Conflicts over water in the Pacific Islands - case studies on the political ecology of urban water supply in Suva, Fiji Islands and South Tarawa, Kiribati

Weber, Eberhard (2003) Conflicts over water in the Pacific Islands - case studies on the political ecology of urban water supply in Suva, Fiji Islands and South Tarawa, Kiribati. UNSPECIFIED. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Suva’s urban water supply and sewerage system were well developed in the 1970s and 1980s. However it didn’t keep pace with the ever increasing demand and has suffered from deferred maintenance and upgrading. Why reliable data are scarce, several other indicators clearly illustrate the insufficient distribution of water in the Suva / Nausori region.
From the official side the problems with delivering satisfactory water supply in Suva is rather seen in financial and institutional bottlenecks than in the technical side of the system. The Government of Fiji often highlights that it is not able to bear the high investment and operational costs of the existing system. The Public Works Department, which holds the responsibility to provide secure water services complaints about low budgetary support for the water and sanitation system.
There is no doubt that the financial needs of the water sector are large as water projects tend to be capital intensive, and Fiji urgently need to upgrade existing systems. Especially the expansian of the Suva – Nausori water supply and sanitation system has come under huge pressure as this part of Fiji experienced the highest population growth in recent decades.

Item Type:	Other
Uncontrolled Keywords:	water supply, Pacific Islands, Political Ecology
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GF Human ecology. Anthropogeography J Political Science > JA Political science (General)
Divisions:	Faculty of Science, Technology and Environment (FSTE) > School of Geography, Earth Science and Environment
Depositing User:	Eberhard Weber
Date Deposited:	15 Jan 2014 02:34
Last Modified:	15 Jan 2014 02:34
URI:	https://repository.usp.ac.fj/id/eprint/7094

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