CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE

Introduction

It has been widely acknowledged that water is explicitly linked with economic progress and

developmental trajectories of most countries and regions of the world. It has remained a top

priority on international agenda and merits public consideration. The concept of water scarcity

will be discussed under the following:

2.1 Water Scarcity

For the sake of research and global awareness, water scarcity is the point in which the aggregate

impact of all users impinges on the supply or quality of water under prevailing institutional

arrangement to the extent the demand cannot be fully satisfied (United Nations, 2011). Water

scarcity can be associated to economy demands and physical demands. It is also portrayed as, to

a certain extent, a natural and human made phenomenon (United Nation, 2011). It is documented

that there is about 1.2 million people approximately that do not have access to water for domestic

usage (World Health Organization (WHO), 2013). There is an abundance of research that

indicates that the year 2025 is an approximate year when water scarcity can potentially impact

from a global standpoint if the appropriate strategies are not taken (Falkenmark, 2010;

Rijisberman, 2016; Seckler et al.,2019). Rijiberman goes on to question whether the potential

water crisis can be determined as truly scarce through the study of indicators that were derived

by Malin Falkener (2019). Falkener goes to differentiate the difference between water scarcity

and water insecurity. Water insecurity is when an individual does not have access to water for

livelihood and domestic usage but scarcity is when an individual or community are water

1
insecure for a significant amount of time. Water is a complex resource. Many countries, due to

the fact that they are water rich temperate countries, fail to appreciate the fact that water is a

finite resource (Falkenmark, 2010). Water availability is based on its geographical position in the

global water cycle (Falkenmark et al., 2017) The involvement of water in the life processes of

living matters makes them vulnerable when there is a change in the quality or quantity of water

(Falkenmark, 2010). It cannot be ignored that causes of this lack 14 of “resource” is geared

towards both man and natural causes based upon the amount of stress put upon it

(CAFAmerica,2019). The distribution of water is becoming an issue, particularly in areas that are

developing without the adequate resources to maintain a proper water distribution infrastructure.

Global water usage continues to increase based on the increase population globally (Moe &

Rheingans, 2016). The literature indicates that the provision of water is related to hygiene and

the intrusion of it can leave an area vulnerable to waterborne illnesses. It call forward the global

challenges that leadership faces, such as high demands per population, irrigation practices,

sanitation implementation and water reuse methods. A call for an awareness in the climate

changes and the impact it will have on water scarcity through the potential deficit in water

resources which can be achieved through understanding the true value of water virtual operators

(Dominguez, 2010). Virtual Water Operators (VWO) are firms that operate in the water market

without the need of abstraction licenses. This paper captures how expensive it will be for a water

provider in areas where water is scarce. Seckler et al. focuses more on the economic and physical

scarcity that the globe will encounter as time continues. The research identifies water scarcity as

the single greatest threat to food security, human health and natural ecosystems (Seckler et al.

2018). The research supports the study of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI)

studies, which show that there will be a high water demand and supply situations with over 118

2
countries from the year 2010- 2025. The author calls for an increased focus by policy makers and

professionals on the continuous depletion of groundwater because of the major threat it will have

on food security. It is also reiterated again the one of the main causes of water scarcity globally

is the population growth along with the economic growth and usage of water rather than the

concept of global 15 changes that was aforementioned above (Vgrosmarty et al. 2010). The

author questions that claim of previous hydrological researcher by introducing the lack of

evidence that countries will not be able to have some form of water output. As the world’s

population grows, the average amount of renewable freshwater available per person begins to

decline (LeRoy, 2015). The projected population growth within the next few decades can push

another two dozen countries into the brink of water scarcity, adding to the fact that the predicted

changes in global climate along with the increase in water degradation will reduce water

distribution and intensify the forthcoming challenges to be faced (LeRoy, 2015). It is agreed that

developing countries, however, have not developed the appropriate water infrastructure in order

to be on the same level as developed countries which puts them at high risks for waterborne

illnesses and a reduced production in food products (Biswas, 2015). Some developing countries

mobilize only about twenty percent of their potential resources because they lack the capital and

technology to capture more (LeRoy, 2015). This is where economic scarcity becomes a factor. It

is not envisioned to change in the foreseeable future. Biswas does agree with Seckler et al.

