While large private water companies grab the headlines, it is more often small private vendors that bring water to the urban poor in Africa, Asia and Latin America. This working paper looks at how water-vending systems operate, how effective they are in meeting the needs of the urban poor, and how this effectiveness might be improved. The paper concentrates on the small-scale and informal vendors, most of whom work independently with very little capital. Nevertheless, they display enormous diversity and flexibility, and are adept at responding to the needs of all but the very poorest households.

The participation of the public, local communities, indigenous peoples, and various other stakeholders in natural resources policymaking, planning and/or management has been increasingly promoted in international and national policies. This book analyses and discusses how participation does - or does not - occur in the management of forest and water resources at various institutional levels in European contexts.

This issue of Environment and Urbanization includes three papers on community provision: the community-designed, built and managed toilet blocks in Indian cities; the WaterAid water and sanitation programme in Dhaka and Chittagong; and community tanks in Orangi, Karachi. It also has a review of experience to date with water privatization, and papers discussing women's and children's priorities for water and sanitation. There are case studies of water stress and their causes in Guadalajara and Beijing, and discussions and case studies of drainage and of how wastewater can be used for agriculture. A special supplement on the Millennium Development Goals has papers discussing the MDGs and urban poverty reduction, a Programme for Land Tenure Legalization on Public Land in São Paulo and financial frameworks to reduce 'slums' and support home improvements for low-income households.

This book presents the findings of the 30-year reassessment of the landmark Drawers of Water study by Gilbert F White, David J Bradley and Anne U White. Findings come from 34 sites in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, and the overview charts the trends and changes that have occurred in these 30 years, and their implications for water policy and practice.

The provision of water and sanitation services in developing countries has traditionally been the preserve of the state, but recently there has been a move towards greater private sector participation (PSP). While the potential economic benefits of PSP are well known, the authors extensively discuss the environmental and social implications unique to the sector. The focus of the book is on the crucial role public authorities must continue to play to guarantee sustainability, levels of service and access to a variety of consumers. The authors show how these objectives are realised in very different ways - and not always successfully - in developing countries. The authors critically review the current literature and include new case studies from Manila, Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Abidjan and Mexico City. Private Firms and Public Water will be of interest to regulatory offcials, economists, develpments professionals and scholars, as well as government, business and NGOs.