Blockchain technologies are increasingly live‐tested in experiments aimed at improving governance in a growing range of activities. A key question often lost amongst these efforts is whether such projects redistribute wealth and power, and, if so, in which ways. Examining the case of blockchain‐based land governance, this contribution explores the tensions between ambitious visions and their actual scales of implementation around the redistributional promises of distributed ledger technologies. Bringing together the concepts of ‘imaginaries’ and ‘infrastructures’, we analyse land governance blockchainization emerging in the Global South and the metaverse. Identifying a contrast between imaginaries ‘scaling up’ redistributive promises yet tending to materialize in ‘scaled‐down’ forms, we argue for more sustained attention to pluriversal perspectives that foreground local concerns and diverse voices.
Water infrastructure occupies a central role in achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially in water supply, sanitation and health, agricultural development, and energy production. However, Nigeria, and many Sub-Saharan African countries face specific challenges around infrastructure financing, systemic and repeated malfunctioning, and decentralized infrastructure types. This review provides insights into the current state of water infrastructure governance research in Nigeria and presents a research agenda.
Aaron Janzen, Achari Gopal, Irwin Samantha, Dore Mohammed
Many rural households do not have access to treated drinking water. However, some households may be in regions where a water treatment plant has excess capacity to supply some additional households. In such circumstances, small diameter low-pressure supply systems can be connected to major transmission lines to give these households access to water. These typically occur in locations that do not belong to recognized municipal or other local government. Such supply systems, commonly referred to as “trickle fill,” have been implemented in South America, Africa and Canada. This paper explains the concept of trickle fill supply systems. A user-friendly decision-making framework is proposed to assist the decision maker to determine whether the implementation of a trickle fill system is economically feasible for a given rural area. The decision-making assessment template (DMAT) takes into projects the economic, energy and carbon footprint changes. A case study for a rural municipality in the province of Alberta, Canada is presented to illustrate the value of the DMAT and the feasibility of trickle fill water supply as a solution. In this case study, a trickle fill water supply solution is found to be technically and economically viable and would reduce energy consumption and the carbon footprint. It is shown that trickle fill solution can be implemented, resulting in an average cost of water to be $165 per month per household. This is higher than the affordability threshold of 2% of the median household income, but comparable to the cost that the end users currently pay for drinking water in the area. A capital grant from a higher level of government, or low interest rate financing, would reduce the end user costs to the level of the affordability criterion mentioned here. Hence, a trickle fill solution is worth investigating for some rural residents. Key words: Rural water systems; economic feasibility; carbon footprint, small diameter water distribution pipelines.
Jennifer McConville, Elisabeth Kvarnström, Marcus Ahlström, Charles B. Niwagaba
Pressure is growing to develop innovative decentralized sanitation systems that protect public health and recover resources. This study evaluates the opportunities for niche technologies focusing on nutrient resource recovery to enter the market in Greater Kampala, Uganda. It applies methodology from sustainability transition studies in a novel way to provide new insights into possibilities for change in the on-site sanitation sector. The study 1) characterizes the existing socio-technical regime for on-site sanitation, 2) identify stress points in the regime and 3) possible advantages for the niches. Assessment of the regime covers technology, epistemic practice, sector values, organisational modes, policy and financing. The niches include urine diversion toilets, on-site resource recovery, and container-based models. The on-site sanitation regime is under performing and the niches all offer advantages for improved service and resource use. However, it will be difficult for the niches to break into a sector in which epistemic practice, organisational modes and financing are heavily dominated by the sewage regime. Recommendations for creating a more open environment for innovation are provided for specific stakeholders.