(2018) that the lack of attention received by water professionals are likely to make radical

changes to the patterns in the water usages in numerous countries including the United States.

Countries such as Uganda, Nigeria, Cameroon and Ghana are prompted to double the

development of water supplying mechanisms by the year 2025 in order to meet the reasonable

needs of the respective country’s water demands; these countries mainly lay within the sub-

3
Saharan portion of African. With the populations beginning to increase rapidly, the

aforementioned countries do not have enough financial stability and resources in order to achieve

water development at such a rapid pace as the population growth (Secklar et al. 2019). Adding

that politicians also do not pay 16 attention to the water sector and the quality of water being

distributed, there will be a continuing rise of contaminations in the water supply, especially in

developing countries. Another factor is the depletion of fresh groundwater as a country’s water

supply. Some of the most populous countries have been mismanaging the use of this valuable

water resource hence creating problems such as drawdown with pure water aquifers due to the

abundance of wells and irrigation systems used all over the world for both domestic and

industrial usages. The other problem also developing is the rise of water tables that contain

toxins that pollute the aquifers (Seckler et al., 2019). Crop productivity becomes low and water

eventually becomes undrinkable. In retrospect, it can be said that there is an adequate amount of

literature that focuses on raising awareness about water scarcity as a global issue. It can be

agreed upon by the majority of researchers that the world will face a major water crisis within

the coming years to the rise of water scarcity, both physically and economically, in numerous

countries.

2.2 Water Scarcity in Africa

It should be reemphasized that there is a lack of knowledge and literature that is being shared

about water scarcity issues pertaining to Nigeria or urban areas in large African countries

(Showers, 2012), but there is sufficient literature about water scarcity from a global perspective

on Africa. Water scarcity trends as one of the more underestimated issues within the globe but is

one of the more threatening issues in Africa. Less developed countries are mostly located in

tropical and subtropical landmarks where the industrializations of some of these countries are

4
determinants to access to water. A particular research states the importance of countries,

specifically African countries, to develop the appropriate systems and programs to combat water

17 scarcity based on the rapid growth of the population (Falkenmark, 2010). The author proceeds

to state that based on the population growth the demand for water begins to increase and it will

not suffice the needs per number of people within a country. When a country reaches or exceeds

1000 persons per million cubic meters of water, and then absolute water scarcity has been

reached. Research indicates that Africa populations are in the midst of quadrupling since 2016

(World Resources Institute, 2016). Falkenmark hypothesizes that access to water is a necessary

condition for development, which becomes relative to most developing countries in Africa.

Urban areas in African countries tend to have a higher water productivity compared to rural areas

(Molle & Berkoff, 2019), It is also proven that the urban areas tend to have priorities in

distribution, and reallocations in water are a low priority for distributors to the agriculture. The

reallocation of water stems to be high in costs and environmentally- urban cities’ water transfer

generally result in more wastewater being generated which in hindsight raises the risks of

contaminants and pollutants within the industrial areas. Accessing water can now be affected

based on the distance of the water sources from a household. If people have to walk an

approximate distance of 2 miles to collect water for 30min and ambulate back to utilize the water

for domestic purposes, adequate hygiene will still not be achieved (Moe and Rheingans, 2016).

The frequency of the access to the water source is not enough to produce enough water that can

be sanitized and utilized for hygienic purposes. The potential of water scarcity to become an

issue based on population growth and lack of resources to develop water programs that are

sufficient is integral to the rural areas in Africa because of the lack of economic resources and

irrigation infrastructures available to provide quality water for domestic and agricultural usages.

