Nepal: Melamchi’s padlock opened after seven months

The site office of the Melamchi Water Supply Project, which has remained padlocked for the last seven months, has opened on 26 January 2010. Locals in the project-affected area had padlocked the office since 24 July 2009.

“Locals agreed to unlock the office when negotiation was made to address their demands within a year,” said Bharat KC, Deputy Executive Director of Melamchi Water Supply Project. Chairperson of Hyolmo Sindhu Melamchi Valley Social Upliftment Programme Implementation Committee (HSMVSUPIC) Chandra Bahadur Thapa warned of padlocking the site office of the project again if their demands were not addressed within the stipulated time.

The protests have delayed the construction of tunnel works of the Melamchi Water Supply Project, which was due to start in August 2009 when Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal laid the foundation stone.

As a result of the delay, the China Railway 15 Bureau Corporation and China CMIIC Corporation workers, who were contracted to construct the tunnel, have left the site. The tunnel was due for completion by December 2013.

The tunnel construction is an important work, which constitutes 27 percent of the total work.

Although construction was to start in 2002, it was postponed for five years after the donors World Bank, Norway and Sweden backtracked from the project and the works restarted with Asian Development Bank cooperation on condition to give the valley drinking water supply to the private sector.

The valley drinking water was given to Severn Trent, a British company as per the ADB condition.

When Maoists came to government, Hisila Yami who was the then minister for physical planning and works canceled the agreement with the Severn Trent and the tunnel works were delayed for another two years.

The Melamchi project was started in 1998 with a view of supplying clean drinking water to increasing population of Kathmandu valley.

Admitting that the tunnel works were delayed, Executive Director Gajendra Kumar Thakur said the delay in construction was because of lengthy process of acquiring license for the explosives needed, as it needs 1,100 tonnes of explosives. Other explosives and materials are being brought from Lhasa and Hyderabad of India.

After this arrives, the tunnel works will start from eight places simultaneously, he said.

The cost of the tunnel is Rs. 4 billion and 288.8 million.

Under the project, 170 million liters of water will be collected daily in the reservoir to be built at Mahankal of Sundarijal.

The first phase total cost is 317.3 million US dollars.

The second phase will add water from Yangri and Larke Rivers and reach 350 million liters.

Of the total cost, 249.4 million will be spent in various infrastructure in Melamchi valley and in social programmes. Rs 67.9 million dollars have been allocated for drinking water alone.

Source: NGO Forum, 31 Jan 2010 ; Republica, 23 Jan 2010

Nepal, Kathmandu Valley: garbage collectors end strike

The Environment Management Department of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) said that it would take another three days to clear all garbage heaped in the capital valley over the last 12 days. The Department started garbage disposal from 1 February 2010 after the unions of local bodies decided to return to work. Employees had been on strike since 21 January 2010.

“Altogether 60 KMC garbage trucks are being used round the clock,” said Rabin Man Shrestha, chief at the department, adding, “Our staff will be busy in waste removal till the midnight.” Over 4,200 tons of garbage had piled up in the valley during the strike, he informed, adding, some 900 employees were engaged in garbage disposal. When dumping resumed, various organisations and government officials started pressurizing KMC to clear the mess from their respective neighborhoods early on, Shrestha said.

On Monday, calling off their protests, local body union employees said they would not sit for dialogue with CPN-UML-led government and would not allow concerned ministers to enter their office. Similarly, they also decided to continue their protests inside the concerned local body offices by putting black flags in front of the main gates, Ganga Dhar Gautam, president of Local Body Employees’ Union Nepal, said. “We will boycott all the government ministers in the local bodies as part of our protest,” Gautam added.

When KMC garbage carrying vehicles were not operating during the protest of the local body staff, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force personnel jointly disposed 500 metric tons of garbage at Tikathali over the last three days.

