Many nations in Sub-Saharan Africa, supported by donors, have increased efforts in their rural water supply programmes within the last few decades. However, these programmes suffer from a range of challenges and problems and, according to recent figures, over half of rural inhabitants in Sub-Saharan Africa lack access to safe water supplies. In order to improve the delivery of rural water services, effective monitoring and evaluation can provide support. Uganda has recently been recognised for improving its national programme for rural water supply. Furthermore, the country has also introduced programme monitoring and evaluation. However, these undertakings have not been unproblematic. Based on interviews and a document review, this study identifies challenges and difficulties that Uganda has encountered in developing both rural water supply and the corresponding monitoring and evaluation framework. From an analysis of the results, it is apparent that both the rural water supply programme and the monitoring and evaluation frame-work are constrained by political and institutional factors at district level. As a way forward, it is suggested that the roles and responsibilities currently accorded to district politicians are re-thought. Capacity-building efforts should be expanded, and should encompass other district actors such as politicians and extension workers. Monitoring and evaluation of the rural water supply programme could be improved by strengthening its relevance at district level. While further capacity-building efforts may promote its relevance, monitoring and evaluation could also be developed together with district actors in order to better support district decision-making processes. Such actions could help in overcoming current difficulties, and could lead to better information management in support of the rural water supply programme. / <p>QC 20101124</p>

<p>The objectives of this thesis are to assess: to what degree have natural resources deteriorated in a grazing area in northern Namibia, how do perceptions of environmental change held by local stakeholders there, correspond to scientific assessments, and how do these relate to national estimates? Analysis of the process of developing national indicators for monitoring of land degradation concluded that specific indicators should be developed on national level, and in some instances even on local level as there are no universal causes of land degradation. According to farmers overgrazing and low rainfall since the early 1990s cause negative environmental changes in the study area, partly confirming findings from national monitoring. Results also suggest that: less grazing outside the study area, improved access, permanent water supply, and fencing of large areas, also contributed. Results show that improved water supply was the most important factor. Investigation of the influence of permanent water points on grazing resources showed that perennial grasses are replaced by less palatable annual grasses as far as 6 km from water points along a water pipeline. No significant grazing induced changes in grass composition were observed around privately owned wells. Private ownership seems to be a key factor preventing over-utilization of grazing resources around the latter. A remote sensing study using Landsat TM imagery identified bare ground, saltpans and grassland with a fair accuracy. Separation of woodland from shrubland and shrubland from grassland was less accurate using supervised classification. The results show that the soil adjusted vegetation index provides valuable information about variations of green biomass over time in semi-arid environments. However, it is suggested that satellite based investigations should be supported by thorough ground based assessment due to the influence of underlying soil in this environment.</p>

<p>Although the access to adequate safe drinking water is taken for granted in developed countries and urban settlements in some developing countries at the end of 2002 it was estimated that globally, some 1.1 billion people still rely on unsafe drinking water sources particularly in the developing regions of India and Africa. Malawi is one of the developing countries located in the arid-semiarid Sub-Saharan African region with only 62% of its people having access to safe drinking water. Boreholes and dug wells equipped with hand pumps is the technology that has assisted the country to increase the proportion of people having access to safe drinking water.</p><p>The underlying objectives of the study were to critically characterise the existing rural water facilities management systems, and to assess the status of the water facilities that were provided to rural communities by different organisations and individuals. The aim is to form an information base upon which rural water development efforts will be advanced and to expose points of intervention for sustainable rural water supply.</p><p>A survey was conducted in two traditional authorities of Kapeni and Lundu in Blantyre rural district where 94 water users were interviewed in their households. Physical inspection survey of the water facilities in the area under study was done. Focus group discussions and informal key informants’ interviews were also done.</p><p>A majority (54%) of the respondents indicated that they participated in various stages of their water supply project. The actual responsibility for the management of all water points which were visited lies with a representative group of local community known as water points committee (WPC). 97% of the water facilities that were surveyed had WPCs of which 67% received training in management, operation and maintenance (O&M) of the water facilities. There are two types of hand pumps that were found in the area, Malda and Afridev. 83% of the water facilities were still in order. The downtimes of the water facilities ranged from 1 to 360 days depending on the kind of fault.