Rural water tenure in East Africa: a comparative study of legal regimes and community responses to changing tenure patterns in Tanzania and Kenya

This paper looks at the water policy of Tanzania, and makes comparisons with the situation in Kenya. It focuses especially on recent attempts to move towards a participatory, demand-management approach to rural water supply. This focus on rural water availability is motivated by the fact that approximately 80% of the population of Africa is found in rural areas, and only about 37% of these people have access to 'safe' water sources.Policy Issues:The changes in the land tenure system and ownership patterns 'on the ground' should be monitored to assess the effects on water issues in both Kenya and Tanzania Clear guidelines on conflict prevention and resolution should be developed at the regional/national levelThe Water Rights allocation system should be reviewed at the same time as the existing Rights themselves are renewed and/or annulled. A participatory review process, involving a cross-section of water users (both those with Rights and without) and Ministry of Water staff from all levels, should be instituted Water sources should be ranked according to the threat of degradation, in terms of quantity and quality. It should prioritise monitoring and enforcement activities accordingly. This may be a good way of mobilising funding, through identifying particular problems and strategiesWater-management institutions should divide revenue into recipient end-users -and usesAny "resource and catchment conservation charge" should be carefully-judged to reflect the financial capacity of the paying community, and should be transparently directed towards effective conservation measuresAgainst a background of conflicting interests and widespread inefficiencies in the use of water, the importance of 'umbrella' community institutions, which represent a number of communities is clearThe activities of agencies working in the area of water supply should be co-ordinated at regular meetings hosted by the district or regional authoritiesIt is important in many areas that technical capacity to plan, maintain and repair water systems should be improved at the local level In cases where water systems are 'handed over' from NGOs or the Ministry of Water to local community institutions, a form of contract is necessary to ensure that the system infrastructure is clearly under the ownership of a specified institutionAs non-state stakeholders increase their abilities to manage water and to operate at a policy level, particularly umbrella organisations representing smallholders, they should be increasingly included in the government water allocation institutions