Source: The Rising Nepal / NGO Forum, 03 Feb 2010

Nepal, Kathmandu: mothers for water treatment

The newspaper article below reports how a household water treatment promotion programme in Kathmandu seems to have had has a positive impact on health by reducing water-related disease incidence. Six months after the intervention, all households were using at least one water treatment method. Research has showed, however, that household water treatment interventions are not sustainable in the long term.

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Mothers for water treatment

Until a year ago, the Jagaruk Mahila Bikash Samuha, a 49-member group of mothers living in the old Newari settlement of Chhusika Tole, one kilometre-east of Patan Durbar Square, had to postpone their monthly meetings by a week because a majority of their active members could not attend as their family members were suffering from one kind of water-borne disease or another.

But, gone are the days. “All the members of the group are attending the meeting as well as all other regular activities, such as the weekly cleaning camps, the adult literacy classes, and fund-raising events,” says Krishna Laxmi Barahi, Chairperson of the group.

According to Barahi, nearly a year ago, the group scheduled a meeting and had an in-depth-discussion with officials from the Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City (LSMC). While speaking to environmentalists at the meet, the group reached the conclusion that their families were falling ill as a result of drinking and using contaminated water from the only source in the area – the local well.

A group then launched a series of orientation classes, with help from Lalitpur Sub Metropolitan City (LSMC), UN-HABITAT, Environment and Public Health Organization (ENPHO), and the Urban Environment Management Society (UEMS). During the classes, the various methods of treating water, such as filtering, boiling, SODIS (Solar water disinfection), and chlorination, were discussed along with ways in which to use it safely. In July 2009, six months after the orientation classes began, the LSMC declared the community a safe water zone. At this time, each household had adopted at least one kind of water treatment method.

“In previous years, at least a dozen family members were hospitalised every year due to diarrhoea, cholera, and a number of other water-borne diseases, but we have not had a single case this year,” said Barahi.
Chhusika Tole is not only the neighborhood to conduct such orientation classes in the locality for healthy community. Three other mothers’ groups within half a kilometre radius of Lalitpur have taken the same initiative to make their neighborhoods safe drinking water zones.

“Nobody used to boil, filter or chlorinate water or use the SODIS method. Not surprisingly, at least one member of the household would generally be unwell,” says Krishna Maya Abale, a member of the Nhuja Mapucha, another mothers’ group in Chochhe. Abale adds, “Since declaring our locality a safe water zone nearly six months back, we, our Mothers’ group, have been conducting random checks to the 65-households to ensure that they are using at least one method of water treatment.”

According to a field officer of ENPHO, Bikash Maharjan, taking cue from these four mothers’ group, nearly 94 other mothers’ groups in Lalitpur are also conducting campaigns on water purification in their own localities, with the aim of making them safe drinking water zones.

Source: Dev Kumar Sunuwar, Kathmandu Post / NGO Forum, 31 Jan 2010

Nepal: national water resource information centre in offing

The Water and Energy Commission Secretariat (WECS) is all set to establish a national water resource information centre. “We lack accurate and adequate facts and figures with which to manage the huge potential of water resources in the country. There is a need to work in an integrated way in the field,” said Dr. Ravi Aryal, joint secretary, WECS.

The information centre will establish a countrywide network through river basin offices to be set up in parts of the country. “There is a River Basin Office for Indrawati and Dudhkoshi rivers and the work has been initiated. We will establish other offices in Nepalgunj, Koshi and Bharatpur soon,” added Aryal.

Following the split of the Ministry of Water Resources into Ministry of Energy and Ministry of Irrigation, officials have been worried about the future of integrated water resource management since there is no strong authority to take care of the issue. “Integrated issues of water resource have come under a shadow. Water resources are not only about hydropower and irrigation,” said Aryal.

Water resource experts agree that there is little of scientific data on water resource and the available one is also scattered. The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM), which is the first hand data generator for rainfall and temperature, is under the Ministry of Environment, whose objective is not primarily to look after water resources. “It’s unfortunate the DHM is under the environment ministry. Its data is useful for policymakers on water resources,” said Adarsha Pokharel, former director general, DHM.

