Water engineers and community management

Water engineers and community managemen

Institutional strengthening for rural water supplies

This paper outlines an assessment methodology for developing an institutional strengthening programme for the management of the operation and maintenance of regional rural piped water supplies schemes (RRPWSS). This method has been used to do an institutional analysis of organisations responsible for regional schemes in rural areas of North-West Maharashtra in India. Some of these RRPWSS cover large areas serving up to 50 or 60 villages. The institutional strengthening proposals for the participating organisations in NW Maharashtra, are discussed as well as experiences to date in evolving, planning and implementing these and other proposals

Efficient Wnt mediated intestinal hyperproliferation requires the cyclin D2-CDK4/6 complex

Inactivation of the gene encoding the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) tumour suppressor protein is recognized as the key early event in the development of colorectal cancers (CRC). Apc loss leads to nuclear localization of beta-catenin and constitutive activity of the beta-catenin-Tcf4 transcription complex. This complex drives the expression of genes involved in cell cycle progression such as c-Myc and cyclin D2. Acute loss of Apc in the small intestine leads to hyperproliferation within the intestinal crypt, increased levels of apoptosis, and perturbed differentiation and migration. It has been demonstrated that c-Myc is a critical mediator of the phenotypic abnormalities that follow Apc loss in the intestine. As it may be difficult to pharmacologically inhibit transcription factors such as c-Myc, investigating more druggable targets of the Wnt-c-Myc pathway within the intestine may reveal potential therapeutic targets for CRC. Recent work in our laboratory has shown that the cyclin D2-cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 (CDK4/6) complex promotes hyperproliferation in Apc deficient intestinal tissue and ApcMin/+ adenomas. We showed that the hyperproliferative phenotype associated with Apc loss in vivo was partially dependent on the expression of cyclin D2. Most importantly, tumour growth and development in ApcMin/+ mice was strongly perturbed in mice lacking cyclin D2. Furthermore, pharmacological inhibition of CDK4/6 suppressed the proliferation of adenomatous cells. This commentary discusses the significance of this work in providing evidence for the importance of the cyclin D2-CDK4/6 complex in colorectal adenoma formation. It also argues that inhibition of this complex may be an effective chemopreventative strategy in CRC

Linking water pricing with users conservation behaviour in selected households in Lahore, Pakistan

Research was conducted to assess users’ information, knowledge, attitude and practice in the usage of water and its conservation in Lahore and suggest appropriate options for policy makers to change the tariff structure and introduce water conservation programs. The present research is a preliminary effort to do so and uses mixed methods approach including; survey method (questionnaires, interviews), direct observations of households and case study and semi structured interviews to know the perspective of Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) staff. The results show users waste a lot of water in various activities in daily life due to under pricing of water, lack of awareness and incentive for water conservation. Metering for all, rising block tariffs and awareness raising for water conservation is proposed

Private sector participation in WATSAN services

Private sector participation in WATSAN service

Strategic marketing of water services in developing countries

The recent (2000) global water supply and sanitation assessment by the World Health Organisation found that over one billion people do not have access to improved water supply. The finding points to the challenges faced by municipal engineers and other professionals responsible for the provision of water services in developing countries. Population growth and the increasing poverty, particularly in the urban areas, compound the challenge. A key objective for water utilities is to provide services to the growing population, including the poor, in a financially sustainable manner. Strategic marketing offers an innovative method of meeting this objective. Research aimed at adapting and developing a marketing approach for use in the water sector was carried out in a number of developing countries between 1999 and 2001, with detailed field research in Kenya, Uganda and India. This paper discusses strategic marketing of urban water services and provides a methodology that water utilities could use to structure their service delivery options to customers while meeting their financial objectives. The paper outlines how utilities could structure service delivery with appropriate pricing and serve more excluded customers (including the poor) at affordable cost and achieve financial sustainability. The paper concludes that strategic marketing of water services has potential to improve services to existing and excluded (potential) customers while improving the utility's revenue base

Managing watsan services in small towns

A SIGNIFICANT PROPORTION of people in developing countries live in small towns. Small towns often require more elaborate forms of water supply systems than villages, such as pipe networks. In addition, as villages are growing into rural growth centres and small towns, the transition of appropriate management of watsan and the institutional set up proves difficult, consequently many of the small towns have relatively low levels of water and sanitation services. Until recently, small towns have been largely ignored in terms of new investments in water supply and sanitation. Where investment has been made, deterioration of services occurs soon after commissioning, possibly because proper arrangements were not made for operations and maintenance of the systems, or because inappropriate management options were adopted. Low levels of water and sanitation services contribute to the poor economic growth in many small towns, thus hindering poverty reduction efforts in developing countries

Utility and non-state water service provision for the urban poor

Inadequate water service provision to the urban poor remains a serious problem in low-income countries. Utilities lack the resources, obligations or incentives for service expansion and there may be a long delay before water utilities are in a position to extend services. Non-state water providers, including both formal and informal local private providers, as well as civil society institutions, play a large role in provision of services to the urban poor and are increasingly recognised as a potential effective means of service provision to the urban poor. Governments should seek to create a better enabling environment for utilities both to overcome disincentives in service provision to the poor and to seek more effective ways of engagement with the non-state providers

PPP in small towns' water supply in Uganda

PPP in small towns' water supply in Ugand

E-conference report on town water supply and sanitation E-conference

The electronic conference on ‘Town Water Supply and Sanitation’ was organized by WEDC on behalf of the World Bank’s ‘Town Water Supply and Sanitation Initiative’ (TWSSI), with funding from the Bank-Netherlands Water Partnership (BNWP). Under Phase One of the TWSSI a draft report has been prepared, Town Water Supply and Sanitation. This report is a first attempt to set out a strategy for town water supply and sanitation, and the objective of this e-conference is to help review and comment on the findings of selected chapters, identify any remaining gaps in knowledge, discuss the tools needed for implementation, and reach consensus on the basic messages presented in the report. Although Phase One of the TWSSI has considered towns of up to 200,000 population, it has generally been found that it is towns in the 2,000 to 50,000 population range that fall within a "management gap", and are the prime focus of the report