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2 Barriers
To set the stage for the discussion, this chapter summarizes the main barriers to the development of the water and sanitation subsectors in EECCA countries, and considers their causes and implications.
Overview Within the WSS sector, rural WSS provision is an especially difficult puzzle to solve. Rural water and sanitation systems, where they exist, often have fundamentally different needs and capacity from urban systems. This is true for their infrastructure, geography-topography, costs, and customer base. Existing regulations intended for urban WSS systems and infrastructure can get in the way of rural WSS development. Other barriers, summarized below, include low political priority and a lack of a coherent strategy, gaps in or inconsistent regulation, poor existing infrastructure, unrealistic construction and consumption norms, overcapacity, maintenance and operational inefficiencies, high costs and low affordability, difficulty accessing capital and financing options, and regional disparities.
Low affordability and willingness to charge Some studies have observed that willingness to pay (WTP) (as a percentage of household budget) is higher in rural areas, reflecting the value that rural citizens assign to WSS services and the marginally high positive impact that even a basic improvement in service can bring. For example, willingness to pay for improved services versus in Armenia is significantly higher outside Yerevan, at 41.6%, vs. 27.1% in the capital. 1 WTP for both water and sanitation are high; sanitation is highest. 2 In Georgia, rural households have a higher WTP than their urban counterparts, who receive high quality of service and pay higher tariffs. Finally,
RURAL WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION: REACHING SDG 6 IN EASTERN EUROPE, CAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA © OECD 2022
