ABSTRACT
International commitments on green sustainable growth often encourage the movement towards recycling societies in which valuable components of waste products are recovered and reused. Wastewater is one such product that is used for irrigation, both in arid and humid regions. It is estimated from a survey across the developing world that wastewater without any significant treatment is used for irrigation in four out of five cities (Raschid-Sally and Jayakody, 2008). Wastewater use in (peri)urban agriculture transcends the typical sectoral and geographical policy boundaries of urban water management. Planning for wastewater use requires the involvement of many agencies covering health, water, sanitation, irrigation and agriculture as well as the users, knowledge institutes and private sector. Urban and peri-urban agriculture is frequently tied to sustainable urban development (Smit and Nasr, 1992; Drechsel et al., 2010). With all its limitations, the potential of (peri)urban agriculture to reuse urban wastewater (to recover valuable nutrients) and to be part of urban sanitation systems as environmental service providers is substantial. Yet, many policymakers at the local level are unaware of the significance of this practice and the possible opportunities it can bring (Drechsel et al., 2010).