Payments for watershed services programs (PWS) have become a prominent tool to protect ecosystems and hydrological services but little is known about where these innovative financing tools and governance systems emerge and persist. In 2008, the Mexican government started a program where they match funding from local partners to establish user-financed PWS programs, leading to the creation of 145 programs between 2008 and 2019. We study the factors that led to the emergence and persistence of these local PWS programs across Mexico. We assemble a unique database on these programs, as well as biophysical, economic and socio-cultural, and institutional variables, at the municipality level. We use logistic regression to analyze the variables that led to the emergence and persistence of PWS. We find that PWS programs are more likely to emerge in municipalities with lower opportunity costs; that are wealthier and more populated; that have complementary conservation programs; and that have more collective land tenure and protected areas. PWS programs are more likely to persist in municipalities with poorer water quality and more floods; that have more protected areas; and that have a non-governmental organization or water utility involved as the local counterpart. These results suggest that the emergence and persistence of local, user-financed PWS could be facilitated through better information on the condition of watershed services to signal need for hydrological protection; capacity building and institutional strengthening efforts that provide the social capital needed for collective action; and involvement of decentralized non-state actors that are politically neutral and can provide more sustainable financing.
Open access
Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management
This paper focuses on the legal and institutional framework of urban water services in Spain, emphasizing water sanitation by using proposals that would positively contribute to wastewater management in Brazil. The recent Brazilian Federal Law No. 14,026/20 aims to encourage investment in water sanitation, promoting public-private collaboration formulas so that service management is viable even in economically less-favored regions. In Spain, sanitation policies are aimed at fulfilling the set of obligations and objectives imposed by European Union Directives within the environmental policies of the Union. From an economic point of view, supply and sanitation water services are classified at European legal framework as “services of general economic interest” (SGEI), not subject to harmonized regulation and open to a natural monopoly provision regime, which they admit various types of management formulas, public and private, based on the ownership and public intervention of the service, both at national and European level. We believe that the Spanish experience in this field, beyond its singularities, can serve as a useful reference for Brazilian’s urban wastewater new regulation for several reasons: (1) Because of the decentralized political scheme that both countries share and the need to articulate an adequate system of competencies in consequence; (2) Because of the international experience that Spanish companies have at the sector’s technological forefront, they are very competitive; (3) Due to the adequate functioning of the Spanish legal and organizational framework since, despite its shortcomings, as we later will comment, it has managed to develop successful financing formulas and management models that, in general terms, have allowed to ensure with reasonable efficiency, continuity, stability and sustainability in the provision of urban water services.
Over the past three years, the dams of Chelan County, Washington, its watershed and fish, the electrical grid and the laborers who maintain it, and cleared land with warehouses filled with computers, have all been enrolled as part of the decentralized digital infrastructure of Bitcoin. While popular accounts of the Bitcoin network correctly report the massive scale of energy it consumes and its potential environmental ramifications, in practice, the material geographies of Bitcoin are highly uneven and intertwined with specific infrastructural, ecological, and economic systems. In this article, we examine Bitcoin's impacts on Chelan County, untangling the processes that occur as the distributed, digital infrastructure consumes the very real material resources of one place to produce digital goods used in another. In so doing, we examine not only the material costs of networks like Bitcoin, but also their historical ties to older processes of accumulation.
New York’s Reforming the Energy Vision is the nation’s leading attempt to realign the business and governance of structures of electrical utilities with the technological attributes of renewable energy resources. Under the traditional, centralized model, low-income households were the recipient of cross-class subsidies which preserved their access to heat and power while stabilizing utility revenues. As distributed energy resources decentralize the electrical system’s physical and governance structures, governments are presented with two general options. The first is energy apartheid, where the mass-affluent defect from the grid and leave low-income households exposed to a financially and physically destabilized grid. The second is energy democracy, where low-income households are allowed access to financing and governance structures which enable them to become owners of distributed energy resources. This chapter considers whether New York’s Reforming the Energy Vision is trending towards energy apartheid or energy democracy.
In this policy review, we analyze two payments for hydrological services matching programs operating in the Antigua water basin in the state of Veracruz, Mexico. Mexico’s Matching Program was created to transition from the national payments for hydrological services program to programs that would be financed by local governments, local water users and the private sector. Based on the analysis of organizational documents and key informant interviews with institutional actors, we describe the distinctive origins and organizational structures of these two programs, and how these differences have led to unique challenges for each program. We conclude that payments for ecosystem services programs that incorporate community-level organization and extensive technical assistance, along with expanded direct payments from ecosystem service users, have the greatest potential for achieving long-term sustainability.
Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management
Abstract Like much of the global spread of gated communities and fortified enclaves, the emergence of Kathmandu's “housing” industry (housing colonies and apartment complexes) grew out of neoliberal reforms. The restructuring of Nepal's economy and government created the conditions for privatized housing infrastructure, management, and services to cater to elites dissatisfied with the post‐1991 processes of democratization and declining conditions in the city. However, while the decentralization of local governance and deregulation of the finance industry created the conditions for elites to desert the public city for private housing complexes, the contractual relations of privatization also sowed the seeds of discontent. Through an ethnographic account of a conflict between the residents of a housing colony and the company that built and managed it (at that time), this article demonstrates how Kathmandu elites have adjusted to the rearrangement of their relationship with the state from the patron/client arrangements of the Panchayat era (1962–1990) to the “consumer citizenship” (Fernandes 2006) of the post‐1991 era of liberalization and democratization. Expecting relations of dependence, the residents were ultimately alienated by the indifference of the company. They articulated critiques of the company through ethnically coded protests of its business practices and expressions of nostalgia for the paternalist patronage of the pre‐1991 non‐democratic state. Ultimately, the conflict exposed a contradictory wish of elites to benefit from the privatized benefits of neoliberalism alongside the social protections of an interventionist state. [fortified enclaves/gated communities, neoliberal urbanism, elites, Kathmandu, Nepal]
According to the World Resources Institute, Barbados is one of seven Caribbean countries ranked as being the most water stressed territories in the world. Prevailing drought conditions for the period 2010-2016 further compromised its water security while confirming predictions of a drier regional Caribbean climate. The simultaneous failing of at least 50-year-old water infrastructure at many points in the distribution network adds to these water stress conditions, and presents a financial burden to the local water utility in the form of lost revenues, and increased energy consumption for pumping.\nClimate change and its impacts are not gender-neutral, and water infrastructure projects developed to mitigate and or adapt to climate change impacts will have different degrees of gender dimensions, based on the social and economic contexts within which populations are embedded. Incorporating gender differences in climate projects is smart economics, and as such the Green Climate Fund (GCF) is the first international fund to mandate the integration of a “gender-sensitive approach” throughout project life cycles. The Barbados Water Authority (BWA) is applying, with the Caribbean Community Climate Change Center (5Cs), for funding from the Green Climate Fund to pursue an Energy-Water-Nutrient Nexus for Sustainable Coastal Infrastructure (EWN-SCI) project. The proposed project will develop an interdisciplinary program in Barbados that implements demonstration sites with integrated water supply, resource recovery, and renewable energy management systems that are designed to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, support climate change adaptation strategies, build technical capacity in the Caribbean region, and share lessons learnt with the rest of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries.\nThe overall goal of this research is to present practical guidelines, and approaches to mainstream and operationalize gender throughout the life cycle of water and wastewater infrastructure projects using an Energy Water Nutrient nexus project in Barbados. The objectives to guide this research are (1) to determine the institutional and legal frameworks that inform the types and extent of gender mainstreaming activities to be incorporated in the development of water and wastewater climate infrastructure projects in Barbados, (2) to characterize the current landscape for integrating gender into the design and management of water and wastewater infrastructure in Barbados, and (3) evaluate and recommend opportunities for gender integration in the life cycle of water and wastewater infrastructure in Barbados.