Water Quality Programs In Developing Countries

Abstract

In many developing countries water quality has become the principal limiting factor to water availability. Estimates of future levels of water pollution in many parts of the world under “business as usual” scenarios will be catastrophic for public health, the environment, and national economies in many countries that have limited resources to deal with a contaminated resource. The reality in many developing countries is that political and institutional instability, combined with financial restraint, and poor domestic scientific capacity, means that “western” approaches to water quality management are often inappropriate and unsustainable. Traditional models of technical assistance and technology transfer, including foreign aid and international loans for water quality management, often leave little real change in domestic capacity while generating substantial cash flow for the foreign company. Without a major change in how water quality is managed, including adoption of new paradigms of policy effectiveness, institutional and technical modernization, new methods of knowledge and technology transfer, and innovative investment, the situation can only become more and more serious until the final collapse of major freshwater and coastal ecosystems, and associated economic and public health implications. This paper addresses these various technical, policy, institutional, and financing issues and proposes actions which can lead to sustainability and self-reliance