Integrated water management is a wicked public policy problem with no clear path to resolution. This dissertation is an in-depth qualitative comparative analysis of two collaborative governance processes created to tackle complex water problems in New Zealand and Oregon, U.S.A. Both cases convened a wide range of state and non-state actors in efforts to find common ground, build consensus for change, and develop innovative water policy solutions. The goal of this comparative case study analysis is to gain a better understanding of collaborative network governance frameworks as applied to integrated water management and primary factors for success. The proposition posits that collaborative networks involving public, private, and non-profit actors are better equipped than government-driven efforts to develop desired outcomes. To test this proposition, the research questions probe the role of state and non-state policy actors, conditions for collaboration, strength of actor ties, development of trust and social capital, barriers to success, and the role of climate change as a policy driver in these two case studies. The comparative case study analysis yields fascinating insights that adds to the network governance literature. In the New Zealand case, a collaborative-led process called the Land and Water Forum (LAWF) showed that this ongoing network offers benefits to creating consensus on complex water issues. LAWF succeeded in moving policy conversations forward where previous government-led efforts had failed. Within the LAWF collaborative network, non-state actors formed strong ties; however, relationships with state actors exhibited weaker ties. With Oregon's integrated water policy, a collaborative network approach created a more conducive environment for meaningful dialogue among vested interests, and built some levels of interdependency and trust, thus generating a wider array of policy options than through previous legislative and bureaucratic efforts. However, long-standing political, legal, and institutional challenges continue to constrain effective integrated water management and the delivery of integrated outcomes in Oregon. The Oregon case did not exhibit strong leadership within the collaborative to broker challenging policy issues. Also, it faced implementation challenges as one state agency was given responsibility for stewarding integrated water management but lacked authority for implementation or coordination with other state agencies. Overcoming fragmented natural resource governance arrangements remains a daunting challenge. This research revealed three key findings: (1) in both cases, collaborative network governance worked well for framing and designing new integrated water policies, but encountered implementation challenges; (2) managing the complexities around the intersection of top-down, vertical command and control governance with horizontal collaborative approaches remains an ongoing challenge to New Public Governance; and (3) the two cases represent examples of the use of formal and informal processes for policy development. The benefits of collaborative governance for policy development are substantial, and the limitations appear to be obstacles to overcome and not fatal flaws. The main challenge lies in transitioning from policy and planning to implementing changes on the ground affecting the way we manage water today and in the future.

Public water policy decision making tends to be too complex and dynamic to be described fully by traditional, rational models. Information intended to improve decisions often is rendered ineffective by a failure to understand the process. An alternative, holistic description of how such decisions actually are made is presented here and illustrated with a case study. The role of information in the process is highlighted. Development of a Regional Recharge Plan for Tucson, Arizona is analyzed as the case study. The description of how decisions are made is based on an image of public water policy decision making as 1) a structured, nested network of individuals and groups with connections to their environment through their senses, mediated by their knowledge; and 2) a nonlinear process in which decisions feed back to affect the preferences and intentions of the people involved, the structure of their interactions, and the environment in which they operate. The analytical components of this image are 1) the decision makers, 2) the relevant features of their environment, 3) the structure of their interactions, and 4) the products or outputs of their deliberations. Policy decisions analyzed by these components, in contrast to the traditional analysis, disclose a new set of relationships and suggest a new view of the uses of information. In context of information use, perhaps the most important output of the decision process is a shared interpretation of the policy issue. This interpretation sets the boundaries of the issue and the nature of issue-relevant information. Participants are unlikely to attend to information incompatible with the shared interpretation. Information is effective when used to shape the issue interpretation, fill specific gaps identified as issue-relevant during the process, rationalize choices, and reshape the issue interpretation as the issue environment evolves.

<p>Public-private partnerships to provide services are a relatively new policy initiative in Mexico, and have shown contrasting results. This research has endeavored to analyze the possible determinants behind the failure, or the success, of the choice of a specific mode of service provision. By using contracting literature based on transaction costs, and looking specifically at the case of AGSAL, a joint venture established between Saltillo, a northern Mexican city, and INTERAGBAR, a private investor, for the provision of water, this study showed that characteristics of the transaction at stake. More specifically, it showed that specificity of the investments that support a given transaction, the unanticipated changes in circumstances surrounding an exchange, either from physical assets or its ownership rights, and the frequency and duration with which parties engage in the transaction.</p>

