Exploring stakeholders’ perceptions of the quality and governance of water resources in the Wenchi municipality

Abstract

Despite increasing evidence that understanding and integrating local people's perceptions of water quality and governance helps improve water governance processes, only a limited volume of research addresses this topic in developing countries. Therefore, using in-depth interviews and content analysis, the goal of this paper is to explore stakeholders' perceptions of the quality and governance of water resources in Wenchi, Ghana. Results show that stakeholders perceive river water quality to be deteriorating. Stakeholders' judgement of river quality is influenced by water use value, pollution sources, organoleptic properties and sanitary conditions of the riverbank. Stakeholders highlighted key areas that require authorities' efforts: formulation and enforcement of bye-laws, awareness raising, provision of financial, logistic and technical support, conducting research and community mobilisation. These findings need to be carefully reviewed and systematically integrated into expert views to advance our understanding of the problem, how best to address it and who to target during interventions.

Stakeholders' willingness and motivations to support sustainable water resources management: Insights from a Ghanaian study

“…The Municipality is endowed with many major rivers such as Tekyerebete, Tain, Subin, Yoyo, and Atwene that play a useful role in domestic, agricultural, and industrial activities (Wenchi Municipal Assembly, ). These water resources do not only serve the Municipality; there are a number of communities downstream that are more likely to be affected by river pollution from upstream (Okumah & Yeboah, ). The Wenchi Municipal Assembly (), further highlights that some rivers, for example, Tain, Subin, and Yoyo are deteriorating in quality due to anthropogenic factors such as poor land management practices, indiscriminate disposal of waste and open defecation, with several health, economic and ecological implications.…”

An Appraisal of Potential for Sowing of Nasturtium officinale into Streams to Mitigate Nutrient Pollution in Eastern Scotland

“…Farmers' perceptions of the importance of stewardship of water quality are increasing globally [32][33][34]. This is important for the achievement of both local enhancement of water quality (farm scale) and for downstream water users, and was an important driver of the research described here.…”

Unpacking the moderating role of age and gender in the belief–behaviour link: a study within the context of water resources pollution

“…We recruited interview participants through convenience sampling, where we contacted individuals on the streets, pubs, riverside, churches and other places and asked if they were willing to participate in the survey. We focused on residents of the study communities (and excluded strangers, travellers and visitors in the community at the time of the study) because their practices contribute to river pollution and also have a role to play in the design of water policies at the local level (Okumah and Yeboah, 2019;Wenchi Municipal Assembly, 2014). For instance, some residents of the community are authorities at the Municipal Assembly and may be involved in the regulation of practices that affect water resources.…”

“…For instance, some residents of the community are authorities at the Municipal Assembly and may be involved in the regulation of practices that affect water resources. Also, some residents of the Municipality undertake agricultural and industrial activities, which constitutes economic activities that could potentially deteriorate the quality of water resources in the Municipality (Okumah and Yeboah, 2019;Wenchi Municipal Assembly, 2014). Moreover, as reported by the Municipal authority, some residents of the Municipality may have made it a habit of disposing of their solid and liquid waste and industrial effluents into the water resources, thus, contributing to water pollution.…”