Title: The hidden urban tail-enders – drinking water supply as a common pool resource problem in Khorezm, Uzbekistan

Authors: Kai Wegerich

Addresses: Irrigation and Water Engineering Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 3a, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands

Abstract: In academic debates, drinking water supply is considered mainly to be either a public or an economic good, or something in between. Nevertheless, in situations of insufficient supply, the non-academic literature refers to common pool resource problems, in which certain uses of drinking water should be |avoided| or even |punished|. To highlight the importance of understanding drinking water supply as a potential common pool resource problem, this article analyses the impact of a United Nations Development Programme/World Bank Water and Sanitation project in Khorezm Province/Uzbekistan. Even though the project was supposed to lead to sustainability of drinking water supply, the project itself and the transitional context created a situation similar to that pertaining in irrigation – an urban tail-enders problem.

Keywords: common pool resource; drinking water; water supply; urban tail-enders; Uzbekistan; sanitation; World Bank; United Nations; UN; sustainability; sustainable developmen.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSSOC.2009.027622

International Journal of Sustainable Society, 2009 Vol.1 No.3, pp.240 - 254

Published online: 04 Aug 2009 *

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