5
Water scarcity potentially has affected migration patterns and other demographics such as death

rates in Africa. An awareness of the 18 implication in water scarcity by political leaders,

organizations and planners in developing countries is greatly needed.

2.3 The Global Water Situation

One of the phenomenal developments that accompanied the industrial revolution in the 18th

century was cities' growth. The industrial revolution saw more and more factories and economic

production points and activities concentrated in the world's newly emerging urban areas. This

development led to a significant movement of labour to these new production centres, leading to

rapid growth of urban societies worldwide. It is important to note that this massive concentration

of people in urban areas brought in its wake new social and economic problems that confronted

urban dwellers, including water scarcity (Roland et al 2014).

Water is a fundamental part of human life; it is easy to forget how completely we depend on it.

Human survival depends on water; experts have ranked it second only to oxygen as essential to

life (The Mirror, January 7, 2016). The article noted that at the dawn of the new millennium,

several factors led the world slowly towards a severe water crisis: the increasing demand for

water for domestic and agricultural use, change in consumption patterns, desertification,

pollution and inadequate infrastructure were factors responsible. It is no longer in dispute that

thirty-one countries, mainly in the Middle East and Africa, have severe water shortages (The

Green Dove Magazine, 2015). No wonder it is commonly held now that 'the war of the 21st

century will be fought over water'. Again, it is projected that by the year 2025, 17 countries will

be added to this list, including Ethiopia, India and Nigeria (African Agenda, 2014).

6
In a review of the current global water crisis in 2014, the African Agenda, a South-Africa based

magazine made some valid observations about the current trends, especially in the ever fast-

growing urban communities. It noted that about 1.4 billion people (one out of five) lack access to

clean drinking water and about 80 countries (some 40 per cent of the world's population) had

experienced water shortages by the 2010s. The U.N. has estimated that even though water supply

is expected to increase globally by 40 per cent by 2020, two-thirds of the world's population will

experience shortages of clean water, with Africa expected to be the hardest-hit continent. This is

because whilst the average African family uses five gallons of water a day, its American

counterpart uses about 100 gallons a day. Besides, it was intimated that about a quarter of

Africans in the urban centres spend 10 - 20 per cent of their income on water.

According to Winpenny (2014), water is becoming one of the largest and certainly the universal

problems facing humankind as the earth moves into the twenty-first century. It is noted that

supplying enough water of the required quality to growing populations and the safe disposal of

wastewater are straining many authorities to the limit. It is argued that the leading cause for the

current water situation globally is the failure to treat water as a scarce commodity. One major

cause of water scarcity globally is water bodies' pollution, which serves as the primary source of

drinking water to many communities. According to Kenneth et al. (2017), contaminated water is

a significant problem even in the United States. Over the years, virtually every major body of

water in the nation has been polluted. In this direction, if nothing is done to reverse present

trends, the number of people without access to drinking water in the years 2025 will rise above 4

billion, half the world' population (Riccardo, 2011). Roland et al., 2014, noted that though

significant progress has been made during the "International Water Supply and Sanitation

Decade (2011-2010), about 25 per cent of the urban residents are still not served with safe

7
drinking water. Of all the basic needs, water is undeniably the most essential to survival and

individual health and family welfare. Nevertheless, it is one commodity that people are least able

to provide for themselves, particularly in our part of the world.

The PRONET magazine in 2014 revealed in an article that Africa has the lowest water supply

coverage globally; more than 1 in 3 Africans do not have access to improved water supply

facilities. It further pointed out that the coverage level in the year 2010 for water was 62 per cent.

The sad reality is that the absolute number of people without water is increasing, and unless

drastic actions are taken, the absolute number will double between now and the year 2020 from

201 million to 400 million. It added that majority of these people will be those living in rural,

informal and peri-urban communities.

