Report_12 December... · Web viewDistribution of HWT options (pur-Sachet, Aqua tabs), water filters, soap and storage equipment (jerry-cans) should be undertaken with appropriate

RAPID ASSESSMENT REPORT

WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) Needs - Marsabit County, Kenya

Commissioned for: Concern Kenya

Author: Annmarie Swai

Date: December 2012

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ACRONYMS

ASAL Arid and Semi-Arid Lands CLTS Community-led Total SanitationDRR Disaster Risk ReductionDWA District Water AuthoritiesEIA Environmental Impact AssessmentFIM Food Income and MarketGoK Government of KenyaINGO International Non-Governmental OrganizationsIWRM Integrated Water Resource ManagementKAP Knowledge Attitude and PracticeMICS Multiple Indicator Cluster SurveyMoPHS Ministry of Public Health and SanitationMoWI Ministry of Water and IrrigationNFIs Non Food ItemsNWSB Northern Water and Services Board PADR Participatory Assessment for Disaster RiskPHAST Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation TransformationPICD Participatory Integrated Community DevelopmentPPOM Public-Private Operation & MaintenanceRBA Rights Based ApproachSIA Social Impact AssessmentWASH Water, Sanitation and HygieneWESCOORD Water and Environmental Sanitation CoordinationWSP Water Service Provider

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1. Introduction:

Concern Kenya has been implementing an Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) Livelihoods programme in Marsabit County, Northern Kenya since 2008. This 5-year programme has aimed at addressing the poverty and vulnerability faced by pastoralist communities within the target districts of Central, Marsabit North (Chalbi and Maikona), Moyale, Sololo, and Laisamis, through promoting improvements in their livelihood productivity and food security. Activities have evolved from having an emergency to restoration and, towards the latter part of the programme, a development orientation. The focus has been on building empowered, self reliant communities who are better able to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change, such as increased frequency of drought, making them more resilient to the related shocks and stresses, and better able to protect their asset bases.

The availability of sufficient, reliable water sources for human and livestock use is a major factor limiting pastoral livelihoods in ASALs. Recognising this, under the programme Concern has been working to promote access to safe and adequate water for livelihoods through investing in water service provision (construction/rehabilitation of boreholes, water pans, rock catchments), strengthening community water resource management systems and advocating on the issue of rights to water and government responsibilities in the sector. This work has however been undertaken without a clear strategy for engagement in the water sector, which has limited the effectiveness, sustainability and ultimately the impact of the interventions.

Concern has now entered in to the next 5-year Country Strategic Plan for Kenya (2012 – 2016) which includes a continued focus on pastoral communities through its Livelihoods – now Food, Income and Markets (FIM) – as wells as Education and Nutrition programmes. Given the central place of water in the livelihoods, social and economic development of ASAL communities, the organisation also seeks to expand its engagement in the water sector. In line with this, Concern is seeking to develop a comprehensive Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Strategy that defines a more focused and effective programmatic approach within the sector and underpins, reinforces and creates synergies with its FIM, Education and Nutrition programming over the next 5 years.

As part of this process, Concern has commissioned this rapid assessment of the WASH situation in Marsabit County with the aim of identifying potential areas for the organisation’s engagement in the sector. This assessment focuses on the following issues:

Key challenges in WASH service provision and recommendations for addressing them Key challenges of community based water resource management approach and

recommendations for addressing them Feasibility of implementing a Public-Private Partnership approach to WASH service provision

in Marsabit County within the context of pastoralists communities (this forms a separate annexed report)

This WASH assessment has been compiled following various field visits, meetings with key actors (see Annex 1: Itinerary and List of Persons met Marsabit/Moyale visits) and research and review of other work in this sector. The outcomes have been used to develop Concerns 5 year ASAL Water Hygiene and Sanitation Strategy for Marsabit County for 2013 – 2018. The assessment forms an integarl part of and should therefore be read and referred to alongside the startegy documnet.

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2. Background and Context

Marsabit County is located within the North Eastern Province of Kenya and is situated at the very northern part of the country. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the north, Turkana to the north-west, Samburu and Isiolo to the South, and Wajir to the east. Covering an area of approximately 70,961 Km2, it has an estimated population of 291,166 people. Marsabit County is divided into the following Districts: Moyale, Marsabit Central, Marsabit North (Chalbi, Maikona), Laisamis, Loiyangalani, North-Horr, and Sololo1.

Being located within the so-called Somalia-Chalbi desert eco-climatic zone, and experiencing extremely low rainfall – ranging from 200mm/year at the lowest parts to 800mm/year at the areas of highest elevation, Marsabit is characterised as an arid and semi arid land (ASAL) and in fact falls within the highest category (those with aridity extent of between 85 – 100%)2. While characteristics vary, in most parts the soil is of poor texture, low fertility and of extremely low organic content, tending towards a low water holding capacity and a propensity to surface sealing which reduces infiltration and increases overland flow and soil erosion.

Nomadic pastoralism, which is the only form of productive land use that is truly viable in such a climatic zone, accounts for 97% of the land use. It is therefore the predominant source of livelihood for the population. Arable farming is restricted to the remaining 3% of the district’s land area – where crop production is mixed with animal rearing. All households do however keep shoats, cattle and camels in varying proportions – livestock being an important part of the lifestyle3.

Rainfall occurs twice a year – during the long rains (March to May) and short rains (October to December). When it does fall it is variable and very locally distributed, occurring mostly as heavy showers with large amounts lost to run-off. As a result of the harsh climatic conditions and unreliable rainfall patterns, which are compounded by climate change, land degradation and population growth4, the County is extremely prone to and suffers from recurring drought. However, while the trend used to be peak conditions recurring every 5 to 10 years, over the past 5

1 Kenya Population and Housing Census, GoK, 2009, Marsabit District Vision and Strategy 2005 – 2015, PWC, 20052 Aril Lands Resource Management Project II – Marsabit District Annual Progress Report July 2008 – June 2009, GoK, 20093 Aril Lands Resource Management Project II – Marsabit District Annual Progress Report July 2008 – June 2009, GoK, 20094 A Review and Analysis of Development Policy for the Arid and Semi-arid Areas of Kenya, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)/Kenya Energy and Environment Organisations (KENGO, Adaptive Strategies for Sustainable Livelihoods, Samuel Mutiso, 1995

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Figure 1: Map of Marsabit County Location and Density. Source Kenya County Fact Sheets - Commission on Revenue Allocation, 2009

years there has been a significant narrowing of this period with the frequency of drought occurrence increasing to as little as every 1 to 2 years and with some communities reporting 4 failed rainy seasons within a span of 2 years5. Extreme climatic conditions are however not only limited to drought, and when heavy rainfall does occur, the area is also prone to severe flooding conditions – such as during the El-Nino in 1997/98 and the more recent flash floods that in 2010. These extreme climatic conditions have devastating effects on the already fragile environment and put untold stress on the pastoral livelihoods that are already in a very precarious condition.

In keeping with the findings of the National Poverty Eradication Plan of Kenya (1999 – 2015), which indicates the highest incidences of poverty to lie within the country’s ASALs, the poverty rate of Marsabit County is estimated at 83.2%6. Different districts within the county have relatively high incidences of poverty –62% of the population in Marsabit and 51% in Moyale are for example estimated to be living below the poverty line as compared to a national average of 46% 7. Socio-economic indicators for the County are also relatively low. According to UNICEF’s 2008 MICs the under-five mortality rate and the infant mortality rate were calculated at 70/1,000 live births and 47/ 1,000 live births respectively. In terms of Nutritional status, 29% of children aged 6-59 months were severely or moderately underweight, 20% were stunted and 14% were wasted. With regard to education, only 24% of the primary school entry age children were attending primary school, with the net school attendance rate estimated at 62% for primary and 10% for secondary, and an overall female adult literacy rate of 38%.

