‘User participation’ and ‘community ownership’ have been part of the lexicon of the water and sanitation sector since the adoption of the integrated water resource management approach in the 1980s. However, these terms have their origin in an era of budget cuts, and therefore participation has been invariably evaluated and justified in instrumental terms – what it can do for project outcomes such as sustainability. This article argues that participation is a right and ought to be incorporated into all stages of decision-making concerning water and sanitation. The human rights standard for participation is that it should be ‘active, free and meaningful’. This article identifies and analyses the elements of active, free, and meaningful participation, as elaborated in various international human rights documents and selected national experiences. The implications of this analysis are then considered at the various stages of decision-making: planning and formulation of policy and legal frameworks, finance and budgeting, service delivery and monitoring.

Adler, R., Claassen, M., Godfrey, L. and Turton, A. (2007) ‘Water, mining and waste: an historical and economic perspective on conflict management in South Africa’, The Economics of Peace and Security Journal 2(2): 33–41.

Amnesty International (2010) Insecurity and Indignity: Women's Experiences in the Slums of Nairobi, Kenya [pdf] <www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AFR32/002/2010> [accessed 27 August 2014]. www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AFR32/002/2010

Arnstein, S.R. (1969) ‘A ladder of citizen participation’, Journal of the American Institute of Planners 35(4): 216–24.

Article 19 (2014) ‘The Free Flow Principles: freedom of expression and the rights to water and sanitation’ [online], <www.article19.org/resources.php/resource/37492/en/the-freeflow-principles:-freedom-of-expression-and-the-rights-to-water-and-sanitation> [accessed 22 September 2014]. www.article19.org/resources.php/resource/37492/en/the-freeflow-principles:-freedom-of-expression-and-the-rights-to-water-and-sanitation

Castello, G., Lavalle, A.G. and Houtzager, P. (2007) ‘Civil organizations and political representation in Brazil's participatory institutions’, in A. Cornwall and V. Schattan Coelho (eds), Spaces for Change? The Politics of Citizen Participation in New Democratic Arenas, London: Zed Books 114–130.

Coelho, V.S. (2007) ‘Brazilian health councils: including the excluded?’ in A. Cornwall and V. Schattan Coelho (eds), Spaces for Change? The Politics of Citizen Participation in New Democratic Arenas, London: Zed Books 33–54.

Creighton, J.L. (2005) The Public Participation Handbook: Making Better Decisions Through Citizen Involvement, San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons.

du Toit, D. and Pollard, S. (2008) ‘Updating public participation in IWRM: a proposal for a focused and structured engagement with catchment management strategies’, Water SA 34(6). It's an online journal, no page numbers are given. Available at http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?pid=S1816-79502008000600007&script=sci_arttext&tlng=es (accessed 10th October 2014) http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?pid=S1816-79502008000600007&script=sci_arttext&tlng=es

Estrella, M. and Gaventa, J. (1998) ‘Who counts reality? Participatory monitoring and evaluation: a literature review’, IDS Working Paper No. 70, Brighton: Institute of Development Studies.

Foti, J. and De Silva, L. (2008) Voice and Choice: Opening the Door to Environmental Democracy, Washington, DC: World Resources Institute.

Fung, A. and Olin Wright, E. (2001) ‘Deepening democracy: innovations in empowered participatory governance’, Political Sociology 29: 5–42.

Gaventa, J. (2002) ‘Introduction: exploring citizenship, participation and accountability’, IDS Bulletin 33(2): 1–11.

Goetz, A-M. and Jenkins, R. (2005) Reinventing Accountability: Making Democracy Work for Human Development, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Holland, J. (2013) ‘Introduction: participatory statistics: a ‘win-win’ for international development’, in J. Holland (ed.), Who Counts? The Power of Participatory Statistics, Rugby: Practical Action Publishing 1–20.

International Law Association (2004) The Berlin Rules on Water Resources [pdf] http://internationalwaterlaw.org/documents/intldocs/ILA_Berlin_Rules-2004.pdf [accessed 22 September 2014]. http://internationalwaterlaw.org/documents/intldocs/ILA_Berlin_Rules-2004.pdf

Irvin, R. and Stansbury, J. (2004) ‘Citizen participation in decision making: is it worth the effort?’ Public Administration Review 64(1): 55–65 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2004.00346.x>.

Jones, H. and Reed, B. (2005) Water and Sanitation for Disabled People and Other Vulnerable Groups: Designing Services to Improve Accessibility [online], Loughborough: WEDC, Loughborough University <https://wedc-knowledge.lboro.ac.uk/details.html?id=16357> [accessed 27 August 2014]. https://wedc-knowledge.lboro.ac.uk/details.html?id=16357

Kar, K. and Chambers, R. (2008) Handbook on Community-Led Total Sanitation, Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies; London: Plan International.

Khwaja, A.I. (2004) ‘Is increasing community participation always a good thing?’ Journal of the European Economic Association 2(2–3): 427–36 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/154247604323068113>.

King, C.S., Feltey, K.M. and O’Neill Susel, B. (1998) ‘The question of participation: toward authentic public participation in public administration’, Public Administration Review 58(4): 317–26.