\nLiterature and tools for categorization of the gender dimensions of water and wastewater infrastructure (centralized and decentralized) projects in Small Island Developing States, and particularly Caribbean nations to determine the scope, and type of appropriate gender mainstreaming activities are limited. In the literature, gender equality as a goal of climate financing mechanisms was introduced retroactively for several multilateral climate funds due to sub-optimal project outcomes from gender blind projects. Projects implemented by these funds globally, post inclusion of explicit gender equality outcomes can provide direct, or indirect guidance on appropriate gender mainstreaming activities to be included in the development of water and wastewater infrastructure projects in Barbados. Case studies on water and sanitation gender vulnerabilities in Jamaica provide one of the few ideal sources of information on Caribbean gender mainstreaming activities.\nTo inform objective 1, literature on Barbados’ population, socio-economic statistics, and national gender and climate change policies was used to determine the status and scope of institutional and legal commitments to gender mainstreaming the development of water and wastewater climate adaptive infrastructure in Barbados. To satisfy objective 2, a gender profile of technical and leadership roles at the BWA was created, and social media information, results of a water user survey, focus groups and interviews were analyzed to gain cultural context, and community insight on existing gender inequalities, impacts resulting from the types of water infrastructure projects pursued and their methods of implementation. The survey, focus groups and interviews were conducted in Barbados during the period 10/20/16 to 11/8/16. This period was characterized by unprecedented water shortages and interruptions which were reflected in the feedback from the data analysis. For objective 3, gender impacts of the infrastructural components of the EWN-SCI projects were described, and opportunities to address these concerns across the individual infrastructure project cycles were proposed.\nThere are currently no legislative commitments to gender equality in water and wastewater resources management in Barbados. A Draft National Policy on Gender is presently before parliament but the policy does not address gender and water. The BWA has more men than women employed in technical (45% vs 3.5%), and leadership (9.1% vs 3.9%) roles which directly contribute to the design and management of the utility’s projects. Most of these individuals are in the middle or near the end of their careers (> 40 years of age), and thus present a timely opportunity to recruit, train and promote women to fill these roles.\nOn social media (Facebook and Twitter), many individuals described the challenges experienced during the water shortages. Individuals also criticized the BWA for their lack of communication during this period. The lack of an online presence by the BWA represented a lost opportunity to engage its stakeholders on collaborative solutions that could temporarily or permanently alleviate the challenges.\nThe water user survey revealed a statistical significant association (p ≤ 0.05) between gender and type of water storage container used at the household level. Men were more likely than women to report use of larger plastic buckets and tanks, while women showed a preference for smaller buckets and bottles. Identification and consideration of design parameters such as preference for type and size of storage receptacle, system elevation, position of cleaning access point, and need for a pump will facilitate or limit the successful adoption or adaptation of rainwater harvesting systems. The proposition of a research arm of the utility that could study gender dimensions of health impacts of water quality and water interruptions, and economic studies assessing feasibility of introducing a tariff structure on water provision were priority projects from the BWA. Investment in equipment at the national government lab, and at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Chemistry Department represents a skills building and economic empowerment opportunity for women who form the bulk of workforce at these institutions.\nThe key recommendations identified from the Gender Impact Assessment for the model EWN-SCI Projects were to the need to identify clear gender objectives and targets prior to project implementation to ensure their incorporation in the project. Budgetary allocations to appoint a gender focal point who would coordinate these activities are also recommended. Job creation is one the main areas for distribution of project benefits for the EWN-SCI Project. Since the current skillsets for technical jobs at the BWA bias allotment to men, and at the UWI Chemistry Department there is bias in favor of women, targeted training and recruitment should be aimed at the under-represented sex for each position. Additionally the inclusion of socio-economic information as a criterion for prioritization of locations for intervention was recommended.
