User participation and implementation strategies in water and sanitation projects

The International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade has focused attention on the urgent need for water and sanitation in the developing world. However, an alarming number of existing systems, in some countries one third to one half, are broken down or not working. Non‐participation by the users has been singled out as a major cause of this high rate of project failure, and increasingly donor agencies and local governments are insisting that the intended beneficiaries be involved in projects. This study analyses user participation in a variety of water supply and sani‐tation projects in Africa, Asia and Central America. The common key factors which have resulted in some very successful projects are identified and suggestions made on how to implement a user participatory project.