Mahmoud, S. (2007) ‘Spaces for participation in health systems in rural Bangladesh: the experience of stakeholder community groups’, in A. Cornwall and V. Schattan Coelho (eds), Spaces for Change? The Politics of Citizen Participation in New Democratic Arenas, London: Zed Books 55–75.

Manikutty, S. (1997) ‘Community participation: so what? Evidence from a comparative study of two rural water supply and sanitation projects in India’, Development Policy Review 15: 115–40.

Marks, S.J., Komives, K. and Davis, J. (2014) ‘Community participation and water supply sustainability evidence from handpump projects in rural Ghana’, Journal of Planning Education and Research 34(3): 276–86 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0739456X14527620>.

Mumma, A. (2007) ‘Kenya's new water law: an analysis of the implications of Kenya's Water Act, 2002 for the rural poor’, in B. van Koppen, M. Giordano and J. Butterworth (eds), Communitybased Water Law and Water Resource Management Reform in Developing Countries, London: CAB International 158–172.

Musembi, C. (forthcoming, 2015) ‘Watered down: gender and the human right to water and reasonable sanitation in Mathare, Nairobi’, in A. Hellum and P. Kameri-Mbote (eds), Water is Life: Women's Human Rights in National and Local Water Governance in Southern and Eastern Africa, forthcoming, Harare: Weaver Press.

Navarro, Z. (2004) ‘Decentralization, participation and social control of public resources: “participatory budgeting” in Porto Alegre, Brazil’, in Citizens in Charge: Managing Local Budgets in East Asia and Latin America, pp. 247–91, Washington, DC: IADB.

Occupiers of 51 Olivia Road, Berea Township and 197 Main Street, Johannesburg v. City of Johannesburg and others, CCT 24/07.

O’Reilly, K. (2010) ‘Combining sanitation and women's participation in water supply: an example from Rajasthan’, Development in Practice 20(1): 45–56.

Pan-Africa Community-Led Total Sanitation Project (2012) ‘Annual Report 2012’, Trigger Magazine [pdf] <www.communityledtotalsanitation.org/sites/communityledtotalsanitation.org/files/Trigger_2012.pdf> [accessed 22 September 2014]. www.communityledtotalsanitation.org/sites/communityledtotalsanitation.org/files/Trigger_2012.pdf

Prokopy, L.S. (2005) ‘The relationship between participation and project outcomes: evidence from rural water supply projects in India’, World Development 33(11): 1801–19 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2005.07.002>.

Rambaldi, G. (2013) ‘Participatory 3-dimensional modelling for policy change and planning: the practice and the potential’, in J. Holland (ed.), Who Counts? The Power of Participatory Statistics, Rugby: Practical Action Publishing 23–36.

Residents of Bon Vista Mansions v. Southern Metropolitan Local Council, High Court Case No. 01/12312.

Silveira, R.B., Heller, L. and Rezende, S. (2013) ‘Identificando correntes teóricas de planejamento: uma avaliação do Plano Nacional de Saneamento Básico (Plansab)’, Revista de Administração Pública 47(3): 601-a.

Sintomer, Y., Herzberg, C. and Allegretti, G. (2013) ‘Participatory budgeting worldwide’, Dialog Global 25, BMZ Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (UNCESCR) (2003) General Comment No. 15 (Right to Water) [online], E/C.12/2002/11, <http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=E%2fC.12%2f2002%2f11&Lang=en> [accessed 22 September 2014]. http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=E%2fC.12%2f2002%2f11&Lang=en

UN Independent Expert on Foreign Debt and Human Rights (2013) ‘End of mission statement, Athens 26 April 2013’ [online], <www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=13272&LangID=E> [accessed 22 September 2014]. www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=13272&LangID=E

UN-REDD Programme (2013) Guidelines on Free, Prior and Informed Consent, Rome: FAO; New York: UNDP; Nairobi: UNEP.

UN Special Rapporteur (2010) On the Right Track: Good Practices in Realizing the Rights to Water and Sanitation [pdf] <www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Water/BookonGoodPractices_en.pdf> [accessed 27 August 2014]. www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Water/BookonGoodPractices_en.pdf

UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights (2012) Guiding Principles on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights [pdf], A/HRC/21/39, <www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Poverty/A-HRC-21-39_en.pdf> [accessed 22 September 2014]. www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Poverty/A-HRC-21-39_en.pdf

UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Water and Sanitation (2012) Stigma and the Realization of the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation [pdf], A/HRC/21/42 <www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/RegularSession/Session21/A-HRC-21-42_en.pdf> [accessed 22 September 2014]. www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/RegularSession/Session21/A-HRC-21-42_en.pdf

UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (2005) Guidelines on the Promotion of the Realization of the Right to Drinking Water and Sanitation [pdf] <www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Water/Sub_Com_Guisse_guidelines.pdf> [accessed 22 September 2014]. www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Water/Sub_Com_Guisse_guidelines.pdf

Von Lieres, B. and Kahane, D. (2007) ‘Inclusion and representation in democratic deliberations: lessons from Canada's Romanow Commission’, in A. Cornwall and V. Schattan Coelho (eds), Spaces for Change? The Politics of Citizen Participation in New Democratic Arenas, London: Zed Books 131–151.

Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP) (2013) ‘Getting communities engaged in water and sanitation projects: participatory design and consumer feedback’ [online], Topic Brief February 2013 <www.wsup.com/resource/getting-communities-engaged-in-water-andsanitation-projects-participatory-design-and-consumer-feedback/> [accessed 22 September 2014]. www.wsup.com/resource/getting-communities-engaged-in-water-andsanitation-projects-participatory-design-and-consumer-feedback/

WaterAid (2013) ‘Improving stakeholder participation in the budgeting process’, Briefing Note February 2013, London: WaterAid.

Adler, R., Claassen, M., Godfrey, L. and Turton, A. (2007) ‘Water, mining and waste: an historical and economic perspective on conflict management in South Africa’, The Economics of Peace and Security Journal 2(2): 33–41.

Amnesty International (2010) Insecurity and Indignity: Women's Experiences in the Slums of Nairobi, Kenya [pdf] <www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AFR32/002/2010> [accessed 27 August 2014]. www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AFR32/002/2010

Arnstein, S.R. (1969) ‘A ladder of citizen participation’, Journal of the American Institute of Planners 35(4): 216–24.

Article 19 (2014) ‘The Free Flow Principles: freedom of expression and the rights to water and sanitation’ [online], <www.article19.org/resources.php/resource/37492/en/the-freeflow-principles:-freedom-of-expression-and-the-rights-to-water-and-sanitation> [accessed 22 September 2014]. www.article19.org/resources.php/resource/37492/en/the-freeflow-principles:-freedom-of-expression-and-the-rights-to-water-and-sanitation

Castello, G., Lavalle, A.G. and Houtzager, P. (2007) ‘Civil organizations and political representation in Brazil's participatory institutions’, in A. Cornwall and V. Schattan Coelho (eds), Spaces for Change? The Politics of Citizen Participation in New Democratic Arenas, London: Zed Books 114–130.

Coelho, V.S. (2007) ‘Brazilian health councils: including the excluded?’ in A. Cornwall and V. Schattan Coelho (eds), Spaces for Change? The Politics of Citizen Participation in New Democratic Arenas, London: Zed Books 33–54.

Creighton, J.L. (2005) The Public Participation Handbook: Making Better Decisions Through Citizen Involvement, San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons.

du Toit, D. and Pollard, S. (2008) ‘Updating public participation in IWRM: a proposal for a focused and structured engagement with catchment management strategies’, Water SA 34(6). It's an online journal, no page numbers are given. Available at http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?pid=S1816-79502008000600007&script=sci_arttext&tlng=es (accessed 10th October 2014) http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?pid=S1816-79502008000600007&script=sci_arttext&tlng=es

Estrella, M. and Gaventa, J. (1998) ‘Who counts reality? Participatory monitoring and evaluation: a literature review’, IDS Working Paper No. 70, Brighton: Institute of Development Studies.

Foti, J. and De Silva, L. (2008) Voice and Choice: Opening the Door to Environmental Democracy, Washington, DC: World Resources Institute.

Fung, A. and Olin Wright, E. (2001) ‘Deepening democracy: innovations in empowered participatory governance’, Political Sociology 29: 5–42.

Gaventa, J. (2002) ‘Introduction: exploring citizenship, participation and accountability’, IDS Bulletin 33(2): 1–11.

Goetz, A-M. and Jenkins, R. (2005) Reinventing Accountability: Making Democracy Work for Human Development, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Holland, J. (2013) ‘Introduction: participatory statistics: a ‘win-win’ for international development’, in J. Holland (ed.), Who Counts? The Power of Participatory Statistics, Rugby: Practical Action Publishing 1–20.

International Law Association (2004) The Berlin Rules on Water Resources [pdf] http://internationalwaterlaw.org/documents/intldocs/ILA_Berlin_Rules-2004.pdf [accessed 22 September 2014]. http://internationalwaterlaw.org/documents/intldocs/ILA_Berlin_Rules-2004.pdf

Irvin, R. and Stansbury, J. (2004) ‘Citizen participation in decision making: is it worth the effort?’ Public Administration Review 64(1): 55–65 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2004.00346.x>.

Jones, H. and Reed, B. (2005) Water and Sanitation for Disabled People and Other Vulnerable Groups: Designing Services to Improve Accessibility [online], Loughborough: WEDC, Loughborough University <https://wedc-knowledge.lboro.ac.uk/details.html?id=16357> [accessed 27 August 2014]. https://wedc-knowledge.lboro.ac.uk/details.html?id=16357

Kar, K. and Chambers, R. (2008) Handbook on Community-Led Total Sanitation, Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies; London: Plan International.

Khwaja, A.I. (2004) ‘Is increasing community participation always a good thing?’ Journal of the European Economic Association 2(2–3): 427–36 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/154247604323068113>.

King, C.S., Feltey, K.M. and O’Neill Susel, B. (1998) ‘The question of participation: toward authentic public participation in public administration’, Public Administration Review 58(4): 317–26.

Mahmoud, S. (2007) ‘Spaces for participation in health systems in rural Bangladesh: the experience of stakeholder community groups’, in A. Cornwall and V. Schattan Coelho (eds), Spaces for Change? The Politics of Citizen Participation in New Democratic Arenas, London: Zed Books 55–75.

