Energy and Environment Practice, UNDP304 East 45th Street, 9th fl. New York,NY 10017 USA

WGP: info@undp.org | www.undp.org/waterGEF-SGP: sgp.info@undp.org | www.undp.org/sgp

For more information on theUNDP Community Water Initiativeplease contact us at: CWI Adaptive Community

Water Initiative:Delivering water and sanitationto poor communities

introductionWater supply and sanitation is one of the most criticalareas in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.MDG Goal 7, target 10 aims at halving, by 2015, theproportion of people without sustainable access to safedrinking water and basic sanitation. Not only is watersupply and sanitation a key target itself in MDG, but italso critically determines the success of other MDGgoals and targets. It is a precondition for success in thefight against poverty and hunger (Goal 1), primaryeducation (Goal 2), gender equality and women’sempowerment (Goal 3), child mortality (Goal 4), maternalhealth (Goal 5), HIV/AIDS and Malaria (Goal 6),environmental sustainability (Goal 7) and globalpartnerships (Goal 8).

In response to achieving the Millennium DevelopmentGoals, the Community Water Initiative (CWI) waslaunched by the United Nations DevelopmentProgramme (UNDP) in 2003 in six countries (Ghana,

Guatemala, Kenya, Mauritania, Sri Lanka, Tanzania,and Uganda), and was expanded to three new countries(Mali, Niger and Senegal). While focusing on Africancountries, one country in Asia and Latin America alsopiloted the activities. The expansion of the CWI to Mali,Niger and Senegal, through the provision of $1.95 millionfunding by Government of Luxembourg, has proved tobe a highly successful initiative.

Since 2007, CWI in Mali, Niger and Senegal supported66 projects in the poor communities and enhancedcommunities’ welfare dramatically. These projects notonly improved communities’ access to clean water andsanitation services, but also contribute to women’swelfare, children’s education, and fight against water-borne diseases. CWI gained considerable experiencesfrom a rich and diverse portfolio of innovative projectsranging from integrated watershed management, torock water harvesting, and to the use of wind mills andsolar energy for pumping.

CWI supports decentralized, demand-driven, innovative,low-cost, and community-based water resourcemanagement and water supply and sanitation projectsin rural areas. It is rooted in the strong belief that localmanagement and community initiatives play a key rolein ensuring and sustaining the success of enhancingwater supply and sanitation services to poorcommunities.

Innovative community-basedapproachCWI encourages local innovation and creativity. CWIseeks to maximize local knowledge and capacity, byallowing greater flexibility and enhancing adaptabilityof projects. Innovation arises when greater degree of

freedom is allowed and local conditions and situationsare respected during project development andimplementation. CWI is rooted in the belief that localcommunities have the most knowledge about their livingenvironment and community needs, and should beempowered to find solutions and make decisions whileaddressing water and sanitation issues. Consequently,such a demand-driven community approach hasgenerated numerous innovations, and CWI projects havereceived numerous international and national awards.

Climate resilient approachWater supply and sanitation are affected by climatechange and also have an impact on climate change. Thecarbon footprint of water supply and sanitation – through

CWI approachenergy used in pumping, for example – can be significant.Adaptation measures should take this into account. Singlemeasures, such as demand management and leakageminimization, have considerable potential to contributeto both mitigation of adverse effects and adaptation oftechnologies and systems to increase resilience. Improvedplanning procedures and the development anddeployment of new technologies will support adaptationand mitigation in response to multiple adverse impacts,not just those from climate change alone.

CWI adopted the methodologies of the Community-based Adaptation (CBA) programme, and undertook aVulnerability Reduction Assessment (VRA) analysis toassess climate risks and design climate-resilient projectson water and sanitation. Additional funding from GEFSGP and CBA programmes also help to address climaterisks together with CWI activities. In Niger, the CBAprogramme joined CWI activities and funded 14 projectson climate adaptation in water supply and management.

CWI finds its synergies and linkages with GEF SGPactivities to ensure that the water supply and sanitationactivities are green and environmentally sustainable.For example, through collaboration with GEF SGPactivities, CWI promotes the use of solar energy in waterpumping, and integrates water supply activities withreforestation and water resource management.