WECS officials say they can do nothing to change the state of affairs since they are not mandated for that. Despite its being the sole body to handle the water issues, the 35-year-old commission is a weak one. “At a time when the country lacks a strong body to handle the water issues, we have tried to establish a scientific database which could help figure out issues to be urgently addressed in the sector,” Aryal said.

The information centre will be digitally equipped, financed by a World Bank grant. The river basin offices in Dudhkoshi and Indrawati have been supported by the Government of Finland. The centre will study actual use of water resources, mobilize the community for water conservation practices and keep information up to date. “Lack of reliable data on the natural resource has weakened us during international negotiations on water resources,” Aryal justified the need for the centre.

Source: Ramesh Prasad Bhushal, Himalayan Times / NGO Forum, 31 Jan 2010

Strengthening capacities for planning of sanitation and wastewater use : experiences from two cities in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka

Smits, S., Da Silva Wells, C. and Evans, A. (2009). Strengthening capacities for planning of sanitation and wastewater use : experiences from two cities in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The Hague, the Netherlands, IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre (Occasional Paper Series 44). 56 p. ; 5 fig., 6 tab. 37 ref.
Download full text

Executive Summary

It is well-known that many peri-urban communities use wastewater (often untreated) in agriculture. Although wastewater-dependent agriculture provides livelihoods to farmers, there are associated health and environmental risks. The roots of this situation lie in the poor sanitation in cities where part of the population doesn’t have access to basic sanitation services at all, where domestic wastewater is not properly collected or is discharged into open water bodies without any treatment, and where industrial discharges and dumping of solid waste often add to the pollution problem.

The basic premise of the Wastewater Agriculture and Sanitation for Poverty Alleviation (WASPA) in Asia project is that by integrated planning both the lack of sanitation services and the health and environmental risks associated with wastewater use in agriculture can be addressed simultaneously. The idea is to improve conditions along the entire sanitation chain (from household latrines to collection, treatment and reuse of wastewater), while maintaining the characteristics of wastewater valued by farmers, such as nutrient content.

This concept was tested in two towns: Rajshahi in Bangladesh and Kurunegala in Sri Lanka. The project worked through Learning Alliances, composed of local stakeholders, including farmers, residents, small industries and local authorities. With these Learning Alliances, the current situation was analysed, and integrated plans for improvement were formulated and executed in a collaborative manner with a range of stakeholders. This document provides an overview of the experiences of the project and provides a critical reflection on the WASPA concept and its applicability.

The project found that the sanitation situation in both cities was less severe than originally hypothesised. Lack of access to basic sanitation only contributed in a minor way to wastewater flows. Instead, other sources of pollution were identified, such as discharges from small industries and leakage from poorly maintained or inadequate septic tanks. At the same time, the impacts of wastewater agriculture on crop yields and health risks were less than expected.

The situation also proved to be more complex than originally thought, necessitating that a broader range of stakeholders be involved in the identification and implementation of solutions. The multi-stakeholder approach of Learning Alliances and participatory planning cycle provided a useful framework for addressing this complex problem. It allowed examination of the entire sanitation chain and identification of potential strategies for
improvements along the entire chain. In addition, it provided a way of gradually building up relations between stakeholders in a context characterised by institutional fragmentation, conflict and poor accountability. Over time, relations improved and more integrated planning emerged.

A potential drawback to the approach is that stakeholders tend to identify isolated and conventional actions to address the situation, and thus need strong facilitation and increased knowledge to arrive at appropriate solutions. Also, transaction costs of the approach are high, in terms of getting the teams in place, starting up the multi-stakeholder process, and getting stakeholders to carry out a joint planning exercise and subsequently implement their plans. However, the project demonstrated that integrated, joint planning is important for addressing complex problems that span sectoral, administrative and social divides and that, ultimately, the high transaction costs are justified.

Nepal, Surkhet: toilet a must for local elections

A campaign is going to be started in Surkhet district, in the Mid-Western Development Region of Nepal, to make it mandatory for candidates in the local elections to have a toilet in his/her house. This campaign is a part of the five-year sanitation action plan prepared by the Regional Monitoring and Supervision Office to make Surkhet an open defecation free district by 2015.

