Monitoring human right to water in rural areas: a Nicaraguan case study

Much effort has gone into the recognition of the hu man right to water. Without doubt, this milestone influences governance and decision making processes at different scales. Now it is essential to shift discussion from legal and conceptual framework to p ractice. Taking this idea into account, the article proposes a methodology for monitoring the implement ation of the right. The work takes the legal and conceptual framework of the right, agreed by intern ational consensus, as a starting point. Moreover, l essons learnt from other indicators and indexes constructi on are considered. It is based on a water & sanitat ion rural services case study carried out in Nicaragua and pa rticularly in Jinotega and Matagalpa -rural departm ents from the north-central region-. The different categ ories of the right to water were included in survey s and structured interviews design that were conducted in rural households and water comities, respectively. Ingeniería sin Fronteras-ApD, an Spanish NGDO, prom oted the study in cooperation with local organizati ons -La Cuculmeca and Coalición de Organizaciones por e l Derecho al Agua (CODA)-. Results show how the inclusion of right to water dimensions gives pertin ent insights both as regards knowledge about the re al situation of rural communities as for improving gov ernance in rural water supply.Peer Reviewe