Robert Hope

Forest and Water Policies. The need to reconcile public and science perceptions

This paper compares and contrasts some of the science and public perceptions of the role of forests in relation to the water environment. It is suggested that the disparity between the two perceptions needs to be addressed before we are in a position to devise and develop land and water policies (whether market or non-market based) which are aimed at either improving the water environment, and by doing so improving the livelihoods of poor people by greater access to water, or conserving and protecting forests. Examples are given of three research projects in South Africa, India and Costa Rica where, through the involvement of stakeholder groups, often with representatives comprising both the science and public perceptions, interactive research programmes were designed not only to derive new research findings with regard to the biophysical processes but also to achieve better “ownership” and acceptance of research findings by the stakeholders. It is concluded that to move towards a reconciliation of the different perceptions and to put in place better policies and management systems, where policy is better connected with science, will require further efforts: a) To understand how the “belief” systems underlying the science and public perceptions have evolved, and how these are affecting land and water policy processes; b) To develop management support tools, ranging from simple dissemination tools, which can demonstrate the impacts of land use decisions on the water environment to institutions and local people, to detailed robust and defensible hydrological models which are needed to help implement the new land and water policies, such as those now being implemented in RSA; and c) To understand better how land and water related policies impact on the poorest in society. It is argued that many present policies may not be significantly benefiting the poor and may even, in some situations, be resulting in perverse outcomes.

Wildlife harvesting, conservation and poverty: the economics of olive ridley egg exploitation

SUMMARY Eggs of the olive ridley marine turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) have been harvested by generations of Pacific coast communities in Central America for both economic and nutritional reasons. There has been little economic analysis that has identified possible points of improvements for management of the resource. Three egg harvesting projects were studied in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Field research using semi-structured interviews with stakeholders and key informants were undertaken in June and July 2000. Market price data were collected from harvesters, points of sale and government records. Spread price analysis suggested that more flexible seasonal and regional pricing policies might increase egg profits. Contested property rights have weakened incentives to manage the species as an asset rather than an open access resource. Transaction costs have reduced community efficiency in egg marketing. Community egg marketing cartels with authorized urban selling points are recommended to improve resource management, appropriate a higher egg profit margin and clarify the harvesting origin of eggs for consumers.

Experimental analysis of adoption of domestic mopane worm farming technology in Zimbabwe

Seasonal outbreaks of mopane worms, caterpillars of the moth Imbrasia belina, provide an important source of income and food for rural people in the semi-arid woodlands of southern Africa. Outbreaks are erratic and periodically fail to produce caterpillars of harvestable size, which has generated interest in a new technology for domestic farming of mopane worms at the household level. Using a choice experiment, the authors explore the preferences of harvesters across alternative farm management scenarios in four villages located in the mopane woodlands of rural Zimbabwe. The results highlight preference heterogeneity across investment cost, labour effort, harvest price and harvest yield attributes depending on age, location and latent class decomposition. They conclude that design specifications need to respond to socio-ecological variability and significant household investment constraints in order for the technology to be adopted by rural households living under extreme economic hardship.

Risks and responses to universal drinking water security

Risks to universal drinking water security are accelerating due to rapid demographic, climate and economic change. Policy responses are slow, uneven and largely inadequate to address the nature and scale of the global challenges. The challenges relate both to maintaining water security in increasingly fragile supply systems and to accelerating reliable access to the hundreds of millions who remain water-insecure. A conceptual framework illustrates the relationship between institutional, operational and financial risks and drinking water security outcomes. We apply the framework to nine case studies from rural and urban contexts in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Case studies are purposively selected based on established and emerging examples of political, technological or institutional reforms that address water security risks. We find broad evidence that improved information flows reduce institutional costs and promote stronger and more transparent operational performance to increase financial sustainability. However, political barriers need to be overcome in all cases through internal or external interventions that require often decadal time frames and catalytic investments. No single model exists, though there is sufficient evidence to demonstrate that risks to drinking water security can be reduced even in the most difficult and challenging contexts.

Reducing risks to rural water security in Africa.

