Irrigation and Water Supply sector

By Nicolas Rivière

LRRD Project

General features

• Understanding water sector /resource with

Relief Rapid access to waterRehabilitation (+ more social, environmental and financial considerations)

Development Better mobilization and management of the water

• Division of the sector

Water management

Irrigation Water conservation Water supply and sanitation (in rural areas)

Infrastructures Water/schemes Construction Operation &rehabilitation Management of water points maintenancemodernizationor construction

Organization of the sector at the local level

Government: MRRD – MEW/ID – MAAHF

+ political authorities

External aid agencies

NGO – UN – consulting firms

Communities

Private sectoras subcontractor

Towards central level

Institutional reforms and policy making:

Which impact at the field level?

• Setting up of the reforms; dissemination, understanding and ownership of the new policies or regulation documents : weak (Irrigation and WM); better (WS)

• Few contribution of the NGO’s and other field operators in the past and current steps; Special case of WS;

• Lack of normative framework documents (strategies, laws, regulations, guidelines…) to harmonize, guide, regulate the work of field operators

• Insufficient link of NGO’s to the line ministries at the central level;

Understanding the context and its evolution

1. Context analysis (→ policy)

2. Needs analysis (→ strategy and planning)

3. Project diagnostic (needs and impact assessment; design)

- Lack of understanding: indigenous knowledge and practices, and context reality not enough taken into account …

- No common understanding and approaches between major stakeholders- Research (applied): insufficient, late in relation to the policy making; with

few link with operational issues; isolated approach…- Lack for circulation, centralization and common management of

(standardized) information into data base for monitoring and planning;- Lack of capitalization and communication of field/project experience - Lack of capacities (time, expertise, human resources…) from NGO’s and

government agencies for proper project assessment in relation to more complex and larger projects with more environmental, social and financial implications;

- Lack of time and funds invested, and sequencing between research / overall work of analysis and interventions …

Role and place of the NGO

Reduction of the scope of intervention towards software related works

(within mostly large and government programs)

Community mobilization, awareness raising and capacity strengthening of communities;

Research work (in support to both operational and institutional levels)

Other software needs (education, extension work…) Capacity strengthening of the government (trainings, data-base…)

Small scale water projects or assets creation … in complement to large governmental programs

Role and place of the NGO (2)

Required means and evolution: some ideas

Better integration within the institutional framework and link with line ministries

Collaboration/consortium setting with specialized institutions

Adaptation to new management style within the multi actors environment and within this new role of facilitation towards communities;

Efforts on capitalization and transfer of information

Issues at stake(for discussion)

• Which type of approach? Sectoral approach versus livelihood (or food security) approach; Considering individual, community or inter communities?; combination of top/down and bottom/up approaches; NSP case study; Standardization of the aid;

• Development strategy in irrigation? Dominant rehabilitation / infrastructures approach; juxtaposition of different approaches;

• Economical/farming development in relation to the required water resource…; comprehensive approach and collaboration inter stakeholders;

• Infrastructure oriented behaviors from water users (…and donors and government): Which place for the water management? Building the capacity and the awareness at the community level : utmost priority

• Operation and maintenance of the developed or rehabilitated infrastructures or assets; ownership and sustainability?

• Large, complex and development projects: Which relevance in the afghan fragile context, and are the implementing agencies and other stakeholders’ capacities sufficient?