The Economics Of Water And Waste In Three African Capitals

First published in 1997, this volume examines the urban environments of Accra (Ghana), Harare (Zimbabwe) and Gaborone (Botswana). Each was effectively the capital city of a former British colony, and hence inherited a concern for public health. Each has made a serious and largely successful effort to provide the public goods necessary for the well-being of their urban population. Each is well above the average for all of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in these respects. However, the GDP per capita varies significantly between these three countries. Differences in standard of living are similarly evident. The authors focus intensively on public policies that determine who gets what, how they get it, and what price they pay.

First published in 1997, this volume examines the urban environments of Accra (Ghana), Harare (Zimbabwe) and Gaborone (Botswana). Each was effectively the capital city of a former British colony, and hence inherited a concern for public health. Each has made a serious and largely successful effort to provide the public goods necessary for the well-being of their urban population. Each is well above the average for all of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in these respects. However, the GDP per capita varies significantly between these three countries. Differences in standard of living are similarly evident. The authors focus intensively on public policies that determine who gets what, how they get it, and what price they pay.

First published in 1997, this volume examines the urban environments of Accra (Ghana), Harare (Zimbabwe) and Gaborone (Botswana). Each was effectively the capital city of a former British colony, and hence inherited a concern for public health. Each has made a serious and largely successful effort to provide the public goods necessary for the well-being of their urban population. Each is well above the average for all of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in these respects. However, the GDP per capita varies significantly between these three countries. Differences in standard of living are similarly evident. The authors focus intensively on public policies that determine who gets what, how they get it, and what price they pay.

In this concise, engaging, and provocative work, Richard Porter introduces readers to the economic tools that can be applied to problems involved in handling a diverse range of waste products from business and households. Emphasizing the impossibility of achieving a zero-risk environment, Porter focuses on the choices that apply in real world decisions about waste. Acknowledging that effective waste policy integrates knowledge from several disciplines, Porter focuses on the use of economic analysis to reveal the costs of different policies and therefore how much can be done to meet goals to protect human health and the environment. With abundant examples, he considers subjects such as landfills, incineration, and illegal disposal. He discusses the international trade in waste, the costs and benefits of recycling, and special topics such as hazardous materials, Superfund, and nuclear waste. While making clear his belief that not every form of waste presents the same amount of risk, Porter stresses the need for open-minded approaches to developing new policies. For students, policymakers, and general readers, he provides insight and accessibility to a subject that others might leave out-of-sight, out-of-mind, or buried under an impenetrable prose of statistics and jargon.

This volume presents the results of a three-year collaborative effort involving research institutions in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Case studies demonstrate the diversity of environmental problems to which a variety of economic instruments can be applied - air and water pollution, packaging, deforestation, over-grazing, wildlife. They also show what is needed for them to work successfully and the pitfalls to avoid in introducing them, providing guidance for future applications. Written to be accessible to non-economists, the book offers source material for students and academic economists, as well as for professionals working with economic instruments.

This is surely the most impressive and important publication to come out of the UN system for many years.'Peter Adamson, founder, New Internationalist, and author and researcher of UNICEF's The State of the World's Children from 1980 to 1995. The world's governments agreed at the Millennium Summit to halve, by 2015, the number of people who lack access to safe water. With rapidly growing urban populations the challenge is immense. Water and Sanitation in the World's Cities is a comprehensive and authoritative assessment of the problems and how they can be addressed. This influential publication b.

'This is surely the most impressive and important publication to come out of the UN system for many years.' Peter Adamson, founder, New Internationalist, and author and researcher of UNICEF's The State of the World's Children from 1980 to 1995 The world's governments agreed at the Millennium Summit to halve, by 2015, the number of people who lack access to safe water. With rapidly growing urban populations the challenge is immense. Water and Sanitation in the World's Cities is a comprehensive and authoritative assessment of the problems and how they can be addressed. This influential publication by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) sets out in detail the scale of inadequate provision of water and sanitation. It describes the impacts on health and economic performance, showing the potential gains of remedial action; it analyses the proximate and underlying causes of poor provision and identifies information gaps affecting resource allocation; it outlines the consequences of further deterioration; and it explains how resources and institutional capacities - public, private and community - can be used to deliver proper services through integrated water resource management.

Half of the world's people live in urban areas, and roughly a third of these live in desperate poverty without access to basic amenities. Taking on the themes of UN-HABITAT's Water and Sanitation in the World's Cities (2003), this new volume focuses on the deficiencies in the provision of water and sanitation where most of the populations of the developing world live: in towns and small cities. Drawing on extensive unpublished research and 15 commissioned papers from experts involved in designing and implementing innovative projects around the world, this is the first major study of the problems facing the smaller urban centres that are recognized to be of enormous importance by governments, international agencies, NGOs and service providers. Tackling these problems is a crucial part of development and of good governance, and critical to meeting the Millennium Development Goals. The volume will be essential reading for all professionals and researchers in the relevant fields and a valuable resource for teachers and students of urban development.