Water and sanitation infrastructure: innovative planning for the Asia Pacific
Conventional water and sanitation infrastructure planning is focused on supply-side, capital costs and highly centralised services. This approach has many benefits, and has underpinned the global health revolution in the last century. However, it has many disadvantages, in evidence in Asia and the Pacific now, which are particularly problematic in developing countries and disproportionately affect the poor. Supply-side thinking ignores demand-side and small-scale opportunities.
This research project would focus on adapting and developing frameworks which enable water and sanitation infrastructure provision that delivers:
- improved societal outcomes (e.g. increased accessibility for the poor, reduced public health risks),
- improved society-wide economic outcomes (e.g. financially sustainable, effective investment; equitable pricing) and
- improved environmental outcomes (e.g. increased efficiency of water use, reduced environmental impacts).
Life cycle costing based on service provision leads to more appropriately scaled solutions and more effective use of capital. Strong asset management improves micro-governance within water bureaucracies, and leads to more effective operating expenditure. Together, these could lead to lower overall costs and better affordability through financially sustainable, equitable pricing models. The outcome of such research would be a readily applicable, robust asset and demand management framework to direct effective water and sanitation infrastructure planning and investment in the Asia-Pacific
For further information about this topic contact Professor Cynthia Mitchell
