Social sustainability of cbo managed rural watersupply system in Ampara District, Sri Lanka

Abstract

The rural drinking water projects were implemented in several developing countries with the support of national institutions and international donor agencies. This alternative system has been established with the support of community based organizations in many rural water sectors. The concept of ‘participatory approach’ has been recognized by the donors and adopted with CBO managed RWS schemes for ensuring the sustainability of the projects. This study focused on understanding the social sustainability of the RWS which are functioning in the Ampara district, Sri Lanka. The data have been gathered from primary and secondary sources. The questionnaire has been dispersed among CBO managed water schemes and, interviews and group discussion were also conducted for collecting the information. Data has been processed using the SPSS package and analysis was presented in an interpretative way. The services of the RWS systems were satisfied by the participants. However, the result of the study found that community involvement in the establishment of CBO scheme was low and the identification of location for CBO scheme was also highly influenced by the donors and other agencies rather than local people. Further, it revealed that women’s participation was also in poor condition even though they have interest or willingness to take part in the RWS operation and maintenance. The community was not a highly influencing factor in the sustainability of the projects. Thus, this study suggests active participation of the local community in all stages of the CBO managed RWS scheme to assure the success and sustainability of such projects.