We have strong representation, from Nicaragua to India, and WaterAid staff will be presenting on a variety of topics. Yesterday everyone arrived safe and sound, and we are all ready to learn and share experiences at the forum. During the week we will have two ways of communicating the learning from the forum. This hub site will discuss the sessions through the themes of sustainability (Day 1), equity and inclusion (Day 2), and visions for the future of rural water supply (Day 3). The WaterAid blogger site will also critically reflect on the discussions on the day as well as capture various participants' expectations and thoughts. We are off now to set up the WaterAid stand in the exhibition space. We will report back soon! Mara van den Bold, 29 November 2011: Opening Plenary We started the RWSN Forum today with an Opening Plenary session. A brief stock taking in the room showed how diverse attendance actually is and how much the RWSN has grown. There are over 500 representatives here from international and national NGOs, local governments, the private sector, academia, political leaders as well as development partners. They come from across the globe, from North, Central and South America, to Europe, Africa and Asia. This is the 6th Forum of the Rural Water Supply Network. In 1992 the RWSN was set up as a handpump technology network. It has grown significantly and now has approximately 2,500 members and an expanded focus examining issues related to Self-Supply, ground water development and management, equity and inclusion, and sustainable ground water development. Richard Carter, Head of Technical Support at WaterAid and Chair of the RWSN, gave opening remarks, as well as Honourable Maria Mutagamba, Minister for Water and Environment of Uganda, Honourable Kebede Gerba, Minister for Water and Energy of Ethiopia, and representatives from UNICEF and the Ministry responsible for water in South Sudan. What came through clearly in these opening messages was the importance of sustainability, equity of access, and the quality of service delivery – and defeating the 'myths' of rural water supply (click here to download a PDF about these myths). Richard Carter highlighted that there has been a strong emphasis on building new systems and extending coverage. However, issues related to recurrent financing and management are often not discussed until later even though these are critical for the sustainability of the service. Furthermore, the assumption that communities can always manage services on their own is not necessarily a valid one. The concept of community management 'plus' looks at how external support from local governments, the private sector or other actors can be realised and sustained over time. But it is important to recognise that not all interventions are automatically beneficial. Interventions by various actors in rural water supply need to be adequately coordinated and abide by internationally agreed standards and procedures. The importance of equity, safety and sustainability was further highlighted by UNICEF, alongside some of the challenges that still exist on collecting data to assess sustainability of services, and the recognition that data on 'improved sources' does not necessarily ensure equity, safety and sustainability.
Although large improvements have been made in rural water supply over the past few decades (the number of rural dwellers with access to a safe water supply has grown from 1.9 billion to about 2.6 billion between 1990 and 2008 according to WHO/UNICEF JMP 2010 data), there is still a long way to go. Continuing investment in rural water supply is important, as five out of six people without assess to a safe drinking water supply reside in rural areas. Despite rapid rates of urbanisation, approximately 2.8 billion people will still live in rural areas by 2050. In order to ensure that those living in rural areas have access to sustainable rural water supply, a new strategy is needed, said Minister Mutagamba, and politicians should take forward the solutions put forward by this forum. This forum thus represents many opportunities to learn, share, network, and think about the way forward for rural water supply. As Richard Carter re-stated this proverb in his opening remarks: "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together". Mara van den Bold, 30 November 2011: Challenges of sustaining services – some reflections for WaterAid and the WASH Sector from day one of the RWSN Forum Today Richard Carter talked about the need to not only think about community management models but to think about "community management plus", which includes ongoing external support to these structures. This is described in WaterAid's sustainability framework. It is also now recognised by the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector as crucial to ensure lasting WASH services in rural areas. Several case studies were presented on this theme during the forum. For all of us in the WASH sector the key question is: what type of post-construction support do communities need to ensure sustainable rural water supply We NGOs often provide services based on community demand, and work with local partners from local NGOs to district local government to ensure appropriate, high quality, reliable and affordable services. However, as WASH sector stakeholders, we need to understand the types of post-construction support that communities in rural areas need in order to ensure sustainability of services.
