Decentralized Local Governance: Perspectives and Experiences

Menon, S. (ed.) (2008). Decentralized local governance : perspectives and experiences. Hyderabad, India, Icfai University Press. 264 p. ISBN 978-81-314-1656-3
Price: US$ 17 (Overseas Orders) / INR 425 (Special Indian price)
Order online here

This book examines diverse perspectives of decentralized governance, the definition and implications of the concept, its genesis and growth in developed and developing countries, various forms of decentralization and the latest trends in the context of LPG (Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization) and changing role of governments. It also analyzes and critically evaluate the effectiveness of decentralization as a system of governance for securing people’s participation in the decision-making process, women empowerment, local leadership creation, economic development, improved public service delivery, local resource management and poverty alleviation. The book further highlights the experiences of some of the models of decentralized local governance, including France, Post-conflict Indonesia and China.

The book is divided into two sections. Section one contains articles dealing with different dimensions and perspectives of decentralization. Section two contains experiences of various countries in decentralized governance.

The book has republished two papers written by staff from the IRC International Water and Sanitation:

“Building Capacity for Decentralization: Case Study from India” written by Kathleen Shordt examines the strategies, techniques and lessons learned from capacity building programme called Scoping undertaken by UNICEF in India for decentralized service delivery at the local level. The case study highlights the fact that local capacity development through joint planning, stakeholder participation and optimum use of local resources are impertinent for the success of decentralized local governance and service provision.
Read the original case study here

“Decentralisation and the Role of NGOs in Combating Corruption in the WASH Sector“, by Bep van Oostrom and Cor Dietvorst, questions the common belief that decentralisation and privatisation of service delivery will lead to greater accountability and transparency.  Case studies from Uganda and India find that more customers of decentralised systems have paid bribes than those of centralized system. Though decentralised and privatised delivery contributes to greater coverage of service, it suffers from sustainability, quality, community ownership and equitable access. The article also highlights some successful experiences in which multipurpose water and sanitation committees of local self-government developed systematic tools for better delivery of services with the help of community monitoring and collaboration with NGOs. Examples are community monitoring in Kerala, community mapping in Uganda.
Read the original paper here.

Capacity.org: capacity development for water and sanitation

Capacity.org. Issue 36, April 2009
Capacity development for water and sanitation

Published by: ECDPM, SNV Netherlands Development Organisation and UNDP

Contents

• Achieving MDGs
• Water access and sanitation in Ethiopia
• A beauty contest for toilets
• Involving communities
• ‘More MDGs per drop’
• Improving district level leadership
• The importance of public awareness
• Beyond training

 ISSUE 36 | APRIL 2009 | [PDF] 

This issue of Capacity.org looks at the capacities that need to be developed in order for the water and sanitation targets for 2015 to be achievable. The main focus is on capacity needs at the intermediate and local levels, but links between macro-level policy making and local-level implementation are also addressed.

In the feature article, James Winpenny gives an overview of the capacity needs of local practitioners in the context of the institutional environment in which they work. Our guest columnist, Ravi Narayanan, also emphasises the importance of having a broad organisational and institutional approach rather than thinking of capacity development purely in terms of training people.

There is general consensus among policy makers at the international and national levels on the need for investments in water and sanitation. The challenge is to build institutional capacity to ensure that funds are allocated effectively through sector planning, budgeting and strategic financial planning. This is not an easy task, and the fact that donors do not adhere to the Paris Declaration does not help.

A recently published report by the International Water and Sanitation Centre (IRC) (see page 15) shows that only 29% of the European official development assistance (ODA) to the water sector in Africa is provided through budget support. The remaining 71% is channelled through separate programmes and projects, often with their own programme implementation units. Mr. Abebe Ayenew of the Ministry of Water Resources in Ethiopia explains how the Ethiopian government is addressing this fragmented donor support.

But even those funds that are successfully channelled to the local level are not necessarily allocated to water and sanitation. Water supply usually ranks reasonably high on the political agenda, but sanitation and hygiene tend to get very little attention. This may seem odd, given the tremendous positive impacts sanitation and hygiene can have. But in most cultures these are very private matters. You need a clever strategy and well-developed communication skills to discuss with people where not to defecate and the advantages of washing hands. In her contribution to this issue, Shyama Ramani tells a story of a unique approach she applied in India to encourage people to use and maintain their lavatories. It takes courageous leaders to put sanitation and hygiene high on the agenda. Carmen da Silva-Wells, Patience Turyareeba and Brecht Mommen explain in their article how leadership, coordination and the willingness to learn are key factors of success in Uganda.