</p><p>The traditional leaders, Health Surveillance Assistants (HSAs) from government and mission clinics, water facility providers and the local communities themselves are the key players at community level. The trust that the communities have in their local leadership, the approach used in provision of the water facilities, the benefits that accrued to the local communities, and the length of time the WPCs serve the communities are the major factors that influence the communities’ participation in O&M activities. Inadequate number of qualified area technicians, theft of hand pump parts and high prices of some spare parts are some of the problems that impede effective O&M of the water facilities. To improve management, O&M of the water supply systems in the area communities have additional number of the water points, and training and refresher courses for WPCs and caretakers as some of their immediate needs. The common technical problems are hand pump related in water facilities equipped with Afridev hand pump and well drying for Malda hand pump equipped water facilities. The WPCs that are not active are those whose water facilities have been out of order for a long time. Recommendations are made regarding; planning phase, construction and operation phase, and government regulation.</p>

The objectives of this thesis are to assess: to what degree have natural resources deteriorated in a grazing area in northern Namibia, how do perceptions of environmental change held by local stakeholders there, correspond to scientific assessments, and how do these relate to national estimates? Analysis of the process of developing national indicators for monitoring of land degradation concluded that specific indicators should be developed on national level, and in some instances even on local level as there are no universal causes of land degradation. According to farmers overgrazing and low rainfall since the early 1990s cause negative environmental changes in the study area, partly confirming findings from national monitoring. Results also suggest that: less grazing outside the study area, improved access, permanent water supply, and fencing of large areas, also contributed. Results show that improved water supply was the most important factor. Investigation of the influence of permanent water points on grazing resources showed that perennial grasses are replaced by less palatable annual grasses as far as 6 km from water points along a water pipeline. No significant grazing induced changes in grass composition were observed around privately owned wells. Private ownership seems to be a key factor preventing over-utilization of grazing resources around the latter. A remote sensing study using Landsat TM imagery identified bare ground, saltpans and grassland with a fair accuracy. Separation of woodland from shrubland and shrubland from grassland was less accurate using supervised classification. The results show that the soil adjusted vegetation index provides valuable information about variations of green biomass over time in semi-arid environments. However, it is suggested that satellite based investigations should be supported by thorough ground based assessment due to the influence of underlying soil in this environment.

Although the access to adequate safe drinking water is taken for granted in developed countries and urban settlements in some developing countries at the end of 2002 it was estimated that globally, some 1.1 billion people still rely on unsafe drinking water sources particularly in the developing regions of India and Africa. Malawi is one of the developing countries located in the arid-semiarid Sub-Saharan African region with only 62% of its people having access to safe drinking water. Boreholes and dug wells equipped with hand pumps is the technology that has assisted the country to increase the proportion of people having access to safe drinking water. The underlying objectives of the study were to critically characterise the existing rural water facilities management systems, and to assess the status of the water facilities that were provided to rural communities by different organisations and individuals. The aim is to form an information base upon which rural water development efforts will be advanced and to expose points of intervention for sustainable rural water supply. A survey was conducted in two traditional authorities of Kapeni and Lundu in Blantyre rural district where 94 water users were interviewed in their households. Physical inspection survey of the water facilities in the area under study was done. Focus group discussions and informal key informants’ interviews were also done. A majority (54%) of the respondents indicated that they participated in various stages of their water supply project. The actual responsibility for the management of all water points which were visited lies with a representative group of local community known as water points committee (WPC). 97% of the water facilities that were surveyed had WPCs of which 67% received training in management, operation and maintenance (O&amp;M) of the water facilities. There are two types of hand pumps that were found in the area, Malda and Afridev. 83% of the water facilities were still in order. The downtimes of the water facilities ranged from 1 to 360 days depending on the kind of fault. The traditional leaders, Health Surveillance Assistants (HSAs) from government and mission clinics, water facility providers and the local communities themselves are the key players at community level. The trust that the communities have in their local leadership, the approach used in provision of the water facilities, the benefits that accrued to the local communities, and the length of time the WPCs serve the communities are the major factors that influence the communities’ participation in O&amp;M activities. Inadequate number of qualified area technicians, theft of hand pump parts and high prices of some spare parts are some of the problems that impede effective O&amp;M of the water facilities. To improve management, O&amp;M of the water supply systems in the area communities have additional number of the water points, and training and refresher courses for WPCs and caretakers as some of their immediate needs. The common technical problems are hand pump related in water facilities equipped with Afridev hand pump and well drying for Malda hand pump equipped water facilities. The WPCs that are not active are those whose water facilities have been out of order for a long time. Recommendations are made regarding; planning phase, construction and operation phase, and government regulation.

