NGOs fostering transitions towards sustainable urban sanitation in low-income countries: Insights from Transition Management and Development Studies

Welie, MJ Mara van; Romijn, HA Henny

doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2017.08.011

Cited by 42 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…At the core, this analysis of the unsustainability of WASH in informal settlements in Sub-Saharan African cities challenges not only methods and instruments but core assumptions and principles of transition management. Some of these are in line with the questioning of concepts that has started with the recent uptake of transition thinking in 'developing' countries [103,104,136]. This analysis also reveals that neither methods nor principles are neutral or universal but inherently culturally shaped.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 52%

“…The fifth contextual dimension that poses a challenge for the design of transition management for addressing unsustainable WASH services is the persistent and high level of poverty and social inequalities [103,104]. Inhabitants living in informal settlements have low access to basic services such as education, health care, housing, water and sanitation and city infrastructures like accessible roads within these settlements [96,105].…”

Section: Socio-economic Structures Governing Access To Washmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Applying Transition Management for Improving Sustainability of WASH Services in Informal Settlements in Sub-Saharan Africa – An Exploration

Silvestri¹,

Wittmayer²,

Schipper³

et al. 2018

Preprint

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The unsustainability of the services related to water, sanitation and hygiene in informal settlements in Sub-Saharan Africa services is deeply embedded in current societal and governance structures, cultures and practices; it is context-dependent and involves numerous actors with different interests. The field of sustainability transitions research addresses such persistent and large scale societal challenges, with transition management being one of its widely applied governance approach. By drawing on an analysis of the root causes of unsustainability and unreliability of WASH services in three case studies in Sub-Saharan Africa (Arusha-Tanzania, Dodowa-Ghana, Kampala-Uganda), we explore how a transition management approach can be designed to support a transition towards sustainable Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in Sub-Saharan Africa. We distinguish the following contextual dimensions related to the unsustainability of WASH services: a) Multiplicity of WASH practices, structures and arrangements, b) Governance capacities for WASH services and maintenance, c) Landownership for sustainable access to WASH, d) Public participation in decision-making related to WASH, e) socio-economic structures governing access to WASH. These dimensions prompt the identification of conceptual and application challenges for transition management. Based on these challenges, recommendations were formulated for the design of a prescriptive transition management process that is not only functional but also emancipatory of character.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 52%

Section: Socio-economic Structures Governing Access To Washmentioning

confidence: 99%

Applying Transition Management for Improving Sustainability of WASH Services in Informal Settlements in Sub-Saharan Africa – An Exploration

Silvestri¹,

Wittmayer²,

Schipper³

et al. 2018

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, all the adaptation measures cannot be applied in every situation within the mid-hill farming system, and therefore proper attention has to paid for location-specific adaptation strategies [33], based on the particular requirements and specificities of each particular area. NGOs and research institutions could carry out action research to find innovative and site-specific adaptation solution, and help them up-scale in similar localities [40].…”

Section: Non-agricultural Adaptationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drought Impact and Adaptation Strategies in the Mid-Hill Farming System of Western Nepal

Adhikari¹

2018

Environments

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Climate-induced drought hazard has been emerging as one of the major challenges in the mid-hill farming system and rural livelihood in Nepal. Drought stress, in combination with century-long socio-political issues such as unequal social structure, gender discrimination, and marginalization of poor and disadvantaged groups have made smallholders more vulnerable in society. Climate changes are exacerbating issues within an already vulnerable society. Therefore, a review study on the impact of drought on the rain-fed hill farming system, and the potential adaptation measures, was carried out in the mid-hill region of western Nepal. Both agricultural impacts such as depletion of traditional varieties of crops, crop-specific diseases, low production, lack of water for irrigation; and non-agricultural impacts such as changing rural livelihood patterns, and social conflict due to agriculture and water issues were identified as major impacts. Some of the agricultural adaptation measures viz. the promotion of climate smart agriculture practices, crop diversification, and agroforestry practices seem to have been more effective in the region. At the same time, small-scale structural water harvesting measures, for instance, rainwater harvesting, conservation ponds, and irrigation channels, drip water irrigation, and an early warning system for drought events could also be an advantage in this context. Nonetheless, there are several adaptation barriers including ecological and physical constraints, human and information resource-shortages, and social barriers to adaptation. Therefore, local site-specific adaptation measures should be developed, and implemented, to increase the adaptive capacity of smallholders, and enhance the farming system in the face of the climate-induced drought scenario.

