Rural water supply & sanitation in Bolivia : from pilot project to national program
Sara, Jennifer | Gross, Alexandra | van den Berg, Caroline
This study documents the results of the Yacupaj pilot project conducted in Bolivia. Its objective was to design and test strategies for delivering services to the dispersed rural population of the Altiplano and to use lessons learned to prepare a national project. The lessons provided by the project include the following: (i) economic demand for services does exist; (ii) cost reductions can best be achieved through incentives rather than through administrative control mechanisms; (iii) social and community development processes need to balance a participatory approach with clear objectives and outputs; and (iv) although communities are willing to assume responsibilities for operations and maintenance, they require additional backstopping to achieve long-term sustainability. The study shows that government participation in rural water and sanitation service expansion in Bolivia requires a sector-specific approach in order to strengthen policies and build institutional linkages between communities, local governments, sector agencies, and private and nongovernmental actors. It concludes that sustainable, demand-driven investments require a coherent set of project rules that provide the framework for financial policy, eligibility criteria, levels of service, and responsibility for service delivery and operations and maintenance. The report offers an illustration of how these rules can be tested through a pilot project and developed through the preparation of a large investment program.
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