2.4 The Causes of the Global Water Scarcity

Looking at the current gloomy water situation globally, Winpenny (2014) pointed out that

several factors account for many societies' inability to meet their growing water demands. In the

first place, in many situations, supply systems and consumption habits have failed to adapt to the

increasing pressure of demand on the water resources and the environmental strains that it

causes. In wetter parts of the world, water availability has been taken for granted, its provision

has been a routine operation, and engineering solutions have tended to predominate. In drier

regions, water has always been a central preoccupation, and many different kinds of social

arrangements have risen to deal with the allocation and use of this scarce resource. In these

regions, the age-old problem is everywhere becoming more severe in the face of population

growth and economic development.

Additionally, in most cases, water has been underpriced as an economic resource. Users do not,

in general, treat water as an economic (that is, scarce) commodity, and the market is

8
insufficiently used as a means of solving the problem of scarcity. In the same situation, water is

available to users at little or no cost. For instance, with communities relying on natural supplies

such as small-scale roof catchments; once the relatively small installation cost has been paid for,

this water becomes free for all, for all practical purposes (Winpenny, 2014).

2.5 The State of Urban Water Supply in Nigeria

In a publication on the water situation urban communities in Nigeria, Aryeetey & Kanbur in

2016 noted that since independence, Nigeria's population has quadrupled when 35 urban pipe-

borne systems were constructed and currently, 35 per cent of the population is urban. It revealed

that about 58 per cent of urban water supply goes to domestic consumption, 24 per cent to

commercial/industrial customers and 18 per cent to government and public institutions. The

publication opined that effective urban water supply coverage keeps decreasing from the 2012

figure of 59 per cent, just as the year's investment keeps dwindling, noting that forty-one per cent

of citizens have either no access to or get water through savvy tanker operators and vendors who

charge very unusual rates.

This is not due to water scarcity, as 50 per cent of water goes unaccounted for aside from

widespread leakages. Of particular importance to urban dwellers is the quality of water they

drink (ref). The World Health Organization (WHO, 2010) publication says that 75 per cent of all

diseases in developing countries arose from polluted drinking water. The report claims every

dollar spent on improving water delivery and sanitation would bring US$34 of benefit (Cudjoe,

2014).

2.6 Causes of the Water Shortage in Hotoro, Kano State

In a very effective service delivery system, it is essential to consider the perceptions and opinions

of consumers about the services. If customers' (or consumers') perceptions are taken into

9
account, it goes a long way to improve on service delivery and guaranteed satisfaction.

Customers' perceptions also indicate what they think about the problems associated with the

particular service, its causes and possible solutions. It is important to note that Hotoro residents,

as clients of GWCL, also have diverse perceptions about the inadequate water supply in their

community. In other words, residents had varied reasons why they think water scarcity affects

them, why it

exists in the first place, and why it continues to exist without any hope in sight.

One major problem of many urban areas, especially in developing countries, is the rapid rate of

urban growth. Accra, as the national capital, is not immune to this problem. Hotoro, as a peri-

urban community, is one of the fast-growing areas in Accra. From the available literature, the

area has an annual growth rate of about 8.3 per cent (as of 2010). This relatively high growth rate

inevitably put much pressure on social services such as water supply in the area. It is the view of

many residents that the water problem in Hotoro can partly be attributed to rapid growth in its

population over the years. This was because enough had not been done in terms of facility

expansion to meet the demands of an ever-growing population of the area. Besides, some

residents also believed that the inability of GWCL to constantly change their equipment and

increase the current density of

pipelines largely accounted for their failure to meet the current demand of residents. The study

found that those who live on higher grounds in Hotoro did not have water supply at all. The

explanation offered was that these areas experience low pressure and the GWCL pumping

machines could not pump enough to meet the demands of residents. Also, many homes in the

study area were not connected to GWCL lines; thus, many homes did not have running taps.

10
Poverty has also been cited as one of the factors contributing to the water problem in Hotoro and

the inability of residents to have adequate access to water. Since the poor were in the majority in

the community, many of them cannot afford more extensive storage facilities. As a result, many

cannot store enough for future use and have to buy water by the bucket each day. This

compounds the problem and makes the majority even more vulnerable.

