Strengthening Capacity for Pro-poor Governance in the Provision of Water and Sanitation Services

1. Strengthening Capacity for Pro-poor Governance in the Provision of Water and Sanitation Services in Small Urban Centres Examples from Asia Andre Dzikus Programme manager Water for Asian Cities Programmes UN-HABITAT

2. Governance refers to the range of political, organizational and administrative processes through which communities articulate their interests, their input is absorbed, decisions are made and implemented, and decision makers are held accountable in the development and management of water resources and delivery of water and sanitation services. (adapted from Bakker 2003) Definition of Water and Sanitation Governance

3. Approaches should be: Open and transparent Inclusive and communicative Coherent and integrative Equitable Performance and operation should be: Accountable Efficient Responsive and Sustainable Principles of Water and Sanitation Governance

4. The outcome of Good Urban Governance is that all citizens, especially the poor, have access to water and sanitation services of adequate quality and quantity. Governments do not necessarily have to supply this service, but it does imply that Government has to work to ensure that the service is provided in an adequate manner. Pro-poor Water and Sanitation Governance

5. UN-HABITAT’s Pro-poor Governance Approach in India • The need for civil society to be involved and to influence priorities and investments • Specific attention to women, adolescents girls and boys, children and marginalised groups • Mechanisms for the most vulnerable to articulate their interests and holds government and providers accountable • Importance of a regulatory framework that protects providers and consumers alike • Services need to be responsive, affordable and sustainable

6. Stakeholders in Pro-poor Water and Sanitation Governance

7. A Framework for Pro-poor Water and Sanitation Governance in Asia

8. Multi Stakeholder Fora • State Programme Steering Committee that includes city governments, NGOs, CBOs, Academic Institutions, ADB and UN-HABITAT periodically reviews the programme and plans the activities biannually. • Regular interaction with other international agencies such as DFID, UNICEF, WSP and others has helped in creating more synergy for promoting pro-poor investments and developing pro-poor policies. • Self-help Groups particularly women involved in decision making are helping mainstreaming gender. • Regular interactions with other state departments particularly department of Education and Health to address issues such as HVWSHE and HIV/AIDS. Each project city in MP now has an HVWSHE Classroom

9. Methodologies developed, tested & adopted for Mapping the Poor in India and Nepal 20 indicators used to classify the poor by determining the standard of living. Three stage approach for identifying the poor included City level Poverty Pocket Situation Analysis (PPSA) Intra-slum Inequity Surveys (Spatial through GIS) of selected slums Base line individual households surveys of selected slums. Mapping of Poverty and Poverty Pockets • Municipal Action Plan for Poverty-alleviation (MAPP) adopted as an instrument for slum level intervention to prioritize the slums for investment based on poverty and environmental infrastructure deficiency matrix.

10. Focus on good governance in tandem with better management through sectoral reforms of policies. Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP) under JNNURM introduced for all towns in India with a special focus on marginalized and disadvantaged groups. Pro-poor Tariff Rationalization. Area development funds and community development funds set up in Madhya Pradesh to ensure inclusiveness and involvement of all relevant actors including women. JNNURM gives highest priority to investments in water and sanitation to ensure full coverage in next 6 years. Regulatory Frameworks for Good Water & Sanitation Governance

11. Training and Capacity building for Municipal Corporators and Policy-makers at ASCI India Capacity building in GIS Applications at Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Dehradun, India Capacity building Programmes in Financial Management including Tariff Rationalization and Accounting Reforms at NIFM India Capacity building in Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) • Capacity building programmes for policy-makers and ULB technical staff to implement WDM • Capacity building for environmental sanitation and solid waste management planned • Benchmarking, Monitoring & Evaluation, Knowledge Sharing programmes planned

12. Subsidies & other Fiscal Incentives for the poor for accessing Services • Low connection charges for households below poverty line. • Charges payable through easy and affordable installments. • Financial support mechanisms through Community Development Fund and Area Development Fund. • The two Funds have been established to ensure spatial distribution of benefits of WATSAN investments for the poor communities.

13. Revolving Water & Sanitation Funds – An Instrument of the Poor • RF operated through NGO with CBO help • Matching contribution by each household • CBO lends money based on locally agreed principles. Revolving Funds • NGO ensures that the recipients of the Funds return the amount which is further given to the new Households

14. Revolving Water & Sanitation Funds under WAC Programme • A revolving sanitation fund for the construction of individual household toilets set up in India • Another revolving fund for community managed water supply scheme established. • In Lao PDR revolving fund for water connection and latrine construction set up • Revolving funds enable poor to avail credit for accessing WATSAN services. • Revolving funds also create demand for services and strengthen CBOs to actively participate to avail services and make them affordable.

15. WAC Programme in Asia focuses on public awareness and advocacy for reduction in non-revenue water and enhancement of revenues so as to cross subsidise services to the poor. Better revenue collections also aim at paying back the loan of the ongoing projects. Reduction in non-revenue water shall also enhance equitable distribution and making more water available for the poor. Focus on Sectoral Reforms for Revenue Enhancement

16. Capacity Building of Communities • Training of Self-help Groups by WaterAid for implementation of SESI project • Capacity building programmes for both men & women by MCM to implement gender mainstreaming strategy • Capacity building programmes for school teachers by CEE to implement HVWSHE Classrooms Project. • Capacity building programmes by SGSITS & TERI for implementation of WDM • Capacity building programmes by CWAST in Lao PDR

17. Pilot Demonstration Projects • Slums Environmental Sanitation Initiative covering 20,000 households in four project cities with WaterAid & Local Governments Cooperation. • An Integrated approach to environmental sanitation, waste management and health & hygiene education. • Community Managed Water Supply Scheme (CMWSS) to improve the lives of the urban poor through safe piped drinking water. • Pilot & demonstration projects in peri-urban centres of Kathmandu Valley and small towns (Thimi, Banepa and Dhulikhel). • Demo projects for promotion of rainwater harvesting planned. • Demo projects for water demand management planned in India & Nepal

18. Participatory Monitoring • Demonstration projects like SESI and CMWSS and Municipal Action Poverty Plan provide mechanisms for systematic monitoring of progress in terms of achievements, trends and short falls in the provision of services for the urban poor. • SESI has helped in generating more demand for piped water and CMWSS has resulted in creating greater demand for improved sanitation facilities. • Implementation of Gender Mainstreaming Strategy (GMS) at the city level will also ensure regular monitoring of progress towards achieving Millennium Goal Targets in the water and sanitation sector at local level. • Capacity building programmes for GMS have created greater awareness and is forcing city governments to adopt a Rights-based approach for provision of water and sanitation services.