Governments: Faraj El-Awar,UN Habitat, WCCE, 16th January UN Water Zaragoza Conference 2015

Ways to realise the human rights to water and sanitationOverview Presentation for 2015 UN-Water Annual International Zaragoza Conference

Presented byFaraj El-AwarUN-Habitat

2

Indicators of achievement Indicators of achievement

• UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/64/292 of July 2010 explicitly recognized the human right to water and sanitation.

• Human Rights Council Resolution A/HRC/RES/18/1 of September 2011 put particular emphasis on practical solutions with regard to the implementation of the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation.

Background: The Human Rights to Water and Sanitation

3

Indicators of achievement

Financing and economic instruments:

• Allocations for water, and particularly for sanitation, is inadequate in many countries.

• 77% of countries indicating that available financing is insufficient to reach coverage targets for sanitation (2014 GLAAS Report).

Technology:

• Limited coverage of network systems.

• Out-dated infrastructure as a result of low investments.

Governance:

• Weak and unenforced legislations.

• Poor management.

Capacity Development:

• Limited capacity for development and maintenance of water and sanitation services.

• Limited skilled human resource.

Implementation Challenges

4

Addressing Challenges :Developing and Using Tools

Indicators of achievement

Case Studies1. Mapping access to water at the neighbourhood level (Nairobi)

Objectives: To establish baselines of coverage- To understand intra-city inequities- To help target the neglected areas- To inform

- Local stakeholders and decision makers (loc auth, nat govts and utilities)

- International Devt Community = for pro poor policies/prioritization of investment needs

Methodology: disaggregating statistics from city level to neighborhood level, through satellite image analysis + household inquiries and producing set of interactive maps as basis for GIS and MISWay forward: replication to test methodology in Fez, Morocco. Proposal to upscale in other countries with other operators together with SIWI

Case Studies2. WOPs to improve access to sanitation for the Poor, example of Indah Water Konsortium

(Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia-mentor) and PDAM (Medan, Indonesian, mentee)

Aim: to increase the no of households connecting to Medan’s city sewerage systemCost: 32,000 USDDuration 8 monthsResult: more than 4000 new connectionsImpact: capacity raised in PDAM to improve sanitation strategy and management on behalf of the community

7

Case Studies3. Costs, Benefits and Financing of Post-2015 WASH Targets, By Guy

Hutton, World Bank

Indicators of achievement

Summary:

• Ongoing study is to estimate the global costs, benefits and financing to meet the proposed target of reaching universal basic WASH access by 2030.

• World Bank leads the study, with WHO, UNICEF and other partners.

• The study estimates costs based on the incremental costs of extending services to the unserved as well as the costs of maintaining coverage for the already served.

• Objective is to better inform decision making on the selection and financing of WASH interventions (at global and country levels).

Lessons Learned:

• Economic evidence has proven to be important in emphasizing to policy makers the importance of WASH.

• It is expected that the economic case for universal WASH access will strengthen the case for including WASH within the water SDG

8

Case Studies4. Case Study of Girls and Women in Nigeria (G–WIN) Project, By Sarah Reng-Ochekpe, Minister of Water Resources, Nigeria

Indicators of achievement

Summary:• G-WIN is an innovative project aimed at empowering girls and

women and make them leaders in water management.

• It is part of the Federal Government Agenda to make Women and Girls more productive by alleviating the long distances walk in search of water for domestic purposes or from unsafe sources.

• The project which is currently being piloted in the rural and semi-rural areas has commenced with 1st Phase, in 2 LGAs in each of the 4 states of Abia, Bauchi, Osun, and Plateau out of the 36 States and Federal Capital Territory in Nigeria

Lessons Learned:

• Continued advocacy, sensitization and mobilization and training “make women leaders in water management”.

9

Case Studies5. The creation of an independent regulatory body for the water sector (ERSAR), By Luis Simas, The Water and Waste Services Regulation Authority, Portugal

Indicators of achievement

Summary:

• The implementation in Portugal of the drinking water quality legal framework 20 years ago could only guarantee 50% of safe water, which meant that the other 50% were not controlled or were not complying with the national standards. After a decade, the levels of safe water increased to 84%.

• However Portugal was very far from the 99% of safe water which is internationally considered as the level of excellent drinking water quality.

• Pursuing this goal it was established a new regulatory model for drinking water quality taking into account the European Drinking Water Directive 98/83/CE and 10 years after its implementation the safe water is now on 98% and new tools, like water safety plans approach, are being implemented to reach the 99%.

• It is important to highlight that one of the decisions that made a difference in this evolution was the creation of an independent regulatory body for the water sector (ERSAR).

Lessons Learned:

• Political will for independent regulation coupled with international networking are success factors in the creation of an independent regulatory body for the water sector (ERSAR).

10

Background Issues/Questions for discussion

Indicators of achievement

• What are the implementation challenges and issues (financing, governance, technology, capacity development) that need to be addressed to realise the human rights to water and sanitation?

• What would be the best/key tool/s for financing, governance, technology, capacity development to be used to contribute to the realisation of the human rights to water and sanitation?

• What are some of the obstacles you have encountered when implementing the financial, governance, technology and capacity development tools for realising the human rights to water and sanitation? What are the solutions you have identified to overcome them?

• What are the conditions for success to replicate and effectively implement these tools in a different context (geographical, hydrological, institutional, etc.)?

• How do you see the role of government in overcoming the obstacles and implementing the tools for realising the human rights to water and sanitation?