Water Security
Foreword by Diarmuid Gavin Over the course of my professional career designing and constructing gardens, it has become apparent to me that the way we use and manage our water is changing. Talk of taking water from the River Shannon to be used in Dublin, and the introduction of water chargers nationally are just two examples that show us that the water we use is under pressure and needs to be managed. And this is in Ireland, a country that has an abundant supply of water.
Justine Namuganza (26 years) collecting water for her household in Zigoti Parish, central Uganda. In rural Africa, women and children are twice as more likely than men to have the responsibility of fetching water for their family. The GortaTHAD project establishes clean water supplies through the construction and maintenance of shallow wells and boreholes, follow-on from which the community are trained on establishing water user groups as well as voluntary water and sanitation committees. The results of which passes the ownership of the water source to the community to maintain and ensure its sustainability.
Gorta’s vision is a world where there is no hunger and where the poorest communities have the means to create a prosperous future for themselves and their children. As a non-governmental organisation (NGO) our approach to development centres on enhancing local communities’ capacity and capability to move towards the achievement of prosperity – in this sense entrepreneurial development is key.
It’s those realities that turn my thinking to those in Africa and other areas of the world that suffer from extreme drought. I have visited countries in sub-Saharan Africa where I have seen first-hand the drastic need to provide clean, safe drinking water. Progress in providing safe water is being made apace, since 1990 over two billion additional people now have access to improved water sources. These improvements have been made with thanks to the work of organisations like Gorta. Gorta, in its watershed management programmes, addresses these issues and puts in place initiatives to allow communities take ownership of managing water resources. Since 2008, Gorta
has broadened its approach to ensure not only water security, but also supports livelihood initiatives through active engagement with Africa’s next business leaders. This positive engagement leads to an increase in cooperation and brings about a real change in social, environmental and economic development.
Diarmuid Gavin
The sustainability of water as a precious and finite resource has a positive future when cooperation is successful.
DIARMUID GAVIN Garden Designer, Horticulturalist & Author
Executive Summary
Introduction
Water is a vital resource unlike any other, as it is not confined to political borders. 148 countries share at least one trans-boundary river basin and two thirds of the world’s 276 river basins are shared by two countries. Cooperation is therefore key to preserving water resources and protecting the environment, and it is also essential in fostering and maintaining peaceful relations within and among communities. As rapid urbanization, climate change and the intensification of agriculture are putting ever-increasing pressure on freshwater resources, water stress is emerging as a global issue, which can only be addressed through greater cooperation to protect and carefully manage this fragile, finite resource.
Since 1990 huge achievements have been made in increasing the number of people accessing safer drinking water, with over two billion additional people now having access to improved water sources. Despite these advancements however, at least 11 per cent of the world’s population, more than 780 million, still lack access to safe drinking water (UN 2012), 40 per cent of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa. Also where water supplies are not readily accessible, women are often disproportionately affected and literally have to carry the burden as they are traditionally responsible for water collection for the household.
Gorta’s projects which address water security aim to provide communities with the tools and the knowledge to manage their water sources in a sustainable and efficient manner. We recognise that cooperation in freshwater management is needed at all levels, among communities, sectors, countries and regions. Key to all our approaches at the grassroots level is community participation and cooperation in their own development. Building on nearly 50 years of experience in the area of food and water security, Gorta has evolved its development thinking from an emphasis on agricultural productivity alone to one that embraces the belief that beyond the eradication of poverty and hunger, the communities’ potential can be enhanced to achieve prosperity. Gorta’s approach to water security works on two parallel
levels: addressing the immediate needs at the household level by providing access to safe water for domestic and agricultural use, this includes the participation of communities, through water user committees, to work towards managing and maintaining their improved water source. While at the same time Gorta promotes water resource management as a natural resource and as a part of a watershed approach in order to enhance community ownership and sustainability of water sources. Water security at household level focuses on the participation of communities towards improving their access to safe drinking water, while the management of the water resource on a larger platform, as a natural resource and as a part of a watershed approach, is promoted in order to enhance ownership by the community and sustainable use in future.
