Institutional barriers to advancing Sustainable Urban Water Management in Port Vila, Vanuatu

To date social research into the institutional aspects of sustainable urban water management has predominately been conducted in developed urban contexts, resulting in a significant lack of insight into the institutional drivers and barriers in developing urban centres, which this research begins to address. This research project investigated the understanding, perceptions and motivation relating to the transition to sustainable urban water management practices in the rapidly growing urban centre of Port Vila, Vanuatu. The need for improved urban water management, practitioners' awareness of potential solutions, barriers and opportunities to implement solutions were investigated through semi-structured, in-depth interviews with more than 40 individuals who were identified as having a significant role in urban water management from national and local government, aid and development agencies, consultants, and the tourism sector. The data analysis revealed that in contrast to developed contexts where socio-institutional barriers are the primary barriers to transitioning to SUWM, in Port Vila there continue to be a number of technical barriers limiting the potential to transition. Skills development regarding both technical and socio-institutional capacity will be essential for enabling the transition to SUWM in Port Vila in the coming years.