“This research report looks at changing patterns in water development and management in Tanzania and Kenya, and examines the responses of government and other stakeholders to these changes. It focuses
especially on recent attempts to move towards an integrated, participatory, demand-management approach to water management,
as it affects rural water availability. The report focuses on rural water availability that is motivated by the fact that approximately 80% of the population of Africa is found in rural areas, and only about 37%
of these people have access to “safe” water sources.’ Issues surrounding domestic water supply are, therefore, of utmost importance for the majority of the inhabitants of the continent; however, these needs must be balanced with other water uses – for livestock, agriculture, and hydropower, for example. Both Tanzania and Kenya are attempting to juggle these competing uses through Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) systems. One of the major constraints to effective water development and management, as elsewhere in Africa, is rural poverty: 59% of people living in rural areas are categorised as “poor” and 44% as “very
poor”. In Tanzania, about 85% of absolute poverty is located in rural areas.”