Water supply is the backbone of human, social and economic development and by improving access to water for domestic, livestock and agriculture, this basic human need opens up opportunities to increase rural peoples’ potential for producing more food for consumption and for improving their health. There are strong synergies between water resources and all aspects of life, and managing water in an environmentally sustainable manner and harnessing it as an input to small and large scale productive activities is therefore crucial. Access to water helps fulfil basic needs at household level and allows agriculture and local business to contribute to food security. Gorta recognises the importance of water security and
is working with its partners to develop integrated water management schemes, where communities can harness rainwater, improve irrigation practices and recharge groundwater to conserve the environment and prevent wells from drying up. Gorta’s water security projects aim to: a) provide clean and safe drinking water at household level and improve access to sanitation; and b) support the development of integrated watershed management programmes to enhance agriculture productivity, the protection and conservation of natural ecosystems and their biodiversity, and the enhancement of smallholder farmers’ resilience to shocks.
Emmanuel Ssemilimu (14 years) and Tadeo Lukwaago (16 years) using a water facility in Zigoti Parish, central Uganda which was constructed as part of the Gorta-Thad project.
Mark Luswata (7 years) using a tippy tap in Kibeke Village, central Uganda. The tippy tap is a simple initiative for handwashing which was introduced to the village through THAD who are promoting hygiene and sanitation practices, which have resulted in a marked improvement in the health of the community.
Community volunteers constructing a gabion box used for erosion control in the Chipata District Zambia. The group received training as part of the Gorta-CODEP programme which is implementing a watershed management programme in Chipata in Zambia.
Approaches and Results The conservation, use and sustainable management of watershed resources in order to meet the demands of growing populations, has been a high priority for many countries over the past decades. Integrated watershed management through people’s participation has become widely accepted as an approach for conserving water, land and biodiversity, enhancing local livelihoods, improving the economy of upland inhabitants and those living in downstream areas, and ensuring sustainable natural resources management overall. Since 2008, Gorta has also broadened its approach to include the more holistic practices of watershed management and water resource management. We analyse water interventions as part of a broader framework that also takes into account environmental conservation and livelihood strategies. This approach raises community awareness on the need to consider water as a resource that can be depleted and requires conservation, and to protect their natural resources and broadly adapt to the effects of climate change and global warming at the village level. Through our local partners, we support the scaling-up and diversification of agriculture for rural transformation – a process to be accompanied by an ecosystem approach which envisages the integrated management of land, water and natural resources so as to promote the conservation and sustainable use of these resources in an equitable manner. Our particular focus of work is with the smallholder farmer and rural based small business farmer, assisting them to initially scale up their agriculture production with an emphasis on linkages with nutrition security and then to foster a degree of enterprise development through diversifying their income generating activities, both on- and off-farm.
COOPERATION POVERTY ALLEVIATION AND UNIVERSAL WATER ACCESS In rural sub-Saharan Africa where access to safe water is limited, women, supported by their children, are twice as more likely as men to be responsible for water collection. They often have to walk an average of six kilometres each day to fetch water for their household, precious hours and
energy which could be spent in school or at work. Where water resources are managed effectively they provide better potential for crop production, reduce harmful waterborne diseases and enable people to engage in other activities to promote their well-being and livelihoods. Improving access to clean and safer water for communities also costs far less than having to provide the necessary healthcare to treat people suffering from water and sanitation related diseases. In Uganda, Gorta is working with the local NGO Literacy Action and Development Agency (LADA) on a Water and Sanitation Project which is addressing water-related problems and aims to reduce the occurrences of waterborne diseases which are rampant in the districts of Rukungiri, Kanungu and Mitooma in South Western Uganda. The high occurrence of these diseases in the area was due to the use of water collected from unsafe sources. Commonly used water sources tested by the Rukungiri District Water Department revealed that the water was unsafe for consumption. This Gorta-LADA project specifically targets 62 villages, comprising of 7,750 households, with the aim of improving their access to clean and safe water. Activities have included the protection of 26 shallow wells and 5 springs, as well as the training of 217 water user committees. The project has also established 6 Eco-schools with hygiene and latrine facilities and tree planting demonstration plots. While the promotion of planting 150,000 trees in proximity to water facilities and schools aims to improve the conservation and water catchment in these areas.
