Lessons from large-scale rural water and sanitation projects : transition and innovation

The subject of this paper, the changing approach to planning and delivering water and sanitation to rural communities, entails a new sector vision but one which comes as a clear answer to the failure of the top-down and supply-driven planning techniques of the past. Referring to this failure, it highlights two key elements of policy and practice as responsible: centralized decision-making, and the view of water and sanitation needs in terms calculated by suppliers and not in response to demand generated by consumers. Instead, the paper proposes that water should be managed as an economic good; allowing the market to create niches and levels of service appropriate to buyers' preferences. The main body of the paper then explores the implications of this premise in real project terms. The paper draws on findings from around the world and, in particular from the UNDP/World Bank Water and Sanitation Program, to show how the new thinking can be applied to improve the design of rural water and sanitation projects. The paper concludes with recommendations for an approach which would encourage more local control and demand orientation. After detailing the main elements of this approach the paper ends with specific suggestions for the establishment of clear rules which provide incentives for consumers to reveal their preferences and for suppliers to develop responsive products and for implementation procedures which encourage transparency and adherence to the rules.