Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Summary -- The financing challenge -- Notes -- References.

This booklet distinguishes between an " old agenda " of providing household water and sanitation services to large numbers of people and a " new agenda " that requires sustainable, environmentally sensitive use of water resources. In various countries and in different social and physical contexts, the new approach is based on economic incentives and participatory decisionmaking is being used - whether by a neighborhood, a city, or a region - to bring services to the people who need them. This booklet describes some of these promising initiatives and examines the general principles that underlie them. It looks at how the World Bank and other agencies can assist and encourage efforts to meet the challenge of providing environmentally sustainable water and sanitation services to growing populations that expect and have a right to decent living conditions.