ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a method for municipal governments, NGOs, and community members to acquire the analytical skills to identify environmental pollution problems and develop the mutual trust to design and implement appropriate solutions. This “management” approach, entitled Community Involvement in the Management of Environmental Pollution (CIMEP), has been implemented by the USAID-funded Environmental Health Project in many different countries - Belize, Ecuador, Bolivia, Zambia, Tunisia, and Benin. The objective of the CIMEP methodology is to promote greater understanding and partnerships between municipalities, national decision makers, and the client communities they represent, so that the municipal infrastructure, such as water systems and utilities in underserved neighborhoods, can be more effectively and efficiently used in the long term. The chapter also presents an overview of the rationale and evolution of this methodology, followed by a description of the process, and brief case study descriptions and results.