3. Assessment of Water Supply Situation in Marsabit3.1 OverviewAccess to and availability of sufficient and reliable water sources for both human and livestock consumption is critical to enable pastoral communities living in Marsabit County to address their fundamental human and livelihood requirements. Unfortunately, given its eco-climatic zone, Marsabit is extremely water scarce, with limited avilability of fresh water resources. While it is estimated that 77.6% of the population have access to water8, this number goes down to 50% in terms of utilization of an improved source for drinking water and further to 41% in terms of low wealth index households9.

In the larger towns, piped water supplies some residents at a household level. Supplies are insufficient however with the broader population relying on water tankering. In the rural parts of the district, there exists no single permanent river and Lake Turkana is saline and therefore of limited use for human and livestock consumption. The primary water sources are therefore either underground (boreholes, shallow wells and springs) or surface (rock catchments, pans/dams and roof catchments). Their distribution is uneven and the potential of most is extremely seasonal, meaning that vast tracts of the extensive land area remain void of water resources for long periods of time. As there are already few structures available for adequate water provision throughout a regular year, in the dry seasons and/or times of drought water scarcity is exacerbated and can reach life threatening proportions.

Typically humans and livestock spend a large proportion of their productive time searching for water for use – as an example, according to the MICS survey, only 7% of households have drinking water on premises, and majority – over 73% spend over 1 hour to collect water, with the average time to the source to bring water being 250 minutes. This task disproportionally affects women – for 87% of households, and adult female is usually responsible for collecting water10.

5 WASH Strategy CCSMKE Marsabit, Clair Simmons, Tearfund, 20116 Kenya Country Fact Sheets, Commission on Revenue Allocation, 20107 Concern Kenya ASAL Livelihood Programme, 2008 – 2012. 8 Kenya Country Fact Sheets, Commission on Revenue Allocation, 20109 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), Kenya Eastern Province, Marsabit District, UNICEF, 200810 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), Kenya Eastern Province, Marsabit District, UNICEF, 2008

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Existing infrastructure is often unfairly distributed due not only to the potentiality of the various source areas, but also due to inadequate financing. There is also some risk of environment degradation due to inappropriate and/or uncoordinated siting of water sources, which can result in the degradation of the already fragile rangeland environment which can lead to loss of grazing areas, conflicts and increased vulnerability of pastoral communities to drought. The long term sustainability of developed infrastructure is also at risk due to inappropriate technology choices, which the community cannot sustainably manage and which encourage environmental degradation, poor design and construction, due to limited numbers of skilled persons in pastoral areas and limited capacity of the beneficiary communities to manage, operate and maintain the sources to due to poor skills, unwillingness to pay for water, poor accountability/financial mismanagement, gender imbalances in the management of water systems, cultural barriers, political interference etc.

As access to and reliability of water sources has a key influence on food and livelihood security appropriate development of water resources is therefore a key component in promoting sustainable socio-economic development in the County.

3.2 Town Water SupplyWater supply to the town of Marsabit is managed by the Northern Water Services Board (NWSB). Plans are underway to contract out service provision to a private company but so far this has not taken place. The water is sourced from the Bakuli springs, treated and piped to approximately 40,000 people. The system is inadequate and water is rationed to consumers who receive supply once a week. To augment supply the government has embarked on the construction of Badassa Dam, a 50m high earth embankment in the forest around Marsabit town, which should hold 5 million cubic meters of water once complete and after sufficient rainfall. Construction has however been delayed and is unlikely to be completed before the end of May 2013.

In Moyale, the other main town in the county, water is sourced from 5 boreholes and distributed through a piped network. Coverage is insufficient for the town population, and rationing takes place. Efforts are however underway by the private water service provider (WSP) Moyale Water Company, to expand household connections. In both places, residents are forced to rely on water tankering and roof rainwater harvesting to augment the deficient supply.

3.3 Ground Water SourcesThe underlying aquifer is the only permanent water source in the County. Limited data is available, but it appears to be approximately 250 to 300m in depth around the Marsabit plateau, of stable yield (reportedly between 0.2-0.5m3/h) and to be recharged from the north within Ethiopia 11. Extraction and use of this water is predominantly through the following means.

11 WASH Strategy CCSMKE Marsabit, Clair Simmons, Tearfund, 2011

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Figure 2: Top Left - Marsabit Water Supply System - filtration plant and storage tanks; Top Right - Badessa Dam - construction in progress.

3.3.1 Boreholes There are currently over 35 boreholes that have been developed and are in use across Marsabit County. The number has been subject to increase due to the drilling of a series of boreholes by the Chinese company involved in the development of the road network from Marsabit to Turbi. These are intended for use in the construction, but surrounding communities are permitted access and they will be handed over to them when construction is completed.These boreholes represent a critical, strategic resource as they are the only water sources that remain productive year round and during the dry/drought seasons. Water extraction from boreholes is by submersible pumps powered by generator sets so water is paid for and is at a premium being a critical source to a large number of users (community members, livestock owners, water tanker owners). In most cases, water drawn from boreholes is distributed through standpipes, water kiosks and animal toughs.

In some cases, the Government has also contracted pipelines to deliver water to more distant sites (e.g. the pipeline being installed from Kamboe borehole to bring water to Karare, Kijiji and Hula Hula communities). Water trucking is also a key delivery method, particularly in Central Marsabit where it is ongoing during the “regular” year to augment shortages in supply, and increases within and to outlying districts during the dry season/drought period. Management of these relatively complex water resources is undertaken by community based water management committees who often lack the requisite means and technical skills to undertake the task.

This inevitably results in poor operation, maintenance, and management of the water sources leading to insufficient cost recovery, frequent breakdowns, deterioration of infrastructure which inhibits the reliable and sustainable delivery of water.

Given that relative scarcity of ground water sources and the extreme depth of the aquifer, locating, developing and extracting/managing water from borehole sources is very challenging and extremely costly in terms of financial resources as well as time. Existing boreholes are furthermore not evenly distributed and their use tends to result in the convergence of livestock populations which exacerbates the degradation of land and pasture resources. In addition, despite their importance,

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Figure 3: Bori Borehole: Top left: borehole, storage tank and generator house; top right - animal troughs: bottom - users cue to purchase water from kiosk.

many boreholes do not functional optimally and/or are subject to frequent breakdown, a factor exacerbated in the dry season/drought period due to overuse and poor community management. In times of water scarcity, prices are reported to fluctuate dramatically - costs can increase from Kshs. 2 /20 litre. jerry can to Kshs. 70/20 litre. jerry can – which is unaffordable for pastoral communities.

3.3.2 Shallow WellsWhere the geographical formation allows for the underlying water table to be reached within a few meters (10-15 meters on average), or along the course of the larger seasonal luggas, shallow or hand dug wells are developed for water extraction. This mainly occurs in the lower lying desert areas (Chalbi), with a large number also concentrated in Maikona, Laisamis, Badassa and Moyale. Shallow wells – both protected and unprotected - are in use for both community and school water supply. They can be dug relatively fast and with limited use of mechanical equipment and therefore represent a more rapid, economically viable option for water supply.

