Glossary of Terms
Chapter 2: Context review
2.2 Key dimensions of urbanisation
2.2.2 Level of development
20 To improve the situation for towns, some argue that generating economies of scale through regional aggregation is the only feasible solution, but this is of course in opposition to the decentralisation argument – for which significant disagreement exists (E-Conference on Town Water Supply and Sanitation 2004). There is however agreement that a new framework is required, and as discussed at a conference on small towns in Addis Ababa in 2002, water professionals agreed on the following elements of success:
Financial and management autonomy, transparency and accountability, professional support, competition, legal framework and regulation, demand responsiveness, and incentives for expansion (Pilgrim et al. 2004: iii).
In this first part of the chapter, the main conclusion is that small towns do not currently have an appropriate management approach for water and sanitation provision, but that there are attempts to define such frameworks by international agencies such as the United Nations and the World Bank.
The reasons for why small town water services provision is particularly problematic is due to severely limited resources, mainly in terms of finances and staff skills, but also in terms of high levels of uncertainty which partly relates to the availability of freshwater resources; as well as issues such as rapid population growth, and a diverse demographic with complex interactions that can not be aggregated and simplified in the same way as is possible at a larger scale.
21 The reasoning for the economic link is clear because water supply and sanitation relies on investments in infrastructure and services, and lacking economic resources hence jeopardises the efficient maintenance of water infrastructure as well as the potential for investments in water development projects (Saleth and Dinar 2004). Conversely, access to water and sanitation is also vital to support economic development, protect eco-system services, or any initiatives to improve human development (UNDP 2006). This shows that there is a two-way relationship between water and sanitation services, and the level of human and economic development.
It is also noted that improvements in water supply, and sanitation services took many years in the developed world and were initially very costly (UNDP 2010). This may be explained if considering the transaction costs involved with the required institutional reform (Saleth and Dinar 2004) explained through the institutional transaction cost approach (North 1990). The time lag can also be explained from the point of view of the importance of the community’s ability and willingness to pay for water supply and sanitation (Pilgrim 2004). Water supply and sanitation services always need to be affordable and problems occur when institutional reform does not take this fact into account (Noll et al. 1998). This presents a dilemma in terms of infrastructure investments which may lock in a level of service for a longer period of time, and what is affordable at the time of investment may not be adequate towards the end of its lifetime.
Whilst little information is available on a city-by-city basis, this two-way relationship (between economic development and provision of water and sanitation) can be glimpsed in national data from the World Health Organisation (2006) displayed in Table 2-4. This data shows the common inadequacy of urban services in developing countries, as indicated by the less than 100 percent access for urban areas. Furthermore, the considerable difference in infant mortality rates between developing and developed nations serves as a proxy indicator for lack of services in combination with poverty and environmental problems.
By application of basic descriptive statistics using the data in Table 2-4, it is possible to justify the use of infant mortality rate (deaths per 1000 live births) as an indicator of human development, as there is a high but variable rate in developing nations (average 57) whilst the
22 equivalent rate for developed countries is low (average of 5). Human development categorisations could in fact be defined using thresholds on infant mortality rates without changing the human development categorisation. On the basis of Table 2-4 it is also possible to justify the inclusion of water and sanitation access in the concept of human development (for developing countries), as there is a strong but negative correlation rate, -0.64, between access to sanitation (column 5), and infant mortality rates (column 3). The equivalent correlation rate for access to improved water sources is -0.44. It is also noted that in the South Pacific region, Kiribati stands out as having the highest infant mortality rate and the lowest levels of water and sanitation access, and is also categorised by significantly lower levels of economic and human development than both Samoa and Fiji.
As already mentioned, human development as defined in the Human Development Report (2010) is linked with water supply and sanitation; and is also strongly linked with the level of economic development (World Bank 2008). It is noted that particular local constraints and contexts influence the vulnerability and capacity of nations for development, and the United Nations identify factors that impact considerably on the vulnerability of nations, and therefore also on cities, using the following set of categories to (United Nations Division for Sustainable Development 2007; United Nations 2008b):
• Least Developed Countries (LDC), if satisfying three criteria:
o Low income, as per three-year average estimate of the gross national income per capita (under $750 for cases of addition and, above $900 for cases of graduation);
o Weak human assets, as measured through a composite Human Assets Index; and o Economic vulnerability, as Economic Vulnerability Index (UNCTAD 2008: 1)
• Land Locked Developed Countries (LLDC) that face the challenges of (UNCTAD 2008: 1):
o Poor physical infrastructure;
o Weak institutional and productive capacities;
23 o Small domestic markets;
o Remoteness from world markets; and
o High vulnerability to external shocks.
• Small Island Development States (SIDS) that are vulnerable due to (United Nations Division for Sustainable Development 2007; United Nations 2008b):
o Small size;
o Remoteness from large markets (a factor in high transport costs); and
o High economic vulnerability to economic/natural shocks beyond domestic control.
In the previous section, towns were identified as being problematic in terms of urban water management because of their smaller scale. In this section it has been found that a number of additional circumstances relating mainly to the level of economic and human development are also likely to impact on the capacity for effective urban water management.
A number of factors impact on the capacity for human and economic development, and United Nations (2008b) argue that Least Developed Countries, Land Locked Developed Countries and SIDS are particularly vulnerable.
On the basis of this, small towns in SIDS are hence faced with a double effect with particularly difficult situations in terms of urban water management, with many of the small town constraints added to the range of SIDS difficulties and constraints.
24 Table 2-4: Health indicators and access to improved water and sanitation
Country Proportion of
population that is urban (%)
Infant mortality rate (per 1000 live
births)
Access to improved water sources, urban areas (%)
Access to improved sanitation, urban
areas (%) Selection of Developing nations
Cambodia 17.5 97 58 53
Pakistan 33.4 80 95 92
Laos 19.7 65 66 61
India 27.9 62 96 58
Nepal 12.2 59 96 68
Bangladesh 22.3 56 82 75
Kiribati 38.6 49 77 59
Fiji 50.2 16 na 99
Samoa 22.3 25 91 100
Selection of Developed nations
Australia 91.2 5 100 100
United States 77.4 6 100 100
United Kingdom 89.5 5 100 100
Sweden 83.3 4 100 100
Germany 87.7 4 100 100
Note: The countries in this table have been chosen on the basis of a combination of those that are shown in Figure
2-1, and those developing nations that have a relatively high infant mortality rate and poor access to improved services; as well as selected representative countries in the Pacific region.
Sources: The proportion of the population that is urban (United Nations 2002); Infant mortality rate (World Health Organisation 2006); Access to improved water and sanitation services in urban areas (World Health Organisation 2006).
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