A multiple regime analysis of the water and sanitation sectors in the Kanata metropolitan region, Bolivia

Journal article, 2021

Transition studies provide an opportunity to understand how water and sanitation sectors develop over time, including insights into how universal access to safe water and sanitation services can be achieved. There is, however, a lack of studies on water and sanitation sectors in low and middle-income cities, which are characterized by diverse technical systems and governance structures. This study aims to contribute to filling this knowledge gap and lead to increased understanding regarding initiation of transition to safe water and sanitation for all. It identifies windows of opportunities, i.e. sector instabilities that could create space for improvements of the different modes of service delivery and better aligning them. The diverse water and sanitation sectors of the Kanata metropolitan region, Bolivia were selected as a case study. Distinct modes of service delivery were identified based on different governance structures, i.e. individual, community and municipal service regimes. Regime stability was evaluated through assessing the institutionalization of 1) water and sanitation infrastructure, 2) actors & organization mode, 3) internal coordination, 4) prevalent sector values, 5) financing and 6) legislation. The stability of these characteristics varied among the service regimes, but they all included instabilities that implied opportunities for change.