The urban-rural water interface: a preliminary study in Burkina Faso

This working paper looks at the case of Ouagadougou, in Burkina Faso, and the Ziga dam and reservoir, and supports the ethos that cities take (or are given) priority over rural areas in terms of water allocation. In this case, the basis of the claim is political power by the central government. Yet the economic rationality of this decison has not been evaluated, and the principle of 'equity' of access to water for rural communities has been overlooked. This working paper aims to address these issues.

The proposition considered in this report is that, in semi-arid zones, which face climate variability, with the likelihood of increasing pressure on water resources, decisions on water management will increasingly require strategies for allocation of water resources between urban and rural areas.