Thesis (MPhil (Sustainable Development Planning and Management))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / Cultural dynamics bring an added dimension to development projects. The Department of Provincial and Local Government (DPLG) recognizes the need to engage with power relations at different levels between men and women, and that traditional beliefs and practices are important here. However, the most recent strategy of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) fails to address the impact of cultural dynamics on gender mainstreaming. This study was conducted to increase the understanding of how this might be dealt with. To yield personal information on how individuals are affected by traditional culture, narratology was used. Five women were engaged in three in-depth interviews of approximately two hours each. The purpose was to discuss their life stories and their involvement in the water projects, and then to integrate the life stories with the projects to highlight complexities around specific roles such as that of daughter, wife and development facilitator. The researcher therefore conducted the study from the point of view of the women, rather than from the traditional perspective of the development practitioner or government official. The empirical results were related to literature reviewed on topics such as complexity, feminism and sustainability. Thus, it was possible to highlight underlying complexities related to culture that might impact on gender mainstreaming in the following areas: (1) Women’s time and labour (2) Women’s power within African societies (3) The Butterfly effect in women’s lives (4) Fundamental human desires in women’s lives (5) Utilising social capital (6) The approach of funding and donor organizations (7) Society as a complex system (8) The effects of migration on women’s lives Some aspects highlighted by the study are the following. Development and funding organizations often use a one-size-fits-all individualistic approach whereas the societies they work in have a more collective mindset. Furthermore, women’s time and labour are exploited by the developmental organizations as rural women offer their services voluntarily. And in African society mothering boys is a source of power for women, which influences resource allocation. In terms of a recommended approach to addressing the impact of traditional culture on gender mainstreaming, it was found that a practitioner does not have to tackle traditional culture head-on by for instance proposing defiance against certain norms. Rather, the practitioner should obtain information about the wider system (the society, the prevailing culture and the project context) to provide insight into how women are affected and how the system might be manipulated to eventually bring about the desired changes for the specific context. The processes of change in culture and gender relations must be viewed as on-going and exact time-frames are usually not appropriate in measuring such. As the study emphasized the importance of both men and women working together on projects, a limitation of the current study is that it focused only on the stories of women. A follow-up study should include the views and stories of how gender mainstreaming and traditional culture impact on men.

