Briefing Paper

Improving Participatory Water Governance in Accra, Ghana

“The international community has highlighted the need for participatory environmental governance for more than two decades with efforts such as the Dublin Principles (1992) and the Aarhus Convention on Participatory Management for Environmental Matters (1998). This policy brief is concerned with participatory water governance in Accra, Ghana, particularly in its densely populated slums (also referred to here as “informal settlements,” although ownership may be formally recognized). Lack of access to clean, affordable potable water is an important concern for many residents of Accra. Although Ghana as a whole is generally not considered to be water stressed in a biophysical sense, water-related
infrastructure and services in metropolitan Accra fall short of international goals with respect to access, quality and affordability, as defined in the 2010 UN statement on the Human Right to Water and Sanitation.”