Willingness to Pay for Water in Kuwait

Water Security in the Middle East : Essays in Scientific and Social Cooperation

“…Finally, economic approaches may include a system of progressive pricing or subsidizing consumers' investments in water-saving steps or technologies in their homes and businesses. Gradual policy measures that are targeted tend to garner greater public support and acceptance than policies that include price increase or merely limit water supply (Millock and Nauges 70 WATER SECURITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST 70 2010 ; Randolph and Troy 2008 ;Aljamal, Bagnied, and Speece 2015 ). In the cultural sphere, Gulf governments routinely use pulpits of mosques where imams in Friday sermons propagate messages of environmental protection and water conservation by linking these practices to Islamic history and theology (Amery 2006 ;Amery 2001 ).…”

“…Regular infrastructure maintenance, the raising of public awareness of 82 WATER SECURITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST 82 scarcity and water-pricing increases can go a long way toward reducing water consumption in the GCC (Aljamal, Bagnied, and Speece 2015 ). A report by a consultancy fi rm reported that "increases in municipal tariff s can reduce demand by 20-35 percent" (Fayad, Batri and Ayoub 2011 ).…”

“…Even there, however, the price of water remains so heavily subsidized that it is unlikely that paying water bills alone would result in much water savings. Greater levels of awareness hold a lot more promise (Aljamal, Bagnied, and Speece 2015 ). This eff ort in Kuwait was made possible because of the country's vibrant, partly free political climate.…”