Power dynamics and water reform in the Zimbabwean context: implications for the poor

Water Policy ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 517-527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Everisto Mapedza ◽  
Kim Geheb
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Reform Process ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Water Sector ◽  
African Region ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Poor Households ◽  
Water Reform

In Zimbabwe, the state has been reconfiguring the water sector since 1998, as has been happening more generally within the wider Southern African region. Within the water sector, as in broader environmental governance, decentralization is increasingly being proposed as an important step towards increased accountability, equity and positive social and environmental outcomes. Decentralization is defined as the devolution of powers to local level institutions which are downwardly accountable to their constituencies. This paper looks at the Zimbabwean case of decentralising water management and assesses whether or not this process has yielded positive social, economic and environmental outcomes. The paper views the reform process as a reflection of the power asymmetries that work against the interests of poor households in accessing water for both domestic and productive uses.

Challenges for integrated water resources governance in Brasilia metropolitan area

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 150-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luiz Fernando Macedo Bessa ◽  
Marcelo Facchina
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Local Level ◽  
National Level ◽  
Federal District ◽  
Metropolitan Region ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Content Type

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the reasons behind the difficulties in implementing proper participatory environmental and water governance systems in the metropolitan region of Brasilia, Brazil. Design/methodology/approach – This work is a result of a the qualitative analysis of documents and reports of local participatory arenas in Brasilia, and is complemented by a set of 13 interviews held between November 2009 and March 2010 with a variety of actors involved in the promotion of sustainability in the region. Findings – The findings reveal that impediments to the good performance of environmental governance in the Federal District are a consequence to two main factors: institutional framework poorly transferred from the national level and incompatibility between the set of regulations and local electoral power dynamics. Research limitations/implications – As a consequence of the deliberate choice of one specific case, the conclusions of this paper may erroneously overemphasize the perils of participatory local governance rather than its potentials. Practical implications – By identifying a series of mechanisms that threaten positive partnerships between governments and civil society at the local level, this work serves as an important tool for public managers and civil society to engage in more fruitful partnerships. Originality/value – The paper provides a power-based analysis of a case of ineffectiveness of participatory mechanisms. In doing so, it also demonstrates that policy planning must be analysed from a variety of perspectives, and often involve coalitions that cut across the traditional state-society divide. The identification of the mechanisms behind the creation of these obstacles constitutes the originality and value of this paper.

scholarly journals Development vs. Environment in Taibei

2012 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-154
Author(s):  
Simona Alba Grano ◽  
Ping-Lan Tu
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Environmental Policies ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Efficient System ◽  
North Shore ◽  
Road Project ◽  
Multiple Levels ◽  
The Many

Although Taiwan arguably needs civil and official collaboration on environmental protection, the implementation of an efficient system of environmental regulations has often been hindered by the many actors involved in the process of environmental governance (state, economic actors, civil society, media), whose interests are divergent. Consequently, there is no uniform, homogeneous authority for environmental governance but rather a variety of official and less official agents of authority whose interests and powers overlap and compete. In this paper we will introduce a case study dealing with the controversy surrounding the construction of an alternative road connecting Danshui ([Formula: see text]) with Taibei City (namely, the Danshui North Shore Road Project, [Formula: see text], Danbei daolu) to elucidate what the key influences are that govern environmental power dynamics between different agents with conflicting (or, sometimes, colluding) interests and how these multiple levels of interaction are negotiated by the various players. Our hypothesis holds that although environmental policies are, for the most part, mandated from the top, at the local level their implementation can be bypassed, altered or stalled by these various agents.

Information publicity and transparency of budget process in the consolidated territorial communities of Lvivska oblast: estimation and ways of improvement

2019 ◽  
pp. 46-52
Author(s):  
Olha Zhabynets
Keyword(s):  
Personal Responsibility ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Financial Information ◽  
Reform Process ◽  
Budget Process ◽  
Timely Manner ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Information Transparency ◽  
Key Indicator ◽  
Disclosure Of Information