Manikutty, S. (1997) ‘Community participation: so what? Evidence from a comparative study of two rural water supply and sanitation projects in India’, Development Policy Review 15: 115–40.

Marks, S.J., Komives, K. and Davis, J. (2014) ‘Community participation and water supply sustainability evidence from handpump projects in rural Ghana’, Journal of Planning Education and Research 34(3): 276–86 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0739456X14527620>.

Mumma, A. (2007) ‘Kenya's new water law: an analysis of the implications of Kenya's Water Act, 2002 for the rural poor’, in B. van Koppen, M. Giordano and J. Butterworth (eds), Communitybased Water Law and Water Resource Management Reform in Developing Countries, London: CAB International 158–172.

Musembi, C. (forthcoming, 2015) ‘Watered down: gender and the human right to water and reasonable sanitation in Mathare, Nairobi’, in A. Hellum and P. Kameri-Mbote (eds), Water is Life: Women's Human Rights in National and Local Water Governance in Southern and Eastern Africa, forthcoming, Harare: Weaver Press.

Navarro, Z. (2004) ‘Decentralization, participation and social control of public resources: “participatory budgeting” in Porto Alegre, Brazil’, in Citizens in Charge: Managing Local Budgets in East Asia and Latin America, pp. 247–91, Washington, DC: IADB.

Occupiers of 51 Olivia Road, Berea Township and 197 Main Street, Johannesburg v. City of Johannesburg and others, CCT 24/07.

O’Reilly, K. (2010) ‘Combining sanitation and women's participation in water supply: an example from Rajasthan’, Development in Practice 20(1): 45–56.

Pan-Africa Community-Led Total Sanitation Project (2012) ‘Annual Report 2012’, Trigger Magazine [pdf] <www.communityledtotalsanitation.org/sites/communityledtotalsanitation.org/files/Trigger_2012.pdf> [accessed 22 September 2014]. www.communityledtotalsanitation.org/sites/communityledtotalsanitation.org/files/Trigger_2012.pdf

Prokopy, L.S. (2005) ‘The relationship between participation and project outcomes: evidence from rural water supply projects in India’, World Development 33(11): 1801–19 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2005.07.002>.

Rambaldi, G. (2013) ‘Participatory 3-dimensional modelling for policy change and planning: the practice and the potential’, in J. Holland (ed.), Who Counts? The Power of Participatory Statistics, Rugby: Practical Action Publishing 23–36.

Residents of Bon Vista Mansions v. Southern Metropolitan Local Council, High Court Case No. 01/12312.

Silveira, R.B., Heller, L. and Rezende, S. (2013) ‘Identificando correntes teóricas de planejamento: uma avaliação do Plano Nacional de Saneamento Básico (Plansab)’, Revista de Administração Pública 47(3): 601-a.

Sintomer, Y., Herzberg, C. and Allegretti, G. (2013) ‘Participatory budgeting worldwide’, Dialog Global 25, BMZ Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (UNCESCR) (2003) General Comment No. 15 (Right to Water) [online], E/C.12/2002/11, <http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=E%2fC.12%2f2002%2f11&Lang=en> [accessed 22 September 2014]. http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=E%2fC.12%2f2002%2f11&Lang=en

UN Independent Expert on Foreign Debt and Human Rights (2013) ‘End of mission statement, Athens 26 April 2013’ [online], <www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=13272&LangID=E> [accessed 22 September 2014]. www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=13272&LangID=E

UN-REDD Programme (2013) Guidelines on Free, Prior and Informed Consent, Rome: FAO; New York: UNDP; Nairobi: UNEP.

UN Special Rapporteur (2010) On the Right Track: Good Practices in Realizing the Rights to Water and Sanitation [pdf] <www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Water/BookonGoodPractices_en.pdf> [accessed 27 August 2014]. www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Water/BookonGoodPractices_en.pdf

UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights (2012) Guiding Principles on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights [pdf], A/HRC/21/39, <www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Poverty/A-HRC-21-39_en.pdf> [accessed 22 September 2014]. www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Poverty/A-HRC-21-39_en.pdf

UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Water and Sanitation (2012) Stigma and the Realization of the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation [pdf], A/HRC/21/42 <www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/RegularSession/Session21/A-HRC-21-42_en.pdf> [accessed 22 September 2014]. www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/RegularSession/Session21/A-HRC-21-42_en.pdf

UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (2005) Guidelines on the Promotion of the Realization of the Right to Drinking Water and Sanitation [pdf] <www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Water/Sub_Com_Guisse_guidelines.pdf> [accessed 22 September 2014]. www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Water/Sub_Com_Guisse_guidelines.pdf

Von Lieres, B. and Kahane, D. (2007) ‘Inclusion and representation in democratic deliberations: lessons from Canada's Romanow Commission’, in A. Cornwall and V. Schattan Coelho (eds), Spaces for Change? The Politics of Citizen Participation in New Democratic Arenas, London: Zed Books 131–151.

Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP) (2013) ‘Getting communities engaged in water and sanitation projects: participatory design and consumer feedback’ [online], Topic Brief February 2013 <www.wsup.com/resource/getting-communities-engaged-in-water-andsanitation-projects-participatory-design-and-consumer-feedback/> [accessed 22 September 2014]. www.wsup.com/resource/getting-communities-engaged-in-water-andsanitation-projects-participatory-design-and-consumer-feedback/

WaterAid (2013) ‘Improving stakeholder participation in the budgeting process’, Briefing Note February 2013, London: WaterAid.

Adler, R., Claassen, M., Godfrey, L. and Turton, A. (2007) ‘Water, mining and waste: an historical and economic perspective on conflict management in South Africa’, The Economics of Peace and Security Journal 2(2): 33–41.

Amnesty International (2010) Insecurity and Indignity: Women's Experiences in the Slums of Nairobi, Kenya [pdf] <www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AFR32/002/2010> [accessed 27 August 2014]. www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AFR32/002/2010

Arnstein, S.R. (1969) ‘A ladder of citizen participation’, Journal of the American Institute of Planners 35(4): 216–24.

Article 19 (2014) ‘The Free Flow Principles: freedom of expression and the rights to water and sanitation’ [online], <www.article19.org/resources.php/resource/37492/en/the-freeflow-principles:-freedom-of-expression-and-the-rights-to-water-and-sanitation> [accessed 22 September 2014]. www.article19.org/resources.php/resource/37492/en/the-freeflow-principles:-freedom-of-expression-and-the-rights-to-water-and-sanitation

Castello, G., Lavalle, A.G. and Houtzager, P. (2007) ‘Civil organizations and political representation in Brazil's participatory institutions’, in A. Cornwall and V. Schattan Coelho (eds), Spaces for Change? The Politics of Citizen Participation in New Democratic Arenas, London: Zed Books 114–130.

Coelho, V.S. (2007) ‘Brazilian health councils: including the excluded?’ in A. Cornwall and V. Schattan Coelho (eds), Spaces for Change? The Politics of Citizen Participation in New Democratic Arenas, London: Zed Books 33–54.

Creighton, J.L. (2005) The Public Participation Handbook: Making Better Decisions Through Citizen Involvement, San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons.

du Toit, D. and Pollard, S. (2008) ‘Updating public participation in IWRM: a proposal for a focused and structured engagement with catchment management strategies’, Water SA 34(6). It's an online journal, no page numbers are given. Available at http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?pid=S1816-79502008000600007&script=sci_arttext&tlng=es (accessed 10th October 2014) http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?pid=S1816-79502008000600007&script=sci_arttext&tlng=es

Estrella, M. and Gaventa, J. (1998) ‘Who counts reality? Participatory monitoring and evaluation: a literature review’, IDS Working Paper No. 70, Brighton: Institute of Development Studies.

Foti, J. and De Silva, L. (2008) Voice and Choice: Opening the Door to Environmental Democracy, Washington, DC: World Resources Institute.

Fung, A. and Olin Wright, E. (2001) ‘Deepening democracy: innovations in empowered participatory governance’, Political Sociology 29: 5–42.

Gaventa, J. (2002) ‘Introduction: exploring citizenship, participation and accountability’, IDS Bulletin 33(2): 1–11.

Goetz, A-M. and Jenkins, R. (2005) Reinventing Accountability: Making Democracy Work for Human Development, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Holland, J. (2013) ‘Introduction: participatory statistics: a ‘win-win’ for international development’, in J. Holland (ed.), Who Counts? The Power of Participatory Statistics, Rugby: Practical Action Publishing 1–20.

International Law Association (2004) The Berlin Rules on Water Resources [pdf] http://internationalwaterlaw.org/documents/intldocs/ILA_Berlin_Rules-2004.pdf [accessed 22 September 2014]. http://internationalwaterlaw.org/documents/intldocs/ILA_Berlin_Rules-2004.pdf

Irvin, R. and Stansbury, J. (2004) ‘Citizen participation in decision making: is it worth the effort?’ Public Administration Review 64(1): 55–65 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2004.00346.x>.

Jones, H. and Reed, B. (2005) Water and Sanitation for Disabled People and Other Vulnerable Groups: Designing Services to Improve Accessibility [online], Loughborough: WEDC, Loughborough University <https://wedc-knowledge.lboro.ac.uk/details.html?id=16357> [accessed 27 August 2014]. https://wedc-knowledge.lboro.ac.uk/details.html?id=16357

Kar, K. and Chambers, R. (2008) Handbook on Community-Led Total Sanitation, Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies; London: Plan International.

Khwaja, A.I. (2004) ‘Is increasing community participation always a good thing?’ Journal of the European Economic Association 2(2–3): 427–36 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/154247604323068113>.

King, C.S., Feltey, K.M. and O’Neill Susel, B. (1998) ‘The question of participation: toward authentic public participation in public administration’, Public Administration Review 58(4): 317–26.

Mahmoud, S. (2007) ‘Spaces for participation in health systems in rural Bangladesh: the experience of stakeholder community groups’, in A. Cornwall and V. Schattan Coelho (eds), Spaces for Change? The Politics of Citizen Participation in New Democratic Arenas, London: Zed Books 55–75.

Manikutty, S. (1997) ‘Community participation: so what? Evidence from a comparative study of two rural water supply and sanitation projects in India’, Development Policy Review 15: 115–40.