Given that the water table being accessed is recharged through rainfall, shallow wells tend to have a relatively low yield and are prone to drying out during dry/drought periods. For traditional open community wells, used for

human and livestock watering and where water lifting is through leather buckets and ropes or teams of men passing water upwards in small containers, and where shallow wells are located in more dense, polluted areas (the Luggas in Marsabit) the water is very prone to contamination from runoff fecal and waste matter or unhygienic user practices. Where wells are covered and fixed with hand pumps – and where no appropriate maintenance skills and facilities are provided, they are subject to breakdown, making them inoperable. Water output from hand pumps may also not be sufficient to address peak demands of livestock water, and they are not therefore a suitable extraction method for nomadic communities.

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Figure 4: Shallow wells in Maikona: Top left, shallow well with broken hand pump. Casement has been broken to allow manual extraction. Top right protected shallow well with animal tough. Bottom left, protected open shallow well with manual extraction.

3.3.3 Spring CatchmentsIn certain areas, for example Kalacha, natural permanent springs exist where water high pressure causes water to percolate up from the aquifer through fissures in the rock surface. This water is captured through the development of casings to reduce the upward flow. In some cases walls or troughs are developed to facilitate containment and collection of water. Fences may be developed to protect the water source but poles and fencing are often removed as they impeded movement of livestock. As with the open wells, these open water sources, unless very adequately protected, are prone to contamination from runoff faecal and waste matter or unhygienic user practices.

3.4

Surface Water Despite only receiving only approximately 600-800mm in the mountain plain and 300-400mm in the lowlands, rainfall represents one of the most critical water sources for Marsabit district. It is in fact only when rain occurs during the two periods of rainfall in a year; the long rains from March to May and the short rains from end October to beginning December that meaningful amounts of water are available for almost all parts of the district. A variety of methods are used to harvest this rain and conserve it for use during the dry season, with the quantity of rain fed sources and period of their usage depending on the rainfall availability. When rain falls, it tends to occur in heavy showers, which can cause much damage to water sources and can also result in large amounts of water going to waste and running away. Unfortunately, given the increased frequency of drought in the area, failure of rains tends to cause increased stress and hardship in a community where water sources are already extremely limited and precious. Harvesting and conservation of rain water is predominantly through the following means:

3.4.1 Water Pans Water pans represent the most common form of rain water collection and conservation, particularly in higher elevation areas receiving at least 450mm of water in a normal year. They are the primary means through which rain water is collected for livestock and human consumption. Traditional pans occur where rain water runs off in to and accumulates in natural depressions in the ground. These depressions have been further improved through excavating and compacting the basin, and developing embankments to increase storage volume. The water pans can be built manually using compacting machinery like bulldozers and typically have a capacity of 10,000 or 20,000 m 3. Improved water pans have also been developed that provide for the filtration and protection of water for human use- through the development of filtration galleries. A traditional method, known as the Meri is sometimes used by the Borana to safeguard and facilitate desilting of a water pan. This involves the construction of a clay wall (from silt drawn from inside of the pan) along the edge of the pan to form a natural trough. Thorny branches are then placed on the edge to prevent animals entering the pan and livestock are watered from the trough. Once they finish the area is swept clean of feces, the

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Figure 5: Spring catchment in Maikona. Left picture open, unprotected spring water. Right picture - walled casement to contain and collect water.

trough dismantled and all this dirt deposited away from the pan effectively cleaning and desilting the area.

Being collected from ground surface run off, water contained in water pans is prone to heavy pollution with soil particulates and silt. Livestock also tend to enter the pans during watering further contaminating the water with fecal matter. This same water is then drawn for human consumption, and if not properly treated, poses a major health risk to the user. The large amounts of sediment washed in also tend to build over the course of use causing the reservoirs to silt up, reducing the dam storage capacity. The large surface area of open water also results in high evaporation of the water reservoirs. Finally, increasingly erratic rainfall and frequently occurring drought conditions may lead to pans failing to fill, reducing their reliability.

3.4.2 Rock Catchments In many locations, there exist large rock outcrops that prominently stand out from surrounding plains, and that may even receive some additional precipitation from rainfall and dew. These outcrops are encircled with low masonry walls to form channels and catchments that guide runoff water in to storage tanks developed at the base which can effectively and economically collect and store water.

As the rock surfaces are relatively free of silt and human and animal activities and the collection tanks are covered, the water collected is relatively safer than other run off sources. The tanks can be developed at various capacities and can also be locked and managed so that they can be kept as reservoirs for use in the extremely dry period. They can also be easily managed and reserved for human use only. Development of rock catchments is however quite costly, and only feasible in hilly areas with large rock outcrops.

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Figure 6: Top left - simple water pan near Marsabit town. Top right improved water pan with infiltration gallery near Moyale town. Bottom right close up of infiltration gallery which allows for separate collection of filtered water for human use.

3.4.3 Roof Catchments A relatively common option for rainfall collection is via roof top harvesting. This approach involves catching water runoff from pitched corrugated iron sheet rooftops through makeshift guttering directed along the side of the building which then flows via pipes in to collection tanks – either cement or plastic, often encased in cement to further protect them. The technology is relatively simple, and the approach is typically used to collect water for human consumption. It is particularly common and mostly viable in areas with permanent buildings, and is mostly used for institutions like schools, health centres and government buildings. In some cases, simpler, adapted structures are used to enable catchment through makeshift guttering in to plastic tanks from housing structures covered with tarpaulin sheets. As the roofing surfaces are free of silt and human and animal waste, and the collection tanks are covered, the water collected is relatively safer than other run off sources. The costs of guttering and construction/purchase of collection tanks can however be prohibitive for households, limiting uptake.

3.4.4 Underground Tanks

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Figure 7: Mega Rock Catchment Namarrei. Top left catchment with collection taps in foreground. Top right covered and locked collection tank. Bottom view of catchmnet with collection toughs on rock face and mega collection tank at base

Figure 8: Roof rainwater harvesting system in teachers’ housing in Namarrei (left), adapted rainwater harvesting system with tarpaulin sheeted roof and makeshift guttering near Moyale town (right).

Another relatively common option is the development of underground reservoirs/tanks which are used to facilitate longer term collection and storage of water for use during the dry season. These tanks are developed in areas that facilitate natural catchment of runoff water, but when this water is used up, particularly in the dry/drought period, the tanks can be filled with tanker water. Large holes (100 to 500 cubic meters) are excavated within which underground stone tanks are built. The tanks are covered with a stone slab, and a series of filter wells are developed in the entry channel to facilitate de-silting of runoff. Tanks are fenced off and grass is grown in the catchment area to facilitate further natural filtration.

Underground tanks represent a very good option for a community water reservoir, but only if they are well managed and maintained and kept locked and preserved for use only at critical periods. The tanks are relatively expensive to develop and maintain and are subject to silting after extended period of use, especially if the filter wells are not regularly cleaned out. As is the case with other run off sources, such water sources are also susceptible to environmental contamination during run off collection and storage and human contamination during storage handling and use.

Recommendations for Water Supply DevelopmentCommunities living in Marsabit County utilise a variety of water sources to meet their water supply needs. They tend to rely on the phased use of a combination of these sources in order to ensure a continuum of water over the course of a full year. Existing sources however face limitations in terms of the quantity available to serve the communities, their capacity to provide sufficient, reliable water over the course of the year, their uneven distribution and the quality of water they avail. As a result, user populations are faced with scarcity and stress, particularly over the long dry spell – Jalali - which occurs from May until the start of the short rains in October. There is therefore evident need for additional investment in and improvement of water supply infrastructure in Marsabit County.

