PRINWASS - Barriers to and conditions for the involvement of private capital and enterprise in water supply and sanitation in Latin America and Africa : seeking economic, social and environmental sustainability

PRINWASS carried out an analytical study of the theories being applied in water improvement programmes from a number of disciplinary perspectives at the time. It evaluated policies and arrangements based on a number of case studies where actual efforts at improvement of WSS through private sector involvement had been made or were being planned. The case studies included urban areas in Europe, Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. THe objectives of PRINWASS were as follows: a better understanding of the reasons for policy and institutional failures in the management of water and sanitation systems • suggestion of policy criteria for enhancing the likelihood of practical achievements in the field • a proposal of adaptations to the currently prevailing policy models in order to increase the chances of success of water and sanitation programmes Specifically: • Assessing the theoretical foundations of current policy prescriptions for improving WSS in developing countries, focusing on the institutional, economic and social aspects • Analyzing the continuities and emerging trends in the structural approaches aimed at improving sustainable WSS; drawing on a cross-comparative study of the participating countries • Identifying the barriers to and conditions for improving WSS in urban and peri-urban areas of developing countries drawing on the evidence gathered from the case studies • Examining, and assessing the significance of, the interactions between the requirements set by global financial and other institutions for funding and supporting WSS project • Establishing and assessing rec experiences of private sector involvement in the WSS sector of the case-study countries and providing analytical reports for each one • Developing an indicative framework of strategy and processes, expressed by relevant guidelines, for sustainable WSS in developing countries, taking into account the roles of the state (national, regional, and local government levels), civil society (users associations, citizen movements, etc.), market forces (privatized water utilities), and their interrelations (e.g. public-private partnerships, other forms of private sector involvement in WSS, etc.).