Marks, S.J., Komives, K. and Davis, J. (2014) ‘Community participation and water supply sustainability evidence from handpump projects in rural Ghana’, Journal of Planning Education and Research 34(3): 276–86 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0739456X14527620>.

Mumma, A. (2007) ‘Kenya's new water law: an analysis of the implications of Kenya's Water Act, 2002 for the rural poor’, in B. van Koppen, M. Giordano and J. Butterworth (eds), Communitybased Water Law and Water Resource Management Reform in Developing Countries, London: CAB International 158–172.

Musembi, C. (forthcoming, 2015) ‘Watered down: gender and the human right to water and reasonable sanitation in Mathare, Nairobi’, in A. Hellum and P. Kameri-Mbote (eds), Water is Life: Women's Human Rights in National and Local Water Governance in Southern and Eastern Africa, forthcoming, Harare: Weaver Press.

Navarro, Z. (2004) ‘Decentralization, participation and social control of public resources: “participatory budgeting” in Porto Alegre, Brazil’, in Citizens in Charge: Managing Local Budgets in East Asia and Latin America, pp. 247–91, Washington, DC: IADB.

Occupiers of 51 Olivia Road, Berea Township and 197 Main Street, Johannesburg v. City of Johannesburg and others, CCT 24/07.

O’Reilly, K. (2010) ‘Combining sanitation and women's participation in water supply: an example from Rajasthan’, Development in Practice 20(1): 45–56.

Pan-Africa Community-Led Total Sanitation Project (2012) ‘Annual Report 2012’, Trigger Magazine [pdf] <www.communityledtotalsanitation.org/sites/communityledtotalsanitation.org/files/Trigger_2012.pdf> [accessed 22 September 2014]. www.communityledtotalsanitation.org/sites/communityledtotalsanitation.org/files/Trigger_2012.pdf

Prokopy, L.S. (2005) ‘The relationship between participation and project outcomes: evidence from rural water supply projects in India’, World Development 33(11): 1801–19 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2005.07.002>.

Rambaldi, G. (2013) ‘Participatory 3-dimensional modelling for policy change and planning: the practice and the potential’, in J. Holland (ed.), Who Counts? The Power of Participatory Statistics, Rugby: Practical Action Publishing 23–36.

Residents of Bon Vista Mansions v. Southern Metropolitan Local Council, High Court Case No. 01/12312.

Silveira, R.B., Heller, L. and Rezende, S. (2013) ‘Identificando correntes teóricas de planejamento: uma avaliação do Plano Nacional de Saneamento Básico (Plansab)’, Revista de Administração Pública 47(3): 601-a.

Sintomer, Y., Herzberg, C. and Allegretti, G. (2013) ‘Participatory budgeting worldwide’, Dialog Global 25, BMZ Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (UNCESCR) (2003) General Comment No. 15 (Right to Water) [online], E/C.12/2002/11, <http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=E%2fC.12%2f2002%2f11&Lang=en> [accessed 22 September 2014]. http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=E%2fC.12%2f2002%2f11&Lang=en

UN Independent Expert on Foreign Debt and Human Rights (2013) ‘End of mission statement, Athens 26 April 2013’ [online], <www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=13272&LangID=E> [accessed 22 September 2014]. www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=13272&LangID=E

UN-REDD Programme (2013) Guidelines on Free, Prior and Informed Consent, Rome: FAO; New York: UNDP; Nairobi: UNEP.

UN Special Rapporteur (2010) On the Right Track: Good Practices in Realizing the Rights to Water and Sanitation [pdf] <www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Water/BookonGoodPractices_en.pdf> [accessed 27 August 2014]. www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Water/BookonGoodPractices_en.pdf

UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights (2012) Guiding Principles on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights [pdf], A/HRC/21/39, <www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Poverty/A-HRC-21-39_en.pdf> [accessed 22 September 2014]. www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Poverty/A-HRC-21-39_en.pdf

UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Water and Sanitation (2012) Stigma and the Realization of the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation [pdf], A/HRC/21/42 <www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/RegularSession/Session21/A-HRC-21-42_en.pdf> [accessed 22 September 2014]. www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/RegularSession/Session21/A-HRC-21-42_en.pdf

UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (2005) Guidelines on the Promotion of the Realization of the Right to Drinking Water and Sanitation [pdf] <www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Water/Sub_Com_Guisse_guidelines.pdf> [accessed 22 September 2014]. www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Water/Sub_Com_Guisse_guidelines.pdf

Von Lieres, B. and Kahane, D. (2007) ‘Inclusion and representation in democratic deliberations: lessons from Canada's Romanow Commission’, in A. Cornwall and V. Schattan Coelho (eds), Spaces for Change? The Politics of Citizen Participation in New Democratic Arenas, London: Zed Books 131–151.

Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP) (2013) ‘Getting communities engaged in water and sanitation projects: participatory design and consumer feedback’ [online], Topic Brief February 2013 <www.wsup.com/resource/getting-communities-engaged-in-water-andsanitation-projects-participatory-design-and-consumer-feedback/> [accessed 22 September 2014]. www.wsup.com/resource/getting-communities-engaged-in-water-andsanitation-projects-participatory-design-and-consumer-feedback/

WaterAid (2013) ‘Improving stakeholder participation in the budgeting process’, Briefing Note February 2013, London: WaterAid.

