Abstract:
Numerous water supply systems and community based water boards have been
created with the aid of international organizations and NGOs in developing countries.
These water systems have great potential to improve people’s social life and health in
these countries. However, in reality, these water systems are often not effectively
managed; often, they do not function well and are abandoned before the designed
lifespan. Water boards, the community based organizations established to run the
systems, could also stop functioning. At the same time, a highly centralized water and
sanitation sector, which many of the developing countries have, results in lack of
governmental assistance, especially in rural areas. One of the future directions to
overcome this situation is decentralization, which gives more authorities to local
governments and water boards.
Honduras is a typical example of this water management issue, yet with high
potential to be a future successful model for the decentralization. Since the 1990s, the
national government has been trying to decentralize its water and sanitation sectors to
give more authority to municipalities and local water boards in rural communities. At
the same time, both government and community based organizations have been
allocating circuit riders to visit the communities to provide technical and administrative
assistance.
Despite these efforts, there are still problems associated with water
management and the decentralization processes. This study attempts to fathom the
current issue pertaining to water systems and water boards in Honduras, particularly
the impact of decentralization and the need for assistance in rural communities. I
interviewed six water boards in three different rural areas to identify the current issues.
In addition, related articles and the national laws were reviewed to understand the
process of decentralization and the institutional structure of the water and sanitation
sector.
The study revealed that the rural communities have enough potential to
administer their own water systems. However, they have not obtained much benefit or
authority from decentralization. None of six communities interviewed is receiving
regular support from the government. There are two communities which get regular
external assistance and they are having less concern and are confident about
maintaining the water systems. On the other hand, communities without any regular
external assistance are experiencing difficulties in operating their water systems. In
addition, there is less trust among people in these communities to get support from the
inside.
The study suggests that the national government should still proceed with
decentralization but provide more financial and educational support to empower local
governments and rural communities. In addition, local governments should facilitate
cooperation between communities and resolve conflict between them. However, the
most important thing is for rural communities to improve the situation by joining an
organization which provides regular assistance or creating similar organization by
themselves.