The focus of any activities related to water supply development should however be on rehabilitating or developing a variety of water sources within a community catchment so as to increase their capacity, number and reliability thereby allowing communities to phase their use through the year. This would include developing a combination of water sources and catchments (water pans, shallow wells, and springs) for daily use as well as water storage structures (rock catchments, underground tanks) that can be used as reservoirs to be preserved for use the dry season.

As a first step however, efforts should be made to identify which existing systems are non-functional or performing poorly, understand the reasons why and work on rehabilitating and improving them. This would not only be cost effective, but reduce adverse environmental effects of developing new sources within an already fragile environment. Where new water sources are required, efforts should focus on developing them in strategic locations e.g. along traditional migration and cattle trading corridors, in areas where existing water sources are of particularly lower density and unreliable, particularly in dry seasons etc. Increasing the availability of strategic sources would help reduce the vulnerability of the pastoral populations to the effects of water scarcity and drought.

Given the potential adverse effects of water source development (sedentarisation of Nomadic populations, pasture degradation etc.) there is however a need to thoroughly assess both the need for as well as the potential impacts of introducing new water sources, and both environmental as

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Figure 9: Underground tank near Moyale town. Catchment area and filtration wells in foreground. Locked cement tank in background. The tank is kept locked and used as a strategic reserve in the dry period.

well social impact assessments must be undertaken. To mitigate adverse effects, alternative options, such as developing contingency water reserves (such as underground water tanks, permanent water points/boreholes) in strategic areas to be used only during the severe dry season and/or in the case of drought, could be considered. Where feasible, the promotion of integrated water resource management (IWRM) principles – such as the introduction of tree planting and/or pasture improvement programmes around the sites where water sources are being developed, or already exist should also be considered to reduce impact of environmental degradation.

To ensure the long terms sustainability of any developed or rehabilitated infrastructure, there is need to:

Promote meaningful engagement with the beneficiary communities during project planning, design, implementing, monitoring and evaluation through appropriate participatory and consultative methods such as Community Conversations (CCs), Participatory Integrated Community Development (PICD) or Participatory Assessment for Disaster Risk (PADR). Special attention should be made to ensure equal involvement of men, women and children so that gender needs are considered in decision making and gender representation is promoted in any management structures. This will allow for a better analysis of needs, and a better understanding from local knowledge systems, enabling the definition of the most suitable type, placement and size of water resources. Furthermore, since future use, operation and maintenance will be a continuous process and mainly the responsibility of the users, involving them from the onset will increase responsibility and ownership of developed resources.

Community contribution in cash or in-kind (labour) should always be required for any construction or rehabilitation works to instil a sense of ownership and enhance commitment to maintaining the source beyond the project life. The issue of contribution should be taken seriously and not just treated as a symbolic gesture. It should however be realistic, and take in to account the means of the communities, and accompanied by effective community mobilisation.

Appropriate water management structures – community or private sector should be developed and their capacities developed and/or enhanced to enable them to ensure that the water sources are effectively and transparently administered, managed, operated and maintained. This is critical to ensure the optimal functionality of water sources throughout the year (see more under section 7).

When rehabilitating or developing water sources there is need to adopt technical options that are contextually appropriate and fit for purpose. In relation to this:

In terms of design, where possible the use of traditional systems for which local materials and construction know-how are already available should be encouraged and the technical capacity required for operation and maintenance as well as well as spare parts availability also considered.

For water sources that are used for human and livestock consumption, designs should ensure the effective watering of animals as well as the extraction of safe drinking water. Open shallow wells can be rehabilitated or built to a standard that gives maximum protection against contamination while allowing manual bulk water extraction. Separated facilities for livestock (troughs) and human use must also be provided. Improved water pans can be developed that either protect water for human use (through the development of filtration galleries), protect the area used for human consumption (fencing off or siting specific areas for human water extraction), or provide separate livestock/human facilities (twin pans).

For settled community water points – where water is predominantly for human consumption, shallow wells can be closed and fitted with a solar pump and/or mini-distribution-system or hand pump, ensuring maximum protection.

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For rain water harvesting, plastic tanks can be provided and promoted for water collection since they are cheaper and faster to install and can be moved – important for mobile communities. Non roof solutions– such as the use of tarpaulin sheets to trap rain water could be explored as a means to better harness this technology for nomadic communities

Where feasible the development of weirs, sub surface and/or sand dams alongside strategic shallow wells can be explored as a means to increase the amount of water and length of time a shallow well can be exploited.

Given the inherent risks of water contamination from the water sources being used – alongside hardware provision, efforts should focus on ensuring that water collected from these sources is appropriately treated, handled and stored at household level to ensure that it is safe for human consumption. This would include promotion of household water treatment options (aqua tabs/pur sachet) as well as hygiene promotion (see more under section 4 below).

4. Assessment of Health and Hygiene Situation in Marsabit

As noted in the sections above, while some of the water for human consumption in Marsabit County may be centrally treated (town water supply) or come from an uncontaminated source (borehole water) for the most part, water available and used (shallow wells/water pans) has an extremely high risk of being contaminated and/or polluted. The water chain from source to consumption has not been observed to be very safe, with water carrying equipment (jerry cans) not necessarily appearing to have been cleaned and no clear separation of water for animal and human consumption.

From a social/public health perspective, consumption of such water can leave the user populations at great risk from, and contribute to the spread of water washed and water based diseases. Diarrhea is in fact among the three most prevalent diseases in the County. This burden of disease not only has a negative impact on the health and life expectancy of the community, but

also on their productivity and quality of life, substantially contributing to the situation of poverty. During dry seasons and drought, the health impact of drinking unclean could be exacerbated leaving already vulnerable populations at increased risk of disease outbreak.Recognising this risk, some efforts appear to have been made to promote household water treatment (HWT) and improved hygiene practice at a household level. In terms of HWT, principle approaches promoted by the NGOs and Government partners appear to the use of pur sachet and

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Figure 10: Top left - Maikona man manually extracting water from an extremely polluted shallow; Top right - Bori - typical 25 litre jerry cans used to collect and store water and are not regularly cleaned; Bottom left – Namarrei - animal faeces in a water pan.

aqua tabs and of ceramic/clay filters – all of which are distributed under their programmes. Additional HWT methods used include boiling of water (principally water used in consumption of tea) and/or straining water through cloth prior to use12. The adoption of these HWT approaches does however appear to be limited – according to the MICS (2008) only approximately 19% of households in Marsabit drink appropriately treated water13.

Hygiene promotion at community level appears to be incorporated within health and nutrition outreach activities, which often include hygiene awareness activities – particularly the washing of hands at critical periods, accompanied with distribution of HWT options and soap. Most school WASH programmes also appear to and include the formation of Health and Environmental clubs through which hygiene awareness and hand washing using tippy taps and soap is promoted. The most often cited hygiene promotion approach used is Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation (PHAST).

Recommendations for Hygiene and Health Promotion

Given the type of water sources that are accessed and the lifestyle of the beneficiary communities’ health and hygiene promotion activities must be implemented in parallel with all water supply projects undertaken in order to increase awareness on and improve water handling practice and limit the exposure to associated health risk. These activities must effectively address the gaps in hygiene and water handling practice across the whole water quality chain - from source, collection, transportation, storage and use.

