A quest for effective water governance: look who's leading the WPI

Several developing countries are currently planning or implementing water sector reforms. Ensuring the sustainability of these processes requires taking into account also the complex institutional structure surrounding water services, consisting of the various organizations with their roles and responsibilities, as well as legislation related both directly and indirectly to water services. The effectiveness of a country’s water governance structure is reflected in the water poverty index formulated by the World Water Council and the UK’s Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. According to the index, Finland is the richest of 147 countries in terms of water resources, access, capacity, use and environmental sustainability. Therefore, those responsible for restructuring water resources and water services management in developing countries might find it useful to study Finland’s water governance and business models. Even though the institutional arrangements would not be identically replicable, they present an example of an enabling environment for successful water governance.