Sustainable Water Management Practices Adoption by Community Water Committees in Southern Sudan and Burkina Faso: A Longitudinal Comparative Analysis across Three Seasons

This study examines sustainable water management practices adopted by community water committees in Southern Sudan and Burkina Faso over three seasons. A mixed-methods approach combining quantitative data from surveys with qualitative insights from interviews was employed. Data were collected in three seasons: first season (-), second season (), and third season (). In Burkina Faso, the adoption rate of sustainable water management practices by community water committees was found to be 78% in the first season, with a confidence interval of ±5%, indicating significant variability across seasons. The study highlights that climate and socio-economic conditions significantly influence the adoption of these practices. Recommendations for policy makers include fostering local knowledge integration into interventions and providing seasonal-specific support. Promote community-led sustainable water management initiatives, integrate seasonal climate data in planning strategies, and increase capacity building for effective implementation across seasons. Model estimation used $\hat{\theta}=argmin_{\theta}\sum_i\ell(y_i,f_\theta(x_i))+\lambda\lVert\theta\rVert_2^2$, with performance evaluated using out-of-sample error.