As critical step in this process initial Knowledge Attitude and Practice (pre-KAP) surveys must be undertaken to gain an understanding of the comprehension of the communities on the cause of their health problems, the linkage to water and of their existing health and hygiene practice. The information would then be used to define gaps in practice, inform the development of hygiene promotion interventions and establish a baseline against which the uptake and effect of improved hygiene practices can be measured. Following the implementation of the project, a post KAP survey should be undertaken to assess the impact of hygiene promotion interventions on the practice and health status of the beneficiaries

Hygiene promotion interventions should combine demonstrations, training and distributions of HWT options. Demonstrations could include indicator tests throughout the water supply chain to help communities better understand how and where water gets contaminated. Streamlined, appropriate approaches to training (the use of CLTS -see more in section 5 below, locally adapted training materials, MPH training materials etc.) should be adopted, and awareness campaigns in the local communities and media could also be considered. Distribution of HWT options (pur-Sachet, Aqua tabs), water filters, soap and storage equipment (jerry-cans) should be undertaken with appropriate user training.

Target groups should include Water User Association (WUA) and Water Service Provider (WSP) staff, existing women and youth groups, religious and traditional leaders etc. who could become agents of change within the wider community. Given the mobile nature of communities, sessions and distributions should be undertaken at the water sources. Sessions should also be incorporated under outreach activities undertaken within other programmes being implemented (e.g. health and nutrition programmes) and as part of School WASH activities (see more under Section 6 below).

Under their Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) plans, communities can also be supported to develop their own water safety plans, around the various water sources they used so as to empower them to develop a plan for safe drinking water that is appropriate and achievable for them.

5. Assessment of Sanitation Situation in Marsabit12 WASH Strategy CCSMKE Marsabit, Clair Simmons, Tearfund, 201113 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), Kenya Eastern Province, Marsabit District, UNICEF, 2008

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In Marsabit, Government, NGOs and communities themselves appear to focus mainly on water supply, with limited attention being paid to the issue of community level sanitation. As a result, access to improved sanitation in the County is extremely low - 35.4% of households in Marsabit are reported to have access to improved sanitation compared to a national average of 55% in urban areas14.

While there are some households in Marsabit town with flushable toilets, for the most part, static households either use pit latrines - usually shared, or open defecation, while nomadic communities rely principally on open defecation in the surrounding bush/fields. Some work has been done to support communities to develop sanitation options, either through constructing latrines or providing inputs like slabs and material for super structures15. There also appears to be some work being initiated to support Community-led Total Sanitation (CLTS), a demand led approach that aims to motivate communities to stop open defecation and develop their own latrines.

Such inadequate and improper disposal of human excreta poses a significant risk to the contamination of drinking water sources as fecal matter may either seep in to the ground water extracted through shallow wells or run in to open sources, particularly during heavy rains and flooding. This coupled with poor personal hygiene practices and improper handling and treating of household water can easily become an issue of significant concern and result in negative health impacts particularly in terms of diseases like diarrhea.

The issue of solid waste management is also one of potential concern. There appear to be limited and inadequate waste disposal systems in place. This results in the random dumping of solid waste which, given the high winds experienced in the area, tends to get scattered around, posing a potential threat to animal life in particular as well being an environmental concern in an already fragile environment.

Recommendations for Sanitation Promotion

There is an evident and critical need for the issue of sanitation to be addressed to ensure comprehensive health results and social well being for communities living in this area. It is however increasingly understood that hardware prescriptive interventions that build or provide subsidies to people to build latrines for themselves do not achieve the desired outcomes. Designs are often too costly, inappropriate and adoption may be uneven and create social division. In addition, approaches like PHAST, a participatory method using visuals to demonstrate the relationship between sanitation and health and empower communities to improve, own and operate WASH facilities can be lengthy, process ridden and include some relatively costly subsidy components. There has been some doubt therefore that such approaches have the potential to promote hygiene and sanitation at a scale that would significantly contribute to the attainment of the sanitation MDGS, progress towards which is significantly lagging16.

In light if this it is recommended that efforts made under both sanitation and hygiene be turned towards transforming people’s mindsets with regard to living in sanitary, hygienic environments, a method which has proven to be the key to creating sustainable and achievable demand for sanitation options.

It is further recommended that Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) – which is one of the fastest growing of such transformative methods in use and for which positive results have been documented be used. CLTS has been used in Kenya since 2007 and the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation (MoPHS) is now convinced of its effectiveness and has adopted it as a National policy.

14 Kenya Country Fact Sheets, Commission on Revenue Allocation, 201015 WASH Strategy CCSMKE Marsabit, Clair Simmons, Tearfund, 201116 www.cltsfoundation.org

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Some organisations in Marsabit are already using this approach and it is therefore seems that this would represent the most effective means to improve and scale up sanitation17.

Promotion of CLTS would require dedicated leadership and technical capacity and good co-ordination with the Ministry of Public Health. It would involve a series of steps designed to mobilise targeted communities to completely eliminate open defecation in their environs. This would include a process known as triggering in which communities would be facilitated to conduct their own appraisal and analysis of the defecation status and then take action to change the situation through innovative and local solutions to meet their demand for latrines. In order to ensure the effectiveness of the approach, it would be important to build in a strong sanitation marketing aspect to ensure the communities could source construction materials locally18. This could be linked to the livelihood activities being undertaken in the area. Finally, given the relatively low economic status of the pastoral communities, there would need to be some analysis as to whether and how subsidies could be extended to the most vulnerable, and criteria to define this group.

6. Assessment of WASH in Schools and Health facilities

A good number of schools and health centres in Marsabit Country lack adequate and safe water sources on their premises, which places significant limitations on education opportunities and health outcomes on the students and patients. Where insufficient sources exist, school children have to carry water with them for drinking and cooking, which results in a significant wastage of learning time considering the time spent to collect the water and taken from morning schooling sessions to check that students have carried adequate water. There is also the risk that water is from unclean sources and the associated health impacts result in increased absenteeism of school children. In health centres, the lack of clean and sufficient water sources for use by patients – particularly women and children –limits the effectiveness of treatment provided.

For school going children, limited knowledge of good personal hygiene and poor hygiene practice (such as hand washing with soap) also contribute to ill health, and increased absenteeism. Lack of sufficient and private, appropriate, gender separated sanitation facilities also has significant impact on attendance and retention rates of female students in particular, who are constrained from going to school during their menstrual period, and may ultimately drop out completely as a result.

A number of NGOs have been working to better ensure adequate and appropriate provision of WASH facilities and hygiene promotion activities in schools. Particular attention is being given to supporting the development of latrines and hand washing facilities ensuring they are separated for boys and girls. Hygiene promotion through talking walls and the development of school health clubs has also been undertaken. Such activities represent a key means to ensure that the sanitation and privacy needs of school going children, girls in particular, are met – a key factor to ensure their continued enrolment in school. Where WASH facilities have been provided in schools, the management have reported an improvement in enrolment, retention rates and performance. In some schools, the availability of a water source has also proved an asset to the surrounding community giving them increased access to proximal and reliable water sources and opening the school up to the community. This has also impacted on attendance and enrolment. Additional spin off effects have included the potential for schools to generate income as the availability of water and sanitation facilities makes them attractive for workshops, meetings and seminars over the holiday season. Revenues are re-invested in the maintenance of the facilities.

