Applying New Institutional Economics to the Mozambican water and sanitation sector

by Noud
I wrote my Industrial Ecology thesis as part of the this project, wherein I focussed on the (informal) institutions that govern the relations between the actors present in Maputo’s sanitation sector. My research found its origin in the school of New Institutional Economics (NIE), which is an economic perspective that attempts to extend economics by focusing on the institutions, i.e. the social and legal norms and rules, that underlie economic activity and with analysis beyond earlier institutional economics and neoclassical economics. NIE assumes that individuals are rational and that they seek to maximise their preferences, but that they also have cognitive limitations, lack complete information and have difficulties monitoring and enforcing agreements. Continue reading

Frame analysis for the water restrictions in Maputo

by Teresa

Teresa, our latest MSc student, under the supervision of Adriano,  looked into the water restrictions in Maputo and how these have been managed by the different institutions. She has her defense next week you can read all about here work here below, also: make sure you check her thesis. Continue reading

Movie report from Laura

By André

Just like last year, Maputo is currently undergoing a serious drought and major water restrictions throughout the city. What if you would use treated wastewater instead of normal tap water to cool the future power plant in Maputo? That’s exactly what Laura tried to investigate and instead of the typical blog posts she opted for a short movie to tell you all about it. Here it is:

[youtube]https://youtu.be/eDndf6JXkEo[/youtube]

We all hope you like it! Note: if you have troubles with the embedded video, you can find it here.

First week in Maputo

by Laura and Judith

My name is Laura Nougues and I am currently a fourth year civil engineering BSc student at TU Delft. For my minor I was very lucky to come to Maputo to do a research project. The minor I chose is in Water Management theme and this is also the area of my research project I am working on now, here in Maputo.

I’m looking into the feasibility of using reclaimed water to cool a thermal power plant, which is being built in the city, close to the Bay. My work focuses on determining the different costs involved and on the possible partnerships which could be created to facilitate the achievement of the cooling system. During my study period I will be working at the campus of the Eduardo Mondlane University under the supervision of Noor Gulamussen.

My name is Judith Kavelaars and for the past two years I have been studying Civil Engineering at the TU Delft. In the third year there is space to choose your own activity for a semester. I wanted to know more about water management and that’s where the opportunity to go to Mozambique came up. Not only is it a great way to get to know the country, but it is also good to get another insight on my study.

My project focuses on forecasting drinking water demand and availability from now until 2040 for the area of greater Maputo, including the cities of Maputo and Matola. It is likely that there is no sufficient fresh water until 2040, so it is also interesting to consider different solutions to overcome this deficit. During my studies I will be working under the supervision of André Arsénio.

Dynamic adaptive policy pathways approach for Maputo

by André and Jesper

Jesper characterized the challenges that Maputo faces using the framework of Dynamic Adaptive Pathways (DAPPS), which was developed by Marjolijn Haasnoot, a colleague at the Faculty of TPM here in Delft. You can read all about Jesper’s work in this entry. Continue reading

Team Anaerobic Maputo

by Jelle and Stijn

In the spring of 2017 we, Jelle Epema and Stijn Dijsselbloem students from the TU Delft, went to Mozambique to work on our BSc thesis on wastewater treatment. We stayed for a period of two months, from the beginning of April to the start of June. Continue reading

Results of the household survey – a comic strip

by Lena

In the past few months we were quite busy finalizing the technical report discussing the household survey that we did together with WSP at the end of 2014 and beginning of 2015. I wrote about it here and here and you can now grab a copy of the final report here. By the way, this work was the basis our WEDC paper and for my MSc thesis – very productive! Continue reading

My third (and last) post

by Nessia

1. Looking Back
The time passed so quickly until I realized that six months had passed since I flew back to Delft. It was hard to say goodbye to everyone in Maputo who had been with me from March until May but it was even harder noticing that some goodbyes were left unspoken since I could not say it directly for a last time. However, the next phase of my thesis project was waiting for me: the design of the wastewater treatment plant. Continue reading

Final steps towards the MSc degree

by Jay-el

My research topic is entitled “Life cycle analysis of the technical costs and social costs for the provision of sanitation services in Maputo, Mozambique”. In an overview, it is divided into three main parts, (1) developing of scenarios for the development of Maputo’s sanitation system in 2025; (2) quantifying the total costs, technical and social, of each of the scenario; and (3) providing insights for their improvement and its consequent implications on the perspective of stakeholders. Continue reading