In the process of decentralization in Ukraine, the information transparency of the management becomes important, which implies the openness and accessibility of information for all members of society. It reflects the current and perspective states of the reform process. Decentralization means not only a transferring of powers, but also financial resources and responsibilities from public authorities to local authorities. So the information publicity and transparency of the budget process should become the key indicator to estimate the effectiveness of the management of the finances of the consolidated territorial communities (CTCs). The purpose of the article is to evaluate and propose ways to increase the information publicity and transparency of the budget process at the local level. The author analyzes the implementation of the requirements of the Ukrainian legislation about informational publicity and transparency of the budget process in the CTCs of Lvivska oblast established in 2015-2017 and shows positive and negative moments in displaying of financial information on CTCs’ sites. A number of measures are proposed to increase the information publicity and transparency of the budget process at the local level. The author considers that in order to ensure publicity and transparency of the budget process in the CTCs of Lvivska oblast it is necessary: to unify and maximally simplify the mechanism of access of CTCs’ members to financial information through the standardization of the procedure for disclosure of information about the budget process; to increase the personal responsibility of the heads of the CTCs for the lack of financial information that is due to be published on the site of communities; to continuously monitor the availability and updating of information about the budget process on the CTCs’ sites in order to respond in a timely manner to the appearance of possible negative trends; to take preventive measures with the use of appropriate sanctions (fine, removal from office, etc.) in cases of delaying the submission of actual financial information to the site of CTCs, the disclosure of information in its entirety, the discovery of unreliability of financial information or other manipulations with figures or financial documents filed on CTCs’ website.

Measuring Access of Microfinance on Poverty in India: Towards a Comprehensive Index

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arindam Laha ◽  
Pravat Kumar Kuri
Keyword(s):  
Tamil Nadu ◽  
Andhra Pradesh ◽  
Composite Index ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Comprehensive Index ◽  
Poor Households ◽  
Cross Country ◽  
Economic Well Being

The outreach of micro-finance programme is considered to be a means enhance the economic well-being among the member means to enhance households through poverty alleviation. A wide cross-country variation in the outreach of micro-finance programme to the poor households is observed in the world. Despite the significant growth of micro-finance institutions and its active borrowers, the penetration of micro-finance lending services to the poor households in India is observed to be limited. In addition, there is a wide inter-state disparity in the achievement of micro-finance outreach in India especially among the poor households. A composite index has been constructed using the penetration, availability and usage indicators of micro-finance outreach to examine the interstate variations in the level of its achievement. Subsequently, attempt has been made to analyse the role of micro-finance in alleviating poverty across the states of India. The result shows that out of 27 states and Union Territories, only in seven states (Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Tripura, and Karnataka) outreach of micro-finance programme has made a significant impact on the reduction of poverty.

scholarly journals Pro-Poor Tourism and Local Practices: An Empirical Study of an Autonomous County in China

SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 215824402110227
Author(s):  
Shixian Wen ◽  
Xiaomei Cai ◽  
Jun (Justin) Li
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Southern China ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Local Staff ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Local Practices ◽  
Tourism Enterprises ◽  
Study Offer

Pro-poor tourism increases net benefits for the poor or directs profits back into the community by employing local staff and manufacturing. Existing studies have provided a theoretical understanding of how pro-poor tourism can produce environmental, economic, social, and cultural impacts. Little research has been conducted on the power dynamics that are specific to pro-poor tourism, especially in developing countries. This study contributes to pro-poor tourism theory from an operation-level perspective by addressing the alignment and coordination of three stakeholders—local governments, tourism enterprises, and community residents—involved in implementing pro-poor tourism in an ethnic, autonomous county in southern China. The results indicate that in the absence of effective cooperation between the three major stakeholders in strategic tourism development aimed at poverty alleviation, substantially greater benefits will not be delivered to the poor. The findings of this study offer important insights into the roles that stakeholders could play at various stages of sustainable development in the long run. This study can also provide useful information to governments for policy replacements and adjustments.

scholarly journals “The Terror of their Lives”: Irish Jurors' Experiences

2011 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 703-761 ◽  
Author(s):  
Níamh Howlin
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Poor State ◽  
Public Meetings ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Jury Service ◽  
The World ◽  
Jury System

A commentator noted in 1881 that Irishmen regarded jury service as “the greatest burden that can be inflicted upon them … they would be delighted if trial by jury was suspended tomorrow.” He later added, “[o]f course an enormous outcry would be raised about it in the national press, and in public meetings; but jurors … would give anything in the world not to serve … because it is the terror of their lives.” Much has been written about the poor state of the nineteenth-century Irish jury system, and it is certainly true that for various social, economic and political reasons, in comparison with that in England, the Irish system appears to have operated in a way that fell somewhat short of ideal. This article seeks to provide an understanding of the realities facing the jurors themselves, and will examine their experiences of the justice system before, during, and after the trial.