17 Scaling up CLTS in Kenya: opportunities, challenges and lessons, Samuel Musembi Musyoki18 Practical Guide to Triggering Community-led Total Sanitation (CLTS), Kamal Kar, 2005

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Recommendations for WASH in Schools and Health Centres

There is critical need to address the WASH issues affecting attendance, enrolment and equal retention of girls and boys in schools in Marsabit given that only approximately 62% of children of primary school age are estimated to be attending primary or secondary school, with male children having an advantage over their female counterparts - 65% versus 59%19. There is also a need to augment WASH facilities in health centres to increase the impact of health and nutrition interventions in the county.

The development of water sources in schools and health facilities needs to be supported, in co-ordination with on-going Education and Nutrition progammes. Activities for both institutions could include the development of

roof rainwater harvesting facilities and connection to proximal boreholes. For schools, the development of boreholes or shallow wells for which extraction could be undertaken by solar pump or hand pumps could also be supported.

Hygiene promotion activities and sessions should also be incorporated within routine health and nutrition activities at the health centres, and sanitation facilities provided for patients.

For schools, the adapted School Led Total Sanitation (SLTS) approach could be utilised as a way to support progressive steps towards behavioural transformation and latrine promotion in communities, but also to ensure that school going children were guaranteed the basic elements of a school sanitation and health education programme20. This approach would include:

Behavioural Transformation aimed igniting change in the thinking of pupils, teachers and ultimately communities on sanitation and hygiene. This would include promotion of personal hygiene, promotion of hand washing with soap, protection of food and water etc.

19 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), Kenya Eastern Province, Marsabit District, UNICEF, 200820 Guidelines on School Led Sanitation, Steering Committee for National Sanitation Action Department of Water Supply and Sewerage UNICEF, Nepal 2006

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Figure 11: School WASH facilities in a school in Maikona. Top Left: roof rainwater harvesting with a protected plastic tank; Top right - borehole with solar powered pump and elevated tank; bottom left - VIP Girls toilet with hand washing facilities, disability access and “talking walls” with key health messages.

Environmental Sanitation which would include activities related to cleaning of school compounds, public spaces etc as well as the development and use of drainage and solid waste facilities within school compounds

Provision of School Sanitation facilities that are locally adapted, gender friendly (separated for girls and boys), child friendly and have appropriate hand washing facilities.

Promotion of open defection free communities within school catchments.

7. Assessment of Community Based Water Resource Management Approach

Although quite substantive investment has been made in the development of water sources for pastoral communities in the County, in many cases, over the longer term these systems either do not function at all or fail to function effectively and to provide adequate water supplies. While some of the fault may lie in the improper siting of facilities, poor workmanship or unsuitable choice of technical option (see more under section 3), one of the key challenges to the long term sustainability of the developed water resources lies is the capacity of the pastoral communities to effectively govern, operate, maintain, extend or construct their water infrastructure without outside assistance.

Pastoral communities have and apply their own traditional mechanisms, rules, regulations and penalties to govern and manage the limited water resources available to them. These have evolved over time and are in keeping with culture and tradition. Access to water is controlled by group membership and unauthorized use may be met with persuasion, force or legal action. Altering or replacing these mechanisms without due understanding of the factors around control and access to water may result in an escalation of resource-based conflict21.

While these systems still apply and are adhered to, given the evolution of the social context and the development and adoption of more modern options for water supply, there is need to develop systems that allow for a more inclusive and effective management of water supplies.

In keeping with this and in line with the principles of devolution of management to local level enshrined within National Water Policy (1999) and Water Act (2002), a number of institutional arrangements have evolved in Marsabit to allow for community based operation and management of the water services. Efforts have focused on supporting the establishment of Water User Associations (WUAs), community based organisations licensed to manage and operate each water source developed. To strengthen their capacity to undertake this task, WUAs have received varying degrees of administration, management and operations (AOM) training. This does not however appear to have been extremely effective, with insufficient cost recovery where user fees are imposed, weak monitoring and control of free water sources and limited capacity to operate and maintain systems. Consequently even in normal times water supply schemes face consistent problems of poor management and frequent breakdown, a situation exacerbated during drought and stress.

To offset these challenges, the Northern Water and Services Board (NWSB) and District Water Authorities (DWAs) are now promoting the management of a cluster of water sources within a Division under a single Water Service Provider (WSP), in an effort to promote economies of scale and rationalisation of operation and management costs. This approach is still being rolled out as many WSPs still remain to be established and licensed. Despite some success, results still remain relatively weak. There has been significant resistance to handing over management of water sources which represent financial and political power within communities. Additionally, communities with better functioning sources have been reluctant to absorb the management, and problems, of less functional sources, particularly those (pans, shallow wells) for which user fees are hard to collect and which then create a drain on resources. In addition to continued challenges in effective AOM of the

21 Good Practice Principles Water Development in the dry lands of the horn of Africa, Michael Gitonga, FAO, November 2011.

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water sources, WSPs have also been challenged to co-ordinate, oversee and monitor the different sources which are quite distant from each other, given the fact that they lack sufficient assets (vehicles, computers, phones) to facilitate this. The NWSB and DWAs have also not been able to provide adequate support and technical assistance throughout this process. Many of the systems therefore still remain unreliable and unsustainable.

With appropriate capacity development and support, community based management systems may be effective for low technology community resources (traditional shallow wells or water pans), the use of which can be overseen and reinforced by community caretakers. These models however have inherent weaknesses that make them less suited to manage more complex systems, particularly those for which significant cost recovery is required to be sustainable. These include: the voluntary nature of the management structures, and the nominal fees paid to the technical operators and field clerks, which limits the incentive to ensure cost effectiveness of the systems, community interest in the management - to keep the price of water as low as possible, which is not linked to the actual cost of service delivery and the attrition of trained staff, who often seek new opportunities based on the skills they have developed.

Even if management were to be made more efficient however, many of the existing water sources – in particular diesel driven boreholes, are extremely costly to operate and maintain. If such systems were to be operated on cost recover principles, the impoverished beneficiary communities would be unable to afford the true user fees.

Recommendations for Water Resource Management

There is evident need to improve on the community based water resource management approaches being implemented in Marsabit. Activities should however be undertaken line with the on-going evolution of institutional arrangements for administration, operation and management of the water services, with the following approach recommended:

Selection of any water source to be developed or rehabilitated should be undertaken through a participatory process (CC, PICD, PADR) enabling dialogue and knowledge sharing with the beneficiary communities. This would:

Make it possible to identify why existing systems fail or function poorly, and develop corrective measures to address challenges faced

Enable available technical options to be explained and discussed allowing for the selection and design of interventions that would be most suitable and satisfy local needs

Facilitate collective decision making which would help to strengthen responsibility for and ownership of developed resources

Where clustering is not being undertaken , support should be given to the establishment of a Water Users Association (WUA) to facilitate AOM of the water source. The WUA should be established, building upon existing customary resource management systems which will provide a contextually relevant and culturally appropriate approach to the water management. These systems would then be strengthened in such a way as to ensure a combination of formal as well as customary management approaches e.g. the enforcement of the Meri system for the management of water pans (see under section 3). Relevant duty bearers with the potential to fulfil the AOM roles required should be appointed and a suitable incentive structure developed so that their role is perceived as a serious, formal one – by them and the community, so that they remain motivated to undertake their roles and so that they can be held to account for their tasks. Specific efforts should be made to ensure appropriate representation of all user groups, to ensure gender and socio-economic balances in the management of the systems.

Where clustering is being undertaken , support should be given to facilitate the inclusion of the developed source under the cluster being managed by the Water Service Provider (WSP) operating in the Division.

