The German water and sewerage sector : how well it works and what this means for developing countries
Briscoe, John
In order to provide its borrowers with high-quality services, the Bank gives priority to ensuring that its staff are familiar with the best water supply practices throughout the world. Staff conducted a study tour of the German water industry. Germany provided a mix of lessons for water resource management in developing countries. Two principles which were pioneered over 80 years ago have emerged as the core of a new consensus on managing water resources. The two principles are: 1) the institutional principal -- water development and mangement should be based on a participatory approach involving users, planners and policymakers at all levels with decisions taken at the lowest appropriate level; and 2) the instrument principle -- water has an economic value in all its competing uses and should be recognized as an economic good. Germany also provided a model of important sub-components, such as how to price different components of effluents, how to apply sophisticated but highly relevant concepts such as peak-load pricing. Some lessons on what not to do were also provided: a) highest priority should be given to the efficient use of limited resources; b) technical and financial realities should not be ignored; and c) without an appropriate structure and set of incentives, public services suffer from the common problems of political patronage and inefficiency.
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