BOOK
Benefits of Investing in Water and Sanitation
(2011)
Additional Information
Book Details
Abstract
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The provision of water supply, sanitation and wastewater services generates substantial benefits for public health, the economy and the environment. Benefits from the provision of basic water supply and sanitation services such as those implied by the millennium development goals are massive and far outstrip costs. Benefit-to-cost ratios have been reported to be as high as 7 to 1 for basic water and sanitation services in developing countries. Wastewater treatment interventions can generate significant benefits for public health, the environment and for certain economic sectors such as fisheries, tourism and property markets, although these benefits may be less obvious to individuals and more difficult to assess in monetary terms. Finally, protecting water resources from pollution and managing water supply and demand in a sustainable manner can deliver clear and sizeable benefits for both investors in the services and end water users.
Investments in managing water resources are going to be increasingly needed in the context of increasing water scarcity at the global level. The full magnitude of the benefits of water services is seldom considered for a number of reasons. Non-economic benefits that are difficult to quantify but that are of high value to the concerned individuals and society, i.e. non-use values, dignity, social status, cleanliness and overall well-being are frequently under-estimated. In addition, benefit values are highly location-specific (depending on the prevalence of water-related diseases or the condition of receiving water bodies, for example) and cannot be easily aggregated.
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Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cover\r | Cover | ||
| Table of contents | 7 | ||
| Abbreviations and acronyms | 11 | ||
| Executive Summary | 13 | ||
| Background | 13 | ||
| Key findings | 14 | ||
| Benefits from access to basic water supply and sanitation | 15 | ||
| Wastewater treatment | 16 | ||
| Protecting the quality of the resource and balancing supply and\rdemand | 18 | ||
| Using benefit values to allocate funds to the sector | 18 | ||
| Note | 19 | ||
| Introduction | 21 | ||
| Overview | 21 | ||
| Why is it important to assess benefits from investing in water and sanitation? | 23 | ||
| Structure of the report | 25 | ||
| Chapter 1:\rSetting the stage | 27 | ||
| 1.1. Evaluating the size of the investment challenge | 27 | ||
| 1.2 The value chain of water and sanitation services | 29 | ||
| 1.3 Potential benefits along the WSS value chain: an overview | 32 | ||
| Notes | 35 | ||
| Chapter 2:\rProviding access to services | 37 | ||
| 2.1 Types of investment | 38 | ||
| 2.2 Health benefits from improving access to services | 40 | ||
| 2.2.1 How do health benefits materialise: the links between water, sanitation and health | 40 | ||
| 2.2.2 Evaluating the health impact of water, sanitation and hygiene interventions | 43 | ||
| 2.2.3 Evaluating health benefits in monetary terms | 51 | ||
| 2.3 Non-health benefits | 52 | ||
| 2.3.1 Economic benefits | 52 | ||
| 2.3.2 Substantial additional benefits may be more difficult to quantify | 56 | ||
| Notes | 57 | ||
| Chapter 3:\rInvesting downstream in wastewater treatment and safe disposal | 59 | ||
| 3.1 Investments in wastewater treatment | 60 | ||
| 3.2 Benefits from wastewater treatment | 62 | ||
| 3.2.1 Health benefits | 64 | ||
| 3.2.2 Environmental benefits | 66 | ||
| 3.2.3 Benefits for the economy | 68 | ||
| Benefits for the water supply sector | 68 | ||
| Benefits for industry | 70 | ||
| Benefits on fishing and angling activities | 70 | ||
| Benefits for aquaculture | 71 | ||
| Economic impacts on tourism | 72 | ||
| Benefits for agriculture | 72 | ||
| (Indirect) Benefits for energy production | 73 | ||
| Benefits for the national economy | 74 | ||
| 3.2.4 Other benefits | 74 | ||
| 3.2.5 Aggregated benefit values | 75 | ||
| Notes | 77 | ||
| Chapter 4:\rManaging water supply and demand in a sustainable manner | 79 | ||
| 4.1 Protecting the quality of the resource | 80 | ||
| 4.1.1 Investments to protect water resources | 80 | ||
| 4.1.2 Benefits of protecting water resources | 82 | ||
| 4.2 Balancing water supply and demand | 83 | ||
| 4.2.1 Investments for ensuring reliable water supply | 84 | ||
| 4.2.2 Benefits from improving the reliability of water supply | 86 | ||
| 4.2.3 Investments to manage water demand | 87 | ||
| Leakage control | 88 | ||
| Incentive pricing | 89 | ||
| Water saving devices and equipment | 91 | ||
| Raising awareness and educating the public | 92 | ||
| 4.2.4 Benefits of managing water demand | 93 | ||
| Benefits of reducing abstraction | 93 | ||
| Benefits from reduced consumption | 96 | ||
| Notes | 97 | ||
| Chapter 5:\rPolicy implications | 99 | ||
| 5.1 Benefits from investing in WSS: key findings | 99 | ||
| 5.1.1 Valuing benefits alongside the WSS value chain | 100 | ||
| 5.1.2 Estimating benefits at different scales | 103 | ||
| 5.1.3 Comparing benefits and costs | 104 | ||
| 5.2 Using benefit information for policy and investment decisions | 111 | ||
| 5.3 Additional research needed to support policy-making | 114 | ||
| Notes | 117 | ||
| Bibliography | 119 | ||
| Annex A:\rEvaluating the benefits: methodological issues | 137 | ||
| A.1. Defining and valuing benefits | 137 | ||
| A.2. Measuring health benefits | 139 | ||
| A.3. Estimating environmental benefits | 141 | ||
| A.4. Accounting for economic benefits | 143 | ||
| A.5. Including other benefits | 143 | ||
| Notes | 144 | ||
| ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION\rAND DEVELOPMENT | 147 |