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In either case, building and enhancing the capacity of the mandated institution to operate, manage and maintain the water sources is absolutely essential, and in order to be effective some of the following factors should be taken in to account:

Building technical capacity for AOM. To facilitate this, a training needs assessment should be carried out to identify existing technical capacity, skills gaps and define the most appropriate approach for skills transfer in relation to the literacy levels of the members. Based on these outcomes, training sessions should be developed and delivered. A sufficient phase out strategy must also be developed to enable adequate follow-up, additional training and sufficient mentoring to the institutions before they are given full responsibility for managing the systems.

Supporting the management of the water sources on cost recovery principles. In addition to capacity development in appropriate financial administration, this should also involve creating awareness within communities on sustainability issues, advocating for the payment of user fees, even for sources for that are not normally charged, and supporting the development of fair, realistic and appropriate tariff structures.

Recognising that even where user fees are recovered, certain sources are unaffordable for target communities, efforts should focus on enabling and building capacity within the institutions to advocate for and develop proposals to access resources for AOM through government funding sources like Community Development Funds, Water Sector Trust funds etc.

Knowledge sharing and exchange visits between different communities, implementing partners and government agencies should be facilitated to enable cross learning on successfully managed water sources and help demonstrate what is possible, raise community expectations and enhance adoption of good practice in the target area.

Linkages could be created with spare parts supplies (local suppliers for example motor vehicle suppliers in Marsabit or with bigger suppliers in Nairobi) to facilitate the sourcing of critical/fast moving spare parts (particularly for boreholes/hand pumps)

Communities should also be sensitised on the sectoral reforms with regard to management arrangements for water sources – particularly the clustering approach - to facilitate the establishment of WSPs for clusters

There is however need to acknowledge that while community based management systems may represent a viable and appropriate approach for smaller rural water sources, when it comes to managing more complex water resources - particularly boreholes - they largely fail to ensure sustainable provision of water.

Apart from the inherent weaknesses of community based structures already mentioned, the underlying reasons for the low success of these structures, particularly within a rural, nomadic community, also tend to be structural:

These systems rely heavily submersible pumps and diesel driven generators for water extraction. These assets are extremely costly to manage and complex to maintain. Spare parts are very difficult to obtain due to the often prohibitive cost and/or distance to a dealer.

Water user fees are also very difficult to effectively collect and transparently manage and there is therefore poor or insufficient cost recovery

This is compounded by the fact that even if such systems were to be operated on cost recover principles, the impoverished user communities would be unable to afford the true user fees.

This combination of lack of means and skills and results in poor operation, maintenance, and management of the water systems leading to insufficient cost recovery, frequent breakdowns, longer downtime of equipment, deterioration of infrastructure and eventual collapse of systems.

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It is therefore recommended that more innovative, effective and efficient options for the management of these types of water resources be reviewed and tested. Specifically:

The feasibility of using private sector management principles to manage these rural systems more sustainably should be assessed. Such approaches are increasingly being used to overcome similar problems related to the management of water supplies in small towns and urban centres in Kenya. In this particular case, a study could be commissioned to assess the feasibility for Moyale Water Company or another established Moyle based private company or entrepreneur to extend its services to manage a cluster of motorised/complex water sources, alongside its core business, within a Public-Private Operation & Maintenance (PPOM) approach. This approach has been tested in the North East Somalia rural pastoral context with some success.

If this study proves feasible, the approach could then be piloted through the implementation of a demonstration project within Moyale District, the experience collated, the lessons learned analysed and a model for possible application elsewhere in Marsabit District and other ASAL areas in Kenya be proposed

Even if management were to be made more efficient however, it must be recognised that many of the existing diesel driven boreholes are extremely costly to operate and maintain. If such systems were to be operated on cost recover principles, the impoverished beneficiary communities would be unable to afford the true user fees. There is therefore need to review current technology options and explore opportunities to replace them with or introduce more economically sustainable solutions, such as solar and wind power.

8. Assessment of Resilience, Emergency Preparedness and Response

Over the past decades, chronic environmental degradation and global and local climate change have resulted in the Marsabit County becoming increasingly prone to extreme environmental conditions. Successive seasons of below normal rainfall, followed by severe drought – as was experienced in 2009, leads to the drying up of seasonal water sources, making the already challenging water scarcity extremely critical. This increased frequency of prolonged dry seasons and drought means that the pastoral populations do not have sufficient time to rebuild their livestock herds between drought episodes. The situation is worsened by the low densities of water infrastructure and high dependence on seasonal water sources.

Given their predominant reliance on pastoral livelihoods, this situation greatly tests the coping mechanisms of populations living in Marsabit County. Their increasing vulnerability to these shocks to and changes in their local environment is further aggravated by the fact that their already low capacity for food production becomes further limited by drought, which also results in a substantive increase in local food commodity prices. As a result, the populations end up at further, critical risk to food security and nutrition emergencies.

Historically, in non-drought years, relatively few resources have been allocated to programmes that support the communities and households in these areas to prepare, plan for, and implement measures that increase their resilience to drought conditions. This has severely impacted their capacity to anticipate and limit the risk, and withstand and recover from the increasingly recurrent droughts, subjecting a huge proportion of the population to chronic poverty. Consequently, some areas are estimated to have over 90% of the population living below the poverty line, with no means to support them meet their basic survival needs. This has also contributed to the further weakening of existing traditional safety nets with more people falling into poverty as the systems are unable to support them.

The occurrence of extreme drought, and the corresponding livelihood, food security and nutrition emergencies inevitably necessitate a large scale emergency response, particularly in the critical WASH sector. Given the relatively limited attention paid to emergency preparedness, particularly

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developing drought resilience within communities and resilient WASH structures and approaches, a substantive proportion of the response tends to comprise interventions like water trucking and distribution of Non Food Items (NFIs) (buckets, soap, jerry cans and HWT options). These interventions are extremely costly and being non–durable, have relatively limited long term impact on water availability, sanitation coverage or improved hygiene practice, leaving the lot of communities little improved after the crisis.

Recommendations for Resilience, Emergency Preparedness and Response

There is an urgent need to undertake initiatives to enable communities living in Marsabit County to better anticipate, respond to and cope with the increasing occurrence of environmental shocks and the stresses and the related emergencies.

To facilitate this, it is recommended that greater effort be made on promoting the development of more resilient WASH facilities –sources designed to be more robust and better improve the availability of water over space (more sources in an area leading to better access for humans and livestock) and time (more water available to span the length of the dry season). The focus should not only be on areas that are prone to drought, but also those where water availability is decreasing due to increased human demand and negative environmental influences. Measures should include22:

Improvements in construction and siting of sources to ensure that they are less prone to failure, more reliable and can be more efficiently used e.g. ensure proper construction techniques to prevent the leaking of underground concrete tanks

Introduction of technologies that are more innovative and allow multiple use e.g. adapted, portable rainwater harvesting systems (use of tarpaulins and smaller capacity water tanks) for nomadic communities, development of underground tanks that can be used as community reservoirs to store both runoff water or trucked water in extremely dry periods

Promotion of improved practice of managing a variety of water sources e.g. the use of open water sources (pans) first, so that more is used rather than evaporated, and preserving stored water (underground tanks) until later in the season.

Resilience of communities should also be promoted by supporting them to better anticipate, assess and identify potential WASH related threats and risks that could affect them, and develop the necessary contingency plans to mitigate the potential impacts.

