Water for people.pdf - WHO Thailand Digital Repository

3 3 4 / M A N A G E M E N T C H A L L E N G E S : S T E W A R D S H I P A N D G O V E R N A N C ERecognizing and Valuing the Many Faces of WaterBox 13.6: Valuing water in Sri LankaSri Lanka has a long tradition of developing hydraulicinfrastructures and irrigation systems. Demand managementhas remained a basis for fair and equitable distribution ofwater among its various users. Traditions and the culture ofthe people have imposed sanctions against wastage ofwater for many years. In ancient royal decrees, fines forwater wastage were specified to emphasize the need foroptimum use of the limited resource.These traditional water management systems wereadversely affected by the collapse of the ancient hydrauliccivilization. Where previously people could contribute tomeeting the cost of development and maintenance byproviding labour, more recent attempts to recover costsfrom farmers in cash for water and delivery services havehad limited success. Where consumers have to pay fordomestic and industrial water supply, charges aresubsidized. Considering the socio-political situation in SriLanka, the options for greater contribution to O&M costsfrom users will probably come from greater participation bybeneficiaries in the management of systems, therebyreducing the management cost for the state.Source: Ministry of Irrigation and Water Management of Sri Lanka, 2002. Prepared forthe World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP).Role in financingAs the growing costs are adequately recognized, the concern forbetter valuation of water is also related to sector financing. There issignificant ground still to be covered, in order to achieve the waterrelatedMillennium Development Goals, particularly in the area offinancing. A few issues become critical for analyses: what are theinvestment needs? What are the available sources? What is theactual investment and its gaps? The following sections present abrief assessment of these issues.Financing the Millennium Development Goals is probably one ofthe most important challenges that the international community willhave to face over the next fifteen years. It is unclear at the momenthow much it will cost. In the case of water, wide-ranging estimateshave emerged (see table 13.2). Not all of them are providing basisand hypothesis for estimating costs, which renders comparisonsdifficult. Different organizations have estimated that meeting theMillennium Development Goals on drinking water supply coveragewould require between US$10 billion and US$30 billion a year ontop of the amount already being spent.Estimates for sanitation, for example, range from US$20 perperson to US$500 per person per year. Further work is required tohave a more accurate and better understanding of the globalfinancial requirements to meet the water supply and sanitationMillennium Development Goals. One difficulty is the lack ofknowledge in many developing countries of what can berehabilitated and at what cost.Total funding requirements for the whole water sector areestimated by three sources as ranging from approximatelyUS$111 billion to US$180 billion a year (see table 13.3). The AfricanTable 13.2: Yearly funding requirements for water supply and sanitationCurrent funding Required fundingSource of estimation (billion US$) (billion US$)WaterAid (a) 27–30 52–55World Water Vision (b) 30 75Vision 21 (c) 10–15 31–35GWP (d) 14 30IUCN (JpoA) (e) 10 20J. Briscoe (f) 25 NAPricewaterhouse Coopers NA 30Report 2000 (g)Financing the Millennium Development Goals on water supply and sanitation is one of themost important challenges that the international community will have to face over the nextfifteen years. Wide-ranging estimates have emerged, all stressing the lack of current funding.Sources: (a) Narayan, 2002. (Director of WaterAid); (b) Cosgrove and Rijsberman, 2000;(c) WSSCC, 1998; (d) GWP, 2000; (e) IUCN, 2002; (f) Briscoe, 1999;(g) (Quoted from) UN, 2002.Table 13.3: Yearly future funding requirements by the entire water andsanitation sector (in billion US$)Water and sanitation Vision PricewaterhouseCooperssector component 21 (1) Report (2) IUCN (3)Water supply and sanitation 75 30 20Municipal wastes – 70 –Industrial effluents – 30 –Agriculture/food security 30 40 40IWRM/protection – 10 1Hydropower – – –Environment, energy and 75 – 25industryWater-borne diseases – – 25Total 180 180 111This table gives estimations of future requirements for the whole water sector. These globalfigures are only indicative of the magnitude of the challenge, although there is no consensuson exact requirement.Sources: (1) Cosgrove and Rijsberman, 2000; (2) PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2001; (3) IUCN, 2002.