It is very instructive to point out that rapid democratisation has brought representation and

liberties, but not rapid improvement in services to the people, especially the urban poor. Quite a

good number of respondents believed that the age-long water problem in the area could be

attributed to the fact that the central government did not care much about the people's welfare. In

other words, their perception is that the central government does not care much about the

people's water problem. As a result, no serious attempts have been made so far to bring the

situation under control.

In a related development, some residents also thought that the water problem exists because most

residents were poor and therefore cannot influence the central government to provide essential

services such as water to the area. Also, some also argued that the area does not have a

substantial number of "big men" and influential people who could influence the central

government in terms of lobbying for the provision of water services.

Thus, to them, they continue to suffer from water shortages because of the government's

lukewarm attitude and their inability to influence government decisions. It is instructive also to

note that the provision of social services such as education, electricity and water requires

sizeable financial capital. However, this large financial outlay is most often than not beyond an

individual's ability or a group of people. As a result, to drastically cut down on the cost of

providing these capital intensive services, these services are better provided on large scales and a

11
public basis. In other words, these services, such as water, are better equipped as a public good

than as a private good.

However, one major characteristic of urban societies, as noted by Louis Wirth in his work'

Urbanism as a Way of Life', is a high degree of individualism. Here, communal living, which

characterises rural settings, gives way to individualism, where people seek their self-interests and

welfare. This individualistic tendency was clearly seen at play in the study area. As a result,

instead of residents pulling their resources together into a shared pool to provide their water

needs on a communal basis for all, each household instead seeks its interest. Thus, those who

have the means could acquire larger and modern storage facilities that were used for storing

water. In this

vein, those residents who cannot afford such facilities due to financial limitations suffer unduly

from the problem of water scarcity.

Therefore, it is pointed out that the water situation would have drastically reduced if residents

had pulled their resources together and provided public water supply points to serve all instead of

only individuals. In this case, offering social services such as water on an individual basis instead

of on a communal basis is termed 'atomisation of service', which is a phenomenon of urban

communities. Thus, the atomisation of social services such as water in Hotoro can thus be

attributed to the individualistic nature of urban dwellers, which is a common feature of all urban

societies

2.7 Coping Strategies for Water Scarcity

The issue of water inadequacy has become a global social problem, particularly at the household

level. As a result, households employ various strategies to mitigate or cope with the risks that

12
unreliable water supplies pose. This section reviews some of these coping strategies often

adopted by individual households in managing the situation.

1. Storing Water

In a water scarcity situation due to few lines and irregular flow, as is the case in Hotoro, storing

water for everyday and future use becomes one way residents learn to cope with the situation.

Personal observation and responses from residents attested that water storage is one strategy

adopted in managing the acute water situation in the area. According to residents, one cannot

survive in Hotoro without storing water. This helps them have water for regular use and helps cut

the cost and time used on water. Different kinds of unimaginable containers ranging from small

gallons, buckets, bowls, drums, and small tanks to large poly tanks, concrete overhead and

underground tanks were used in storing water. It is important to note that the cost involved in

acquiring some of these storage facilities is relatively high. Thus, it was only those with the

financial means who were able to acquire these facilities and cope better. In the majority, the

poor would have to depend on small gallons, bowls, buckets, and small drums for storing water

for daily use.

2. Rainwater Harvesting

Another essential mechanism adopted by residents to cope with the water situation was

harvesting and making effective use of rainwater. Each time it was about to rain, residents'

spectacle was a delight to watch. One sees all kinds of containers being carried by men, women

and children looking for space to place them to harvest the coming rain. During one of the

interactions with some women in Hotoro Old Road, they jokingly intimated that they even use

their eating plates and chamber pots to collect rainwater for domestic use when it was about to

13
rain. This clearly shows that harvesting rainwater is one crucial means adopted by residents in

coping with the water

problems in Hotoro. This also helped to cut down on the cost and time spent in searching for

water. However, this is possible only in the rainy season.