Pro-poor approachCWI aims to support poor and marginalized populationsto acquire one of the most basic human needs—watersupply and sanitation. In particular, it has targetedwomen and children who have been impacted mostadversely by the lack of accessible clean water andsanitation. Under the conditions of water scarcity andthe lack of water sanitation services, women and

children are susceptible to water-borne diseases, andoften spend a long time to fetch water from watersources far away from their communities, reducing thetime for other productive work for women and children’sschooling. As a result of initial interventions of CWI,distance to fetch clean water has been dramaticallyreduced, and there health conditions have improved.Capacity development and sustainability. CWI focuseson building local and community capacity anddeveloping community-based managementarrangements. It mobilizes local leadership andcommunity participation in developing local watermanagement institutions. Management committees orgroups have been established and continue managingwater resources beyond the completion of the projects.Local people are trained for the maintenance andrepairing of water facilities, and the management ofwater resources. CWI recognizes that building themanagement capacity of the communities ensures thesustainability of impacts and benefits achieved.

Health ImpactAwareness-raising activities have been incorporatedinto all projects to improve people’s awareness of humanwaste management and water uses. With theestablishment of latrines, the cleanliness has improvedgreatly. Local people reported a decreased rate ofdiarrhea incidences. Below is an old village woman’saccount of the health benefit of a CWI project:

“My current living conditions are the greatest evidenceof the change that the CWI sanitation project hasmade in the village of Mar Sulu: indeed I am 70 yearsold and it’s only now I just have a latrine in my housefor my family and myself, which makes us happy,helps make the village cleaner and reduces childrendiarrheal diseases”

An old villager from the village of Mar Sulu,District of Fimela, Senegal

Environmental Impact:Enhanced local capacity to adaptto Climate ChangeWater is a key sector in climate adaptation, and itssources and natural recycling are embedded in theoverall ecosystem. Water and sanitation projects,without incorporating environmental perspectives,cannot br sustained. SGP, as the implementation partyof CWI, has gained tremendous experiences, humancapacity and networking working in the environmentand climate change area. In Niger, CWI activities havebeen joined by the UNDP Community-Based Adaptation(CBA) programme to focus in particular on water supplyand sanitation activities facing global climate changechallenges. CWI activities not only meet direct localwater and sanitation needs, but also enhance localpeople’s resilience and capacity to address climatechange problems. This will in the long run ensure CWI’ssustainability and impact. In 2010, Ms Amy Ndour,president of FELOGIE Niodior (Senegal) , beneficiary ofa SGP mangrove protection project and a CWI project,won the Equator Initiative Prize in the field of “ SpecialRecognition: Ecosystem-based Adaptation.”

UNDP, through the GEF Small Grants Programme (GEFSGP), provided direct water and sanitation services topoor communities. SGP is the single largestenvironmental programme providing direct funding tocommunities and NGOs only. CWI, anchored within SGP,has taken advantage of almost two decades ofcommunity working experiences and networkingaccumulated through SGP’s portfolio. In Mali, Nigerand Senegal, more than 600 community projects havebeen implemented, providing rich practical experiencesin working with communities.

Table 1 shows the portfolio of a total of 66 CWIcommunity projects implemented in Mali, Niger andSenegal, with a total community-level cofinancing ofabout $1 million dollars. It should be noted that morethan 90% of programmable funding flows to countries,and $1,395,510 (80% of total funding provided byGovernment of Luxembourg exclusive UNDP and UNOPSfees) reached the poorest communities in the World.

Access to Water and SanitationThrough CWI projects, the distance to fetch water hasbeen dramatically reduced. Community people’s distance

to drinking water has been reduced by 3,000 meters inMali, 7,000 meters in Niger, and 2,000 meters inSenegal. According to a recent survey conducted in thethree countries, more than 610,000 people havebenefited from the 66 projects supported by CWI. InSenegal alone, more than 700 tons of water providedper day. A significant number (507) of facilities wereestablished through the projects (see table 2).

Livelihood Impact

The Community Water Initiative provides immediateand direct services to the poor and marginalizedcommunities and people who lack access to safe watersupply and sanitation services. Women in particularhave benefited from sustainable income generatingactivities, since they can have more time to engage inother economic activities. For example, through theSenegal Niodior CWI project co-funded by the SGP forrestoration of mangroves, over 400 women earn over$5,500/year from shellfish beds.