COOPERATION A MULTILEVEL, INCLUSIVE APPROACH Water resources management issues must be addressed by all stakeholders at the local, national and appropriate regional and international levels. Working in collaboration with the local government extension services of the agriculture, water and irrigation and forestry departments is fundamental to each of Gorta’s partners on the ground. These
Women from Mtaya village carrying stones for the construction of gabion boxes and terraces in the Chipata District, Zambia. Under the GortaCODEP watershed management programme, the community have mobilised themselves to work together to address problems of soil erosion in the area as well as to rehabilitate gullies.
representatives of Government Ministries have vast field experience and are beneficial in training and disseminating knowledge to the community members on conservation, use and management of natural resources related to water management. Some of the approaches include the conservation of water resources through reforestation around the water sources, riparian conservation plans, and soil conservation practices on slopes through the construction of earth or soil terraces and the incorporation of live barriers. Furthermore, water management is closely linked to hygiene practices, and collaboration with the health and education department is beneficial to the management of clinics and schools where water harvesting is practiced to ensure better access to clean and safe water. In the Gambia, conflicts between herdsmen and farmers had been reported to the district officials and through mediation and provision of solutions of pathways of cattle and alternative water storage dams these incidents have ceased. The activities of each of Gorta’s partners are complementary to, and informed by, the district strategic plans in order to maximize the use of resources and act according to the district’s priority. Furthermore, the gradual hand-over of the project monitoring tools to the local authorities ensures that these systems will keep operating long after Gorta’s project has been completed. In Kenya, Gorta’s partner, The Kenya Freedom from Hunger Council, is providing support to the protection of water sources in one of the locations of Njoro district. This process provides spring protection infrastructure, the establishment of local water user groups, rehabilitation of a water storage dam, soil conservation practices along streams and on individual plots, and the promotion of fuel efficient stoves in order to reduce the pressure on the environment of firewood for
cooking. Collaboration with the district and local Government representatives is an integral part of the implementation process which benefits the communities, schools and the environmental protection practice. Following on from Gorta’s 2012 World Water Day seminar on The Role of Watershed Management in Protecting the Village Environment, Gorta has initiated the New Generation Watershed Management Programme, in collaboration with Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and involving Gorta’s partners in The Gambia, Tanzania and Zambia. The initiative drew on the recognised need to further invest in the conservation of natural ecosystems and their biodiversity as key elements in determining local solutions to current and arising challenges, and in building smallholder farmers’ resilience to shocks. The aim of the New Generation Watershed Management Programme is to scale up partners’ existing work in the area of watershed management, harmonise their operational approach at regional level and develop replicable models of best practice to be used in influencing regional trends. FAO’s experience in Asia and the Pacific is being harnessed to enhance the collaboration between the local partner to higher levels, such as the River Basin and provincial authorities, thus assisting Gorta’s role in disseminating their local success to broader platforms. This cross-country programme aims to test and apply state of the art technologies and collective learning. Operating at both grassroot levels, through Gorta’s partners, and with the support of FAO, the programme activities include environmental protection interlaced with livelihood activities. It will also focus on the full integration of water, rangeland, cultivated land,
fisheries, and other livelihoods by linking individual watershed programmes with integrated river basin development programmes, which envisage the coordinated and harmonious development of various assets in relation to all reasonable possibilities of the basins. The programme has an overall development and environmental objective: The development objective is to ensure the sustainable management of the natural resources in the target areas of The Gambia, Tanzania and Zambia over the medium to long-term (2025) in order to improve the livelihoods of the rural population directly or indirectly dependent on them. The environmental objective is to mitigate the causes and negative impacts of climate change and land degradation on the structural and functional integrity of the ecosystems through the development of community-based sustainable land management models. The programme is being implemented through participatory and cross-sectoral approaches, increased institutional cooperation, building technical capacities and models, and institutional strengthening. In partnership with FAO, a leading agency in this new approach, the programme is benefitting from the knowledge and technical tools developed by this UN organization. It aims at enhancing in-country synergies and promoting a multi-stakeholder approach to watershed management on both national and regional platforms. This in turn is expected to strengthen mutual learning and potentially extend the concept to new partners in the near future.
