China, Guiyang: ADB to help combat water shortages in capital of Guizhou province

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is helping China enact wide-ranging, integrated measures in Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou province, one of the poor western provinces in PRC, to tackle growing water shortages caused by rapid growth and urbanization.

ADB has approved a US$ 150 million loan for the Guiyang Integrated Water Resources Management (Sector) Project. The project will finance a portion of Guiyang Municipality’s water sector development plan through to 2020.

Guiyang lies in a mountainous region separating the Yangtze and Pearl River Basins. It has the lowest level of urban income of any province, and the second lowest rural income in the country, and while it gets ample rainfall it lacks the means to capture, store and distribute that water efficiently. There is a shortage of water for irrigation in rural areas, and the rapidly growing urban population has strained existing city infrastructure, resulting in water pressure problems and rationing in the dry season.

“The project will provide extensive water resource benefits to about 1.6 million residents, or 45% of the total population of Guiyang Municipality, with about 240,000 poor rural dwellers getting access to safe drinking water,” said Zhang Qingfeng, Senior Water Resources Engineer in ADB’s East Asia Department.

To improve urban water supply, reservoirs, dams, transmission pipelines, and a treatment plant will be built. In rural areas, over 40 small reservoirs will be established, dilapidated irrigation systems will be restored, and tree planting will be carried out on sloping land. At the farm level, over 100,000 small water storage tanks will be built to collect spring and rainwater.

To lay the groundwork for the project, ADB is providing technical assistance to boost the capacity and effectiveness of the many government agencies that oversee the water sector. It also aims to promote greater community involvement in water resource management.

An innovative feature of the project is the introduction of a payment for environmental services scheme which will provide a financial incentive to reduce pollution and make environmental improvements in areas where water supply reservoir work is being undertaken.

Along with ADB, Guiyang Municipal Government is providing $258 million equivalent, Guiyang Municipal Commercial Bank $20 million, and project beneficiaries $11.2 million in the form of labour contributions, for a total investment cost of $439.2 million.

The technical assistance, totaling $600,000, is due for completion in February, 2010. The Guiyang Municipal Government is the executing agency for the project, which is due for completion around April, 2016.

Source: ADB, 30 Oct 2009

Bangladesh: microfinance agencies enable entrepreneurs to provide more sanitation technology options

Over the last five years in Bangladesh, more than 90 million people have moved away from open defecation. While 88 percent of the population now have access to, and are using latrines, ensuring the quality and sustainability of these latrines is crucial. Without ready access to micro-credit and in the absence of well marketed technology options, many households are under pressure to move from very low cost to very high cost technology options with a significant debt burden.

In July 2009, the Association for Social Advancement: ASA (a leading Micro-Finance Institute) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Dhaka Ahsania Mission (a national non-governmental organization) to provide loans at low interest to local small entrepreneurs for producing, marketing, and promoting appropriate sanitation technology options.

Dhaka Ahsania Mission will pilot the new financing mechanism in Jamalpur Sadar Upazilla (a sub district) with trained entrepreneurs. The Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) facilitated this process of linking local private manufacturers with micro-finance agencies to bring finance and technology together to make available a range of affordable sanitation options for households.

Source: WSP Access, Oct 2009

Pakistan: moving beyond open defecation free sanitation

CLTS Picture book. Plan International Pakistan

Pakistan has taken an important step towards improved sanitation through a major sector assessment and setting up of a core group that seeks to move communities beyond open defecation free (ODF) status. The Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach has already enabled more than 1,500 villages in Pakistan to achieve ODF status and is expected to reach 15,000 villages by June 2011. This will mean that a third of the rural population of Pakistan would be covered.

To consolidate this progress and scale up learning, a Core Group was formed in August 2008 to advise the government in policy refinement and implementation of its nation-wide sanitation policy. The Core Group includes senior officials from the key national ministries of Environment and Health, as well as Provincial Planning and Development Departments and international agencies, including WSP.

The group commissioned an assessment of CLTS pilots in nine villages in the country. The evidence gathered revealed that CLTS had the potential to motivate communities to achieve ODF status. However, it did not create demand for “improved sanitation,” which, according to the Joint Monitoring Program, implies use of sanitation facilities “that ensure hygienic separation of human excreta from human contact.

The surveyed communities were found using unimproved and unhygienic latrines without taking any substantial effort to upgrade or replace damaged latrines due to limited knowledge of different latrine options available at the household level.

A countrywide CLTS implementation strategy will be developed based on the recommendations of the review, and is likely to benefit all communities living in rural areas by 2015.