Em geral, a relação entre fatores ambientais e a saúde é de natureza sistêmica, envolvendo várias áreas do conhecimento. Um dos desafios dentro dessa questão são as abordagens integradas de avaliação em saúde ambiental, que reúnem dimensões técnico-operacionais, socioeconômicas e políticas, ultrapassando as avaliações que consideram apenas questões de exposição e efeito. O objetivo da presente tese foi avaliar, com base em abordagem de avaliação integrada em saúde ambiental, o impacto à saúde decorrente da implantação de intervenções em saneamento, em populações de comunidades localizadas em unidades de conservação de uso sustentável na região do Médio Juruá, no estado do Amazonas. O processo de avaliação foi amparado na abordagem metodológica Avaliação Integrada de Impacto em Saúde Ambiental (AIISA) e utilizou como principal instrumento conceitual o modelo de organização de indicadores Força Motriz-Pressão-Situação-Exposição-Efeitos-Ações (FPSEEA), aplicado em dois estágios bem definidos: i) Estágio Antes: período anterior à implantação das intervenções em saneamento nas comunidades estudadas e ii) Estágio Depois: período de pelo menos seis meses após a finalização da implantação e funcionamento das intervenções. Os resultados obtidos no componente de efeito a partir da comparação entre os dois estágios, que refletem os efeitos diretos na saúde, apontaram uma redução média de 65% da morbidade por diarreia, 22% da morbidade por parasitoses intestinais e aumento da qualidade de vida da população, representado por uma redução média de 63% de insatisfação com a comunidade e aumento de 100% da percepção da relação entre o aumento da qualidade de vida e o saneamento. Esses resultados indicam que houve impactos positivos à saúde da população decorrentes das intervenções em saneamento. O modelo FPSEEA utilizado trouxe informações que permitiram uma análise ampliada e em cadeia dos impactos da variação de cenários para exprimir esses efeitos positivos na saúde. Assim, foi possível realizar uma avaliação integrada do impacto de ações em saneamento na redução de doenças e no aumento da qualidade de vida das populações estudadas. Nesse processo avaliativo foi possível detectar de maneira consistente, dentro do contexto da área de estudo, que além dos efeitos na saúde, aspectos importantes na cadeia causal contribuíram de forma integrada para a expressão desse efeito. Em relação ao modelo FPSEEA aplicado no contexto da tese, concluímos que os pressupostos utilizados em sua concepção permitem que ajustes sejam feitos no modelo de acordo com o contexto para o qual o seu uso foi proposto, sendo possível validar e ajustar os elementos e indicadores do modelo proposto para o seu uso em outras propostas de avaliações integradas com enfoque nos impactos à saúde decorrentes de ações em saneamento. Dessa maneira, reforçamos que, mesmo diante da escala local dos resultados, o processo de avaliação contribuiu para auxiliar o planejamento de ações no campo do saneamento, viabilizando novos modelos de intervenções, redefinição de prioridades e redirecionamento de ações relacionadas ao saneamento e saúde, buscando a redução da pobreza, universalização do acesso ao saneamento e garantia dos direitos essenciais do cidadão com equidade no meio rural brasileiro. / In general , the relationship between environmental factors and health is systemic in nature , involving various fields of knowledge . One of the challenges of this issue involves integrated environmental health impact assessment approaches, which combine technical and operational, socio-economic and political dimensions, surpassing aproaches that consider only unicausualities of exposure and effect . The aim of this thesis was to evaluate , based on an integrated environmental health impact assessment , the health impact resulting from the implementation of water supply and sanitation interventions in populations of communities located in sustainable use forest reserves in the Middle Juruá river in state of Amazonas . The evaluation process was supported in methodological approach Integrated Environmental Health Impact Assessment (IEHIA) and used as the main conceptual framework a model for organizing indicators Driving Force - Pressure - Situation - Exposure - Effect - Action (DPSEEA) , applied in two well defined stages : i ) Before Stage : prior to the implementation of interventions in water supply and sanitation in the studied communities and ii ) After Stage : period of at least six months after implementaion and operation of the interventions . The results regarting the Effect component from the comparison between the two stages, which reflects directly the effect on health, , showed an average reduction of 65% in morbidity from diarrhea , 22 % of morbidity from intestinal parasites and an increased quality of life , represented by a mean reduction of 63 % of dissatisfaction with the community and 100% increase in the perception of the relationship between the increase in quality of life and sanitation. These results indicate that there were positive health impacts due to due the implemented interventions. The model DPSEEA used in this study brought information which enabeled the development of a broad and integrated analysis of the impacts of the variation in cenarios to express these positive health effects. Thus, it was possible to perform an integrated assessment of the impact of waster supply and sanitation interventions to reduce disease and increase the quality of life of the studied population. This evaluation process enabeled the cosistent detection, within the context of the study area, that in addition to the health effects , important aspects of the causal chain contributed in a integrated way to the expression of this effect . Regarding the DPSEEA model applied in the context of the thesis, we conclude that the assumptions used in its design allow adjustments to be made in accordance to the context for which the model is supposed to be used. This enables the validation and ajustment of the elements and indicators of the proposed model to allow its use in other Integrated Environmental Health Impact Assessment proposals which focus on health impacts of water supply and sanitation interventions. Thus, we reinforce that even with the local scale carcateristicas of our results, the evaluation process contributed to assist the planning of actions in the field of water supply and sanitation , enabling new models of interventions , redefining priorities and redirecting actions related to water supply and sanitation to increase health, reduce poverty, and ensure essential rights to citizens of rural areas of Brazil with equity.