It was suggested that when coverage is low in terms of rural water access there have often been more resources for investment in capital expenditure but, as coverage increases, there are less resources for operation and maintenance. In places where there has been an increase in coverage, there is therefore a need for more financial resources for operation and maintenance. This has lead to a gap in available resources, over time systems may fail and coverage stagnates due to lack of finance. Here, the need for post-construction support comes in – most communities are unable to manage their supply without some form of external support. We can talk about "direct support" to users and user groups such as community management, and "indirect support", which refers to the creation of the enabling environment such as national level planning, policies and regulatory frameworks. The first concept exists widely in WASH sector community management models. For example, at WaterAid we work with water users associations in many of our country programmes. The latter exists through government policies, guidelines, and regulatory frameworks. However, several issues arise with providing both direct and indirect support. Often the revenue generated by these systems, particularly in the common community management models, is not adequate for the recurrent costs of operating and maintaining rural water services over time. There may be a limited dissemination and implementation of government policies, guidelines and frameworks. There may also be limited coordination between sector stakeholders such as NGOs and local government. The necessary organisations or individuals to provide this support may not even exist. We as NGOs need to understand who has responsibility for this support. We also need to do further research to understand the cost of such support to establish affordable models that can be replicated widely. Here, it is important to consider private sector participation as a potential approach to post-construction support. However, this requires careful management and regulation to ensure services are reliable and affordable. Cost is particularly relevant in such approaches to ensure services are accessible by all. Therefore, the question for NGOs in particular is to carefully consider how we can put into place the appropriate, relevant and lasting support required for ongoing rural water services. We need to explore and develop models that work, and work with relevant decision-makers such as local government and national government frameworks to scale-up these approaches. This is to ensure services are not only sustainable but also equitable and inclusive, a theme we will explore more tomorrow... Shamila Jansz, 1 December 2011: Reflections from the Equity and Inclusion Session - Overcoming barriers to Equity and Inclusion. Yesterday Louisa Gosling, Programme Support Advisor, chaired a session on Equity and Inclusion. This is a key programme principle of WaterAid and one of RWSN's thematic objectives. The aim of the session was to explore equity and inclusion using barrier analysis to understand the environmental (design, technology, infrastructure, landscape for example), attitudinal (stigma, knowledge, etc) and institutional (organisational and governmental policies, systems, standards, guidelines and regulations) barriers. On environmental barriers, two case studies were presented, including one from WaterAid in Madagascar. This was a film called "Accessibility" and depicted the journey WaterAid in Madagascar took to ensure all WASH facilities in rural areas were inclusive, by addressing environmental barriers and adapting WASH infrastructure. Several key lessons were evident from both presentations:
The session also concluded that it is time to scale-up and maximise "islands of success", for example, in countries such as Madagascar and Mali where inclusive designs have been piloted. This information is vital to overcome and challenge institutional barriers to equity and inclusion. It can be used as evidence to influence decision-makers and advocate for change on, for example, WASH infrastructure minimum standards. Exposing inequitable distribution of WASH services that leaves out marginalised groups is also a key method to address institutional barriers for example through mapping. A separate session was lead on this theme of Sector Performance Monitoring and Mapping by Joseph from WaterAid's Technical Support Unit. This is particularly relevant in countries where inclusive WASH policies and guidelines exist, yet they may not be adequately implemented. WaterAid and other WASH sector stakeholders have a key role to play in monitoring policy frameworks, and where these do not exist advocating for implementation. Overcoming attitudinal barriers was suggested as one of the most difficult aspects of Equity and Inclusion. However, again evidence and information was stated as vital to raise awareness on difference and exclusion. Similarly, participation of marginalised groups in WASH project design and where possible empowering them to take on key responsibilities within projects such as being members of water users committees is a key approach to overcome such barriers. Finally, it was strongly emphasised that all interventions and activities must lead to the independence of all marginalised groups: "Make it accessible so that participation or not participating is a matter of choice, not a question of opportunity." Shamila Jansz, 2 December 2011: Exploring the Potential of Self Supply The concept of Self Supply was highlighted in various sessions throughout the RWSN Forum. Self Supply refers to the improvement of water supplies that are developed largely or entirely through user initiative, usually at household level. It includes a range of technologies from rain water harvesting to ground water abstraction and house hold water treatment. The purpose of Self Supply and "Accelerated Self Supply" is to facilitate Self Supply processes to speed up improved levels of service including access and water quality. Self Supply is hence a no-subsidy approach for water supply hardware. Although in terms of software costs it is not free, per capita costs are seen to be relatively inexpensive and the approach is increasingly gaining interest in the sector. Self Supply is hence about facilitating an environment where people themselves are able to build and maintain supplies for themselves, especially in areas where there is limited service provision. In many rural communities this approach has potential to contribute to accessibility and sustainability of WASH services. The presentations at the Forum demonstrated some examples of the opportunities and