The investment needs of the water and sanitation sector and the financing constraints facing many developing countries were important catalysts for the promotion of private investment during the 1990s. Towards the end of the decade however, the flow of private capital began to decline primarily due to the poor performance of some investments and difficulties encountered during these transactions. Regardless, private investment is still considered an important financial resource for the sector which has resulted in considerable attention in addressing governance, economic and socio-political factors which can discourage investment. The aim of the research is to develop a strategic framework for attracting private investment to the Caribbean water and sanitation sector. Using a multiple-case study approach, the research examines the phenomenon of private investment in the water and sanitation sectors in Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago by assessing the environment for private investment and determining the specific drivers and deterrents to this type of investment. The implications of small size in the Caribbean context for institutional requirements to support private investment in the sector are also examined. Primary data for the research are obtained from public officials involved in the management, operation and regulation of the sector, local and international private service providers and local financial institutions through interviews and survey questionnaires. Documents are used to contextualise, corroborate and augment the research. The research found that in addition to traditional strategic and financial criteria in terms of provisions of the operating environment and investment performance, behaviour-related factors such as interest in job security, recognition and comfort were also important to the investment decision in the sector. Investors' perceptions of the utility were also found to be a statistically significant determinant of investment. Besides emphasising the importance of creating a conducive environment for investment, the research highlighted a need to simultaneously focus on generating specific investment opportunities to build investor confidence. The most important consequence of small size to negatively impact on creating conducive conditions for investment was the effect of limited professional capacity on institutional arrangements in the sector. Accordingly, sharing professional expertise to address capacity constraints emerged as the most feasible opportunity for regional cooperation to improve the environment for private investment in the sector.

published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

This research attempted to assess the housing strategy at Waterloo as well as the services such as electricity, sanitation, water, transport, adequate shelter and employment opportunities that are available for residents. The information was gathered through interviews and the use of questionnaires. There were some problems encountered during the gathering of information. The questionnaires were completed by the household head and in some cases the head was not available, making it difficult for the researcher to continue smoothly, in such cases extra visits were made. In some cases the household head was unable to read, so the researcher had to read the questionnaire for him/her and then write down an answer. Another problem worth noting was that of acceptance of a researcher by the respondents, but the researcher was able to finally convince them and assured them of confidentiality of the information. There were lots of problems raised by beneficiaries of Waterloo about the services rendered to them. Most of them are not satisfied with the type of houses built for them, they are small, some have leakages and no ventilators. Beneficiaries also complained about the basic services which are not available for them. The other services needed at Waterloo are health clinics, schools and transport. People have to travel long distances for other services and traveling to those places is very costly. It is recommended that Government looks at the problems raised by the beneficiaries and improve on them. It would also help them when they are building in other areas not to make the same mistake again. From this study it shows that the strategy in Waterloo partially meets the requirements of the beneficiaries and with the recommendations given, Waterloo will be a better place to live in . / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Durban-Westville, 2003.

Background:Today, 884 million people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water, and 2.6 billion are without access to improved sanitation facilities, with the majority of this burden falling upon citizens of the developing world. The purpose of this study was to determine what influence political and economic factors have upon the availability of improved water and sanitation services in developing nations, with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa. Methods:Data from the Demographic and Health Surveys of 11 sub-Saharan African nations conducted from 2005-2008 were analyzed using SPSS 18.0. Five WASH-related dependent variables were examined: access to an improved water source, travel time to water, household water treatment, access to an improved sanitation facility, and shared sanitation facilities. Logistic regression and crosstabulated odds ratios were used to analyze the associations using both dichotomous and continuous independent variables (political stability, government effectiveness, and GNI) and dichotomous dependent variables. Chi-square analyses were performed to explore the discrepancies between observed and expected proportions of private and shared sanitation facilities. Results: A total of 109,606 observations were included in this study. The majority of the study population had access to the improved drinking water sources (65.9%) and travel times < 30 minutes (83.3%). Most used no form of household water treatment (81.1%) and did not have an improved sanitation facility (64.1%). Rural residents had enerally less access to improved water/sanitation than urban residents. GE and GNI had the strongest positive associations with access to improved water source and household water treatment. GNI was also positively associated with access to an improved sanitation facility. Political stability was positively associated with travel time to water source. These associations varied between rural and urban settings. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that GNI, political stability, government effectiveness, and urban-rural setting have an impact upon water and sanitation in sub-Saharan Africa. With this information, context-specific interventions to improve and expand water and sanitation utilities/facilities in the region can be developed.

