The poor in most developing countries are persistently marginalised in their living conditions, including their access to safe drinking water. The research objectives have been (1) to better understand why this state of affairs has endured despite decades of efforts and interventions, and (2) to propose more adequate alternatives. The central case study was concerned with drinking water in rural Bangladesh ?? a matter of grave urgency since the discovery of arsenic in the groundwater more than a decade ago. Millions of users are exposed to dangerous levels of contamination, and the implementation of solutions has been slow and inadequate. Little has been done so far to integrate the research on this complex humanitarian crisis. Many have argued that conventional views on development are ill-equipped to address the ??growing gap?? between rich and poor; the models often fail to interpret inequity beyond mere financial indicators. This thesis therefore puts forward a different analytical framework (based on the theoretical concepts of core-periphery and capital stock). This was designed to increase our understanding of marginalisation by taking into account unequal ownership of, entitlement to, and control over, ecological, technological, organisational and human assets. Through an action research methodology, this analytical framework was informed by a participatory programme that established safe drinking water supplies in several poor and arsenic-affected villages. The learning experience was then fed back into the programme. This pragmatic approach was also systemic, i.e., it emphasised the community level, which was framed within the context of external influences, various other programmes and national policies. This resulted in a clarification of the problem in terms of (1) lack of ownership of community land, resources, drinking water institutions and technical knowledge; (2) restricted access to (non-) governmental services and benefits from public or collective assets; and (3) exclusion from decision-making in new water sector developments. It was concluded that alternative strategies need to focus on vesting ownership, entitlement and control in marginalised communities. The steps to achieve this will have far-reaching ramifications for how organisations, policymakers and funding agencies perceive and plan development projects. The analytical and methodological approach of this thesis is relevant to other cases of marginalisation in different socio-economic contexts.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/272527 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Rammelt, Crelis Ferdinand, Institute of Environmental Studies, UNSW |
| Publisher | Awarded By:University of New South Wales. Institute of Environmental Studies |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/copyright, http://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/copyright |
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