Although clean and safe water and water resources are generally viewed as a basic right for all, watershed management is a challenge in many African settings. A combination of land uses under different sectors and jurisdictions determine access to water of adequate quality. Watershed management is a mandate of public entities in most countries with no regulatory requirement for private-sector participation besides payment of statutory levies. Private sector businesses that depend directly on watershed ecosystem services therefore often tend to treat these services as external to their business operations and make little or no voluntary financial contribution to their sustenance, despite the fact that they can incur substantial costs (e.g. for water treatment) if these ecosystem services are degraded through pollution.

Authors: Namirembe, S.; Mwangi, J.; Gatenya, M.; Nyongesa, F.; Shepherd, K.; Luedeling, E.

Subjects: ecosystem services, incentive

Publication type: Chapter-R, Publication

Year: 2017