Adler, R., Claassen, M., Godfrey, L. and Turton, A. (2007) ‘Water, mining and waste: an historical and economic perspective on conflict management in South Africa’, The Economics of Peace and Security Journal 2(2): 33–41.

Amnesty International (2010) Insecurity and Indignity: Women's Experiences in the Slums of Nairobi, Kenya [pdf] <www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AFR32/002/2010> [accessed 27 August 2014]. www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AFR32/002/2010

Arnstein, S.R. (1969) ‘A ladder of citizen participation’, Journal of the American Institute of Planners 35(4): 216–24.

Article 19 (2014) ‘The Free Flow Principles: freedom of expression and the rights to water and sanitation’ [online], <www.article19.org/resources.php/resource/37492/en/the-freeflow-principles:-freedom-of-expression-and-the-rights-to-water-and-sanitation> [accessed 22 September 2014]. www.article19.org/resources.php/resource/37492/en/the-freeflow-principles:-freedom-of-expression-and-the-rights-to-water-and-sanitation

Castello, G., Lavalle, A.G. and Houtzager, P. (2007) ‘Civil organizations and political representation in Brazil's participatory institutions’, in A. Cornwall and V. Schattan Coelho (eds), Spaces for Change? The Politics of Citizen Participation in New Democratic Arenas, London: Zed Books 114–130.

Coelho, V.S. (2007) ‘Brazilian health councils: including the excluded?’ in A. Cornwall and V. Schattan Coelho (eds), Spaces for Change? The Politics of Citizen Participation in New Democratic Arenas, London: Zed Books 33–54.

Creighton, J.L. (2005) The Public Participation Handbook: Making Better Decisions Through Citizen Involvement, San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons.

du Toit, D. and Pollard, S. (2008) ‘Updating public participation in IWRM: a proposal for a focused and structured engagement with catchment management strategies’, Water SA 34(6). It's an online journal, no page numbers are given. Available at http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?pid=S1816-79502008000600007&script=sci_arttext&tlng=es (accessed 10th October 2014) http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?pid=S1816-79502008000600007&script=sci_arttext&tlng=es

Estrella, M. and Gaventa, J. (1998) ‘Who counts reality? Participatory monitoring and evaluation: a literature review’, IDS Working Paper No. 70, Brighton: Institute of Development Studies.

Foti, J. and De Silva, L. (2008) Voice and Choice: Opening the Door to Environmental Democracy, Washington, DC: World Resources Institute.

Fung, A. and Olin Wright, E. (2001) ‘Deepening democracy: innovations in empowered participatory governance’, Political Sociology 29: 5–42.

Gaventa, J. (2002) ‘Introduction: exploring citizenship, participation and accountability’, IDS Bulletin 33(2): 1–11.

Goetz, A-M. and Jenkins, R. (2005) Reinventing Accountability: Making Democracy Work for Human Development, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Holland, J. (2013) ‘Introduction: participatory statistics: a ‘win-win’ for international development’, in J. Holland (ed.), Who Counts? The Power of Participatory Statistics, Rugby: Practical Action Publishing 1–20.

International Law Association (2004) The Berlin Rules on Water Resources [pdf] http://internationalwaterlaw.org/documents/intldocs/ILA_Berlin_Rules-2004.pdf [accessed 22 September 2014]. http://internationalwaterlaw.org/documents/intldocs/ILA_Berlin_Rules-2004.pdf

Irvin, R. and Stansbury, J. (2004) ‘Citizen participation in decision making: is it worth the effort?’ Public Administration Review 64(1): 55–65 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2004.00346.x>.

Jones, H. and Reed, B. (2005) Water and Sanitation for Disabled People and Other Vulnerable Groups: Designing Services to Improve Accessibility [online], Loughborough: WEDC, Loughborough University <https://wedc-knowledge.lboro.ac.uk/details.html?id=16357> [accessed 27 August 2014]. https://wedc-knowledge.lboro.ac.uk/details.html?id=16357

Kar, K. and Chambers, R. (2008) Handbook on Community-Led Total Sanitation, Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies; London: Plan International.

Khwaja, A.I. (2004) ‘Is increasing community participation always a good thing?’ Journal of the European Economic Association 2(2–3): 427–36 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/154247604323068113>.

King, C.S., Feltey, K.M. and O’Neill Susel, B. (1998) ‘The question of participation: toward authentic public participation in public administration’, Public Administration Review 58(4): 317–26.

Mahmoud, S. (2007) ‘Spaces for participation in health systems in rural Bangladesh: the experience of stakeholder community groups’, in A. Cornwall and V. Schattan Coelho (eds), Spaces for Change? The Politics of Citizen Participation in New Democratic Arenas, London: Zed Books 55–75.

Manikutty, S. (1997) ‘Community participation: so what? Evidence from a comparative study of two rural water supply and sanitation projects in India’, Development Policy Review 15: 115–40.

Marks, S.J., Komives, K. and Davis, J. (2014) ‘Community participation and water supply sustainability evidence from handpump projects in rural Ghana’, Journal of Planning Education and Research 34(3): 276–86 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0739456X14527620>.

