This document summarizes a global literature review on sanitation tariffs in developing countries. It outlines the author's approach, key questions, and divisions within the literature. The literature trend shows a focus on partnerships and subsidies that often ignores sanitation specifically. There are also gaps around understanding tariffs from a user perspective, relationships with local governments, and tariffs for emptying pits/septic tanks. Overall, the literature provides less understanding of the sanitation market and financing. This research aims to help fill some of those gaps.

1. Global Literature Review
On Sanitation Tariffs in
Developing Countries
By Mansoor Ali

2. Approach to Literature
Review
 General web search
 Literature within Institutions;
WSP, The World Bank, PPIAF,
GFOBA, BPD, IRC and WaterAid

3. Key Questions to the
Literature
Do they cover urban sanitation
tariffs from a water utility and local
government perspective?

4. Other questions to the
literature
Who are the target groups?
Who wrote this literature?
Does the literature covers different
perspectives?
Why this literature is written?
What assumptions the literature make?
Does it build an overall picture, within which
tariffs sit?
Does it specify good and bad practices of tariff
settings?

5. Literature Division
 Core literature
 Water and sanitation utilities
 Sector financing, including subsidies
 Sector institutions and their
relationships
 Equity and inclusion
 Partnerships
 Output/ Result Based Approaches
(new)

6. Literature Trend
 Most of it Partnership focused
 Assumes PPP contracts in place
 Combines water and sanitation
 But ignores sanitation
 Sometimes assumes sewerage
 Makes a case for the utility
 But also makes a case for the poorest
 Non-conclusive on the larger picture

7. Literature Gaps
 Which component of sanitation service
needs tariffs?
 Where is the balance between cost
recovery and tariff setting?
 How tariffs relates to investments?
 How politics influenced tariffs?
 How the tariffs figure is achieved?
 What a good tariff could change?
 Tariffs within water utility or solid
waste?

8. Three major gaps
 Tariffs from a users perspective or
understanding the users? Especially
the low income users
 Tariff with local governments
 Tariffs on pit/ septic tank
emptying

9. Overall
There is less understanding of the
sanitation market, financing, including
all its components and users and it seems
that tariffs are picked up as a theme
within the literature on partnerships,
subsidies and now on output based
approaches.

10. Gaps by this research
Therefore this research is well
placed to fill some of the gaps;
especially at a time when there is
new hope for multiple delivery
systems

11. Thank you
mansoor.ali@practicalaction.org.uk
www.practicalaction.org