Toward a contextualized research agenda: Governance challenges of the wastewater treatment policy in Mexico and the role of subnational governments

Abstract

Wastewater treatment is failing worldwide. Like many parts of the world, Mexico and Latin America continue to face significant challenges associated with the implementation of wastewater treatment plant (WTP) policy. Research has identified that wastewater treatment challenges are related to governance failures. To address these challenges, international organizations have proposed approaches such as Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and decentralization. However, these governance approaches have not achieved the intended outcomes and from a scholarly perspective, new frameworks have been developed to understand the context of governance challenges. Yet, an analysis based on Scopus and Web of Science shows that academic research employing such contextual approaches to the WTP policy in Mexico is still scarce. Against this background, the objective of this focus article is to reflect on the current governance challenges of the WTP policy in Mexico and to propose some areas of research that can provide new insights that support the development of a policy tailored to the Mexican context. The few research that has used contextual approaches demonstrated that subnational governments have a key role in the WTP policy in Mexico. Building upon this finding, I encourage the employment of contextual frameworks and the development of interdisciplinary research analyzing the role of subnational governments in the WTP policy. This type of research can provide relevant insights that could help to improve wastewater treatment not only in Mexico but also in other countries with similar governance structures and challenges, as is the case in Latin America.