A central role for government in monitoring sustainable WASH services

Participants at the IRC Monitoring Sustainable WASH Service Delivery symposium, Addis Ababa, April 2013. Photo: Ermias Woldeamlak

Governments are not only investing more in national monitoring systems, but their leadership in country monitoring is also now generally accepted. With this acceptance, however, come expectations about good governance and transparency. Monitoring is politics: agendas and power influence what is monitored and how the results are used. National systems, too, go beyond WASH sector monitoring and should include data from donors and NGOs as well.

Photo: IRC/Petra Brussee

These are some of the conclusions we can draw from a symposium attended by over 400 participants from UN agencies, government, donors, NGOs and research institutes.  Hosted by the Government of Ethiopia and organised by IRC and its partners, the Monitoring Sustainable WASH Service Delivery symposium was held from 9 to 11 April 2013 in Addis Ababa.

Symposium presentations and discussions focussed on six main themes: monitoring finance, government-led and country-wide monitoring, project monitoring, ICT for monitoring, monitoring sanitation & hygiene, and global-regional-national WASH monitoring.

Capacity gap: lack of engineers stifling development, says report

A shortage of engineers in developing countries is hampering development, according to a new UNESCO global report on engineering [1]. In developing countries there are on average only five engineers per 10,000 people – and less than one in some African countries – compared to 20–50 engineers per 10,000 in developed countries.

The poorest are hit hardest by the lack of engineers: 1.1 billion people have no access to clean water, 2 billion have no access to electricity and 800 million go hungry on a daily basis.

“The crucial thing is to address people’s basic needs: water supply, sanitation, better homes,” Tony Marjoram, editor of the report and head of engineering sciences at UNESCO, told SciDev.Net.

[...] Developing countries bear the brunt of climate change, so ensuring sustainable development is also important, he said.

“Engineering is often blamed for pollution but it can create solutions to reduce carbon emissions and make energy use more effective,” Marjoram said.

1st IWA Development Congress, 6-9 Sep 2009, Mexico City, Mexico

Organised by the International Water Association (IWA), this event will bring together 1,000 international water and sanitation professionals to discuss emerging solutions, developments and approaches to sustainable water and sanitation management and exchange knowledge on all aspects of service delivery in low and middle income countries.

In addition to many international subjects and issues related to water and sanitation delivery, this congress will pay particular attention to the needs of the Latin American region, its megacities, urban centres and peri-urban areas.

The main tracks and topics for platform and paper presentations of scientific and technical papers are as follows:

Challenges to service delivery

• Mega cities, rapid urbanization and water delivery
• Inadequacies of conventional approaches to water and sanitation
• Protecting groundwater as a sustainable resource

Innovation and change

• Technical options and boundaries for application
• Capacity building and peer learning – water operator partnerships
• New research and technology development
• Applying local knowledge to providing water and sanitation

Implementation and delivery

• Operating at large scale – learning from process and experience
• Developing appropriate and scaleable regulatory approaches
• Policy, norms and standards and their implications for service delivery

Abstract deadline: 01 Jan 2009

For more information go to the Conference web site

New UN-Water pilot report on sanitation and drinking water presented at the UN High Level Event on the MDGs

The Global Annual Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS) is a UN-Water pilot initiative led by the World Health Organization (WHO). UN-Water GLAAS constitutes a new approach to reporting on progress in the sanitation and drinking-water sectors that aims to strengthen evidence-based policy-making towards and beyond the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

UN-Water GLAAS complements other UN-Water reports, such as the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation or the World Water Development Report, by concentrating on the factors affecting the capacity of countries and external support agencies to progress towards the sanitation and drinking-water MDG target.

The purpose of the GLAAS pilot report is to present the concept of a possible global, periodic, comprehensive reporting mechanism to inform policy-making in the sanitation and drinking-water sectors. The GLAAS pilot report does not draw conclusions on the sector status, but it is meant to stimulate discussion on how to improve reporting on the sanitation and drinking-water sectors.
To download the report or for further information, please visit www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/glaas or www.unwater.org.