Over the last couple of decades, a significant amount of research has been carried out on rural water supplies in developing countries, and have identified the fact that the communal water supply model is not sustainable everywhere, especially in sparsely populated rural areas; factors obstructing sustainability include lack of spare parts, management systems and private/public capacity. Despite their enormous contribution to the water sector, the extant studies stay within the subsidized communal water supply and capacity building, post construction support or management system. In other words, very few studies have been done into household (private) level water supply. The Self Supply model is an approach which provides support to households/communities to complement their efforts and accelerate sustainable access to safe water incrementally through improvement to traditional water sources (hand dug wells) by putting in their own investment. The Self Supply model may give significant benefits for sustainable safe water supplies, especially in sparsely populated rural areas, in comparison with the communal water supply though to date there has been little monitoring and systematic analysis of what impact these changes have made at the grassroots level. The standpoint of this study is pragmatic, and herein, mixing quantitative and qualitative methods was justified in order to design the research methodologies. The research was conducted in the Luapula Province of Zambia using a concurrent triangulation strategy to offset the weakness inherent within one method with the strengths of the other. The data was collected through inventory and sanitary surveys, water quality testing, household surveys, document analyses, focus group discussions and key informant interviews to determine the most appropriate water supply model for safe, accessible, sustainable, cost-effective and acceptable water supplies for households in sparsely populated rural areas of Zambia. The principal argument of this study is that reliance only on a communal water supply model limits the achievement of increased sustainable access to a safe water supply; hence a Self Supply model is needed which does not compete with the communal models but works alongside them in sparsely populated rural areas of developing countries for the purpose of increasing access and achieving sustainability. It was strongly defended by the overall findings that a Self Supply model could significantly reduce the faecal contamination risk in water quality and deliver a higher per capita water use and better convenience of access than the communal model; however its reliability with respect to the water source drying up needs to be monitored. Further, this does not mean that the communal model is not sustainable anywhere, rather that it is important to build blocks for a sustainable environment to access safe water in a symbiotic way between the communal and Self Supply models under the condition that the government and NGOs/external support agencies overcome the temptation to provide a water supply to rural dwellers as a giveaway social service.

Em geral, a relação entre fatores ambientais e a saúde é de natureza sistêmica, envolvendo várias áreas do conhecimento. Um dos desafios dentro dessa questão são as abordagens integradas de avaliação em saúde ambiental, que reúnem dimensões técnico-operacionais, socioeconômicas e políticas, ultrapassando as avaliações que consideram apenas questões de exposição e efeito. O objetivo da presente tese foi avaliar, com base em abordagem de avaliação integrada em saúde ambiental, o impacto à saúde decorrente da implantação de intervenções em saneamento, em populações de comunidades localizadas em unidades de conservação de uso sustentável na região do Médio Juruá, no estado do Amazonas. O processo de avaliação foi amparado na abordagem metodológica Avaliação Integrada de Impacto em Saúde Ambiental (AIISA) e utilizou como principal instrumento conceitual o modelo de organização de indicadores Força Motriz-Pressão-Situação-Exposição-Efeitos-Ações (FPSEEA), aplicado em dois estágios bem definidos: i) Estágio Antes: período anterior à implantação das intervenções em saneamento nas comunidades estudadas e ii) Estágio Depois: período de pelo menos seis meses após a finalização da implantação e funcionamento das intervenções. Os resultados obtidos no componente de efeito a partir da comparação entre os dois estágios, que refletem os efeitos diretos na saúde, apontaram uma redução média de 65% da morbidade por diarreia, 22% da morbidade por parasitoses intestinais e aumento da qualidade de vida da população, representado por uma redução média de 63% de insatisfação com a comunidade e aumento de 100% da percepção da relação entre o aumento da qualidade de vida e o saneamento. Esses resultados indicam que houve impactos positivos à saúde da população decorrentes das intervenções