THE NEW ECONOMY OF WATER

摘要

There's a certain irony to working at the vortex of water sector and international development. At a national level, water sector specialists are repeatedly asked by other sectors to "state their case" as to why the water sector should receive additional funds or attention, relative to other social sectors, such as health and education. Due to the territorial nature of the budgeting process, the water sector often receives less attention and prioritiza-tion in funding. There are many practical reasons for this, ranging from the complexities inherent in water governance relative to health or education at a national level (health and education tend to have one responsible ministry, while water can have several 'responsible ministries') to historical patterns whereby the sector was considered an 'infrastructure' gap, instead of a more holistic gap requiring considerable institutional, political, social, and economic attention.