Source: WSP Access, Oct 2009

Reacting to this WSP news item, Prof. Duncan Mara noted in his blog:

‘So now we know what many of us had long suspected: the whole CLTS ‘process’ needs to be upgraded so as to ensure people get at least ‘improved’ sanitation. Actually what people need is ‘good’ sanitation and ‘improved’ does not necessarily mean ‘good’ (after all, ‘improved’ sanitation includes a “pit latrine with slab” − see here − and we’ve all seen hundreds of these that are far from satisfactory).’

India: use pour flush system in toilets to save water, UNICEF

UNICEF has called for promoting Pour Flush System in toilets stating it is far better than the traditional Tank Flush System as it saves water.

Water Environment Sanitation (WES) specialist from UNICEF, Amit Mehrotra, said this in a press conference on Total Sanitation Campaign in Lucknow, India.

He said a large quantity of water gest wasted in the old Flush Tank System in urban areas. To preserve water, Pour Flush System should be promoted in the country.

”More than 65 per cent people go outside for defecation in our country and without changing this picture, we cannot even think about the healthy India,” Mr Mehrotra said.

He added that UNICEF has set a target with government’s collaboration to construct two crore [20 million] toilets in rural areas. One crore [10 millon] toilets have been constructed so far.

”We do not have enough trained workers to construct such toilets. As per the requirement, at least one trained worker is needed in one village to reach the target but we have only 16 per cent trained workers till date,” said Mr Mehrotra.

He said UNICEF has worked on sanitation in 10 districts of Varansai region.

Source: UNI / Netdial123.com, 23 Oct 2009

Bangladesh, Nepal: hygiene promotion for men

Forum theatres are one of WaterAid’s new approaches of improving hygiene in Bangladesh by focusing on men. See photos of a pilot show in Jogdol bazaar, Magura in west Bangladesh.

Hygiene promotion for men is also being addressed in an EU-funded rehabilitation project in Nepal being carried out by NGO Nepal Water for Health (NEWAH), with support from the IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre. Read more in IRC’s Source Bulletin.

ADB to evaluate water sector performance in 2009

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) plans to conduct a Special Evaluation Study (SES) on the performance of its water sector policy and operations in 2009/2010.

The SES wll focus on evaluating the relevance, compliance, effectiveness, and impact of the ADB’s water policy.

It will:

1. examine specific features of the ADB water policy, including its intent, directives, safeguards, and development approaches;
2. assess the adequacy, coverage, and relevance of the water policy to ADB operations, taking into account current and emerging regional and global issues on water use, climate change, and related issues;
3. assess the policy’s comprehensiveness, consistency, and robustness from a technical perspective (reflective of current technical and scientific understanding);
4. examine the extent to which the water policy has been taken into consideration in project design and implementation;
5. assess the effectiveness and impact of the water policy by examining the performance of ADB water sector assistance before and after the implementation of the policy and by identifying trends that can be attributed to the policy; and
6. identify lessons learned and issues to be considered in guiding ADB water sector assistance in the future.

The SES will be undertaken through (i) a desk review, (ii) a before-and-after comparison of water policy implementation, (iii) an in-depth study of successful projects, (iv) focus-country studies, (v) thematic studies, and (vi) internal and external outreach activities.

The desk review will cover all ADB water sector projects approved since 2001, when the new sector policy was introduced, as well as projects nearing approval. ADB water sector projects approved since 1995 will be included in the before-and-after comparison.

About 8–10 successful projects will be selected for the in-depth studies to identify lessons for broader application.

Some tentative topics for thematic studies include (i) new types of investment in the water sector arising from climate change, (ii) corporate governance and capacity building for water utilities, (iii) improving public sector performance, and (iv) the relationship between ADB internal organization and the ADB Water Policy

Besides the water sector SES, there are two ongoing sector sector assistance program evaluations (SAPE), which started in 2008:

• SAPE – Urban Services and Water Supply and Sanitation – Bangladesh
• SAPE – Urban Water Supply and Sanitation – Viet Nam

Finally, the ADB will also evaluate the Punjab Rural Community Water Supply and Sanitation Project in Pakistan.

Source: ADB, Selected Evaluation Studies for 2009-Phase 1, June 2009

Nepal: Preparing the Improved Water Quality, Sanitation, and Service Delivery in Emerging Towns Sector Development Program

Finnish Consulting Group International … [et al.] (2009). NEP : Preparing the Improved Water Quality, Sanitation, and Service Delivery in Emerging Towns Sector Development Program : technical assistance consultant’s report : final report. Manila, Philippines, Asian Development Bank. 6 vol.