Water institutional reforms in Chile

Water Policy ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert R. Hearnea ◽  
Guillermo Donosob
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Institutional Change ◽  
Institutional Economics ◽  
Group Behavior ◽  
Path Dependency ◽  
Reform Process ◽  
Institutional Changes ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
Water Sector ◽  
Management Institutions

This paper provides a review of the recent institutional changes observed in the water sector in Chile. This review is then used to reflect the Chilean experience in the light of the results concerning institutional change found in existing literature on both institutional economics in general and water institutional economics in particular. These results relate to factors explaining institutional change and the role of endogenous institutional features, such as path dependency and institutional linkages during the reform process. Against a brief description of the main features of the water sector in Chile, the paper provides an overview of Chilean water management institutions and the reforms process ongoing since the 1980s. The factors that motivated institutional changes in Chile's water management include ideology, transactions costs, interest-group behavior and path dependency. While the already observed institutional changes, such as the transferable water rights, water markets and urban water reforms, are all significant, further reforms are delayed by the deliberate legislative process required for changes as a result of the 1980 Constitution. Future water reforms in Chile, therefore, depend on a very difficult process of political reforms needed to change the 1980 Constitution and the 1981 Water Code.

Designing tradeable rights to manage aquifer recharge according to robust separation principles

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 427-440 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Ward ◽  
Peter Dillon ◽  
Agnes Grandgirard
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Reform Process ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Market Exchange ◽  
Aquifer Recharge ◽  
Australian Water ◽  
Aquifer Storage ◽  
Robust Separation ◽  
Water Reform

Many cities are experiencing mature urban water economies, characterised by limited opportunities for future water impoundments, rising incremental supply and infrastructure costs, intensified competition and increased interdependencies between diverse water uses. Aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) is currently promoted as one option to augment existing supplies and in many jurisdictions is assuming increasing importance in the portfolio of urban water management strategies. Consistent with trends in international water policy development, Australian water reform has emphasised institutional and governance approaches promoting voluntary transfers of water through market exchange. The reform process has made substantial advances in addressing the constraints and tensions associated with mature rural water economies, with limited influence in urban water systems. What remains unclear is the degree of alignment of new water management technologies such as ASR operations with explicit water reform directives of market development and the capacity of subsequent urban water legislation to provide consistent and coherent ASR guidelines. The paper describes a systematic approach to align the hydrological characteristics of an aquifer with economic and policy interpretations central to the development and management of ASR. The paper introduces a schema to identify the elements of the urban terrestrial water cycle specific to ASR, the development of a typology to characterise the aquifer potential for ASR, and identify and determine the nature of property rights for each system element according to the principles of robust separation of water rights.

Is the Environment Getting Its Fair Share? An Analysis of the Australian Water Reform Process Using a Social Justice Framework

2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Lukasiewicz ◽  
Geoffrey J. Syme ◽  
Kathleen H. Bowmer ◽  
Penny Davidson
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Reform Process ◽  
Fair Share ◽  
Australian Water ◽  
Water Reform

scholarly journals Pengentasan Kemiskinan Berbasis Pemberdayaan Masyarakat di Kabupaten Pohuwato

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 246-270
Author(s):  
Rusni Djafar ◽  
Umar Sune
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Technical Assistance ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Poor People ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Poverty Eradication ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Research Show

This study aims to explain and analyze empowerment-based poverty alleviation programs through the activities of assistance, facilitation and promotion and determinant factors of success in empowerment-based poverty eradication in Pohuwato District. This research method using qualitative approach, descriptive type to get a complete picture of problem of resource development of apparatus. The results of the research show that the assistance activities through training, consultation and technical assistance, and similar activities have not been coordinated with other supporting programs, making it difficult for the facilitator task as a program facilitator. Empowering the poor through the provision of facilities, has not been able to improve the capacity of the community. The low capacity and quality of service of government apparatus from the local level to the rural level, so that the provision of facilities does not allow the involvement of the poor. A highly centralized bureaucratic system and a highly authoritarian political system that has been practiced for more than four decades in Indonesia, brings out the weaknesses of the bureaucratic character. Promotion activities in the context of empowering the poor as an activity aimed at developing responsive services, the reality has not been effective in helping facilitate the poor to access various development programs that are beneficial to improving the welfare of the poor by earning productive employment. Activities that require synergies of cooperation between institutions / organizations (Government, Private, NGOs), difficult to realize because the dominance of egoism interests of each stakeholders in addressing every village development program. It is recommended to optimize training, consultation and technical assistance activities, as well as similar activities coordinated with support programs. Provision of adequate supporting facilities that can empower the poor on an ongoing basis, and streamline promotion to develop responsive services that enable poor people to access programs.Need to pay attention to communication factor, resources, attitude, and bureaucracy structure,so asnot tohinder the smooth implementation of poverty eradication program based on empowerment society.

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