Small-scale operators play a significant role in water service provision in Latin America, especially in the ever-growing urban concentrations in the region where the majority of the poor live. This was the theme of an international workshop held from 13-15 June in Panama.
Workshop participants concluded that small-scale providers should establish strategic partnerships with institutions and organizations that are active in the water and sanitation sector. These partnerships would give small-scale providers an official representation in the sector which in turn would allow the small-scale operators to be formally recognized as sector actors and service providers, give them the possibility to be incorporated in the planning processes for developing sector policies, formulating legal frameworks along with designing sector projects and, most importantly, to be able to participate in the allocation of financial resources in the sector.

Government authorities, for their part, should recognize that small-scale operators are playing an important role in providing water services. On the national level, an important step would be revising and updating the legal framework that regulates the water sector, with the aim of making them more encouraging for the inclusion of small-scale operators. Governments could also offer technical assistance to small-scale providers that require it, and enhance the access to loans and other means of financing to facilitate investments into new and improved equipment.

The first concrete step of WSP and CARE is to prepare individual country agendas to give more exposure and visibility to small-scale operators in the region.

For more on small-scale providers see:

• BPD - SSP Internet Resource Base
• References in IRCDOC

Source: WSP Featured Story, also includes links to the workshop presentations and related documents, 23 Aug 2007

Tags: governance, water distribution