Municipal Service Project (MSP)

This is the web site of the Municipal Services Project (MSP), which has been running since 2000 and has now entered its third phase (2008-2013). Phase III of MSP is an inter-sectoral and inter-regional study that systematically explores ‘alternatives to privatisation’ in service delivery, with a thematic focus on health, water/sanitation and electricity and a regional focus on sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Asia.

MSP partners include universities, labour unions, NGOs, social movements and activists from South Africa, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Bolivia, El Salvador, Canada, UK and The Netherlands. MSP is coordinated by the Institute for Social and Economic Research, Rhodes University, South Africa and the Southern African Research Centre, Queen’s University, Canada. The MSP is funded in large part by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and in particular the Governance, Equity and Health (GEH) programme

The MSP web site includes all project publications since the start in 2000 and links to related research, publications and web sites. A discussion forum, and lists of events and multimedia are being developed.

Data gaps in evidence-based research on small water enterprises in developing countries

Melissa C. Opryszko, Haiou Huang, Kurt Soderlund and Kellogg J. Schwab (2009). Data gaps in evidence-based research on small water enterprises in developing countries. Journal of water and health ; vol. 7, no. 4 ; p. 609–622. doi:10.2166/wh.2009.213

Abstract

Small water enterprises (SWEs) are water delivery operations that predominantly provide water at the community level. SWEs operate beyond the reach of piped water systems, selling water to households throughout the world. Their ubiquity in the developing world and access to vulnerable populations suggests that these small-scale water vendors may prove valuable in improving potable water availability. This paper assesses the current literature on SWEs to evaluate previous studies and determine gaps in the evidence base. Piped systems and point-of-use products were not included in this assessment. Results indicate that SWEs are active in urban, peri-urban and rural areas of Africa, Asia and Latin America. Benefits of SWEs include: no upfront connection fees; demand-driven and flexible to local conditions; and service to large populations without high costs of utility infrastructure. Disadvantages of SWEs include: higher charges for water per unit of volume compared with infrastructure-based utilities; lack of regulation; operation often outside legal structures; no water quality monitoring; increased potential for conflict with local utilities; and potential for extortion by local officials. No rigorous, evidence-based, peer-reviewed scientific studies that control for confounders examining the effectiveness of SWEs in providing potable water were identified.

Uganda: Water is Life Programme to start PhD research in 2010

‘Water is Life: Amazzi Bulamu’ (2007-2011) is a large multi-disciplinary project comprising a partnership of Irish Higher Education Institutions, Makerere University in Uganda and various NGOs.

The Irish Institutes involved are Dundalk Institute of Technology, NUI Maynooth, Dublin City University, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin Institute of Technology Bolton St., The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, University College Dublin and Queens University Belfast.

The goal of the partnership, in support of the Government of Ireland’s development goals, is: to build research capacity in Ireland and Africa and to conduct research that supports sustainable water resource management as a catalyst for sustainable economic and social development in rural Uganda.

The project is funded under the Programme for Strategic Cooperation between Irish Aid and Higher-Education and Research Institutes (2007-2011) and is led by Dundalk Institute of Technology.

On 1st January 2010, in collaboration with Makerere University, PhD research will start on the following eight projects:

The eight research projects are:

• Sourcing and distribution of sustainable groundwater supplies for rural water supply;
• Sustainable pump technologies;
• Rainwater harvesting and other appropriate safe water storage mechanisms;
• Solar disinfection of drinking water;
• Water and water management needs: social and health impacts on women and their children;
• Adaptation of water management to climate change;
• The social impact of gendering water resource management;
• Understanding cooperation and conflict in local water governance or Participation and governance in water management systems.

Read more

PRoACC: UNESCO-IHE Post-Doctoral Research Programme on Adaptation to Climate Change

The overarching objective of this 18 month project (15 October 2009 – 15 April 2011) is to investigate in an integrated way the many challenges of adapting to climate change from different ‘water perspectives’, and to develop sustainable solutions for a better future water management.

The post-doctoral fellowship programme is part of the UNESCO-IHE Partnership Research Fund (UPaRF) that was established in April 2008, which aims to strengthen research output of the institute in collaboration with its partner institutes.

PRoACC has identified a number of interrelated research topics and intends to provide 7 post-doctoral research fellowships.

The following positions are planned, the project leader of UNESCO-IHE are given in brackets:

On river basin and coastal management issues in the Incomati-Maputo Basin in Southern Africa, four positions related to the following five fields:

• Hydrology: How can a river basin that is vulnerable to climate change adapt to minimize the impacts on hydrology? (Prof. S. Uhlenbrook)
• River morphology: The impact of climate change and adaptation measures on river morphology (Prof. N. Wright)
• Freshwater ecology: The ecological impacts of climate change in the river and the formulation of environmental flow requirements (Prof. J. O’Keeffe)
• Coastal engineering: The processes and physical changes of large and small scale morphodynamics of flood tide deltas and tidal inlets (Prof. D. Roelvink)
• Hydroinformatics: Downscaling of climate change scenarios and risk management modelling of vulnerabilities to climate change (Prof. D. Solomatine)

On urban water management issues in yet to be decided locations, two positions related to the following three fields:

• Waste water management: Design of wastewater systems which are more flexible to varying demands in terms of quality and quantity, both between years and between seasons of the year, taking into account the notion – from wastewater discharge to agricultural fields (Prof. P. Lens)
• Urban drainage: Design and modelling techniques that can make urban drainage systems more resilient and flexible over a larger range of future weather/climatic events. (Prof. D. Brdjanovic)
• Water supply engineering: Robust, natural water treatment approaches to deal with climate variability: bank filtration, aquifer recharge and recovery, and soil aquifer treatment (Prof. G. Amy)

On institutional issues (location to be decided) one position related to:

• Institutions for adaptation: How to assess the adaptive capacity of institutions, and how can the ability of social actors to deal with climate change be enhanced (Prof. J. Gupta)

The concept project descriptions and further information about PROACC are available at www.unesco-ihe.org/PRoACC.

Contact: Dr. Rosh Ranasinghe, programme coordinator, r.ranasinghe@unesco-ihe.org

Local governance: can decentralisation improve rural water supply services?

A survey [1] of households in six villages in Birbhum district of West Bengal in India, provides evidence that decentralisation in delivery of water supply leads to better quality of services. The participation of the local government in distribution of water supply, and household contribution to operation and maintenance appear to have a positive impact on quality.

[1] De, I. (2008). Can decentralisation improve rural water supply services? Economic and political weekly : vol. 44, no. 01 (Jan 03 – Jan 09) ; p. 68-71. View full article

Contact: Indranil De, india.indranil [at] gmail.com

From privatization to re-nationalization : what went wrong with privatizations in Argentina?

Baer, W. and Montes-Rojas, G. (2008). From privatization to re-nationalization : what went wrong with privatizations in Argentina?. Oxford development studies ; vol. 36, no. 3 ; p. 323-337
DOI: 10.1080/13600810802264456

Abstract
The privatization process in Argentina is analysed. Beginning with a very ambitious programme, a weak regulatory environment was created because of lack of experience and as a result of the lobbying power of the newly created enterprises. Numerous exclusive privileges were assigned to these sectors, making them the most profitable industries during the 1990s. As the economy crashed in 2001 and the local currency was devalued, a new government took office, which renegotiated all contracts. This resulted in re-privatization and re-nationalization of many services. The pro- and anti-privatization arguments are reviewed, using empirical evidence from Argentina. An in-depth study is also provided of the three sectors where this negotiation was most intense: the railways, water and sewerage and postal services.