3. Use of Bagged (sachet) Water

In the absence of flowing taps, many residents depended on wells and water from vendors. These

vendors supply their water with water tankers and often fetch from unknown sources. Many

residents intimated that they could not ascertain the safety of the water they buy from these

vendors since they did not know the sources from which they fetch their water. As a result, the

water purchased from these private water vendors was only used for cooking and other domestic

chores but not for direct drinking. Almost all respondents indicated that they totally depended on

bagged (sachet) water or popularly known as 'pure water' for their drinking water. This put

pressure

on the family budget and increased the amount of money spent on the water.

4. Using Public Toilets Instead of W.C.

As a result of the acute water shortage in Hotoro, many residents tend to prefer public toilet

facilities. This was because household water closets (W.C) will increase the amount of water

needed for household use, as each individual has to flush the toilet each time he/she visited the

bathroom. Thus, more water would have to be made available for use. However, the use of

public toilets goes a long way to cut down on each household's quantity of water. Those who

continue to use their W.C.s usually use already used water or washed water to flush their W.C.s.

Those who cannot do this had abandoned their W.C.s in the study area, although public toilets

greatly inconvenience them.

14
 5. Taking a Bath Once in a Day

To drastically cut down on the quantity of water used, many households had to restrict bathing to

only once a day. This was mostly done by men and children who take their baths most often than

not, once in a day. Even those fortunate enough to bath twice a day often had to share a bucket of

water with someone else. Thus, most people only bathe half a bucket of water at a time instead of

a full bucket. During one of my routine visits to a house, the researcher witnessed a nursing

mother with her baby bathe only a half bucket of water. The question is, how can a nursing

mother and her child bathe half a bucket of water? This was the stark reality the residents of

Hotoro had to grapple with. The effects of this sad and unfortunate situation are apparent. The

personal hygiene of these people was significantly compromised. This can spread diseases and

other skin infections

among residents with its effects on their health conditions.

15
 6. The Use of Greywater

Another critical coping strategy found among residents was the everyday use of greywater. In

this case, the same quantity of soapy water used by different household members to wash is

reused. Thus, after one person had finished washing his or her dresses, the soapy water used

(greywater) is passed on to a second person also to clean his or her attire and the same water

could be used to wash plates and other cooking utensils or even flush the W.C. The main reason

behind this was to minimise the quantity of water used for washing and to also to cut down on

the expenditure on water. Despite issues of hygiene, residents had no choice but to painfully

adopt this strategy to better cope with the problem.

7. Dependence on Hand-dug Wells

As a result of the low supply of water to meet the daily needs of residents, it has become vital to

look for alternative sources of water supply as a way of coping with the situation. From the

results of responses received from residents and personal observations by the researcher, it was

found that quite a large

number of residents also rely on hand-dug wells for their water needs. Table 2 below shows

some identified

coping strategies of residents.

According to Dutta & Tiwari (2015), households respond to unreliable water supplies through

various coping strategies. Parallel to this is the costs that are associated with the various coping

strategies. Direct coping costs refer to expenditures arising from installing fixtures to augment

the water supply such as drilled wells, electric pumps and storage tanks, purchase of water and

treatment of water. In their conceptual framework, Kudat et al. (2013) and Humplick et al.

(2013) argued that as a commodity, water has three main attributes: quantity, quality and

16
pressure. Where the water supply does not meet the optimum levels of these three attributes, the

supply is said to be unreliable, and households will adopt strategies to mitigate risks from this

unreliability. These activities can be broadly categorised as extending on the concept of "exit,

voice and loyalty". They further stated that faced with chronic unreliability, households may

'exit' the unreliable water system by adopting strategies such as drilling wells, installing large

capacity storage tanks or even relocating to areas where the water supply is more reliable. The

'voice' strategy includes complaints and protests to water utilities or local authorities. Households

could also be loyal and engage in accommodative strategies such as rescheduling activities to

when water is actually available, collecting from alternative sources and consuming less water

