This Minor Field Study was carried out during November and December in 2011 in the Mount Elgon District in Western Kenya. The objective was to examine nine small-scale farming household´s land use and socioeconomic situation when they have joined a non-governmental organization (NGO) project, which specifically targets small-scale farming households to improve land use system and socioeconomic situation by the extension of soil and water conservation measures. The survey has worked along three integral examinations methods which are mapping and processing data using GIS, semi structured interviews and literature studies.   This study has adopted a theoretical approach referred to as political ecology, in which landesque capital is a central concept. The result shows that all farmers, except one, have issues with land degradation. However, the extent of the problem and also implemented sustainable soil and water conservation measures were diverse among the farmers. The main causes of this can both be linked to how the farmers themselves utilized their farmland and how impacts from the climate change have modified the terms of the farmers working conditions. These factors have consequently resulted in impacts on the informants’ socioeconomic conditions. Furthermore it was also registered that social and economic elements, in some cases, were the causes of how the farmers manage their farmland. The farmer who had no significant problem with soil erosion had invested in trees and opportunities to irrigate the farmland. In addition, it was also recorded that certain farmers had invested in particular soil and water conservation measures without any significant result. This was probably due to the time span these land measures cover before they start to generate revenue.  The outcome of this study has traced how global, national and local elements exist in a context when it comes to the conditions of the farmers´ land use and their socioeconomic situation. The farmers atMt.Elgon are thereby a component of a wider context when they are both contributory to their socioeconomic situation, mainly due to their land management, and also exposed to core-periphery relationships on which the farmers themselves have no influence.

During the last couple of years, Sweden has experienced periods with greatly reduced amount of precipitation, causing decreased groundwater levels. This has affected the drinking water supply. The need to actively prevent water scarcity is strong. Apart from water scarcity, the water available for consumption is also limited by the capacity of wastewater treatment plants, pipelines and waterworks. As a result of this, interests in water conservation measures have grown among municipalities the last few years. Opportunities to save water are good, but there is a lack of incentive to invest in technical solutions. Investment costs are high in relation to the low prices of drinking water. Primary drivers are currently awareness of the issue or local problems with water scarcity. Further incentives are thus needed. The aim of this thesis is to examine what the main drivers are for large property owners to implement measures to save water and what the obstacles are. The aim is also to investigate how water saving measures can help reduce energy use and financial expenses. To fulfil this purpose, interviews with larger property owners, literature search and calculations were carried out.   The results from the interviews showed that the main drivers were resource management and social responsibility. Economy proved to be an increasingly important driver as the price for water and energy are rising. The main obstacles for implementing water saving measures were financing issues and technical difficulties in implementation. Certification proved to be important for commercial property owners but was not considered profitable for the public housing companies. Calculations showed significant theoretical savings with regards to water, energy and economy with the techniques: aerators, water-saving showers and low-flush toilets. Calculations also showed that for more advanced technical solutions like urine-separating toilets and recirculating showers, the potential for water saving is great but it takes a long time for an investment to pay off. Collected data showed a high consumption despite water efficient technology, which implies that technology has to be combined with other measures, for example communication or individual metering and billing for cold water.  Key words: drivers, water conservation measures, large property owners, household water use, drinking water / Under de senaste åren har Sverige upplevt några långa perioder med mycket mindre nederbörd än normalt, med sänkta nivåer i grundvattenmagasin som följd, vilket påverkar dricksvattenförsörjningen. Behovet av att aktivt förebygga vattenbrist är stort. Förutom vattenbrist begränsas mängden vatten som kan användas också av kapaciteten i vattenverk, ledningsnät och reningsverk. Detta har gjort att intresset för vattenbesparande åtgärder ökat från VA-huvudmän de senaste åren. Möjligheterna till vattenbesparing i hushåll och kontor är goda, men det saknas ekonomiska incitament för att investera i de tekniska lösningar som krävs. Investeringskostnaderna bedöms för höga i förhållande till de låga priserna på dricksvatten. Drivkrafter i nuläget handlar främst om medvetenhet i frågan samt vattenbrist i lokalområdet. Därför finns det behov av ytterligare incitament.  Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka vilka de huvudsakliga drivkrafterna är för större fastighetsägare av hyresfastigheter att vidta åtgärder för vattenbesparing och vilka hinder som finns. Syftet var också att titta på hur energibesparing kan uppnås genom vattenbesparande åtgärder samt vilken ekonomisk besparing som kan uppnås genom att vidta åtgärder. För att uppfylla detta syfte användes intervjuer, litteratursökning och beräkningar. Resultaten från intervjuer med fastighetsägare visade att de huvudsakliga drivkrafterna var resurshushållning och samhällsansvar, men att ekonomi blivit en viktigare drivkraft i och med stigande priser på vatten och energi. De huvudsakliga hindren för att vidta åtgärder var problem med finansiering samt tekniska svårigheter kopplat till implementering. Certifiering var viktigt för de kommersiella fastighetsbolagen men ansågs inte lönsamt för de allmännyttiga bostadsbolagen. Resultaten från beräkningar visade på en stor teoretisk besparing med avseende på både vatten, energi och ekonomi med åtgärderna perlatorer, vattensnåla duschar samt snålspolande toaletter. Resultaten visar att för mer avancerade tekniska åtgärder för vattenbesparing såsom urinseparerande toaletter och recirkulerande duschar är vattenbesparingspotentialen stor, men det tar lång tid för en investering att återbetala sig. Insamlad data visade på en hög förbrukning trots vattensnål teknik, vilket talar för att tekniken behöver kombineras med fler åtgärder, som exempelvis kommunikation eller individuell mätning och debitering för kallvatten.