Collective Finance Models for Sustainable Water Projects

Abstract

Waterbasin management is an exemplar problem of collective action, since many actors influence and are influenced by changes in a waterbasin. The present paper uses the example of finance of control of surface water run-off as an instance of (potential) collective action involving finance. Five innovative financing schemes for new waterbasin management infrastructures are assessed with respect to the actors who provide the finance and how the projects are governed: 1) financing through taxes; 2) third-party financing; 3) financing by stakeholders; 4) financing through full- cost pricing; and 5) financing by developers and/or landowners