resuLts & impacts

Mali 23 $479,996 $128,218 $108,645

Niger 22 $465,660 $35,039 $117,396

Senegal 21 $449,854 $96,251 $351,679

TOTAL 66 $1,395,510 $206,108 $577,720

CountryNo. of

ProjectsGrant

AmountCo-financing

in CashCo-financing

in Kind

Table 1. Summary Table of CWI Portfolio in Mali,Niger and Senegal

Senegal 25 1 15 24 12 366

Mali 18 1 4 2 4 13

Niger 12 1 4 1 4

TOTAL 55 2 16 32 2 12 5 383

TOTAL 507

Country Wel

ls

Table 2. Water Infrastructure Built by CWIT

anks

Tow

ers

Fou

nta

ins

Mic

roda

ms

Met

er

Pu

mps

Latr

ines

Social ImpactSocial cohesion has been strengthened throughsolidarity and mutual assistance manifested in humaninvestment activities involving all the villagers diggingtrenches for water and septic latrines. Time savingsresulting from reduced distances for fetching waterhave enabled women to engage in other activities inseveral areas: health and safety (houses and villages arecleaner), child education, and income generatingactivities. At least 10 hectares of land have been utilizedby women in the production of the rice and vegetables.

In Bolo Fouta, Mali, a micro dam was constructed forwater access by local communities. With theconstruction of this micro dam, conflicts over wateraccess have been reduced and capacity has beendeveloped in the village for the water resourcesmanagement through the establishment of amanagement committee.

Capacity DevelopmentCWI emphasizes the approach to develop localcommunity capacity in managing water and sanitationactivities, and ensures that women are empoweredthrough governance structure as well as trainingactivities.

Mali 69 36 438 483 276

Niger 20 18 120 108 80

Senegal 13 12 60 550 510

102 66 618 1141 866

Country No.

of

wat

erco

mm

itte

e es

tabl

ish

ed

Table 3. Indicators of Enhanced Water GovernanceCapacity

No.

of

wom

en-l

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mm

itte

es

Tot

al m

embe

rs

No.

of

peop

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No.

of

wom

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rain

ed

Global InfluenceSmall-scale community projects will have local andlimited impacts if they are not scaled-up or replicated.CWI projects experiences and lessons, through SGP’sglobal networking in 132 countries, have been sharedglobally at the World Water Forum in Istanbul in 2009.Award winning projects particularly have played a keyrole in promoting CWI’s approach and experiences.There have been six award winning projects in the CWI:one Equator Initiative Award (2010), three Kyoto GrandPrize finalists (2009), and two Wisions Award projects(2008). These Award winning projects have been globallypublished and disseminated through awardingorganizations.

Below is a quotation from an NGO leader:

“The SGP mangrove restoration project and CWIsanitation project in the Niodior village enabled theempowerment of women of the village. I say my sinceregratitude to these two projects because they enabledme to travel to New York where I was one of fivewinners of the 2010 Equator Initiative, with a grantof USD 20,000.”

Amy NdourPresident of the FELOGIE Niodior, Fatick Region,Senegal

repLication, UpscaLing andSustainabiLity Replication and Upscaling

In Niger, the CWI experiences have been upscaled bytwo other programmes: the UNDP’s CBA Programmeand the Africa Adaptation Prgramme (AAP), with a totalfunding of $550,000. In a recent UNDP Water andAdaptation study, CWI projects has been highlightedas very successful models for future replication by theUNDP Water Governance Programme. Furthermore,GEF SGP global funding will encourage thedevelopment of water and sanitation activities in smallisland states in the Pacific and the Caribbeans. CWIexperiences and lessons learnt will be replicated inthese countries.

SustainabilitySGP’s community-based approach and in-the-countryinstitutional settings have in the past two decadesproved extremely successful in ensuring projectoutcome sustainability. In an independent evaluationconducted in 2007, 80% of SGP projects have had theiroutcomes sustained over two decades of operation. CWIbuilds on the strong history and experiences of SGP,and has incorporated the following elements in theirproject design and implementation to ensuresustainability:

> Involvement of local governance authorities and actors> Participation of beneficiaries in the management of

water resources> Capacity building of beneficiaries> Involvement of women in managing village-public

drinking fountains> Revenue generation for mechanic maintenance

activities> Establishment of credit revolving facilities.

CWI is implemented through the Global EnvironmentFacility’s Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP), a well-established infrastructure for communities and a proveneffective mechanism in reaching communities. CWI, asimplemented by SGP, benefits from the effectivenessand efficiency of the SGP. It has channeled more than$340 million to communities through more than 14,000projects around the world. SGP has created direct globalenvironmental benefits, and influenced the formulationof national and local policies on sustainableenvironmental management. Currently SGP isoperational in 126 countries, and will receive more than$200 million from GEF for community-basedenvironmental projects during 2011-2014. The extensivecommunity-based experience and networking ofGEF/SGP have provided an effective delivery mechanismfor CWI’s activities.

