Water

Comparative Analysis of Water Sector Reforms
Tracking Progress in Asia and the Pacific
Phase 1 - Findings

Region-Wide Adoption of Policy Actions

Methodology Database of Results Observations Summary of Findings

CONTENTS Other Findings Findings: Success Factors for Reform Measures Countries Included in the Study

The interim review of ADB's water policy implementation identified forty policy actions from the seven principal elements of the water policy. The study used these policy actions as indicators to assess the progress of adopting water sector reforms in the countries studied.

Progress on achieving the outputs and outcomes was ranked through a questionnaire. The ranks represented 4 levels of achievement:

The value C + D is used as an overall indicator - "good to excellent progress"

Note that while the database of responses gives the status of policy reform and institutional change in the 17 countries studied, the data are qualitative and not collected through a fully randomized sampling scheme. As such, they are indicative of the situation rather than definitive.

Top

The data for each of the 40 policy actions were aggregated across all 17 countries to show the level of achievement in adopting each policy action across the whole region.

The aggregated region-wide data for policy actions were ranked in terms of the proportions of countries in classes C D combined. This indicates the "proportion achieving good to excellent progress" in adopting and implementing the particular policy action.

Table 1 - Average Values of C D for all 40 Policy Actions

Table 2 - Summary of the Average Values of C D for Each Policy Group

Top

• In terms of adopting policy elements, the difference among the seven ADB water policy groups is marginal. However, the difference in terms of adopting individual policy elements within each group is more variable.

• Greatest progress was made with the "foundational elements" in-group 1 - sector reviews, introduction of policies, and establishment of coordination mechanisms, although adoption of legislation appears to have lagged behind. This is logical and encouraging, as a firm foundation is necessary for successful introduction of many subsequent policy actions.

• Weakest progress was made in group 3 - the various mechanisms for achieving improved service delivery. Some of the policy actions in group 3 are outcomes of policy reform and institutional change, and one might expect their achievement to be delayed. Others, however, could be regarded as inputs to improving water services (e.g. define rights and responsibilities of all stakeholders, policy action 25), and must be achieved early in the reform process.

• Several of the "weak progress" policy actions seem to have in common the characteristic that they are associated with a transfer of responsibility from the traditional lead government agencies to other stakeholders.

Top

• The greatest progress has been made with "foundational elements" - sector reviews, policy development, etc.
• The weakest progress has been made in the area of service delivery.
• Weak progress often appears to be associated with the transfer of responsibility from lead government agencies to other stakeholders.
• Adopting policies is much easier than implementing them.
• Individual countries may differ widely from the region-wide trends.