INSTITUTIONAL MODELS FOR WATER RESOURCES ADMINISTRATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: CASE EXAMPLE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Assessment of water resources administration in Nigeria reveals gross inadequacies. The present decision-making framework for water resources administration is not expected to contribute much toward national development in the long run. Water institutions which should provide the means for implementing decisions can best be described as non-existent. Evaluation of water institutions found in the United States resulted in the development of three alternative institutional models of water resources administration, any one of which is recommended for adoption by Nigeria depending on the circumstances. Each of these three alternative models is characterized by significant citizen participation at all levels and at all stages of the decision-making process. One of the alternatives organizes water institutions by level of government, where the states are responsible for all aspects of water resources administration, as on the Colorado River Basin. Another alternative organizes water institutions on the basis of regional, basin-wide executive agencies, such as the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). A third alternative adopts a mixed strategy. Certain areas would have TVA-type executive agencies, while other areas would have no TVA-type agency, but the states would then be responsible for all aspects of water resources administration and development. This situation prevails throughout the United States. At the user level, the institutional framework of decision making for water resources administration provided by the special water districts found in the United States is recommended for adoption by Nigeria to fill a vacuum created at the interface of the water resources system and the social system. The choice of an overall institutional model for Nigeria will be determined by the final political map of the country in relation to the identified river basins. These alternative institutional models for water resources administration are also recommended for consideration by other developing countries.