Stakeholders and political parties have committed to implement the action plan. According to the action plan, the political parties have to give high priority to sanitation, include sanitation in their manifesto and mobilize their youth wings to work in the sanitation sector.

In related news, the Village Development Committee (VDC) of Maidi, in Dhading District, central Nepal, said it will cut off its services to those consumers who do not construct toilets in their homes. The VDC has launched a “One House One Toilet” campaign that it hopes will help to declare Maidi an open defecation free zone.

Source: Kantipur / NGO Forum, 28 Jan 2010 ; Kantipur / NGO Forum, 27 Jan 2010

South Asia Hygiene practitioners’ workshop, 1–4 February 2010, Dhaka, Bangladesh

The workshop is organised by BRAC, WaterAid, WSSCC, and IRC and is part of five learning and sharing workshops on sanitation and hygiene organised in 2009 and 2010.

The papers are available on the IRC web site.

S.Vishwanath (aka Zenrainman) is providing “live” coverage of the workshop through:

• a blog
• on Twitter through hash handle #RWHP
• and on YouTube

Afghanistan, Uruzgan: first water shura held in Kowtal

The first shura (meeting) on water was held on 26 January 2010 in Kowtwal, Uruzgan, by Task Force Uruzgan (TFU). Led by the Netherlands, the TFU is part of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) force in Afghanistan.

Senior representatives of the Afghan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, the Provincial Reconstruction Team and twenty mirabs (traditional Afghan water supervisors) met to discuss channel maintenance and the fair distribution of water.

‘It is an honour for me to be able to meet with you, mirabs of Kowtwal and the surrounding area, to discuss water,’ said TFU civil representative Michel Rentenaar at the opening of the first water shura in Uruzgan. Unequal distribution of the limited water supplies available regularly causes tension between tribes. A slight change to a channel upstream can have implications for villages situated downstream. The objective of the meeting was to restore the mirabs’ contact with each other and with the provincial authorities.

‘This is really exceptional,’ Mr Rentenaar said. ‘We’re not just helping to re-establish a water management system, we’re actually getting canals and wells built and repaired. This means more water is available. And more water means a more stable Uruzgan.’ At the shura the Afghan partners determined which water project was the most urgent and would most benefit local people.

Source: Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 27 Jan 2010

WaterAid Australia publication on Hygiene Promotion in South-East Asia and the Pacific region

The aim of this publication is to facilitate the sharing of project experiences and lessons learned specifically relating to hygiene promotion amongst WASH practitioners in South-East Asia and the Pacific region through the compilation of a variety of project case studies. WaterAid Australia is currently scoping for suitable case studies to include in this publication. Case studies are expected to be practical, easy-to-read and based upon project experiences.

Case studies need to be written by the end of April 2010.

If you are interested in highligting the hygiene promotion work of your project in this publication then please email Project Coordinator, Jan Parry for further information: jan.parry0@gmail.com

Philippines: ADB, Manila Water to conduct study to restore Pasig River to Full Health

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Manila Water Company Inc. are funding an assessment of the wastewater and sanitation needs along the eastern side of the Pasig River, Manila’s polluted main waterway. ADB is considering providing Manila Water with a private-sector project loan to fund implementation of a wastewater treatment system once the study is completed.

The 27-kilometer-long Pasig River was once used by locals as a source of drinking water and fish, and a place to swim, but in recent decades it has been polluted by the increasing amounts of untreated sewage brought by rapid urbanization and insufficient sanitation systems. Like other major river systems in Metro Manila, the Pasig River is now biologically dead, damaging the health and livelihoods of Manila’s 11 million inhabitants.

Read the full news release.

See also:

• ADB – Pasig River Catchment Sewerage Project
• Country Water Action: Philippines Resuscitating the Pasig River, ADB, April 2009

Source: ADB, 26 Jan 2010