COOPERATION A GRASSROOTS APPROACH Water User Groups are key to promoting the engagement of, and cooperation between, users especially in terms of upstream and downstream water users. Community members are consulted during the initial stage of a project in which the problems of water access are identified. Solutions are discussed openly among the stakeholders and once an action plan is agreed upon, water committees are elected. The committees then receive training on the use, management and operation of the water source and write their own bylaws in order to ensure sustainable use and equal water access to the community members. The bylaws include usage regulations, conservation practices and the collection of fees from the water users. These fees are collected and saved and are utilized to purchase spare parts or pay for skilled labour when repairs are required. Some of
the water users group receive technical training which enables them to assess malfunction and to repair worn out equipment. This model provides an assurance that the infrastructure will be utilized in the long-term and will benefit communities for many years. And by empowering women to take equal part in the decision making process through the water user groups and committees, they also influence the decision regarding the management of water sources that have direct implications on their daily routines and labour intensive activities. The water user groups are registered at the district office and cooperate with the district water technicians in monitoring the water usage and its maintenance procedures. In Northern Tanzania, Gorta’s partner, the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group (TFCG), has been working with the communities in the Tanga Region of the West Usambara mountain range for the last 15 years. Since 2008, Gorta has supported the organization in strengthening relationships with the communities and the major stakeholders, such as the local authorities and the ministries of agriculture and forestry. Prior to the project, while there was some water availability in most villages in the region, the distance, quantity and quality of the water remained a concern. The flow rates of streams were particularly slow that it was both difficult and time consuming to collect sufficient water to meet daily household needs. In some villages the water was far away and the one source – the Kaputi River – was polluted. Water from streams was also of poor quality, often having been polluted by soap, fertilizers and livestock waste. Such conditions persisted even throughout the rainy season. Through an integrated water resource management, the Gorta-TFCG programme is improving access to safe water and livelihoods support for 16 villages in the region, with a total population of 50,907. Embedded in the programme is the establishment of water user groups in which communities contribute, through a nominal fee, to pay for the maintenance of their water source. Through the establishment of bylaws, it is anticipated that this participatory approach adopted will further assist in identifying and resolving potential conflicts over access to safe water. The rehabilitation of two irrigation schemes in the programme has increased the irrigation potential to farmers thus increasing the total land available for cultivation during the dry season. Having access to larger quantities of water during the dry season, when most rainfed agriculture have a high potential to fail, enables farmers to grow cash crops and sell them when demand is high.
Case Study: Gorta-LADA project Mrs. Gloria Semahara lives in Garuka village, Kikarara parish, Bwambara subcounty with her husband and four children and is one of the beneficiaries of the Gorta-LADA project. Garuka village is within the plains of the Western Rift Valley and adjacent to the Queen Elizabeth National Park in Western Uganda. All her life, Gloria has been fetching water from the Ntungwar River which flows through the national park. “Water from the river is shared by both wild and domestic animals and is very dirty and not good for drinking. This river floods on an annual basis and drowns people majority of who are school children who go to fetch water, fishermen and to a lesser extent women,” Mrs. Gloria Semahara. With the water tank provided as part of the project, women in her group can now fetch and use clean water especially during the rainy season. The women have agreed on the time of fetching the water and each member gets between 2 and 4 jerrycans per day depending on the amount of water available in the tank. According to Gloria they have not experienced any challenge in sharing this water although other
A water jar beneficiary accessing water as part of the Gorta/EMESCO programme in the Kibaale District, Uganda.
members of the community also desire to use this water. Gloria’s group shares the water with other community members when all the group members have received their share. Before the project, Gloria says her compound was littered with all sorts of waste material and houseflies would linger in and around the house all year round but with the training on hygiene and sanitation use of dual waste pits that separate decomposable and non-decomposable wastes, flies only concentrate in the pits. Food is also served on clean and dry plates from the drying racks unlike before. Gloria would use one bundle of firewood for a maximum of three days but with her energy saving stove the same bundle lasts between 10 to 14 days. Her children therefore no longer frequent the park for firewood as they used to.