Promoting sustainable management of water and sanitation services

Thirty officials from 13 Commonwealth countries [Bangladesh, Botswana, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Pakistan, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Uganda and Zambia] learned about the sustainable management of urban and peri-urban water and sanitation services at a Commonwealth Executive Exposure programme held in Accra, Ghana, from 30 June to 4 July 2008.

[...].

“With decentralisation and governance reform, the roles and responsibilities of local governments in Commonwealth countries have expanded and increasingly include the supply and maintenance of urban and peri-urban infrastructure, including water and sanitation,” said Dr Munawwar Alam, Adviser on Sub-National Administration and Government at the Commonwealth Secretariat.

The workshop – which was conducted by Commonwealth Secretariat in collaboration with University College London’s Development Planning Unit and the University of Ghana’s Centre for African Wetlands – focused on integrated water management, public-private partnerships in the provision of water, and water programmes supporting livelihoods for the poor.

Source: Commonwealth Secretariat, 08 Jul 2008

Expo Zaragoza 2008 – 14 Jun – 14 Sep 2008 – Water Tribune

“Water and sustainable development” is the theme of Expo Zaragoza 2008. Under the banner of “The Water Tribune” there will be a series of ten thematic weeks, an “Ágora” – a space devoted to citizenship participation, a “water cinema” and nearly 60 parallel events.

In collaboration with the World Bank Institute (WBI), a virtual pavilion named e-waterexpo.net, will be created that will a organise a three-hour videoconferencing session each week.

The ten thematic theme topics are:

1. Water and Land, 16-20 June. Territorial Management. Forestry.

2. Water and Cities, 25-28 June. Local Governments and Governance. Development of Urban Surroundings

3. Water for Life, 30 June – 3 July. Health. Water Quality. Rivers and Sustainability

4. Water, a Unique Resource, 07-09 July. Shared Waters: Governance and Governability. Water Geopolitics. Basin and Aquifers: Planning and Management

5. Water Supply and Sanitation Services, 15-18 July. Regulatory and Institutional Framework. Society and Service Quality. Efficiency, Management and Development.

6. Climate Change and Extreme Events, 21-23 July

7. Water Economics and Financing, 28 July 28 – 01 August. Water Markets. Financial Solutions for Emerging Countries.

8. Water and Society, 4-6 August. Education. Communication. Culture.

9. Water and Energy, 01-03 September. Water for Energy and Energy for Water. Non-Conventional Energy Sources.

10. New Sources of Water: Reuse and Desalination, 08-10 September

Some parallel events of special interest are:

Latin American Forum Water and Sustainable Development
17 July, International Centre of Water and Environment (CIAMA).
Forum organised by Virtual Educa and the Environment Department of the Government of Aragon.

Round table on “Comprehensive water management as a resource and the role of local organizations”
17-18 July
Talks organised by the Foundation Prince Albert II of Monaco and the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).

Seminar on “Water and sanitation: innovative alternatives“
Date pending confirmation.
Seminar on financing and support to the Development Millennium Goals regarding water and sanitation organised by UNESCO-Etxea.

Presentation “Water, source of life for the Human Rights“
Date pending confirmation.
Presentation of a publication under the aegis of UNESCO-Etxea linked to the Water Human Right.

Encounter of the Agencies for Development and Co-operation
24-25 July, Aljafería Palace, Zaragoza.
Organised by the Spanish Agency for International Co-operation (AECID) for the Directors of the Agencies for Development Co-operation of the 27 EU member states.

Conference “Training needs in Latin America within the framework water and city“
02-03 August, Water Tribune pavilion
Organised by the “Network Water and City” and coordinated by the Technological Water Institute; institute set up by the Technical University of Valencia and the Government of the Autonomous Community of Valencia.

Partnership Conference Africa- Spain for the development of local communities
From 26-28 August
Organised by the Aragonese Federation for Solidarity and the Association for socio-cultural promotion Kaolack-Zaragoza. With the collaboration of the Town Council of Zaragoza and the Government of Aragon. The Governments of Senegal, Gambia and Mauritania.

International Water Research Symposium
27-29 August, World Trade Centre, Zaragoza.
European Symposium on R+D projects on water and sustainable development financed by the EU – DG Research by means of the Framework Programme.

For more info go to the Expo Zaragoza 2008 web site