Project politics, priorities and participation in rural water schemes
Governments, NGOs and financers invest considerable resources in rural domestic water supplies and irrigation development. However, elite capture and underuse, if not complete abandonment, are frequent. While the blame is often put on 'corrupt, lazy and indisciplined' communities, this article explo...
| Autores principales: | , , |
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| Formato: | Journal Article |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
2012
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40233 |
| _version_ | 1855534534025543680 |
|---|---|
| author | van Koppen, Barbara Rojas, V.C. Skielboe, T. |
| author_browse | Rojas, V.C. Skielboe, T. van Koppen, Barbara |
| author_facet | van Koppen, Barbara Rojas, V.C. Skielboe, T. |
| author_sort | van Koppen, Barbara |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Governments, NGOs and financers invest considerable resources in rural domestic water supplies and irrigation development. However, elite capture and underuse, if not complete abandonment, are frequent. While the blame is often put on 'corrupt, lazy and indisciplined' communities, this article explores the question of how the public water sector itself contributes to this state of affairs. Four case studies, which are part of the research project Cooperation and Conflict in Local Water Governance, are examined: two domestic water supply projects (Mali, Vietnam); one participatory multiple use project (Zambia); and one large-scale irrigation project (Bolivia). It was found that accountability of water projects was upward and tended to lie in construction targets for single uses with already allocated funding. This rendered project implementers dependent upon the village elite for timely spending. Yet, the elite appeared hardly motivated to maintain communal schemes, unless they themselves benefited. The dependency of projects on the elite can be reduced by ensuring participatory and inclusive planning that meets the project's conditions before budget allocation. Although such approaches are common outside the water sector, a barrier in the water sector is that central public funds are negotiated by each sector by profiling unique expertise and single livelihood goals, which trickle down as single use silos. The article concludes with reflections on plausible benefits of participatory multiple use services for equity and sustainability. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace40233 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2012 |
| publishDateRange | 2012 |
| publishDateSort | 2012 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace402332024-03-22T10:24:39Z Project politics, priorities and participation in rural water schemes van Koppen, Barbara Rojas, V.C. Skielboe, T. domestic water water supply multiple use pipes non governmental organizations irrigation schemes irrigation programs equity pumps canals women case studies Governments, NGOs and financers invest considerable resources in rural domestic water supplies and irrigation development. However, elite capture and underuse, if not complete abandonment, are frequent. While the blame is often put on 'corrupt, lazy and indisciplined' communities, this article explores the question of how the public water sector itself contributes to this state of affairs. Four case studies, which are part of the research project Cooperation and Conflict in Local Water Governance, are examined: two domestic water supply projects (Mali, Vietnam); one participatory multiple use project (Zambia); and one large-scale irrigation project (Bolivia). It was found that accountability of water projects was upward and tended to lie in construction targets for single uses with already allocated funding. This rendered project implementers dependent upon the village elite for timely spending. Yet, the elite appeared hardly motivated to maintain communal schemes, unless they themselves benefited. The dependency of projects on the elite can be reduced by ensuring participatory and inclusive planning that meets the project's conditions before budget allocation. Although such approaches are common outside the water sector, a barrier in the water sector is that central public funds are negotiated by each sector by profiling unique expertise and single livelihood goals, which trickle down as single use silos. The article concludes with reflections on plausible benefits of participatory multiple use services for equity and sustainability. 2012 2014-06-13T14:47:13Z 2014-06-13T14:47:13Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40233 en Open Access van Koppen, Barbara; Rojas, V. C.; Skielboe, T. 2012. Project politics, priorities and participation in rural water schemes. Water Alternatives, 5(1):37-51. |
| spellingShingle | domestic water water supply multiple use pipes non governmental organizations irrigation schemes irrigation programs equity pumps canals women case studies van Koppen, Barbara Rojas, V.C. Skielboe, T. Project politics, priorities and participation in rural water schemes |
| title | Project politics, priorities and participation in rural water schemes |
| title_full | Project politics, priorities and participation in rural water schemes |
| title_fullStr | Project politics, priorities and participation in rural water schemes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Project politics, priorities and participation in rural water schemes |
| title_short | Project politics, priorities and participation in rural water schemes |
| title_sort | project politics priorities and participation in rural water schemes |
| topic | domestic water water supply multiple use pipes non governmental organizations irrigation schemes irrigation programs equity pumps canals women case studies |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40233 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT vankoppenbarbara projectpoliticsprioritiesandparticipationinruralwaterschemes AT rojasvc projectpoliticsprioritiesandparticipationinruralwaterschemes AT skielboet projectpoliticsprioritiesandparticipationinruralwaterschemes |