Conclusion Cooperation in terms of water management is built on mutual benefits among the different stakeholders, from region, country, province, district, and at community level. At each level, the management is influenced by guiding policies, action plans, regulations of use and maintenance, and allocation and conservation plans. The cooperation of all users and stakeholders is essential at each level of operation. Gorta’s work on the ground supports local NGOs that work with rural communities and ensures maximum collaboration at district level where it aims to promote the sustainable management of water resources. There are many challenges in implementing a sustainable water resource management due to the nature of water. It is a limited resource yet
it has renewable characteristics. Additionally, water availability is influenced by location (micro climates within a small geographic area) and season. It depends on climatic and topographic conditions and is influenced by human activities for better or worse. Therefore, each area requires a tailor-made plan in order to bring the most appropriate solutions to farmers, households and communities. As a vital resource that supports livelihoods, agriculture production and livestock, it is managed not only by the communities that benefit directly from its availability but is also informed and influenced by others. The local authorities, government departments, commercial producers and herdsmen from outside the catchment area are some of the stakeholders engaged with the sustainable management of water resources.
Implications and Recommendations Awareness raising campaigns and community mobilization are some of the initial steps in creating the momentum to promote sustainable use of water resources. Throughout generations, water resources, among other natural resources, were regarded as a “gift of nature”. Population density was not a pressing issue 30-40 years ago and the competition for these resources was not a major threat to the livelihood of communities. In recent decades, pressure for land for grazing, combined with the exploration for fertile land for agriculture production has greatly increased in addition to excessive use of forest areas and water resources. Outside pressure from multinational companies to develop large-scale commercial agriculture projects and the impact of global climate change have also impacted significantly on the availability of water for the household and small-scale farmer. As the UN Millennium Development Goals reach their deadline in 2015, the global community can acknowledge their efforts in poverty eradication and overall development. However, it is also clear that progress in working towards the Goals has been uneven and that governance and human rights have been neglected. The post2015 agenda for water resources management needs to ensure that the different uses of water are balanced and that the freshwater cycle is protected from pollution. Water resources
management must include practical mechanisms to improve climate change adaptation and resilience through, for example, watershed management, water harvesting techniques, and flood resistant water and sanitation services. Nowadays, water resources require conservation work and the construction of infrastructure which, in order to be sustainable, demand payment of fees for maintenance, and also require constant attention to improve efficiency. This approach to the management and cost of usage and maintenance of resources that were once available and free to rural farmers requires greater attention. Rural communities experiencing water shortages are realizing that they need to conserve these resources and improve their usage efficiency in order to survive. Exchange visits to communities and other NGOs that have introduced sustainable management systems and succeeded in monitoring and distributing the water effectively, while at the same time increasing their water availability and agriculture productivity, are very effective and need to be encouraged. Sharing experiences through case studies and the documentation of good practice by communities in creating their vision on water management and the management of own natural resources, ensures that they remain the owners of, and are responsible for, their development.
Goretti Nakana harvesting sweet potato, is a participant in the Gorta/ EMESCO programme in the Kibaale District in Uganda which incorporates water security and agriculture.
About Gorta Gorta is an international development nongovernmental organization (NGO), working with local partners in developing countries, assisting them in the move from subsistence to entrepreneurship. Gorta works primarily in the areas of: food and nutrition security, water and sanitation and enterprise development. We promote an approach aimed at enhancing local communities’ capacity and capability building towards the achievement of prosperity – in this sense the
creation of an enabling environment for local entrepreneurship to flourish is key. Working directly with local partners, primarily in East Africa (Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia) and also with partners of scale in India and The Gambia, we focus on assisting rural communities to move from subsistence to entrepreneurship, supporting the diversification of income generation opportunities, the enhancement of innovative technology and the creation of sustainable livelihoods.
Since it was founded in 1965, Gorta has been the Irish affiliate of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). FAO aims to help developing countries modernise and improve their agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices, with a particular focus given to developing rural areas.
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The human right to water is indispensable for leading a life in human dignity. It is a prerequisite for the realization of other human rights
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UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (2002)
Design: TOTEM www.totem.ie
Front Cover Young girl fetching water from an unprotected source in central Uganda. Gorta is working with its local partner, Twegatte for Health and Development (THAD), in Mubende District of central Uganda to support initiatives under an Integrated Water and Sanitation Project. The project is improving the living conditions of the rural communities through the provision and supply of clean water sources as well as promoting hygiene and environmental sanitation practices. Photo Credits: Ethical Sector Communications.
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