Looking for sustainable sanitation in Honduras by strengthening local governance

This study aims to analyze the causes of low use of facilities and sustainability, using an analytical framework of governance. An analysis on the local governance was carried out in:

• the rural area of the association of municipalities of downtown La Paz (MAMCEPAZ)
• the small town of Talanga, in the department of Francisco Morazan
• peri-urban areas

The study concludes that the main reasons for poor sustainability and use of sanitation facilities are,

• the weak institutional capacity of water committees
• the physical condition of the infrastructure, and
• the lack of capacities at community level

These elements have led to the need and opportunity to strengthen local governance of sanitation at different levels: the community and supporting organisations.

This final study in Spanish, as well as a summary developed by RAS-HON can be found below.

Sharin the study at international fora

One of the key objectives of IRC’s Latin American Regional Programme is to share lessons learned within Latin America, but also globally. The outcomes of the study on local governance of sanitation services in Honduras, has been shared during various occasions.

The outcomes of the study on local governance and sanitation services in Honduras were presented for an international audience at the IRC symposium Sanitation for the Urban Poor: Partnerships and Governance’, that took place in Delft, the Netherlands, from 19-21 November 2008. Please find here the links to the paper.

The study was also presented during LATINOSAN 2007, which took place in Cali, Colombia from 12-16 November 2007 and the Central American Learning and Sharing workshop on Governance for Sustainable Sanitation Services, that took place in San Salvador from 1-3 February 2010. The paper and presentation can be found by clicking the links.