Institutional aspects of integrating irrigation into urban wastewater management: the case of Hanoi, Vietnam

Abstract

AbstractWastewater flows of metropolitan cities and their downstream use for irrigation are often associated with technical systems. However, an engineering approach on its own will leave questions unanswered at the socio‐technical and institutional level. Research was carried out in Hanoi, Vietnam, on the use of polluted irrigation water in periurban agriculture. Apart from outlining the physical features of the urban wastewater chain, a supply chain approach has been applied. Stakeholders along the management chain of the conventional urban wastewater system resemble “spot markets” (independent actors who act in self‐interest) as described in supply chain management literature. In Hanoi, the conventional approach towards wastewater management consists of a strict separation of urban wastewater management from periurban agricultural use and a neglect of farmers as stakeholders in the chain. It is suggested that the use of wastewater in agriculture should be incorporated into urban water management systems and that farmers should be included as acting stakeholders in the management of the wastewater chain. This paper concludes with suggestions for urban water management that are necessary to combine urban wastewater management with periurban agriculture. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.