In India, the drainage and sewage system are poorly
constructed and managed this leads to the increase in the health hazards whereas in UK the
problems related to the health, clean water and sanitation is non-existent. It is reported that
the wastes generated in the cities of India goes untreated that increases the impact on health
standards whereas this is not the case in UK (Patil et al. 2014). They have proper policies that
are planned and initiated by the government. The lack of management techniques of wastes
and their improper disposal is a common phenomenon and these rates are expected to
increase with the passage of time. The improper management of wastes will lead to the
destruction of marshes and water bodies and the lack of proper waste disposal will lead to
destruction and contamination of water bodies (Cronk, Slaymaker and Bartram 2015). On the
contrary, UK is well managed and works by utilizing the resources at better level. It shows
that with proper adoption of policies and implementation the rate of waste can be reduced and
that will lead to hygienic conditions in the country. UK has shown that it has achieved proper
facilities (Sommer and Parker 2013). The proper management of resources will lead to
sustainability of resources. The agricultural lands and proper wastes are properly managed
and are not left untreated to flow in the water bodies. This shows that proper management of
resources will lead to improved resources in the advent of the country. The need is that the
individual efforts at the lower levels in a developing nation namely India will lead to the
sustainable growth rates of the environmental systems.
Conclusion
The basic needs for the survival of the human beings are the sanitation and clean
water that are the basic features in the developments of a country. The rate of success of a
country depends on the rate of facilities that are enjoyed by the population of the country.
The need is to enhance the facilities and the administration that are responsible for the

8SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS
development of the resources. As every individual is entitled to have access to potable water
and proper sanitation facilities, this makes it an obligation on the part of government bodies
to ensure the facilities for every individual. The discrepancies should be reduced and the
government and the policy makers should adopt better management techniques that will lead
to the better conditions for the survival and flourishing of the population. It is the basic right
of the individuals to have proper facilities and there should be awareness programs at the
local by which the public health standard will improve in the developing countries and will
be manageable in the developed countries. With proper management plans the issues of land
pollution and water pollution will be eliminated. New technologies can also be of help to
reduce the rate at which the depletion of natural resources is occurring.

9SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS
References
Andres, L., Briceño, B., Chase, C. and Echenique, J.A., 2017. Sanitation and externalities:
evidence from early childhood health in rural India. Journal of Water, Sanitation and
Hygiene for Development, 7(2), pp.272-289.
Cairncross, S. and Feachem, R., 2018. Environmental Health Engineering in the Tropics:
Water, Sanitation and Disease Control. Routledge.
Campbell, O.M., Benova, L., Gon, G., Afsana, K. and Cumming, O., 2015. Getting the basic
rights–the role of water, sanitation and hygiene in maternal and reproductive health: a
conceptual framework. Tropical medicine & international health, 20(3), pp.252-267.
Coffey, D., Gupta, A., Hathi, P., Spears, D., Srivastav, N. and Vyas, S., 2015. Culture and the
health transition: understanding sanitation behavior in rural north India. International Growth
Centre. Working Paper, April.
Cronk, R., Slaymaker, T. and Bartram, J., 2015. Monitoring drinking water, sanitation, and
hygiene in non-household settings: Priorities for policy and practice. International Journal of
Hygiene and Environmental Health, 218(8), pp.694-703.
Hammer, J. and Spears, D., 2016. Village sanitation and child health: effects and external
validity in a randomized field experiment in rural India. Journal of Health Economics, 48,
pp.135-148.
Kiani, M.J.E., Masimo Corp, 2016. Health care sanitation monitoring system. U.S. Patent
9,323,894.
Kumar, S. and Vollmer, S., 2013. Does access to improved sanitation reduce childhood
diarrhea in rural India?. Health Economics, 22(4), pp.410-427.

10SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS
Patel, V., Parikh, R., Nandraj, S., Balasubramaniam, P., Narayan, K., Paul, V.K., Kumar,
A.S., Chatterjee, M. and Reddy, K.S., 2015. Assuring health coverage for all in India. The
Lancet, 386(10011), pp.2422-2435.
Patil, S.R., Arnold, B.F., Salvatore, A.L., Briceno, B., Ganguly, S., Colford Jr, J.M. and
Gertler, P.J., 2014. The effect of India's total sanitation campaign on defecation behaviors
and child health in rural Madhya Pradesh: a cluster randomized controlled trial. PLoS
medicine, 11(8), p.e1001709.
Reinhart, K., Daniels, R., Kissoon, N., Machado, F.R., Schachter, R.D. and Finfer, S., 2017.
Recognizing sepsis as a global health priority—a WHO resolution. New England Journal of
Medicine, 377(5), pp.414-417.
Sommer, M. and Parker, R. eds., 2013. Structural approaches in public health. Routledge.