This paper presents two case studies for the delivery of wastewater servicing solutions: one in Ontario, Canada and the other in Gujarat State, India. In each case a decentralized small diameter gravity sewer wastewater collection and treatment system was implemented for servicing residential development—with some interesting differences and similarities. The first case is a small private mobile home park in Eastern Ontario under a Ministry of Environment Order to address failing on-site septic systems. The Municipality was obliged to take over operation of the on-site systems; however, there were not adequate funds available to rectify the failing systems. A group of local companies initiated the process to find and deliver a solution featuring a Design-Build-Operate-Finance model for a private communal sewage system showcasing advanced wastewater technology. The second case is a rural Indian village without wastewater servicing infrastructure, but with considerable political incentive to implement a new low-maintenance communal sewage system funded through a government-regulated corporate social responsibility program. The completion of the project will enable this village to be cited as the first open defecation free village in Gujarat State; however, success will ultimately be measured by long-term user buy-in. Each case study will discuss the project context; implementation of design, approvals and construction; financial and delivery model; and key success factors and lessons learned. Both case studies will highlight how using unconventional technology and innovative funding enabled the implementation of decentralized wastewater solutions in each situation
In early 2000 the city of Quito, Ecuador, established the Water Protection Fund (FONAG) to provide sustainable financing for the management and conservation of surrounding watersheds. FONAG was innovative in that it pioneered the use of trust funds in a voluntary, decentralized mechanism for financing watershed conservation. Since then, at least 15 similar water funds have been created or are under development in the Northern Andes, seven of which are in Ecuador. Ecuador's later water funds share many similarities with FONAG, but there are also important differences. This paper analyzes the evolution of Ecuador's water trust funds since the creation of FONAG and related changes in community-level watershed management. It does so by comparing the development and effects-todate of two of the most-recent Ecuadorian water funds: the Fund for Pramo Management and Fight Against Poverty in Tungurahua (FMPLPT) and the Regional Water Fund (FORAGUA). After defining the water trust fund model, the paper provides an overview of the FMPLPT and FORAGUA. It then compares these newer funds with FONAG to identify several trends in the financing of watershed conservation within Ecuador.
Investments for basic rural sanitation programs should not only focus on the construction of new installations, but also on the necessity of implementing proper management models that guarantee the operational and financial sustainability of the investments. The integrated rural sanitation system (SISAR) is based on the idea of creating a confederation of local user groups which come together on a regional basis, and through an adequate institutional setup, are responsible for managing SISAR and assuring the adequate provision of water supply and in some cases, wastewater services. Financial sustainability is achieved by the implementation of tariffs for water consumption and provision of wastewater services generating revenue which is redistributed among all systems in order to cover all operational, maintenance and administration costs. Important stakeholders in the model include, besides the users, local and state government and international financing institutions responsible for financing the investments in the construction of rural water supply and wastewater systems. This document focuses on the experience and results achieved by SISAR in the Brazilian state of Ceará. In 2001 eight SISARs began providing improved water supply services in 66 settlements. Today, more than 560 settlements (more than 330,000 inhabitants) are supplied by SISARs.
In many Indian cities, problem of water scarcity is acute and most of the challenges of water supply and environmental sustainability are still unanswered. The condition is even worse for the informal settlements and slums in these urban areas where basic water and sanitation infrastructure are altogether missing. In order to meet these growing challenges, the present scenario of the public water supply system needs overall reforms, targeted towards improving the institutional, administrative, managerial and financial aspects related to urban water management. The main purpose of this research article is to highlight the institutional change needs for sustainable urban water management in India. The institutional change will involve: ( i) one or combination of organizational change measures comprising decentralization, creation of autonomous utilities, private sector participation and community-based management; ( ii) directive reforms; and ( iii) human resource development. The finer aspects will depend upon the physical and socio-economic environment, political situation and administrative set-up that exist in the urban area. The institutional changes will be more important for small urban towns where public utilities are given little attention. All these together can equip Indian cities better for averting risk in the face of rapid urbanization, climate change and water scarcity.
While large centralized sanitation projects are not affordable for most cases in urban and rural areas, the only way to increase sanitation coverage, especially for the poor, is to implement low-cost alternatives with decentralized sanitation management schemes where local community, administrative authorities and private sectors are involved in the decision making as well as in the exploitation process. Despite of that, there are some reasons discussed why decentralized wastewater management concept and its application is still not widely disseminated throughout Vietnam. Among institutional and managerial aspects there are weaknesses of environmental pollution control capacity at different, especially local levels, limitations of existing Vietnamese environmental standard system, and lacking of incentive measures to encourage consultants to go for the decentralized wastewater concept, as well as to force polluters to improve their situation. In term of finance, discussed pints are low wastewater fee, and limited participation of private sector in the business. In technical aspects, there are limited information of appropriate and proven technical options for different contexts, lessons on their performance and system setting up. Besides, difficulties in the household connection and in collection network are among factors. The paper also provides some examples of decentralized alternatives implemented in different sanitation projects at different scales in Vietnam.
