Analyzing the institutional challenges for the agricultural (re)use of wastewater in developing countries

Wastewater reuse has great potential to reduce pressure on water resources, especially for the agricultural sector. At the same time, wastewater reuse needs to be addressed because of the risks it represents for public health and the environment. As water becomes scarce in many regions around the world and informal use of wastewater for irrigation propagates particularly in developing countries, it is important to reconsider wastewater reuse within the broader concept of water resources management. However, water resources management and wastewater management in particular are complex and challenging because water problems are heterogeneous and variable over time and space. Solutions to water problems will depend not only on water availability, but on a range of other factors that influence the water sector such as the institutional capacity, legal and regulatory frameworks, sociopolitical and environmental conditions, educational and development conditions, financial resources, technology, attitudes and perceptions, and modes of governance including issues like political interference, transparency and corruption. Given this complexity, the need to unravel the institutional dimensions of wastewater reuse, in order to understand the challenges for its formalization becomes evident. In the light of this challenge, the objective of this research is to provide understanding on the incentives and drivers for a (step-wise) change of the institutional settings, moving wastewater reuse in agriculture from its informal status towards a formal, safe and productive use. This is done by comparing countries with different governance structures along a trajectory towards formalization