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.
Substantially reducing the number of human beings that 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. The book provides a critical exploration of these different institutional options, including the interaction between the public and private sectors, the option to introduce market rules for improving efficiency, and the irreplaceable role of public funding as a condition for success.
"I am most impressed by the range and profile of the topics and contributors. There is a growing awareness that solving water and sanitation problems involves more than pipes and valves - human behaviour and institutions are important components of the package." -Sandy Cairncross, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK
"This book will be very timely...The emphasis of the book is absolutely correct, linking the technologies to the sociocultural, political, economic and planning aspects of water and sanitation services." -Duncan Mara, University of Leeds, UK
"The book will be of great interest to advanced students, researchers, professionals, and NGOs in many disciplines, including public policy and planning, environmental science, environmental sociology, history of technology, civil and environmental engineering public health, and development studies." - Richard H. McCuen, Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Maryland, USA
"By delving into the book more deeply, the reader is provided with a rich and deep source of information, analysis and advice for all who are committed to improving access to and the quality of water and sanitation services." - David Sutherland, ATKINS, Waterlines
"Jose´ Esteban Castro and Le´o Heller's Water and Sanitation Services: Public Policy and Management is a valuable collection of case studies and theoretical discussions that extract key principles from this complex and hotly debated field ... Packed with accessible, current and historical examples from both developing and developed countries, the book effectively achieves its objective to "provide support for policy design and planning in the interfaces between WSS [water and sanitation services] and other interlinked areas of activity such as public health and water resources management" (p. 4)." - Ilana Cohen, International Journal of Water Resources Development