The importance of community participation at all stages of developing water, sanitation and hygiene has been long recognised. However, as Barbara van Koppen, Rudolph Glotzback and Jackson Wandera show in their articles in this issue, astonishingly little headway has been made in this respect. There is still far too much top-down planning that is often based on wrong assumptions about peoples’ needs. Their articles give clear guidance on how to engage in genuine and effective consultations with the people concerned.

From the editorial by Heinz Greijn, Editor in Chief

Water and sanitation services: public policy and management

Esteban Castro, J. and Heller, L.  (eds) (2009). Water and sanitation services: public policy and management. London, UK. Earthscan.352 p. ISBN 9781844076567.

Price: GBP 65 - Order online here

Publishers information:

Substantially reducing the number of human beings who lack access to clean water and safe sanitation is one of the key Millennium Development Goals. This book argues and demonstrates that this can only be achieved by a better integration of the technical and social science approaches in the search for improved organization and delivery of these essential services. It presents a historical analysis of the development of water and sanitation services in both developed and developing countries, which provides valuable lessons for overcoming the obstacles facing the universalization of these services. Among the key lessons emerging from the historical analysis are the organizational and institutional diversity characterizing the development of water and sanitation internationally, and the central role played by the public sector, particularly local authorities, in such development. It also explores the historical role played by cooperatives and other non-profit institutions in reaching rural and peri-urban areas, as well as the emergence of new forms of organization and provision, particularly in poor countries, where aid and development agencies have been promoting the self-organization of water systems by local communities. The book provides a critical exploration of these different institutional options, including the interaction between the public and private sectors, and the irreplaceable role of public funding as a condition for success.

The book is divided into two parts: the first reviews theoretical and conceptual issues such as the political economy of water services, financing, the interfaces between water and sanitation services and public health, and the systemic conditions that influence the provision of these services, including the diversity of organizational and institutional options characterizing the governance and management of water and sanitation services. The second section presents a number of country or regional case studies, each one chosen to highlight a particular problem, approach or strategy. These case studies are drawn from Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe, covering a wide range of socio-economic and political contexts. The book will be of great interest to advanced students, researchers, professionals and NGOs in many disciplines, including public policy and planning, environmental sciences, environmental sociology, history of technology, civil and environmental engineering, public health and development studies.

Selected contents

Section 1: Theoretical and Conceptual Dimensions

• Systemic Conditions and Public Policy in the Water and Sanitation Sector
• Troubled Waters. The Political Economy of Essential Public Services
• Public Policy Analysis in the Water and Sanitation Sector: Budgetary and Management Aspects
• North-South Transfer of the Paradigm of Piped Water. 
• The Role of the Public Sector in Water and Sanitation Services
• Public Policy Options for Financing Sewerage Systems
• Interfaces and Inter-sector Approaches: Water and Sanitation and Public Health
• The Market-centred Paradigm
• Community Organization and Alternative Paradigms for Improving Water and Sanitation in Deprived Settlements

Section 2: Country and Regional Experiences

African and Asian Cases

• Discrimination by Default. The Post-colonial Heritage of Urban Water Provision in East Africa
• The South Asian Experience. Financial Arrangements for Facilitating Local Participation in WSS Interventions in Poor Urban Areas: Lessons from Bangladesh and Nepal
• Water and Sanitation Services in China: Current Problems and Potential Solutions

Latin American Cases

• Water and Sanitation Policies in Brazil: Historical Inequalities and Institutional Change
• Challenges Facing the Universal Access of Water and Sanitation in Mexico

The Water Channel

The Water Channel is an online repository for water videos. It was launched on 15 February 2009 and is an initiative of MetaMeta Communications and UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, both from The Netherlands. There are currently 132 videos in 19 categories available on this site.

The top 5 categories so far are:

• drinking water supply (24 videos)
• agriculture (19 videos)
• climate change (13 videos)
• integrated water resources management (9 videos)
• water harvesting (9 videos)

The most popular video as of 04 April 2009 was IRC’s Seventh Video with 93 views.

Videos can be uploaded in flash video format (flv) after registration.

International Water Journalism: 1H2O.org

1H2O is a media web site aimed at generating worldwide awareness about the provision of safe potable water. It is run by the Knight Center for International Media at the University of Miami and the Independent Television Service (ITVS) with major funding from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

The mission of 1H2O is “to create an international network of journalists and media makers with the purpose of generating the most compelling journalism relating to water and human life”.

Currently the web site has a series of stories from the 5th World Water Forum, features from developing countries, and editor’s blog and videos.

In 2009, 1H2O is organising two competitions: the 1H20 Citizen Journalism Awards and the One Take video competition.