em saneamento. O modelo FPSEEA utilizado trouxe informações que permitiram uma análise ampliada e em cadeia dos impactos da variação de cenários para exprimir esses efeitos positivos na saúde. Assim, foi possível realizar uma avaliação integrada do impacto de ações em saneamento na redução de doenças e no aumento da qualidade de vida das populações estudadas. Nesse processo avaliativo foi possível detectar de maneira consistente, dentro do contexto da área de estudo, que além dos efeitos na saúde, aspectos importantes na cadeia causal contribuíram de forma integrada para a expressão desse efeito. Em relação ao modelo FPSEEA aplicado no contexto da tese, concluímos que os pressupostos utilizados em sua concepção permitem que ajustes sejam feitos no modelo de acordo com o contexto para o qual o seu uso foi proposto, sendo possível validar e ajustar os elementos e indicadores do modelo proposto para o seu uso em outras propostas de avaliações integradas com enfoque nos impactos à saúde decorrentes de ações em saneamento. Dessa maneira, reforçamos que, mesmo diante da escala local dos resultados, o processo de avaliação contribuiu para auxiliar o planejamento de ações no campo do saneamento, viabilizando novos modelos de intervenções, redefinição de prioridades e redirecionamento de ações relacionadas ao saneamento e saúde, buscando a redução da pobreza, universalização do acesso ao saneamento e garantia dos direitos essenciais do cidadão com equidade no meio rural brasileiro. / In general , the relationship between environmental factors and health is systemic in nature , involving various fields of knowledge . One of the challenges of this issue involves integrated environmental health impact assessment approaches, which combine technical and operational, socio-economic and political dimensions, surpassing aproaches that consider only unicausualities of exposure and effect . The aim of this thesis was to evaluate , based on an integrated environmental health impact assessment , the health impact resulting from the implementation of water supply and sanitation interventions in populations of communities located in sustainable use forest reserves in the Middle Juruá river in state of Amazonas . The evaluation process was supported in methodological approach Integrated Environmental Health Impact Assessment (IEHIA) and used as the main conceptual framework a model for organizing indicators Driving Force - Pressure - Situation - Exposure - Effect - Action (DPSEEA) , applied in two well defined stages : i ) Before Stage : prior to the implementation of interventions in water supply and sanitation in the studied communities and ii ) After Stage : period of at least six months after implementaion and operation of the interventions . The results regarting the Effect component from the comparison between the two stages, which reflects directly the effect on health, , showed an average reduction of 65% in morbidity from diarrhea , 22 % of morbidity from intestinal parasites and an increased quality of life , represented by a mean reduction of 63 % of dissatisfaction with the community and 100% increase in the perception of the relationship between the increase in quality of life and sanitation. These results indicate that there were positive health impacts due to due the implemented interventions. The model DPSEEA used in this study brought information which enabeled the development of a broad and integrated analysis of the impacts of the variation in cenarios to express these positive health effects. Thus, it was possible to perform an integrated assessment of the impact of waster supply and sanitation interventions to reduce disease and increase the quality of life of the studied population. This evaluation process enabeled the cosistent detection, within the context of the study area, that in addition to the health effects , important aspects of the causal chain contributed in a integrated way to the expression of this effect . Regarding the DPSEEA model applied in the context of the thesis, we conclude that the assumptions used in its design allow adjustments to be made in accordance to the context for which the model is supposed to be used. This enables the validation and ajustment of the elements and indicators of the proposed model to allow its use in other Integrated Environmental Health Impact Assessment proposals which focus on health impacts of water supply and sanitation interventions. Thus, we reinforce that even with the local scale carcateristicas of our results, the evaluation process contributed to assist the planning of actions in the field of water supply and sanitation , enabling new models of interventions , redefining priorities and redirecting actions related to water supply and sanitation to increase health, reduce poverty, and ensure essential rights to citizens of rural areas of Brazil with equity.

Master of Urban and Regional Planning