With increasing hydro-climatic risks in Africa all water resources will be affected (Vorosmarty et al. 2010; IPCC 2012). But the response to climate variability of groundwater will be slower than that of surface water. Groundwater resources are more resilient due to aquifer storage which acts as a buffer during periods of little or no rainfall. Despite the significant availability of groundwater resources across the major geological formations in Africa, the quantitative and qualitative distribution remains partly understood (MacDonald et al. 2012). Adapting to environmental change will likely require increasing use of groundwater for both domestic and productive uses. Information costs in recording longitudinal data on aquifer recharge and use are prohibitively high and point estimates from a limited sample of verifiable drilling sites provides partial information on whether shifting patterns of groundwater availability are attributable to environmental or operational factors. Sustainable use of aquifers is critical to inform and enforce appropriate policy responses to achieve rural water security for human development and environmental resilience in Africa (Bannerjee and Morella 2011; IPCC 2012). Smart handpumps that harness Africa’s expanding mobile network architecture provide a new technology to address the systemic informational deficit that limits accountability and increases risks of investments in and management of rural water supply (Thomson et al. 2012). Automatically measuring and transmitting low cost, reliable and scalable data on handpump performance allows three inter-connecting risks to rural water security to be simultaneously addressed: (a) environmental, (b) operational, and (c) governance. By explicitly linking groundwater resource risks with operational and governance risks the overlapping objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals and Millennium Development Goals (MDG) can be linked to the United Nations’ General Assembly recognition of the Human Right to Drinking Water and Sanitation.

Is silence golden? Of mobiles, monitoring, and rural water supplies

Reliable and cost-effective monitoring of rural water supply infrastructure has long been hampered by the geographical curse of dispersed and low-income populations, and weak institutional performance. Recent advances in monitoring technology combined with mobile network expansion into rural areas has created an opportunity to bypass these seemingly intractable challenges. Mobile-enhanced technologies have the potential to produce data that is orders of magnitude richer, faster, and cheaper than that provided by traditional monitoring methods, which require costly field visits. However, more data does not equate to better data; information generated by crowd-sourced and automated systems each has its respective limitations. We propose a framework for analysing monitoring and surveillance systems, which can help assess the strengths and weaknesses of different emerging approaches. We suggest that these advancements present an opportunity to fundamentally change the way we consider and conduct rural water s...

Valuing water for sustainable development

Measurement and governance must advance together Achieving universal, safely managed water and sanitation services by 2030, as envisioned by the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, is projected to require capital expenditures of USD 114 billion per year (1). Investment on that scale, along with accompanying policy reforms, can be motivated by a growing appreciation of the value of water. Yet our ability to value water, and incorporate these values into water governance, is inadequate. Newly recognized cascading negative impacts of water scarcity, pollution, and flooding underscore the need to change the way we value water (2). With the UN/World Bank High Level Panel on Water having launched the Valuing Water Initiative in 2017 to chart principles and pathways for valuing water, we see a global opportunity to rethink the value of water. We outline four steps toward better valuation and management (see the box), examine recent advances in each of these areas, and argue that these four steps must be integrated to overcome the barriers that have stymied past efforts.

Impacts and implications of mobile water payments in East Africa

The rapid growth in Africas mobile communications sector offers new opportunities to address the continents enduring water service challenges. This paper examines the impacts and implications of mobile water payments in East Africa. Based on interviews with managers from water service providers across four countries and analysis of household survey and billing data from a water supply scheme in Kenya, the study quantifies the impacts of mobile water payments and reveals the factors that drive and curtail customer adoption. Results suggest that if broader behavioural and operational constraints can be overcome, partnerships between mobile network operators and water service providers could lead to more sustainable water service access for inclusive, developmental outcomes.

Evaluating waterpoint sustainability and access implications of revenue collection approaches in rural Kenya

Water policies in many sub-Saharan African countries stipulate that rural communities are responsible for self-financing their waterpoints operation and maintenance. In the absence of policy consensus or evidence on optimal payment models, rural communities adopt a diversity of approaches to revenue collection. This study empirically assesses waterpoint sustainability and access outcomes associated with different revenue collection approaches on the south coast of Kenya. The analysis draws on a unique data set comprising financial records spanning 27 years and 100 communities, operational performance indicators for 200 waterpoints, and water source choices for more than 2000 households. Results suggest communities collecting pay-as-you-fetch fees on a volumetric basis generate higher levels of revenue and experience better operational performance than communities charging flat fees. In both cases, financial flows mirror seasonal rainfall peaks and troughs. These outcomes are tempered by evidence that households are more likely to opt for an unimproved drinking water source when a pay-as-you-fetch system is in place. The findings illuminate a possible tension between financial sustainability and universal access. If the Sustainable Development Goal of “safe water for all” is to become a reality, policymakers and practitioners will need to address this issue and ensure rural water services are both sustainable and inclusive.

Mobile water payments in urban Africa: Adoption, implications and opportunities

Juxtaposing the rapid upsurge in mobile phone ownership is the slow progress being made towards the water access MDG. Between 1990 and 2008 the number of urban Africans lacking access to safe water more than doubled from 25 million to 52 million. Many water service providers (WSPs) are unable to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population as they remain trapped in a vicious cycle of poor operational performance and low cost recovery.