Institutional aspects of integrating irrigation into urban wastewater management: the case of Hanoi, Vietnam

Abstract

Wastewater flows of metropolitan cities and their downstream use for irrigation are often associated with technical systems. However, an engineering approach on its own will leave questions unanswered at the socio-technical and institutional level. Research was carried out in Hanoi, Vietnam, on the use of polluted irrigation water in periurban agriculture. Apart from outlining the physical features of the urban wastewater chain, a supply chain approach has been applied. Stakeholders along the management chain of the conventional urban wastewater system resemble ''spot markets'' (independent actors who act in self-interest) as described in supply chain management literature. In Hanoi, the conventional approach towards wastewater management consists of a strict separation of urban wastewater management from periurban agricultural use and a neglect of farmers as stakeholders in the chain. It is suggested that the use of wastewater in agriculture should be incorporated into urban water management systems and that farmers should be included as acting stakeholders in the management of the wastewater chain. Dans ce cadre, on s'est servi d'une approche filière après avoir défini les caractéristiques physiques de la filière des eaux usées urbaines. Les parties prenantes de la filière de gestion du réseau d'égouts urbain conventionnel ressemblent aux « spot markets » (soit des acteurs indépendants agissant dans leur propre intérêt) dont parle la littérature spécialisée. À Hanoi, la méthode traditionnelle en matière de gestion des eaux usées urbaines consiste à séparer strictement la gestion de ces eaux de leur utilisation dans l'agriculture périurbaine, et à négliger les agriculteurs en tant que parties prenantes de la filière. Des suggestions sont faites pour incorporer l'utilisation des eaux usées en agriculture aux systèmes de gestion des eaux urbaines, IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE Irrig. and Drain. 59: 336-344 (2010)

Of Mice and Men: When Face-to-Face Agricultural Information is Replaced by a Mouse Click

“…Several surveys confirm this finding (Agbongiarhuoyi et al, 2012;Agunga & Igodan, 2007;Evers, Huibers, & van Vliet, 2010;Kamanula et al, 2011;Koksal, Gunes, Ozer, & Ozden, 2010;Rezvanfar, Moradnezhai, & Vahedi, 2007;Soltani, Hosseini, Chizari, & Mirdamadi, 2010), indicating that social networks formed inside the rural communities have the potential to facilitate the information flow (Van den Broeck & Dercon, 2011). However, as Demiryurek (2010) suggests, the information diffused thereby is rooted in traditional practices without having a clear scientific background.…”

The Use of (Treated) Domestic Wastewater for Irrigation: Current Situation and Future Challenges

“…The process of social engagement also means opening the decision making process to actors and stakeholders who have usually been ignored or misrepresented in water and wastewater management systems, such as farmers, NGOs, environmental advocacy groups, water and social scientists, minorities, indigenous peoples, and consumers [102,[106][107][108][109]. It is increasingly accepted that participation of relevant stakeholders is vital for water reuse schemes to succeed [5,13,110,111]. This consideration guided studies and surveys on the importance of stakeholders' preferences and the degree of public acceptance of different water reuse practices [112][113][114].…”

“…There are some examples of guidelines for water reuse [49], but the most common standards in many countries, particularly developing ones, have been influenced by the World Health Organization [10,79]. Some studies have called for a more flexible legal framework, less worried about issues of potential liability and more focused on the integral analysis of the water chain [110,118]. An incremental approach for the introduction of water quality standards is recommended, particularly for countries with high levels of excreta-related diseases and deficient wastewater treatment systems [10,119].…”

Sanitation under challenge: contributions from the social sciences

“…Such participatory methodology brings about "a learning process in which experts and non-experts are enabled to connect local experience with systemic knowledge, in order to generate, assess and select sustainable (…) sanitation solutions" (Van Buuren & Hendriksen, 2010, p. 87). Finally, principles of supply chain management (Mentzer, DeWitt, Keebler, Min, & Nix, 2001;) have been proposed to acknowledge the many different interests among various actors, including consumers and farmers (Evers, Huibers, & Van Vliet, 2010).…”