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service delivery. As demonstrated by the surveys carried out for this report, local authorities agree that privatization has led to neither a massive influx of resources nor to lower costs, but this is often blamed on a lack of monitoring and transparency in the implementation of externalization. In 2000, several externalization processes were further damaged by the economic crisis (Argentina) and public protests (Bolivia). In Latin America, water is generally provided by the public sector. Around a third of the countries surveyed have direct municipal systems for water supply and sanitation, in the form of local utilities that provide services in urban areas. Rural provision is dominated by water boards (under different models, including community associations and cooperatives). Regional governments play an important role in providing water services in Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Mexico, and Venezuela, while national utilities dominate in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay and Uruguay. The municipal management of solid waste (by municipal workers or autonomous municipal utilities) makes up 50.6% of waste collection services in the region and 52.8% of final disposal. Chile is an exception; it has granted concessions for most solid waste collection services, and directly provides services to just 18% of the population. In terms of final disposal, El Salvador, Colombia and Chile are the countries which have externalized services to the greatest degree (over 80%) while, at the opposite extreme, 70% of services are provided directly by municipalities in Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Dominican Republic and Uruguay. A major change in the organization of the sector is the increased inter-municipal cooperation through inter-足 municipal associations in order to achieve better economies of scale and enforcement of regulatory standards. These partnerships
are especially important for both large metropolitan areas, where most urbanized municipalities or districts lack the land for treatment. Service provision by micro-足 enterprises, cooperatives and NGOs is also growing, particularly in slums and informal settlements. Provision by micro-enterprises and non-profits currently stands at 3.3% overall, rising to 7.8% in large cities. In general, urban transport services in Latin America are divided into several sectors: the formal sector is managed by a few large operators (either public or private), while the informal sector, which provides most urban transport, is made up of numerous small private operators. The Bus Rapid Transit projects (BRT) reflect a significant evolution in service governance: the BRT are managed by local governments via concessions granted to the private sector. Everywhere where they have been introduced in the region, BRT have helped change the vision and practices of cities, and made possible the re-appropriation of public spaces. They are, in this sense, the beginning of a real change in Latin American cities. Nevertheless, the institutional systems for integrated transport management are still weak. Many cities lack appropriate planning instruments, or are unable to implement them. Along with the public management of serv足 ices by different local, regional or national bodies, private sector involvement in basic service provision continues to grow. Private sector involvement usually takes the form of public concessions made by local, state, or central governments. In most countries of the region, there are laws, regulations and standards governing Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), many of which have been established in the last decade. The characteristics of private sector partners vary, ranging from large multinational companies to local or national providers, including non-profit organizations, cooperatives, and small-scale providers closely linked to