Download reports [12 PDFs]

This Final Report is the fourth and final main output from the ADB PPTA 4972-NEP for the preparation of a sector development project to attract loan and grant funding from the Asian Development Bank for reform of the urban water supply and sanitation sector in Nepal, with a focus on small towns, and a project for the provision of water supply and sanitation infrastructure and service delivery in emerging towns throughout Nepal. The Sector Development Program (SDP) will include investment in capacity building and institutional strengthening of various organisations involved in management and service delivery at national and local level, and the project will include investment in infrastructure and operational capacity at town level.

Contents:

• VOLUME 1: Final Report: Sector Development Program (SDP) Rationale and Strategy
• VOLUME 2: Appendices: COMPONENT 1 – Sector Development Program Design
• VOLUME 3: Appendices – Finance and Economics
• VOLUME 4: Appendices COMPONENT 2 – Small Towns Services Project
• VOLUME 5: Sub-Project Feasibility Studies
• VOLUME 6: Initial Environmental Examinations (IEE) of Khandbari, Duhabi and Sukhad and Summary Initial Environmental Examination

Making Sanitation Everybody’s Business: Highlights of the ADB-DMC Sanitation Dialogue

The ADB-DMC Sanitation Dialogue brought together more than 100 national and local government officials from 17 countries across the Asia-Pacific region on 3-5 March 2009. Discussions focused on environmental and socioeconomic issues, especially public health risks associated with poor sanitation, on technological and financing options, and private sector participation. ADB’s partner organizations, such as the World Toilet Organization, the International Water Association, UN Habitat, and others also attended.

Together with ADB staff, the government officials discussed sanitation needs, barriers, options, and actions needed. At the end of the conference, individual country delegations produced a list of activities that would lead to increasing their sanitation coverage and investments.

Read the full highlights paper [23 p., PDF file]

There is also a full meeting report. It includes 14 country papers from Armenia, Bangladesh, China, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Pacific, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, and Viet Nam.

Water and the laws in India

Iyer, R.R. (ed.) (2009). Water and the laws in India. New Delhi, India, Sage India. 676 p.
Price: INR 995 / US$ 25
Order online

Laws relating to water in India have diverse origins, including ancient local customs and the British Common Law. The in-depth chapters in this compendium pertain to issues on water – water-resource policy, management, conservation, conflict-resolution etc. – and proceed to a discussion of the legal questions that arise. The book also briefly raises and explores the case for a constitutional declaration on water and an overarching national water law.

While most of the chapters focus on water resources legislation, some also deal with issues related to the drinking water sector:

• The Human Right to Water: Policies and Rights by Upendra Baxi
• Community Engagement in Water Governance by M. S. Vani
• Water Use: Legal and Institutional Framework by K. J. Joy and Suhas Paranjape
• Drinking Water Supply: Right and Obligation by K.C. Sivaramakrishnan
• Water, Women and Rights by Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt
• Water Pollution and Contamination by Paritosh C. Tyagi

India, Kerala: UNICEF preparing case study on Thrissur water schemes

UNICEF plans to bring out a documentary and monograph on urban community-managed water governance schemes in Thrissur, Kerala.

Arun Dobhal, Water and Environmental Sanitation Officer with UNICEF, announced this at a three-day workshop on ‘Sustainable water governance’ organised by the Socio Economic Unit Foundation (SEUF), Thrissur Corporation and the District Panchayat..

“The urban community-managed water governance programmes being implemented in Thrissur can serve as a model. A case study of the schemes is being planned. In the past five years, UNICEF initiatives in Kerala have been few. The UNICEF did not give Kerala priority treatment for the right reason: the State needed little help as its achievements in sanitation and public health had been impressive,” he said.

Mayor R. Bindu said the Corporation had promoted community-based water governance schemes after finding serious problems in the existing water supply system.

“Disruption of water supply owing to occasional problems in the main line from Peechi prompted the Corporation to seek alternative water management and supply methods, including regeneration of traditional water bodies,” she added.

A training programme for beneficiaries of 29 water supply schemes commissioned by the District Panchayat and implemented by SEUF was planned from October 20 to 22. A programme on management of rainwater harvesting structures was planned from October 27 to 29.

The SEUF will hold a two-day workshop in December 2009 to identify gaps, if any, in the State’s water policy. Recommendations of the workshop will be submitted to the Government.

Source: The Hindu, 13 Oct 2009