Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
considerably since 1990, and most of the investment has been concentrated in the
energy and telecom sectors.
Possible explanations for water and sewerage projects to have a residual share
are the existence of archaic land tenure arrangements and insuf
cient guarantees
(due to political interference) that users will pay for services (Kurian
2010
). As
suggested by OECD (
2009
), in order to attract sustainable
flows of
finance it is
necessary to implement reforms in this sector
'
s governance and to use strategic
financial planning with a long-term perspective.
Urban water services may also be improved by enhancing the role of small
independent providers (World Bank
2004
), such as household vendors, small
network providers, private entrepreneurs and cooperatives. In rural areas, com-
munity-managed networks/systems are more common. They have been involved in
the design and management of water systems, paying for operations and mainte-
nance costs. Although community-managed networks/systems put the client at the
centre of the process, they face numerous challenges such as avoidance of elite
capture, loss of economies of scale and the adoption of ef
cient technologies due to
a village-level association focus.
Regarding
financing
(RBF), which means that payments are dependent upon the achievement of pre-
viously agreed results/outcomes. In contrast to input-based approaches, with RBF
the delivery of funds is focused on objectives clearly identifiable and measured
rather than on payments for improved capacity. This approach transfers risk from
donors to recipients and increases pressure on the latter to ful
financing models, there is a trend towards results-based
l their promises. It is
expected to improve transparency, accountability, ef
ciency, private sector
engagement and the sustainability of public
nances.
The most common RBF approaches are output-based aid (OBA), conditional
cash transfers, cash on delivery and performance-based contracting. Output-based
aid has been increasingly used by international agencies to deliver basic infra-
structures and social services to the poor. Its usage in water and sanitation sector
represents around 5 % of the total volume of OBA by the World Bank (transport
and health sectors have the largest shares) and is mostly concentrated in Africa.
Although RBF improves aid effectiveness (IDA
2009
), it is dif
cult to use because
funds are delivered only after the project
s implementation and it involves high
costs for data collection and auditing. Additionally, RBF may also distort devel-
opment priorities since the outputs of some relevant projects are not easily quan-
ti
'
able. In countries that made substantial progress in sector reform, it is appropriate
to move forward from sector-wide approaches to budget support operations, as the
latter allows for a broader development perspective (Kurian
2010
).
Given the importance of the local context for the outcomes of decentralization
and of other models of service delivery, reliable indicators of accountability and
governance are essential for effective policy, programme and project design.
Regardless of the purpose for which indicators are used, three rules should be
observed (UNDP
2007
): use a range of indicators instead of a single one; use an
indicator as a
not a last; and understand an indicator before you use
it. Two of the most widely used and comprehensive databases of indicators are the
first question
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