Providing safe drinking water to poor families is a critical development issue of India. To address the common outbreaks of water borne diseases, the Naandi foundation together with Water Health India initiated the pilot rural Community Safe Water Scheme that combines cost-effective water purification technology with community-driven and performance-based approach. This case illustrates that with awareness raising campaigns, rural households are willing to pay for clean drinking water.
Steadily shrinking for decades due to unsustainable irrigation policies, the Aral Sea is under increasing pressure, making both allocation and availability major challenges. Action has been taken and the Basin Economic Allocation Model has been developed as a long-term decision support system to facilitate putting “value on water use”. This demonstrates that economic models can be applied to assess economic value maximization of different water uses.
The legal and regulatory framework of water utilities in Peru provides opportunities for local financing of investments. Despite this, the sector remains heavily dependent on public financing. Action has been taken by the World Bank to initiate a study investigating the barriers to local private funding. This case study illustrates that public loans, private loans and equity investment are appropriate to fund the necessary investment.
In Chile, water has been privatised. However, in order to make sure that access was still available to all strata of society, the privatisation was accompanied by a robust regulatory framework, including a system of direct subsidies for drinking water consumption and sewage services for low income households. This case thus illustrates that in case of privatisation, a direct subsidiary scheme should be considered.
El Cerrito Canton community has spent decade attempting to get access to clean water. Action was taken to organise a Community Development Association, leading to the execution of a potable water project. The key insight drawn from this case is that, it is key for communities to have water access and management is their capacity to get organised.
In Costa Rica, action was taken to introduce water pricing to pay for services provided by forests in watershed areas. As a result, Costa Rica’s watershed owners are beginning to be rewarded for providing water, whether for drinking or for generating electricity. The main lesson is that initiatives that ensure local groups are included in the benefits of conservation are needed to involve them in helping to protect the water catchment areas.
The Costa Rican government decided to revise its system of water use levy when it became evident that it was disproportionately low. Action was taken by key stakeholders to reconstruct a design of the water use levy to reflect two basic elements of water charge: water use rights and environmental water services. From this experience, the most important lesson is that political will must support legal and technical works when reforming economic instruments.
Despite high water availability in Jamaica, uneven distribution in both time and space creates local scarcity. Hence, it is problematic to distribute water adequately to all sectors, and to develop abstraction points for water treatment. To address the issues, action was taken and a Water Sector Reform was proposed, including a Water Sector Strategy and Action Plan. From this experience, the lesson learned is the importance of coordinating activities and harmonising policies, legislation and institutions.
Tourism has placed great pressure on the natural environment of Jamaica. Action was taken through a USAID funded project that aimed to increase water use efficiency and improve environmental management. The key lessons are the value of demonstrating the benefits locally as well as to institutionalise the programme.
Due to increased agricultural irrigation and large scale dam projects, and inappropriate land and water management practices, the water inflow to the Komadugu Yobe Basin has dramatically been reduced. Action has been taken to establish a legal and policy enabling environment, as well as to increase knowledge among the local communities to establish more sustainable behaviour. The main lesson learnt was that although a multi-stakeholder participatory approach is slow, it helped to mobilise partnership.