This research is about the social/spatial management of water in an urban setting. The water utility of Piacenza, Italy, and specifically, the organization of the now extinct canal system, was investigated for the period between 1545 and 1736. Through analysis of the administration of the canal system and the water utility this thesis constructs an aspect of the political ecology of Piacenza. Political ecology as a discipline lies at the intersection of the environmental context, land use, spatial design, demographics and social relationships. The study looked at how the city organized itself to manage urban water and sanitation delivery, the methods used to communicate with the users, the actions taken to keep the system in good repair, the responses to crises, and the limitations of the social organization and technological capabilities. The archival documents contained within the Congregazione sopra l’ornato (CSO), the municipal committee charged with management of the canals, form the core of the research. Analysis revealed a finely-tuned social system that involved noble oversight, the use of expert engineers, public/private partnerships for maintenance of the canals with millers and consorti as key people, and an attempt to control cheating with fines and penalties.

No description available.

FACT Around 2.6 billion people worldwide lack access to adequate sanitation and hygiene.  WHY SHOULD WE CARE? Hand washing with soap shows the greatest reduction in diarrhea morbidity (over 40%), and can also reduce respiratory tract infection by about one third.  WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR? Despite the cost effectiveness of hand washing with soap, and the fact that it is a relatively simple behavior, encouraging good hand washing practice remains a challenge. WHAT IS THE PURPOSE? This project aims to spread hand hygiene in rural Kenyan households by engaging local manufacturers. In this project, World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) supported preliminary consumer research and product design work for a new affordable hand washing station.

<p>The purpose of this study was to examine the level and extent of community participation in the Danga Ecological Sanitation Project carried out in the Zvishavane district of Zimbabwe. The people-centered approach was chosen as a theoretical background. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to gather relevant information. The results indicated that the community was not fully involved in the ecological sanitation project. As a result, the project had a poor performance record. In the course of this study, political interference in community projects carried out in Zimbabwean rural communities, resulting in the failure to reach the intended beneficiaries, was also noted. Full community participation in community projects may ensure that empowerment and ownership take place. Institutional arrangements, which in most cases impede development, need to be readdressed with clear demarcation of decision-making processes.</p>

Governments in many developing countries have stepped up efforts to provide water and sanitation services sustainably to as many people as possible. In some instances, time frames for provision of services to all of their citizens have been set. While these are commendable efforts, the question whether these services are provided efficiently remains unanswered. In South Africa, although the government conducts consumer satisfaction surveys, seldom are citizens consulted for their views. While its efforts have been hailed as a success in the postapartheid era, there have been many obstacles in the supply process. The assumption has been that the government knows what the citizens want and gives it them, irrespective of their concerns. This study interrogated this assumption as its overall research objective, aiming to evaluate whether a supply-driven approach is effective in satisfying the demands of the consumers. As such the study sought to gain insight into the perceptions of Ohlange Township residents in Inanda, Durban, regarding water supply and sanitation services. The study found out that many of these residents could not afford to pay for basic services, although they are currently expected to pay for some of the costs of service provision. However, in a resource-constrained environment, the government can no longer sustainably provide these services without recovering costs. In this case, the government faces the challenge of balancing its constitutional mandate of providing all citizens with basic services and the demand by the poor for improved services they cannot afford. In this case, supply-led delivery system is severely limited in fully addressing consumer demands. This approach also results in poor service delivery due to inefficient resource management. It also disempowers communities because they are not involved in decision-making processes. Based on the study findings, the demand-led approach, one that is consumer-driven, is recommended. This approach puts the consumer at the centre of the delivery of basic services; allows consumers to participate in decision-making processes and encourages them to honour their obligations by paying for the services received. 11 / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.

