An Institutional Approach to Peri-Urban Water Problems

Abstract

Water resources in the Ganges delta are undergoing drastic change as a result of urbanisation. Increasing demand for water due to urban expansion around cities like Kolkata (India) and Khulna (Bangladesh) is affecting groundwater access in nearby peri-urban communities. Peri-urban areas lie outside the formal purview of urban institutions, while their prevailing rural institutions are not equipped to deal with the changing urbanization context. To support problem solving efforts by peri-urban communities, this thesis offers the ‘Approach for Participatory Institutional Analysis’ or APIA. This participatory and structured approach explores problems using an institutional lens. It offers communities insight into the underlying institutions or rules in their most-pressing problems, the actors involved, and strategies to address them. This book outlines the need for such an approach , particularly in peri-urban areas and tells the story of how the APIA helped peri-urban communities examine their groundwater-based drinking water problems. Case-study applications in Bangladesh and India provide insights into APIA’s potential as a capacity building tool and ways to further improve its design and use with stakeholders in different contexts.