The Last 100 metres: Safeguarding potable water provisioning to unplanned settlements

1 Dec 2016 to 31 Mar 2018

Safeguarding the last 100 metres of potable water supply by improving the quality of the local environment and raising public understanding is thus a vital vehicle for SDGs achievement in unplanned settlements. This research will explore this policy relevant hypothesis through five objectives:

1. To examine the extent to which 'neglect of sewage removal from unplanned settlements' limits achievement of SDG targets 6.1 and 6.2
2. To explore why neither market-based nor state-civic interventions have succeeded in reducing contamination in 'the last 100 meters'
3. To identify the practices that have emerged to counter the market-state-civic society failure and assessing the constraints and opportunities they offer
4. To distinguish contamination that originates from within settlements from what comes from their surrounds - to ensure community ownership of problems and achievements
5. To experiment with delivery of programmes through NGO partners and community participation, that ensure potable water remains safe

Funding sources

British Academy - GCRF Sustainable Development Programme (Grant GF160000; EAA7449)

Investigators

Manoj Roy (PI), Nigel Clark (Co-I), Nick Chappell (Co-I), David Hulme (Co-I, University of Manchester), James Rothwell (Co-I, University of Manchester), A R Mollah (Co-I, Dhaka University, Bangladesh), Mohammad Faruk (Co-I, BRAC University, Bangladesh), Suresh Rohilla (Co-I, Centre for Science and Environment, India), Ruchita Gupta (Co-I, School of Planning and Architecture, India), Riziki Shemdoe (Co-I, Ardhi University, Tanzania), Jacob Kihila (Co-I, Ardhi University, Tanzania)

Impact and outreach

The research will produce a comprehensive set of outputs to ensure that we achieve impact for our intended beneficiaries who are: (a) policy-makers and practitioners working in urban poverty reduction in Bangladesh, Tanzania and other developing countries; (b) our research partners; and (c) low-income residents in Dar, Dhaka and across South Asia and Africa