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“…This fact would make it all the more difficult to generate the kind of market and learning dynamics that the entry of new firms into the formation process of a new technical system brings in relation to BECCS. Furthermore, given the recent history of poorly executed and controversial biofuels projects in Tanzania and the risk of land or forest degradation, it would be difficult to garner the kind of broad-based support among stakeholders that is important for a new technical system to take hold (Hansen and Nygaard 2014;van Welie and Romijn 2018). On a more general level, it is also important to highlight that BECCS lacks a strong advocacy group overall, and perhaps most importantly among the industries and actors that would supposedly be the first to implement it, such as pulp and paper and biofuel producers.…”

Section: Advocacy Groups and Entry Of Firmsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preconditions for bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) in sub-Saharan Africa: the case of Tanzania

Hansson

Fridahl

Anshelm

et al. 2019

Environ Dev Sustain

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Most mitigation scenarios compatible with a likely change of holding global warming well below 2 °C rely on negative emissions technologies (NETs). According to the integrated assessment models (IAMs) used to produce mitigation scenarios for the IPCC reports, the NET with the greatest potential to achieve negative emissions is bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS). Crucial questions arise about where the enormous quantities of biomass needed according to the IAM scenarios could feasibly be produced in a sustainable manner. Africa is attractive in the context of BECCS because of large areas that could contribute biomass energy and indications of substantial underground CO 2 storage capacities. However, estimates of large biomass availability in Africa are usually based on highly aggregated datasets, and only a few studies explore future challenges or barriers for BECCS in any detail. Based on previous research and literature, this paper analyses the preconditions for BECCS in Tanzania by studying what we argue are the applications of BECCS, or the components of the BECCS chain, that are most feasible in the country, namely (1) as applied to domestic sugarcane-based energy production (bioethanol), and (2) with Tanzania in a producer and re-growth role in an international BECCS chain, supplying biomass or biofuels for export to developed countries. The review reveals that a prerequisite for both options is either the existence of a functional market for emissions trading and selling, making negative emissions a viable commercial investment, or sustained investment through aid programmes. Also, historically, an important barrier to the development of production capacity of liquid biofuels for export purposes has been given by ethical dilemmas following in the wake of demand for land to facilitate production of biomass, such as sugarcane and jatropha. In these cases, conflicts over access to land and mismanagement have been more of a rule than an exception. Increased production volumes of solid biomass for export to operations that demand bioenergy, be it with or without a CCS component, is likely to give rise to similar conflicts. While BECCS may well play an important role in reducing emissions in countries with high capacity to act combined with existing large point sources of biogenic CO 2 emissions, it seems prudent to proceed with utmost caution when implicating BECCS deployment in least developed countries, like Tanzania.The paper argues that negative BECCS-related emissions from Tanzania should not be assumed in global climate mitigation scenarios.

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NGOs fostering transitions towards sustainable urban sanitation in low-income countries: Insights from Transition Management and Development Studies

Cited by 42 publications

References 32 publications

Applying Transition Management for Improving Sustainability of WASH Services in Informal Settlements in Sub-Saharan Africa – An Exploration

Applying Transition Management for Improving Sustainability of WASH Services in Informal Settlements in Sub-Saharan Africa – An Exploration

Drought Impact and Adaptation Strategies in the Mid-Hill Farming System of Western Nepal

Preconditions for bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) in sub-Saharan Africa: the case of Tanzania

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NGOs fostering transitions towards sustainable urban sanitation in low-income countries: Insights from Transition Management and Development Studies

Cited by 42 publications

References 32 publications

Applying Transition Management for Improving Sustainability of WASH Services in Informal Settlements in Sub-Saharan Africa &ndash; An Exploration

Applying Transition Management for Improving Sustainability of WASH Services in Informal Settlements in Sub-Saharan Africa &ndash; An Exploration

Drought Impact and Adaptation Strategies in the Mid-Hill Farming System of Western Nepal

Preconditions for bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) in sub-Saharan Africa: the case of Tanzania

Contact Info

Product

Resources

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Applying Transition Management for Improving Sustainability of WASH Services in Informal Settlements in Sub-Saharan Africa – An Exploration

Applying Transition Management for Improving Sustainability of WASH Services in Informal Settlements in Sub-Saharan Africa – An Exploration