Research project by the Principal Investigator Dr Jeff Tan and Co-Investigator Professor Stephen Lyon:
Access to clean water and sanitation (SDG6) is central to health and wellbeing (SDG3), particularly for the poor. However, capital investment in water in the Global South has been undermined by the failure to finance operations and maintenance (O&M) because (poor) households often cannot, or are unwilling to, pay. The successful operation of over 400 community-managed rural water projects covering over 100,000 households in northern Pakistan by the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) has led to the introduction of community-managed urban water schemes. This research examines two AKAH urban water schemes in Gilgit, Pakistan, to assess the viability of this community-managed model and if it can be scaled up and transferred to other urban settings. It brings together researchers in economics, anthropology and engineering, together with development practitioners and other experts, to identify how economic, social, cultural and technical factors affect the sustainability and impact of community-managed water systems.
This project has been made possible by generous funding from the British Academy’s “Urban Infrastructures of Well-Being” programme. The £280,000 research grant funds work, focussing on the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat’s Water and Sanitation Extension Programme (WASEP) in Gilgit-Baltistan. The project is interdisciplinary and collaborative, bringing together researchers and development practitioners from the social sciences (economics and anthropology) and engineering sciences in the UK (AKU-ISMC) and Pakistan (Karakoram International University, AKAH, AKU-IED). We are delighted to be working in partnership with AKU entities (ISMC and IED) and AKDN entities (AKU and AKAH).
Research project by the Principal Investigator Dr Jeff Tan and Co-Investigator Professor Stephen Lyon:
Access to clean water and sanitation (SDG6) is central to health and wellbeing (SDG3), particularly for the poor. However, capital investment in water in the Global South has been undermined by the failure to finance operations and maintenance (O&M) because (poor) households often cannot, or are unwilling to, pay. The successful operation of over 400 community-managed rural water projects covering over 100,000 households in northern Pakistan by the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) has led to the introduction of community-managed urban water schemes. This research examines two AKAH urban water schemes in Gilgit, Pakistan, to assess the viability of this community-managed model and if it can be scaled up and transferred to other urban settings. It brings together researchers in economics, anthropology and engineering, together with development practitioners and other experts, to identify how economic, social, cultural and technical factors affect the sustainability and impact of community-managed water systems.
This project has been made possible by generous funding from the British Academy’s “Urban Infrastructures of Well-Being” programme. The £280,000 research grant funds work, focussing on the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat’s Water and Sanitation Extension Programme (WASEP) in Gilgit-Baltistan. The project is interdisciplinary and collaborative, bringing together researchers and development practitioners from the social sciences (economics and anthropology) and engineering sciences in the UK (AKU-ISMC) and Pakistan (Karakoram International University, AKAH, AKU-IED). We are delighted to be working in partnership with AKU entities (ISMC and IED) and AKDN entities (AKU and AKAH).
