Professor Ralf Otterpohl is head of the Institute of Wastewater Management and Water Protection at TU Hamburg and one of the pioneers in TPS as well as initiator of the TPS-IC.

His personal statement on the TPS-IC reads:

“Sanitation must produce black soils.”

Why did WECF initiate this conference?

WECF as an international environment and women network strongly supports the Terra Preta Sanitation approach because TPS reflects the important nexus between water, energy and agriculture. It is the key challenge not to think in terms of technologies or sectors but rather to use a holistic nexus approach in order to meet the sustainable development goals for all. Sanitation is a neglected area which was thought to be soon and easily solved but for many people worldwide it is not. And it is unfeasible, unaffordable and discriminating to apply conventional sanitation solutions to all regions in the world. The benefit of Terra preta made of human excreta is - independent from the toilet technology – the product: safe rich organic soil.

Professor Martin Kaltschmitt is head of the Institute of environmental technology and energy economics at TU Hamburg. His main researches are focused on the field of renewable energies.

His message towards the TPS-IC reads as follows:

"It is important to show and assess what is known and what is unknown in this exciting field. Only then convincing strategies can be developed how to integrate this option into our society in a sustainable way."

Professor Kerstin Kuchta is head of the Waste Resources Management Group at TU Hamburg. Her research is focused on utilization of organic wastes, energy recovery from waste, particularly focusing at hydrogen and biomethan production, as well as metal recovery by urban mining.

Her personal statement reads as followes:

"One of the most exciting aspects of the conference is the chance to network with others who share your research interest."

Robert Gensch is working at German Toilet Organization in Berlin. Since 2007 he has been involved in promoting reuse-oriented and sustainable sanitation concepts worldwide. He started his sanitation related work at the GIZ sustainable sanitation program in Eschborn, Germany, followed by an assignment in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines. He was the founder and director of the Sustainable Sanitation Center (SUSAN Center) of Xavier University, Philippines and initiated first pilot projects on terra preta sanitation in the Philippienes. As a proponent of the Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA) he is also leading the SuSanA working group on “Productive Sanitation and Food Security”

As a lecturer at UNESCO-IHE I highly support this conference, as it seeks to bring back together all current knowledge regarding terra preta sanitation, and to define research questions that are still left unanswered. In these times of searching for possible sanitation solutions that work under many different and challenging circumstances I feel this conference can bring a strong contribution. There are a lot of interesting debates going on regarding terra preta sanitation; I look forward to meet other colleagues from the field and together bring this technology to the next level of knowledge and experience.