Title: Review of rainwater harvesting policies in Ghana: lessons for developing countries

Authors: Anthony Amoah; Clement Dorm-Adzobu; Ben Yaw Ampomah

Addresses: Department of Economics, Central University, Accra, Ghana ' Evangelical Presbyterian University College, Ho, Ghana ' Water Resources Commission, Ghana

Abstract: Countries are governed by laws and policies. Policies are designed to create a path meant to direct institutions in the performance of their duties to achieve broader national goals. This paper is aimed at contributing to the body of knowledge in rainwater harvesting and to inform future policies in developing countries. The paper assesses the extent to which the government of Ghana has formulated and implemented policies for rainwater harvesting. It therefore presents policies that have existed from pre to post-independence era on rainwater harvesting in Ghana. The purposive sampling method was employed and selected policy documents were analysed using the content analysis method. A household survey data was also used in this study to complement the findings of the content analysis. The study found that, although an appreciable number of policies have been designed, implementation in all cases has not been desirable. The paper recommends that the rainwater harvesting policy be incorporated into the building code of Ghana in order to help in providing alternative sources of water for use in households.

Keywords: rainwater; harvesting; developing countries; intervention; policies; strategies; environmental policy; decision making; Ghana.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEPDM.2019.110302

International Journal of Environmental Policy and Decision Making, 2019 Vol.2 No.4, pp.271 - 290

Accepted: 01 Mar 2017
Published online: 14 Oct 2020 *