ADB Water Week 2004
Water for the Poor: Setting the Rules and Finding the Money
ADB Headquarters, Manila, Philippines
26-30 January 2004
Understanding Why The Poor Don't Get What They Want
The session will uncover and discuss in detail the myths and underlying issues surrounding the poor's lack of access to water services. It will address provocative questions such as
- Is there conspiracy against the poor?
- Have the poor suffered because of lack of water rights?
- Have low irrigation charges disadvantaged the poor?
- Have water supply subsidies disadvantaged the poor?
- How can regulation help to make water accessible to the poor?
- Can community empowerment help the poor get what they want?
Making Watershed Changes in Governance and Financing for the Poor
The session will encourage a departure from traditional mindsets and explore innovative, and maybe even radical, governance and financing practices. It will cover the following topics:
- Changing Selection Criteria: Working with the right information, organizations and leaders
- Changing Incentives and Advocacy: Empowering civil society to catalyze reforms
- Changing Regulation: From "independent" to "credible" regulators
- Changing Rules to Reward Efficiency: Linking formal and informal providers
- Changing the Focus of Lending: Catalyzing water investments to the rural poor and small towns
- Changing the Nature of Water Projects: Investing more in non-structural interventions
Deciding on Water for the Poor: Conclusions on Better Practices
The session will see a summing up of the issues and recommendations generated during the previous sessions' discussions, and steer the participants into future directions and actions.
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