Strong country-drivennessEach country programme has a volunteer NationalSteering Committee (NSC) or National Focal Group(NFG), hereafter referred to as NSC, comprising amajority of non-governmental members. The NSC is thefinal decision-making body of country programmeoperations, as long as decisions fall within the globalOperational Guidelines, which allow adequateinnovation and flexibility for specific country contexts.The NSC not only reviews and approves projects, butalso provides strategic direction and technical guidanceas well as ensures strategic distribution and utilizationof SGP knowledge and experiences.

Strategic global connectivitySGP supports poor and vulnerable communities toimplement global environment policies at the local levelas well as provide local lessons learned and knowledgeto influence global, national and local policydevelopment and implementation. SGP is a primarymechanism for the GEF to sequence its financing byfirst piloting new methods and project models. Unlikeother programs that work mainly with high levelgovernment agencies to develop and implement nationalpolicies and reforms, SGP opens a unique window forcommunities and civil society organizations to providedirect inputs and experiences to international policydevelopment and programming processes. In this sense,SGP’s communities are not merely individual stand-alone, but in fact active “global” communities.

GEF SGP:EFFective DeLiveryMechanism

SGP: a fast and effectivedelivery mechanismThe flexibility of small-sized projects, together withinnovation, lower-risk piloting, and concrete on-the-ground demonstrations, provides a unique SGPmechanism to pilot and test novel techniques, modalitiesand practices which can be later upscaled through largerprojects and interventions. Through its first 18 years,SGP has supported 13,776 community-level projects withover $300.3 million in GEF funding, leveraging over$414.2 million in cash and in-kind financing.

In addition to delivering GEF funding, SGP has provedits success to work with various donors meetingdifferent requirements. SGP has successfully leveragedco-financing from a large number of bilateral donorprogrammes such as SIDA, AusAID, NZAID, andDANIDA. GEF full-sized projects have utilized SGP toimplement their community components, e.g. Nile BasinInitiative and the UNEP/GEF South China Sea Project.Governments have also tested SGP’s effectiveness insome SGP countries (e.g. Pakistan energy-efficienthousing project). More and more donors are becomingaware of SGP’s effectiveness and use SGP to deliverbenefits to poor communities.

CWI developed and fostered cooperation with numerouspartners at global, national, and local levels. Thesepartnerships are key to the success of CWI activities.The following are the main partners that CWI hasworked with:

> Global Environment Facility (GEF): $3.5 million parallel funding on environmental projects

> UNDP: in-kind contribution through oversight andtechnical support by UNDP country offices and SGP staff

> Community-based Adaptation (CBA) Programme: $350,000

> 66 Communities/NGOs: $1 million> H2O Africa Foundation: $35,000> CREPA: in kind technical support and knowledge

exchange

Partnerships

CWI is highly popular programme in the three countries.Community demands have far exceeded fundingavailability. A total of more than 1,000 proposals werereceived in the three countries, but only 66 projectshave been selected. In GEF-5 (2011-2014), SGP willpromote to use its global funding to support water andsanitation activities in the small island developingstates (SIDS), as these can be considered asinternational waters projects in alignment with GEFpolicies. SGP will develop climate-resilient water andsanitation activities in the SIDS countries. However,many sub-Saharan countries will only depend on non-GEF funding to continue their water and sanitationactivities. SGP will continue its work on water andsanitation and explore future funding possibilities toexpand results and impacts of CWI.

The SGP and CWI are committed to helping countriesand poor communities to achieve the MDG goals, whileaddressing climate change challenges. As shown in theprevious section, a solid foundation has been laid withgood pilot practices and experiences of developingclimate resilient activities to meet local communities’water and sanitation needs. Future funding will havegreat opportunities to upscale and have transformativeimpact locally, nationally and globally.

The clock is ticking towards 2015 when the MDG Goalsare set against. Communities cannot wait one more dayto have access to clean water and sanitation. UNDPwelcomes opportunities to work with partners to expandthe success of CWI and deliver the basic human needsto poor communities.

LooKing beyond 2012

Energy and Environment Practice, UNDP304 East 45th Street, 9th fl. New York,NY 10017 USA

WGP: info@undp.org | www.undp.org/waterGEF-SGP: sgp.info@undp.org | www.undp.org/sgp

For more information on theUNDP Community Water Initiativeplease contact us at: CWI Adaptive Community

Water Initiative:Delivering water and sanitationto poor communities