Effects of multiple-use of water on users' livelihoods and sustainability of rural water supply services in Honduras

Stef Smits; Túpac Mejía; Senia Eben Rodríguez; Damián Suazo

doi:10.3362/1756-3488.2010.004

Effects of multiple-use of water on users' livelihoods and sustainability of rural water supply services in Honduras

Stef Smits | Túpac Mejía | Senia Eben Rodríguez | Damián Suazo

The de facto use of rural water supply systems for productive purposes is a practice that has only recently received recognition in Honduras. This paper presents the results of 14 case studies, which focus on the role of multiple-use of water in people's livelihoods as well as on sustainability in service provision. The extent of this practice differs significantly between different user categories, and ranges from the use of small amounts of water for a backyard garden and some animals, to complementary irrigation of field crops or livestock at commercial scale, though in this case often private sources of water are used. This de facto multiple use of water supply may bring risks to the sustainability of service provision. However, a number of relatively simple measures can be considered in regulating water use, thereby mitigating the risks. By adopting such measures more widely certain degrees of multiple-use of water can be accommodated into service provision without causing negative impacts, while still maintaining the positive impact on users’ livelihoods.

Alberts, H. and Van der Zee, J.J. (2004) ‘A multi-sectoral approach to sustainable rural water supply: the role of the rope pump in Nicaragua’, in P. Moriarty, J. Butterworth and B. Van Koppen (eds), Beyond Domestic: Case Studies on Poverty and Productive Uses of Water at the Household Level, Technical Paper; no. 41, IRC, NRI and IWMI, Delft, The Netherlands.

Cinara (2007) Los usos múltiples del agua en zonas rurales de los departamentos de Valle del Cauca y Quindío (Colombia): resultado de varios casos de estudio [online], CPWF-MUS Working Paper, Cali, Colombia, available from: http://www.musgroup.net/page/865 [accessed 12 November 2009]. http://www.musgroup.net/page/865

Heredia, G. (2005) Estudio de caso: asociación de usuarios de agua potable Challacaba [online], CPWF-MUS Working Paper, Centro AGUA, Programa Agua Tuya e IRC Proyecto MUS, Servicios de Uso Múltiple, Cochabamba, Bolivia, available from: http://www.musgroup.net/page/909 [accessed 12 November 2009]. http://www.musgroup.net/page/909

Heredia, G., Valenzuela, L. and Heredia, A. (2008) Diseño y evaluación de alternativas para un sistema de uso múltiple de agua para la comunidad de Caico Alto, Cochabamba, Bolivia [online], CPWF-MUS Working Paper, MUS Project, Agua Tuya, Cochabamba, Bolivia, available from http://www.musgroup.net/page/901 [accessed 12 November 2009]. http://www.musgroup.net/page/901

RASHON and IRC (2007) Memoria del taller ‘Usos Múltiples del Agua’, Tegucigalpa, Honduras, 27 September 2007.

Smits, S. and Mejía, T. (2008) Guía de sistematización de experiencias de usos múltiples del agua en Honduras, RASHON - IRC, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

Smits, S., Mejía, T., Rodríguez, S. and Suazo, D. (2009) Usos múltiples del agua y su impacto en la sostenibilidad en la prestación de los servicios del agua; sistematización de experiencias en 14 comunidades en Honduras, RASHON, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

Trevett, A.F. (2001) ‘The SANAA technician in operation and maintenance program in Honduras’, in Institutional Arrangements for Rural Communities, Strategic Paper No. 1, Case Studies on Decentralization of Water Supply and Sanitation Services in Latin America. Environmental Health Project, prepared for the USAID Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean EHP Project No. 26568/ Other.LACDEC.CS.

Van Koppen, B., Moriarty, P. and Boelee, E. (2006) Multiple-use Water Services to Advance the Millennium Development Goals, Research Report 98, International Water Management Institute, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Van Koppen, B., Smits, S., Moriarty, P., Penning de Vries, F., Mikhail, M. and Boelee, E. (2009) Climbing the Water Ladder: Multiple-use Water Services for Poverty Reduction, Technical Paper Series 52, IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre and International Water Management Institute, The Hague, The Netherlands.

WSP (2004) Decentralization of Rural Water and Sanitation Services: New Roles for Rural Water Associations and Boards in Honduras, Field Note, Water and Sanitation Program, Lima, Peru.