Sector and Utility Financing

Policies related to water can be considered under two inter-related headings: providing water services, especially water supply and sanitation, and managing water resources. This report focuses on the economic foundation and financial basis for sustainable water service provision and the role of economic instruments in sound water resource management. A considerable effort has been made to base the analysis on recent experience in OECD and partner countries. This report examines practical ways to close the financial gap between the costs of providing water services with the sources of financing available, in both OECD and non-OECD countries. Closing this financial gap is a prerequisite for ensuring affordable water services for all segments of society. Tariffs have a special role to play in this, but need to remain affordable. This report examines some of the related governance and institutional issues.

Providing water supply and sanitation (WSS) is a major business which needs to have a sound financial basis. The sums involved in operating and maintaining services and infrastructure, expanding their coverage and upgrading them to meet current social and environmental expectations, are huge. Yet most systems are underfunded, with dire consequences for WSS users, especially the poorest.

This report argues the vital importance of using national or regional strategic financial planning (SFP) for WSS services to give them a solid platform for achieving the aims (including the Millennium Development Goals) set by national and international communities.

In response to the evolution of the world economy and its impact on Europe, the European Commission proposed a set of programmes to boost jobs, growth and investment across the European Union. The programmes are part of the multiannual financial framework 2014-2020. This publication guides you through these programmes and the funding opportunities they offer are briefly described here in this booklet. Detailed information is available on the European Commission’s website. EU funding opportunities prove the added value of the EU budget in a number of fields, from research, employment, regional development and cooperation to education, culture, environment, humanitarian aid and energy, among many others. Significant support is available to small and medium-sized businesses, non-governmental and civil society non-profit organisations, young people, researchers, farmers and public bodies, to name a few.

More information and various translations of the report can be found here.

This paper provides background information for development practitioners in the water and other infrastructure sectors. It outlines the major challenges related to financing the gap in global water infrastructure, including those systems that provide urban and rural water supply, and sanitation and irrigation services. Water infrastructure finance includes costs for capital works as well as the operations and maintenance costs that motivate sustainable service delivery.

The report elaborated by the European Water Regulators (WAREG) provides a description of some approaches used in 17 WAREG Members’ countries to ensure the affordability of water and sewerage charges. It also provides a general overview of the governance frameworks and tools used in those countries. The main objective of this paper is to outline existing practices and to identify possible common patterns in regulatory mechanisms to ensure affordability of water services. This paper does not intend to give any indication of best practices.

The document reviews the experience with regards to cost recovery equity and efficiency of water tariffs and tariff-setting policies in a range of African countries.

“Financing for Development: Progress and Prospects,” the 2018 comprehensive annual progress report on how to finance the Sustainable Development Goals was recently launched. The report is written by the Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development and issued under the auspices of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, by mandate from the Addis Ababa Action Agenda.

The 2018 report provides policy options which, if implemented, would put the world on a sustained and sustainable growth and development path. It also examines the financing challenges to the SDGs under in-depth review in 2018 to help assess progress in the means of implementation for goals on water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, sustainable cities and communities, sustainable production and consumption, and terrestrial ecosystems.