The Elephant in the Room: Informality in Tanzania’s Rural Waterscape
Informality is pervasive in Tanzania’s rural waterscape, but not acknowledged by development partners (donors and beneficiaries), despite persistent warnings by development scholars. Informality is thus the proverbial elephant in the room. In this paper, we examine a case of superior rural...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2018-11-01
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| Series: | ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2220-9964/7/11/437 |
| _version_ | 1819013590000074752 |
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| author | Jesper Katomero Yola Georgiadou |
| author_facet | Jesper Katomero Yola Georgiadou |
| author_sort | Jesper Katomero |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Informality is pervasive in Tanzania’s rural waterscape, but not acknowledged by development partners (donors and beneficiaries), despite persistent warnings by development scholars. Informality is thus the proverbial elephant in the room. In this paper, we examine a case of superior rural water access in two geographical locales—Hai and Siha districts—in Tanzania, where actors not only acknowledge, but actively harness informality to provide access to water to rural populations. We employ concepts from organization and institutional theory to show that when informal programs and related informal sanctions/rewards complement their formal counterparts, chances for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) target 6.1 ‘<i>By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all</i>’ are significantly increased. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T02:02:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-325781f6bcd74e939b5d0f8d78e99ca7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2220-9964 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T02:02:21Z |
| publishDate | 2018-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information |
| spelling | doaj.art-325781f6bcd74e939b5d0f8d78e99ca72022-12-21T19:19:36ZengMDPI AGISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information2220-99642018-11-0171143710.3390/ijgi7110437ijgi7110437The Elephant in the Room: Informality in Tanzania’s Rural WaterscapeJesper Katomero0Yola Georgiadou1Department of Political Science and Public Administration, University of Dar es Salaam, P.O. BOX 35042, Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaDepartment of Urban and Regional Planning and Geo-Information Management, ITC Faculty, University of Twente, Hengelosestraat 99, 7514 AE Enschede, The NetherlandsInformality is pervasive in Tanzania’s rural waterscape, but not acknowledged by development partners (donors and beneficiaries), despite persistent warnings by development scholars. Informality is thus the proverbial elephant in the room. In this paper, we examine a case of superior rural water access in two geographical locales—Hai and Siha districts—in Tanzania, where actors not only acknowledge, but actively harness informality to provide access to water to rural populations. We employ concepts from organization and institutional theory to show that when informal programs and related informal sanctions/rewards complement their formal counterparts, chances for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) target 6.1 ‘<i>By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all</i>’ are significantly increased.https://www.mdpi.com/2220-9964/7/11/437informalityformalityprogramsSustainable Development Goals (SDGs)SDG Target 6.1rural water supplyCommunity Based Management (CBM)sustainability |
| spellingShingle | Jesper Katomero Yola Georgiadou The Elephant in the Room: Informality in Tanzania’s Rural Waterscape ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information informality formality programs Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) SDG Target 6.1 rural water supply Community Based Management (CBM) sustainability |
| title | The Elephant in the Room: Informality in Tanzania’s Rural Waterscape |
| title_full | The Elephant in the Room: Informality in Tanzania’s Rural Waterscape |
| title_fullStr | The Elephant in the Room: Informality in Tanzania’s Rural Waterscape |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Elephant in the Room: Informality in Tanzania’s Rural Waterscape |
| title_short | The Elephant in the Room: Informality in Tanzania’s Rural Waterscape |
| title_sort | elephant in the room informality in tanzania s rural waterscape |
| topic | informality formality programs Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) SDG Target 6.1 rural water supply Community Based Management (CBM) sustainability |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2220-9964/7/11/437 |
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