Water is essential for life, and access to sources of safe water and sanitation facilities is a first-order concern for economic welfare and general well-being. While the majority of residents in developing countries have access to improved water and sanitation services, many parts of the developing world lag significantly behind in this vital infrastructure. This dissertation studies policies aimed at increasing access, quality, and efficiency of improved water and sanitation (WS) services in developing countries. In the following three chapters, I focus on non-technological methods for improving service by eliminating the economic, political, and institutional barriers to safe water and sanitation provision. Chapter 1, “The Buck Stops Where? Federalism and Investment in the Brazilian Water and Sanitation Sector”, shows how weak institutions can undermine public goods service when multiple levels of government share responsibility of provision. In particular, I study how legal ambiguities regarding degrees of governmental authority can lead to systematic underinvestment in public utilities. I examine the Brazilian water and sanitation (WS) sector, which presents an natural experiment of shared provision between state and municipality entities. I look at a legal reform that clarified the relationship between municipalities and states in a quasi-experimental, difference-in-differences framework, using an administrative, municipality-level panel dataset from 2001-2012. I find that when expropriation risk by state companies diminished - self-run municipalities almost doubled their WS network investment. This increase in investment led to a significant increase in access to the WS system in these municipalities. The analysis provides strong evidence that reforms that strengthen residual control rights and eliminate the threat of intra-governmental expropriation can lead to large increases in public goods investment. Chapter 2, “The Role of Basic Sanitation Plans on Service Provision: Evidence from Brazil”, investigates non-technological methods of increasing access to improved water and sanitation (WS) in developing countries. In particular, it presents evidence of the efficiency gains that can be achieved in municipal water provision through the act of formulating and carrying out basic sanitation plans. I exploit the staggered roll-out in implementation of basic sanitation plans throughout municipalities in southern Brazil from 2007-2013. I find that, in the three years after the enactment of sanitation plans, municipalities increased the efficiency of their respective water systems through the tightening up of “leakages" in the system, both in terms of water distribution and bill payment. However, I find no significant increases in the degree of individual access to the systems, suggesting that in the relatively short-run, providers focus on improving the existing system as opposed to building out new infrastructure. Chapter 3, “(Not So) Gently Down The Stream: River Pollution and Health in Indonesia”, addresses the fact that waterborne diseases are the leading cause of mortality in developing countries. We emphasize a previously ignored cause of diarrhea - upstream river bathing. Using newly constructed data on upstream-downstream hydrological linkages along with village census panel data in Indonesia, we find that upstream river bathing can explain as many as 7.5% of all diarrheal deaths. Our results, which are net of avoidance behavior, show no effect of trash disposal on diarrheal infections. Furthermore we find that individuals engage in avoidance behavior in response to trash disposal (visible pollutants) but not river bathing (invisible pollutants). We conduct policy simulations to show that targeting upstream individuals could generate substantial environmental and health savings relative to targeting downstream individuals. This provides a potential road map for low- and middle-income countries with limited resources for enforcement of water pollution.

Public water policy decision making tends to be too complex and dynamic to be described fully by traditional, rational models. Information intended to improve decisions often is rendered ineffective by a failure to understand the process. An alternative, holistic description of how such decisions actually are made is presented here and illustrated with a case study. The role of information in the process is highlighted. Development of a Regional Recharge Plan for Tucson, Arizona is analyzed as the case study. The description of how decisions are made is based on an image of public water policy decision making as 1) a structured, nested network of individuals and groups with connections to their environment through their senses, mediated by their knowledge; and 2) a nonlinear process in which decisions feed back to affect the preferences and intentions of the people involved, the structure of their interactions, and the environment in which they operate. The analytical components of this image are 1) the decision makers, 2) the relevant features of their environment, 3) the structure of their interactions, and 4) the products or outputs of their deliberations. Policy decisions analyzed by these components, in contrast to the traditional analysis, disclose a new set of relationships and suggest a new view of the uses of information. In context of information use, perhaps the most important output of the decision process is a shared interpretation of the policy issue. This interpretation sets the boundaries of the issue and the nature of issue-relevant information. Participants are unlikely to attend to information incompatible with the shared interpretation. Information is effective when used to shape the issue interpretation, fill specific gaps identified as issue-relevant during the process, rationalize choices, and reshape the issue interpretation as the issue environment evolves.

<p>Public-private partnerships to provide services are a relatively new policy initiative in Mexico, and have shown contrasting results. This research has endeavored to analyze the possible determinants behind the failure, or the success, of the choice of a specific mode of service provision. By using contracting literature based on transaction costs, and looking specifically at the case of AGSAL, a joint venture established between Saltillo, a northern Mexican city, and INTERAGBAR, a private investor, for the provision of water, this study showed that characteristics of the transaction at stake. More specifically, it showed that specificity of the investments that support a given transaction, the unanticipated changes in circumstances surrounding an exchange, either from physical assets or its ownership rights, and the frequency and duration with which parties engage in the transaction.</p>

Thesis (PhD (Public Management and Planning))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / Please refer to full text for abstract

Water resources management practice has undergone changes in management approaches and principles over time. It was previously characterised by what scholars refer to as the hydraulic mission where ‘extreme engineering’ was the order of the day (Allan, 2003). As Radif (1999) argues, water resources managers and policy makers were initially driven to manage and supply water to people for its direct use / these included drinking, growing food, and providing power for domestic and industrial use. This modus operandi continued until the end of the 1970s. Over two decades later, this focus is still prevalent in many countries in southern Africa including Botswana. As Swatuk and Rahm (2004) state, “augmenting supply is a continuing focus of government activity”. The National Water Master Plan (NWMP) is the current policy document guiding water resources management in Botswana and it focuses on supply-side interventions in response to increasing water demand. According to SMEC et al. (1991), the consulting company that conducted the NWMP study, “the investigation and studies... indicated the need for the continuing development of water supplies throughout Botswana over the next 30 years”. Based on these observations, government has developed significant human and technical capacity in exploiting both surface and groundwater resources (Swatuk and Rahm, 2004).

