Receptivity to sustainable urban water management in the Pacific

The need for developing urban centres to adopt Sustainable Urban Water Management is acknowledged by researchers and policy makers. The Pacific region, with its tourist based economy, must endeavour to protect the fringe reefs from environmental degradation associated with urban water systems that are poorly designed and managed. An online questionnaire amongst urban water managers in the region assessed the level of receptivity they had towards the principles of the Water Sensitive City. Results demonstrated that while respondents were highly aware of the current failures of the urban water system, there was very little awareness of sustainable solutions, while levels of association, acquisition and application were also very low. For the principles of the Water Sensitive City to be adopted and mainstreamed in the Pacific urban centres, dedicated effort is required to increase the levels of all components of receptivity. Only when there are increased levels of receptivity will Sustainable Urban Water Management be implemented throughout the region.