The water sector in South Africa is in the delivery phase of its transformation process, with transformation having commenced in 1994. This transformation is not unlike developments in this sector in other developing countries. South Africa is facing huge backlogs in the provision of basic rural water and sanitation services (DWAF, 2002a, p.3), typical of the scenario facing international developing countries. The SA Government has committed itself to eliminate the basic water supply backlogs by 2008, and the basic sanitation backlogs by 2010 (DWAF, 2002b, p.ii). These targets are more ambitious than the international Millennium Development Goals of halving the world's population without adequate or safe drinking water, or access to basic sanitation by 2015 (WSSCC, 2002a, p.l). The research investigates whether the targets set by Government are achievable in the Province of Kwazulu-Natal (KZN). The South African targets were set ahead of the completion of the Water Services Development Plans or the planning required of the Water Services Authorities (WSAs) in KZN. Although some Municipalities, in their capacity as Water Services Authority, have completed their Water Services Development Plans, others are still in the process of doing so. The deficiency in the provision of basic water and sanitation services in KZN, has been ascertained in this investigation. Also ascertained are the costs and financial resources needed to address the backlogs in service provision and the constraints to delivery of the needed services. The research findings have shown that the backlog in basic water supply in KZN is approximately 3,66 million people, representing 38,2% of the KZN population, whilst the backlog in basic sanitation services is 4,94 million persons, representing some 51,4% of the KZN population. In a rural context only, these figures are appreciably higher. This investigation has shown that the targets set by Government to address rural backlogs in basic services in KZN are ambitious. In terms of planned programmes at Water Services Authority level, it will take an estimated average of 12 years to eliminate the basic water supply and sanitation backlog. The earliest and longest water supply delivery programme ranges from 5 years to 20 years, whilst that for sanitation delivery, ranges from 6 years to 33 years. These programmes far exceed Government's target dates. In terms of the research findings, the backlogs in basic water services in KwaZulu-Natal will require financial resources of R4,87 billion to totally eradicate all basic water backlogs. Similarly, to address the basic sanitation backlog has been estimated at R1,44 billion. It has been recommended in this report that with relatively little additional annual funding that it will be easier to achieve the government target of 2010 (DWAF, 2002b, p.ii) for sanitation delivery than it would for water supply. The planned level of sanitation service has been ascertained to be the VIP latrine in all cases, which does not require a water supply, and thus water and sanitation delivery programmes can be implemented separately. The investigation has revealed that there is sufficient grant funding available in South Africa to meet the planned basic water services delivery programmes of the WSAs, but their programmes exceed the target dates set by Government by many years. If the delivery programmes are accelerated to meet the Government's target dates, the current budget allocations of both DWAF and the Consolidated Municipal Infrastructure Programme (CMIP) are insufficient. In the short-term, the WSAs are not expected to have sourced donor funding to assist with their planned delivery programmes. Thus funding sources within South Africa will initially have to be relied upon.Whilst planned programmes have been developed for the alleviation of water services backlogs in KZN, it has been recommended in the report that they need to be monitored to ensure delivery of services in terms of these programmes. This monitoring and certification of the implementation of planned programmes are essential management tools, as the current planned programmes of the WSAs do not meet the Government's targets of 2008 and 2010 respectively for the elimination of the basic water and sanitation backlogs (DWAF, 2002b, .ii). Financial budgets have been cited as being a problem area by most, but a higher priority problem appears to be the lack of institutional capacity at WSA level to ensure sustainability of projects/schemes in the post-construction phase. Should the projects/schemes not be adequately operated or maintained, it could lead to the implemented projects/schemes becoming defunct, which would negate the national initiatives aimed at backlog alleviation. It is fortunate that legislation such as the Municipal Systems Act (Act N° 32 of 2000) enables Local Government to implement a range of public and private water service provider options that can assist with the needed institutional capacity building, and to also render operations and maintenance services on a contract basis. It is evident from this investigation that a number of major obstacles may delay the achievement of either the planned delivery programmes of the WSAs, or the even greater challenges to meet the Government's targets. The successful, sustainable implementation of these programmes will be dependent on both sufficient funding being available and on solving the lack of institutional capacity. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2003. / Umngeni Water.