Mumma, A. (2007) ‘Kenya's new water law: an analysis of the implications of Kenya's Water Act, 2002 for the rural poor’, in B. van Koppen, M. Giordano and J. Butterworth (eds), Communitybased Water Law and Water Resource Management Reform in Developing Countries, London: CAB International 158–172.

Musembi, C. (forthcoming, 2015) ‘Watered down: gender and the human right to water and reasonable sanitation in Mathare, Nairobi’, in A. Hellum and P. Kameri-Mbote (eds), Water is Life: Women's Human Rights in National and Local Water Governance in Southern and Eastern Africa, forthcoming, Harare: Weaver Press.

Navarro, Z. (2004) ‘Decentralization, participation and social control of public resources: “participatory budgeting” in Porto Alegre, Brazil’, in Citizens in Charge: Managing Local Budgets in East Asia and Latin America, pp. 247–91, Washington, DC: IADB.

Occupiers of 51 Olivia Road, Berea Township and 197 Main Street, Johannesburg v. City of Johannesburg and others, CCT 24/07.

O’Reilly, K. (2010) ‘Combining sanitation and women's participation in water supply: an example from Rajasthan’, Development in Practice 20(1): 45–56.

Pan-Africa Community-Led Total Sanitation Project (2012) ‘Annual Report 2012’, Trigger Magazine [pdf] <www.communityledtotalsanitation.org/sites/communityledtotalsanitation.org/files/Trigger_2012.pdf> [accessed 22 September 2014]. www.communityledtotalsanitation.org/sites/communityledtotalsanitation.org/files/Trigger_2012.pdf

Prokopy, L.S. (2005) ‘The relationship between participation and project outcomes: evidence from rural water supply projects in India’, World Development 33(11): 1801–19 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2005.07.002>.

Rambaldi, G. (2013) ‘Participatory 3-dimensional modelling for policy change and planning: the practice and the potential’, in J. Holland (ed.), Who Counts? The Power of Participatory Statistics, Rugby: Practical Action Publishing 23–36.

Residents of Bon Vista Mansions v. Southern Metropolitan Local Council, High Court Case No. 01/12312.

Silveira, R.B., Heller, L. and Rezende, S. (2013) ‘Identificando correntes teóricas de planejamento: uma avaliação do Plano Nacional de Saneamento Básico (Plansab)’, Revista de Administração Pública 47(3): 601-a.

Sintomer, Y., Herzberg, C. and Allegretti, G. (2013) ‘Participatory budgeting worldwide’, Dialog Global 25, BMZ Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (UNCESCR) (2003) General Comment No. 15 (Right to Water) [online], E/C.12/2002/11, <http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=E%2fC.12%2f2002%2f11&Lang=en> [accessed 22 September 2014]. http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=E%2fC.12%2f2002%2f11&Lang=en

UN Independent Expert on Foreign Debt and Human Rights (2013) ‘End of mission statement, Athens 26 April 2013’ [online], <www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=13272&LangID=E> [accessed 22 September 2014]. www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=13272&LangID=E

UN-REDD Programme (2013) Guidelines on Free, Prior and Informed Consent, Rome: FAO; New York: UNDP; Nairobi: UNEP.

UN Special Rapporteur (2010) On the Right Track: Good Practices in Realizing the Rights to Water and Sanitation [pdf] <www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Water/BookonGoodPractices_en.pdf> [accessed 27 August 2014]. www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Water/BookonGoodPractices_en.pdf

UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights (2012) Guiding Principles on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights [pdf], A/HRC/21/39, <www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Poverty/A-HRC-21-39_en.pdf> [accessed 22 September 2014]. www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Poverty/A-HRC-21-39_en.pdf

UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Water and Sanitation (2012) Stigma and the Realization of the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation [pdf], A/HRC/21/42 <www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/RegularSession/Session21/A-HRC-21-42_en.pdf> [accessed 22 September 2014]. www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/RegularSession/Session21/A-HRC-21-42_en.pdf

UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (2005) Guidelines on the Promotion of the Realization of the Right to Drinking Water and Sanitation [pdf] <www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Water/Sub_Com_Guisse_guidelines.pdf> [accessed 22 September 2014]. www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Water/Sub_Com_Guisse_guidelines.pdf

Von Lieres, B. and Kahane, D. (2007) ‘Inclusion and representation in democratic deliberations: lessons from Canada's Romanow Commission’, in A. Cornwall and V. Schattan Coelho (eds), Spaces for Change? The Politics of Citizen Participation in New Democratic Arenas, London: Zed Books 131–151.

Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP) (2013) ‘Getting communities engaged in water and sanitation projects: participatory design and consumer feedback’ [online], Topic Brief February 2013 <www.wsup.com/resource/getting-communities-engaged-in-water-andsanitation-projects-participatory-design-and-consumer-feedback/> [accessed 22 September 2014]. www.wsup.com/resource/getting-communities-engaged-in-water-andsanitation-projects-participatory-design-and-consumer-feedback/

WaterAid (2013) ‘Improving stakeholder participation in the budgeting process’, Briefing Note February 2013, London: WaterAid.