In terms of emergency response, efforts should focus on enhancing the preparedness of the communities and delivering more durable solutions so as to have increased impact post crisis. This could involve the following types of activities:

Provision of water vouchers for livestock or household use, as an alternative mechanism to water trucking. This will allow target communities to access critical water supplies from permanent water sources during periods of extreme drought, but will also sustain regular recovery of running costs for these water sources reinforcing the capacity of WAUs and WSPs for continued AOM.

Distribution of critical WASH Non Food Items (NFIs) appropriate for both emergency and longer term use: e.g. larger capacity jerry cans (25 litre) or water tanks (100 litres capacity) that can be used for water carrying and household water storage post emergency, distribution and promotion of ceramic water filters etc.

Implementation of a strong emergency hygiene promotion programme to increase knowledge and adoption of good hygiene during and post emergency

22 More information on resilient WASH techniques can be found in “Resilient techniques to improve water availability with a focus on drought prone areas”, Fewster, Eric, October 2010.

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Support to livelihood initiatives as part of an emergency response e.g. provision of load animals, carts and portable water tanks (100 - 500 litre capacity) to enable transportation of water from distant sources during the emergency period while also providing opportunity for household income generation through water vending post emergency

Engagement of communities involved in construction/rehabilitation activities under a cash/food work approach

9. Assessment of other Relevant WASH Issues

8.1 Conflict over Water ResourcesGiven the level of scarcity of water and its criticality to the livelihoods of the pastoral population the potential for dispute over this precious resource is relatively high. There is therefore a very great risk that conflict can escalate if water sources are rehabilitated or developed and governance structures introduced or altered without a proper understanding of the local context and dynamics.

As noted earlier (see under section 7), governance structures exist and have long been used by pastoral communities to manage the limited water resources available to them. These are based on established traditions and culture and provide a balance between control and access water for livestock. When establishing structures for the operation and management of water sources therefore, efforts must be made to understand and build upon existing customary systems which would provide a contextually relevant and culturally appropriate approach to water management that could help diffuse/avoid conflicts over water. There is therefore need to pay special attention to ensuring that there is a comprehensive local stakeholder analysis, and that there is adequate participation and representation of all the different resource users in the area, particularly customary institutions, women, vulnerable groups and non-local pastoral groups.

Before rehabilitating or developing water resources EIAs and SIAs must also include research in to all potential water resource users, water access patterns; water needs/demand; particular concerns relevant to the source – e.g. balancing water extraction for water and human consumption so as to avoid promoting conflict over developed resources.

8.2 Knowledge of RightsTo address governance challenges facing water supply and resource management, the Government, through the Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MoWI) initiated a process of water sector reform in the late 1990’s. Under the reforms, which are committed to the principles of good governance and a human rights based approach (HRB) and have a long term intention to contribute to poverty reduction in the country, there has been a progressive move to ensure that all Kenyans are guaranteed equal, non-discriminatory right to water and sanitation services. These rights have been enshrined in subsequent policies, laws and legislation, commencing from the Water Act (2002) and including the National Water Services Strategy (NWSS) 2007, the National Water Resources Management Strategy (NMRMS) (2007-2009) the National Water Resources Management Strategy (NWRMS) (2007 – 2015) and the Water Sector Strategic Plan (WSSP). They have been further protected under the new Constitution of Kenya (2012) and are to be advanced under Vision 2030.

While such legislation, policies and strategies represent a critical tool to ensure a human rights based approach, entitlements to water and sanitation can only be truly realised when communities have the knowledge, capacity and means to demand accountability of the duty bearers mandated to deliver these services. This is particularly important for pastoral communities living in ASALs such as Marsabit, whose critical water and sanitation needs make them particularly vulnerable and who have historically been neglected and marginalised.

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Any effective engagement in WASH programming therefore needs to ensure a strong component to enable improved advocacy for ASAL water needs at the national level. This should include the implementation of activities to ensure that:

Communities and local level actors have access to adequate information on their legislated rights to water and sanitation services, gaps in the water sector institutional set-up at a local level, critical gaps that exist in current service delivery and the potential service delivery models that will help address these gaps.

Communities and local level actors are enabled to formally participate in the reform, governance and decision making process in order to ensure that WASH interventions that are being planned, formulated and implemented capture their particular needs and priorities.

Communities are empowered to demand improved accountability and responsiveness of the duty bearers

Outcomes from this local level process are used to inform advocacy issues and define appropriate interventions to ensure advocacy on the rights of pastoral communities to access basic services at the National level.

8.4 Co-ordinationThere is a locally established WESCOORD group at Marsabit level, co-chaired by the Ministry of Water and Irrigation and Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation which is supposed to hold and be responsible for coordination of WASH actors and interventions. The structure does not however appear to function optimally and meetings appear to be under attended and/or subject to cancel due to lack of quorum. This gap in co-ordination is critical for both emergency as well as regular programming and places a number of challenges on effective WASH programming by prohibiting the development of joint action plans, co-ordination of inputs, standardisation of approaches and equipment, lesson learning among partners etc. Effective co-ordination is critical to ensure a coherent approach to WASH development, and better support the development of sustainable resources in the pastoral areas. It therefore needs to improve a lot and quickly.

While co-ordination is the mandate of the line authorities, it is recommended that any actions possible be undertaken to improve this mechanism. This could include:

Ensuring consistent and regular representation and participation at Coordination meetings by a decision maker

Providing support to convening meetings (e.g. co-hosting or providing venues for district, division level meetings)hosting)

Collecting and sharing critical data WASH data that can help inform interventions

10. Conclusion and Recommendations for Concern WASH Interventions

While there exist a multitude of factors that collectively contribute to creating and entrenching poverty in arid and semi arid lands, a good number of them relate to deficiencies in water and sanitation coverage and hygiene practice. Unfortunately the prevailing situation in Marsabit County, which includes inadequate coverage, functionality and reliability of water sources, unsafe sources, poor hygiene practice, insufficient sanitation coverage, lack of knowledge on and realisation of WASH related rights and inability to cope with environmental stresses significantly limits the livelihood, social development and health outcomes of the population.

Given Concern’s continued focus on promoting improvements in the health and nutrition, livelihood productivity and food security status of the pastoral living in ASALs over the next 5 years, and given

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the central place of WASH in the social and economic development of these communities, it is critical that the organisation expand its engagement and programming in the WASH sector.

In line with this, there is need for Concern to develop and implement a focused, effective and comprehensive Water, Sanitation and Hygiene programme that underpins, reinforces and creates synergies with its Food Income and Market (FIM), Education and Nutrition programming.

Given the outcomes of this assessment, in order to positively impact on the WASH situation in Marsabit County, it is recommended that this programme focus on achieving results in the following five key areas:

Increasing access to improved, safe, reliable water sources Increasing awareness on and adoption of good hygiene and appropriate sanitation Enhancing local capacity for sustainable management of water resources Increasing the realisation of rights to water and sanitation Improving adaptability and increasing resilience to environmental shocks and

changes

The programme should be initially implemented in the districts of Marsabit Central, Marsabit North (Chalbi and Maikona), Moyale, Sololo, and Laisamis, where Concern is currently engaged through its FIM and Nutrition programme. Depending on needs, access and funding, the programme should be scaled up to cover the additional 2 districts in Marsabit County – Loiyangalani and North-Horr.

By addressing these WASH issues alongside its other work in Marsabit County, Concern should be able to better ensure strengthened livelihoods and improved education and health outcomes for populations living in the districts and by doing so, make a significant contribution to addressing the high incidences of poverty and vulnerability and the limited quality of life that affect them.

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