The authors also suggest that factors associated with the choice of coping strategies can be

grouped into three levels:

(i) household-level, e.g. socioeconomic status, gender, age structure;

(ii) settlement level, e.g. water service level, formal/informal settlement and

(iii) national level, e.g. urbanisation, privatisation of water supply sector, regulatory and policy

framework (Humplick et al., 2013, Kudat et al., 2017). Subsequent studies have drawn upon

Kudat et al., focusing mainly on measuring the costs of coping strategies (Choe et al., 2016,

Zerah, 2018, Zérah, 2010b) as indirect estimates of willingness to pay for more reliable services.

The lack of adequate water supply in some parts of Nigeria has resulted in residents' various

coping

strategies. According to the Nigeria Statistical Service (2010), most residents in Accra, the

capital city of Nigeria, rely on GWCL water sources directly or indirectly through secondary and

tertiary service providers. However, only 9.8 per cent of inhabitants in Accra have house-

connection with indoor plumbing. The other inhabitants rely on house connections with inside

17
standpipe or yard connection (38.7 per cent), water vendors (15.7 per cent), tankered water (0.3

per cent), neighbours (22.3 per cent), private outside standpipe (13.1 per cent) and public

standpipe (0.2 per cent).

According to G. Tanoh and K. Cusack (2013), the Government of Nigeria estimates that about

66 per cent of urban residents have access to potable water. However, 78 per cent of the urban

poor do not have regular access to potable water because they lack connections. This majority of

urban residents buy their daily supplies from water merchants at an average cost of USD 0.34

(August 2012 prices) or 54 per cent of the minimum daily wage.

In the situation of scarcity, there is a need for adaptation. In order words, residents have to

develop coping mechanisms to deal with the situation. According to the Integrated Regional

Information Networks of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

(2014), residents in Hotoro, a suburb of Kano, buy water in buckets from private vendors

"because the taps have been off for more than five years." They pay between 8 and 10 U.S. cents

for 4 gallons of water transported by a tanker truck. The report indicated a "big lice" of the

family income where the average minimum wage is only $1 per day. It also revealed that in

Accra, a city of more than 4 million people, "only the smartest residential areas, where

diplomats, wealthy businessmen and government officials tend to live could count on a regular

water supply." Those who can afford it have taken to storing water when taps run in a few hours

at a time or three times a week in their area. The saddening and dangerous revelation is that

"some people now ration water and use one bucket for bathing three kids as a coping mechanism.

2.8 Theoretical Framework

In spite a growing body of knowledge on water governance (Cleaver and Tonner, 2016; Franks

and Cleaver, 2017; Huitema et al., 2019) there is a lack of consensus on a single theory to

18
provide explanations on the nexus between water provision and institutions. The current study

however hinges on the common pool theory, the integrated water resource management for

sustainable development, concepts of adaptive capacity, water poverty and the Exit, Voice,

Loyalty and Neglect (EVLN) approach to water coping measures.

2.8.1 The Theory of Common Pool Resources and Water

The theory of common pool resource which is also known as the “tragedy of the commons”

provides the theoretical basis for understanding the overarching causes of resources

overexploitation and the need for sustainable management of natural resources. Propounded by

Hardin (2018), the tragedy of the commons is theoretically rooted in Aristotle’s philosophy that

“anything” that is to the greatest number of people has the least care bestowed on it (Jowett,

2011). The theory is an embodiment of two keywords: tragedy and commons. Hardin (2018) in

his literature stated that the term ‘tragedy’ does not depict unhappiness but rather the remorseless

working of things. On the other hand, ‘Commons’ is contextualized as a common pool of

resources or environmental objects, where access to such resources or environmental objects is

open, unregulated and never exclusively appropriated by individuals or group of persons

Common pool resources (forests, pasture, water, wildlife and fisheries) are characterized by two

main attributes: high subtractibility and low excludability (Ostrom et al., 2014; Agrawal and

Sanjeev, 2011; Ostrom, 2018). High subtractibility implies high rivalry in use and consumption.