Are South Africa's water service delivery policies and strategies equitable, accessible, affordable, efficient, effective and sustainable for Msunduzi low-income households? The primary objective of this study was to elicit the community experience of South Africa's water service delivery policies and strategies and link these experiences to a broader analysis of policy and strategy to locate water service delivery contraventions, inconsistencies and inadequacies. The secondary objective was to initiate community-based platforms for engagement with water-related issues and build capacity within local community task teams to initiate lobbying and advocacy strategies to support community-suggested and research-outcome reforms thereby returning popular control to the locus of communities. The study was conducted in KwaZulu-Natal, within the Msunduzi municipal jurisdiction, under the uMgungundlovu district municipality (DC22) in the period from October 2002-April 2003. Households in five low-income urban areas were included in the study: Imbali (units 1 and 2), Sobantu, Haniville and Thembalihle. The study employed a community action research design using non-probability sampling. Surveys, conducted by community researchers, were complemented by broad community engagement approaches, informal interviews with external stakeholders and the initiation of platforms for information sharing and fundamental debate. The study revealed two significant findings. The first finding found that South Africa's water service delivery policies, strategies and implementation mechanisms were inconsistent with the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry's sector goals of equity, affordability, efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability. They contained serious scientific and social inadequacies, inequitably promoted economic considerations above social and environmental considerations; lacked regulation and monitoring systems to identify and address implementation contraventions; were not receptive to the socioeconomic situations of low-income households and should be fundamentally re-worked. Policies and strategies purported to ensure that the basic water service requirements of low-income households were met, essentially compounded socio-economic constraints and compromised human rights, justice and equity. The second finding was related to popular involvement and engagement. Community consultative processes for input into local and national policies and strategies were inadequate and often pseudoparticipatory; political platforms (local and national) for communities to engage and influence decision-makers were inadequate or lacking; and the community control, ownership and acceptance of the Msunduzi water service delivery institution and its mechanisms were low. Recommendations for the reform of policy, strategy and implementation of such reforms were advocated through the vehicle of reviews, evaluations and audits, to inform the necessary amendments, adjustments and intensification of local and national regulation and monitoring mechanisms. Lobbying and advocacy strategies, to support the implementation of reforms, were promoted through community-based approaches of popular engagement with water-related issues, information dissemination; community mobilisation and popular control of public processes. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2003.

The provision of a basic water supply and sanitation service to the 12 million South Africans without an adequate water supply and the 21 million without basic sanitation is a mammoth task that is currently being undertaken by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. Billions of rands have been spent on, and committed to, water and sanitation projects that involve national, provincial and local spheres of government, as well as parastatals, non-government organisations and private developers. It is acknowledged that important successes have been achieved in the water and sanitation sector. However, despite the provisions provided in national and local legislation, internationally lauded policy directives, the numerous studies undertaken and recommendations made by institutions such as the Water Research Commission, problems have continued to emerge in the sustainable delivery of water and sanitation projects, particularly in the peri-urban and rural areas. It is clear that the installation of physical structures such as pipes, taps and ventilated improved pit latrines in these areas have created a sense of 'delivery' however, little thought seems to have gone into how these projects are to be sustained. International experience has shown that the concept of 'community ownership' is very important in providing sustainable water and sanitation services. The most important principles in achieving sustainability are community participation and community decision-making throughout both the development of the project as well as the further operation and maintenance of the system. International experience has also shown that financial contributions towards the scheme from the community (in cash, labour or materials), also assists in obtaining community ownership. Over the past decade emphasis in South Africa has shifted towards community participation and the empowerment of previously disadvantaged communities where communities play an active role in determining the level of service provided and the manner in which these services are delivered. However, current government policy advocates that water must be treated as an economic resource to achieve sustainability and this does not always lie comfortably with the policy of delivering free basic water. As a result of these two often-juxtaposed concepts, the delivery of sustainable water and sanitation services, a function performed by local government, is thus made more difficult. This study assesses the importance of delivering a potable water supply and adequate sanitation service to enhance the quality of lives of people. It also considers the key issues that contribute towards sustainable water and sanitation service delivery, with particular reference to the concept of 'community ownership'. The complex nature of the policy, legislative and institutional framework for water supply and sanitation is considered along with an analysis of the Msunduzi Municipality's water supply and sanitation policy and objectives. The study then focuses on the delivery of water and sanitation services to one such project, Edendale Unit RR (commonly known as Newtown), as an in-situ upgrade case study. A Provincial Housing Board funded project has, over the last five years, provided housing units, roads, stormwater drains, and water and sanitation infrastructure to this community. This initial research is undertaken with the intention of providing an evaluation of the installation of the water supply and sanitation service to the in-situ upgrade of Newtown. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2003.