challenges of Self Supply in different countries. A study carried out in Ethiopia assessed whether common perceptions about poor performance of family wells were in fact valid. At the time of study, family wells were not included in national inventories and the perception was that they were unreliable, unsafe, and not liked by their users was prevalent. Although (as expected) the study found an improvement in water quality as the level of protection around wells increased, a significant number of family wells that had little protection also demonstrated good results. This indicated the potential for these family wells to provide safe and reliable water supply, the importance for them to be included in national inventories and hence national service delivery approaches, and the need for external support to ensure that these types of wells can provide sufficient, sustainable, and safe drinking water. The main challenges of Self Supply in peri-urban areas included unlined wells that are more vulnerable to contamination and the lack of monitoring of ground water quality and quantity. The research outcomes emphasise the importance for Self Supply in peri-urban settings, and the need for authorities to work with communities to ensure quality and quantity of these valuable and usable ground water sources. Mara van den Bold, Observations for Asad Umar, WaterAid India I presented a paper that showcased a community based water resource management approach to ensure sustainability and reliability of drinking water sources in a water stressed region of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. I also presented a poster on community initiatives for fluoride mitigation and management. Under this approach, the focus was to identify safe sources within fluoride affected regions rather than depending overtly on filter based solutions. The approach has also developed fluoride level in urine as bio indicators to monitor the impact of safe water on human body. Observations from the parallel sessions In the parallel session on sustainable ground water development the message was clear that ground water is critical for rural water supply and therefore there is a need to foster a better understanding of ground water - especially ground water development and management. A paper was presented on ground water resilience to climate change across different African countries. In the presentation an interesting correlation was made between age of ground water and its resilience to climate change. From this session one of the major learnings is to adopt more comprehensive water resource planning in our project interventions to ensure equitable, adequate, safe and sustainable drinking water. Another interesting learning from the session was code of practices for cost effective ground water development; if this practice is adopted, it will definitely have an impact on better coverage and access of drinking water. Another important session was on Sector performance measurement and mapping. Here different presentation highlighted the appropriateness of different methods and technologies. The approach in Malawi highlighted how mapping exercises can actually be used to improve the functionality of kiosks. Similarly rural water point mapping in Malawi highlighted the importance of the tool for updating information on water point functionality. Another example from Liberia showed how an innovative new technology can be used to map all rural water points in a timely and cost effective manner. Some presentations in the forum also advocated for decentralized service provision as a solution for sustained rural water supply. However this approach will be more successful if adequate external back up support is present in terms of knowledge, skill and technology, provided to local institutions. The above examples highlight that technologies are available as solutions for monitoring the performance of created infrastructures. These technologies if adopted in India can have a huge impact on sustainability and performance of existing water supply infrastructure. Attending this forum was an enriching experience and there is huge scope to adopt some of the learnings in our existing programmes to ensure that services delivered are equitable and sustainable. Asad Umar, 3 December 2011: Closing thoughts
The closing plenary saw a strong emphasis on equity and sustainability. In his closing address, Richard Carter - Head of Technical Support at WaterAid and Chair of RWSN - emphasised the importance of achieving permanent and inclusive water supply services. Significant achievements have been made in rural water supply, especially with regards to community management, involvement of the private sector, post-construction support, financing, and sector reform and monitoring. However, overall progress on rural water supply coverage has been slow, performance has not been adequate and has been hindered by a lack of coordinated efforts. Much more work is needed on local and national capacity building and coordination, and on Operation and Maintenance to ensure sustainability of services. As Prof. Carter highlighted, the sector has too often emphasised capital investment rather than recurrent financing needs that are essential for operation and maintenance of facilities. The balance of expenditure hence needs to change as coverage increases. To achieve permanent, inclusive and sustainable rural water services for all, strong national capacity and leadership and predictable and targeted financing is required. All stakeholders in rural water supply must play their part in this and commit to sustainability, from national and local government to implementing partners, the private sector and other development partners. All members of the Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN) Forum need to improve exchange and coordination efforts to learn from each other and share best practice. Subsequently, the ten Kampala Rural Water Commitments were adopted, emphasising rights, equity, sustainability, recognition of the multiple uses of water, adherence to standards and good practice, enhanced learning, increased and better targeted financing, and greater transparency and accountability. These are critical aspects of rural water supply that the sector needs to commit to in order to realise a vision of a world where all rural people have access to a sustainable and reliable water supply. As highlighted by Uganda's Minister for Water and Environment Maria Mutagamba in her closing statement, equity and sustainability are critical. "Some for more, not more for some" should be our aim for rural water supply. Mara van den Bold,
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