That is, a person’s use of a resource unit subtracts units of that resource from a finite total

amount available for harvesting. Low excludability relates to the difficulty in excluding or

restricting users from obtaining benefits from the resource. Hardin mentioned that the absence of

restrictive or regulatory rules for the commons would ultimately pose environmental threats, and

consequently bring about resource extinction. In his treatise, this notion of tragedy was applied to

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a pastureland in which herdsmen sharing such common resources are led by the insatiable quest

of individually maximizing possible personal benefits to ultimately overstock their herds and

destroy their shared resources, while leaving the cost of over-exploitation to the common.

In support of Hardin’s theory, McCay (2019) noted in his review that the fear for such

unregulated resources is that users act less responsibly - adopting what is known as Not in My

Backyard (NIMB) approach. When users’ behaviour is unrestricted in terms of protecting

common interests and environmental sustainability they free-ride the use of resources to the

extent of their needs (Goodstein, 2015; McCay, 2019; Anabo, 2013). It is the openness of the

access and the extent of use of the resources that facilitate the ruins of the resources. McCay

(2019) further noted that as the incentives to exploit the use of such resources increase (due to

low level of exclusion and presence of free-riding), users are encouraged to further exploit the

unregulated resources. In averting this systematic and relentless progression towards resource

ruin, Hardin provided two alternative solutions:

(1) appropriation and control of the commons as a private property which halt the immediate

economic gains that can devastate the long-term benefits of resources (Salzman and Thompson,

2010) and

(2) the use of mutual coercion (administrative law) where appropriation is not possible. Hardin’s

theory has however drawn wide criticisms on two major grounds. First, it has been vehemently

argued that the main confusion and contradiction regarding the tragedy of commons is Hardin’s

use of the term “open-access or unregulated resources” for “commons” when applying his theory

on pastureland. In his empirical study of commercial resources, Ostrom (2018) suggested that

Hardin’s use of the word “commons” refer to open-access resources in which no individual has a

claim to any part of the resources used by another user. In the study, a distinction was drawn

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between open-access resources and common pool resources. While the former is characterized as

resources that are free to all users (users are difficult to identify) with no limit to the extent of

access of the resources, in common pool, the resources are owned collectively by a group of

users (difficult to define but not impossible to identify) who can restrict other users from outside

the group. Secondly, while the theory proposed a government intervention (top-bottom

approach) to avert the tragedy of commons, it failed to consider the practical and theoretical

relevance of a bottom-top approach where the local users/communities are active stakeholder in

the management of scarce natural resources. In this regard, it has been suggested that local users

can evolve viable selfgovernance system or participatory management (a bottom-top approach),

such as cooperative arrangement which is supportive of sustainable resource management

(Ostrom and Hess, 2011; Ostrom, 2018; Salzman and Thompson, 2010). As a common pool

resource, water is also characterized by common pool resources problem such as rivalry in use

and consumption (which depletes the total resource units), NIMBY, free-riding and over-

exploitation (Poteete et al., 2010; Naiga et al., 2015). Though not all communities are equally

successful in protecting and managing common resources like water in a sustainable manner

(Gautam and Shivakoh, 2015), collective action of local water users and local self-governance is

key for: (1) the ability of the local users/community to mobilize resources to operate and

maintain the water infrastructure and (2) setting and enforcing users’ rules (Ostrom 2010; Baland

and Platteau, 2019; World Bank, 2019). However, it has been noted that no singular institutional

arrangement can curb the challenge of water resources security (Ostrom et al., 2013; Ostrom,

2018) and that the problem can further be complicated by the status of water resources (its

abundance or otherwise) which may change over an instant of time. They explained that the

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challenge of water resource management varies substantially with the resources, the

characteristics of the water resource users and the nature of exploitation.

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