Abstract In recent decades, many changes have occurred in the approach to financing and operating water services in developing countries. The demand‐responsive approach is now adopted in many countries in a context of donor‐supported decentralization processes, which gives more responsibility to end users. However, the government's responsibility at different levels is enforced by the international recognition of the human right to water. This paper examines specific actions that build the role of local government authorities in this scenario. A collaboration between an international NGO and a rural district in Tanzania from 2006 to 2009 is used as an action research case study that is representative of local capacity‐building needs in decentralized contexts and rural areas. Three main challenges were detected: i) lack of reliable information; ii) poor allocation of resources in terms of equity; and iii) lack of long‐term community management support from the district. Two mechanisms were established: i) water point mapping as a tool for information and planning; and ii) a District Water and Sanitation Unit Support (DWUS) for community management. The results show how the framework provided by the goal of human right to water helps to define useful strategies for equity‐oriented planning and post‐project support at the local level.
In spite of a long history of institutional reforms, Mexico still cannot assure adequate water services to its population and its aquifers and ecosystems are being degraded. Although decentralization is a principal theme of administrative reform, the National Water Commission (CNA) remains a powerful semi-autonomous organization charged with the oversight and control of local water agencies. Local urban water administrations are under intense pressure to change their management structures to ...
In his ambitious new book, William Fischel, a Professor of Economics at Dartmouth College, gives us a new political animal: "The Homevoter." The homevoter is simply a homeowner who votes (p. ix). According to Fischel, she is the key to understanding the political economy of American local government. By implication, she is the key to understanding state and national government as well. Homeowners warrant special attention because "residents who own their own homes have a stake in the outcome of local politics that make them especially attentive to the public policies of local government" (p. ix). That is because local decisions - about how much to spend on schools or trash pick-up, for instance - directly affect home values in ways that most state or national decisions do not. The "homevoter hypothesis" is deceptively straightforward: decentralized, local governments provide a desirable balance of taxes and government services because the homevoter seeks to maintain or increase the value of her single largest asset - the family home (pp. 4-6). The homevoter explains why local governments "work better at providing local services than do larger-area governments" (p. x). This plausible sounding thesis has its roots deep in the decentralizing tradition of public finance theory. The idea that multiple local governments provide government services more efficiently than does a centralized government originated with Charles Tiebout's seminal article, A Pure Theory of Local Expenditures. Tiebout's solution to the problem of how to ensure the proper level of expenditures on public goods was to posit a market in public services. In his model, multiple local governments offer distinctive tax and spending packages, and "consumer-voters" choose to reside in jurisdictions that best fit their preferences, exiting those jurisdictions that do not. The notion that consumers of public goods "vote with their feet" by choosing where to live has become something of an economic maxim.
From Introduction: "The first part of this paper describes the political changes, which induced technical and institutional evolutions of the RRD water-control systems, as the organization of the operation and even the technological nature of water-control systems, were influenced by national political choices. The second section describes the management framework and the financial organization of the RRD water-control systems. In-depth studies conducted at local level allow a better understanding of the present situation. Water management in the RRD appears to be strongly organized by the State into successive nested levels, from the central level of the Ministry of Agriculture to the local level of the cooperatives. This structure was challenged by the emergence of local pumping stations and water management practices, which superimposed themselves upon the officially existing structure. It is shown how the mismatch between administrative and hydraulic units adds to the complexity of the definition of both the financing and the management of hydraulic operations. The third and last section of the paper examines the financing of the different operators, the amount and the use of the water fees paid by farmers and questions the process of water management decentralization and privatization in the RRD."
This paper is one of eight case studies in the health sector conducted under the project "Population and Urbanization: Managing the Urbanization Process Under the decentralized Governance Framework" jointly undertaken by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, National Economic and Development Authority and Development Academy of the Philippines. This paper is a case study on Cotabato City recommended by NEDA-Region XII as a model city for health. The city has come up with the Special Project on Health and Sanitation that won a silver Award in the 1997 Health and Management Information System Contest.