Decentralized wastewater management - a Hanoi case study

The paper focuses on the institutional framework for the provision of services and infrastructure for wastewater management and discusses opportunities for decentralization in the Vietnamese context. The paper uses two examples of wastewater management in two districts of Hanoi to illustrate aspects of decentralization in decision-making processes and management arrangements at the local level. The role of the Peoples’ Committees (PC) in service provision and their linkages and interactions with the agencies responsible for provision of large scale centralized services at the city level are highlighted. The paper also describes how these linkages could be strengthened to improve the quality of service provision, promote greater sustainability, and explores opportunities and constraints to wide replication.