Pointing Towards Policy Success?: Water Policy Indicators in Practice

Abstract

Drawing up policy options is a complex activity which involves defining and weighing the merits and risks of various alternatives. In its modern version, this usually involves formal policy analysis or “policy appraisal”; that is, policy work specifically undertaken to generate and evaluate policy options or alternative course of actions to address problems or issues on a policy agenda. Indicators have been demonstrated to have powerful influence on policies and societies in general. In this light, the current research aims to conduct a case study of the role of policy indicators in water policy formulation with the end in view of determining their utilization and impact. The paper document the level and type of actual use of water policy indicator; assesses the relevance of the use and influence of indicators in policy formulation and identifies issues surrounding the use of indicators in policy formulation. In particular, it looks into the role of various water policy indicators such as water poverty index, water scarcity index, index of drinking water adequacy, Falkenmark indicator, and water footprint, among others. The research addresses whether indicators influence policy formulation in this sector, how they do so and under which circumstances.