1) Participatory integrated water resource management (IWRM) planning workshops were held in six small island developing states (SIDS) to plan demonstration projects focusing on sustainable groundwater and water resource management. 2) The workshops brought together stakeholders from different sectors and levels of government and empowered them to actively participate in planning and implementation. 3) A key lesson was that a coordinated cross-sectoral approach is needed to address vulnerable groundwater resources in SIDS, and capacity building on IWRM principles is also essential.

1. In 6 Island
States
3rd UNESCO/GEF IW: LEARN
GROUNDWATER ITEGRATION DIALOGUE
“MANAGING GROUNDWATER IN COASTAL AREAS
AND SIDS”
6-7 MAY 2014
Implementing Integrated Water
Resource and Wastewater
Management in Atlantic and Indian
Ocean SIDS: Early Lessons from
Participatory IWRM Planning
Daniel Nzyuko,
Results & Knowledge Management

2. Small Island Developing States (SIDS) share geographically similar
features and fundamentally similar problems with regard to water
resource management. These include and not limited to;
 land-based sources of pollution,
 Groundwater & aquifer management; demand management
 Household water supply and wastewater management
 Agriculture consumption and agricultural pollution (e.g. fertilizer
runoff)
 Industrial consumption and pollution
 Saline intrusion
 Coastal erosion / protection and stabilization of coastlines
 Natural resource base - limited
 Capacity constraints (Human, Financial, Institutional challenges)
BACKGROUND

3.  In acknowledgment of the vulnerability and the particular needs of
SIDS, the project on implementing integrated water resources and
wastewater management in Atlantic and Indian Oceans SIDS (AIO
IWRM) was formulated to address sustainable water management in
the six participating SIDS.
 Duration: four (4) year (up to 2016)
 Financing: by Global Environment Facility through UNEP and UNDP,
 2 Implementing agencies
 UNDP (C1 – Demonstration Project)
 UNEP (C2 IWRM Indicator Framework, C3 Policy, C4.Capacity and awareness)
 Executing agency
 UNOPS
 UNOPS W&E/Copenhagen– for UNDP/C1 demonstration project
 UNOPS KEOH/ Nairobi – for UNEP/C2-C4
Project Coordination Unit – based at UNEP DEPI, Nairobi (composed of 3 staff)
BACKGROUND

4. 6 participating countries:
IWRM – SIDS PARTNER COUNTRIES
 Atlantic Ocean
Cape Verde
Sao Tome and
Principe
 Indian Ocean
Comoros
Maldives
Mauritius
Seychelles

5.  Goal of Project: To contribute to sustainable development in the
Atlantic and Indian Oceans Small Island Developing States (SIDS)
through improvements in water resource and environmental
management;
 The overall Objective is to ‘accelerate progress on WSSD targets
and IWRM and WUE plans and water supply and sanitation MDGs
for the protection and utilization of groundwater and surface
water in the participating countries’.
OBJECTIVES

6. 4 overall project components:
 Component 1: Demonstration of Integrated water resource
management (IWRM) and Water Use efficiency (WUE) – based
on demonstration project (for example in Maldives; in the
Island of AA Thoddoo)
 Component 2: IWRM and WUE Indicator Framework and
Monitoring (National and Regional)
Component 3: Policy, legislative and institutional reform
for IWRM and WUE
 Component 4: Capacity Building, Learning, Knowledge
 Exchange, & Replication
NB: Presentation will focus on early lessons in C1 (Demo
projects)
PROJECT COMPONENTS

7.  Based on the National Diagnostic Analysis & Hotspot Analysis in
2009 & 2010
 The main thrust is focus on country-driven and designed
demonstration activities focusing on sustainable water management
based on IWRM approaches to bring significant environmental
stress reduction benefits.
 Groundwater and aquifer protection was a national priority in 4 out 6
participating countries – demonstrating the significance of GW in SIDS
 Rationale of the demo project is to address these key national priorities
based on ground intervention embracing IWRM - to demonstration
benefits of IWRM application, and therefore create an appeal for their
adoption at national and regional level
RATIONALE FOR DEMO PROJECT

8. Development and Implementation of Targeted Demonstrations in
IWRM and WUE
 Cape Verde: Protection of groundwater resources, stabilization of coastal
terrains - integrated planning and management of wastewater collection,
treatment and reuse
 Comoros: Water resource assessment and protection through IWRM
planning & management
 Maldives: Protection of a freshwater lens from salinization and agro-
chemical pollution, with improved drought season aquifer yields
 Mauritius: Protection and sustainable utilization of the Northern Aquifer
 Sao Tome & Principe: Integrated River basin management to enable
equitable water resources allocation and protection
 Seychelles: Protection of a coastal aquifer through integrated land and
water management measures
DEMO PROJECT – COUNTRY FOCUS
/PRIORITIES

9. Given the context (highly vulnerable ecosystem, limited
capacity, fragmented efforts/interventions in most countries)
and need to demonstration benefits of IWRM, the project
designed a participatory IWRM planning (PIP) workshops in each
country at the onset of the project to initiate participatory
planning and implementation.
Design of PIP workshops:
Host by lead Government institution, bringing together all
stakeholders / Multi-sectoral: water, agriculture, tourism,
municipalities, Public health, Island authorities / councils,
NGOs, Community representatives, etc in discussion table.
PARTICIPATORY IWRM PLANNING (PIP)

10.  3-days workshop,
1st day was dedicated to facilitated training on basic IWRM principles,
participatory M&E, communication, IWRM&gender,etc; - in the context of
the specific demonstration project focus eg – groundwater, demand
management, integrated watershed mgt, etc).
Day 2-3 focused on participatory planning
Established partnership with UNDP CapNet (capacity
building on sustainable water resource management) to co-
facilitate with Regional PCU.
PARTICIPATORY IWRM PLANNING (PIP)

11.  In all the countries (except Mauritius which is yet to hold the PIP
workshop), the workshops which was designed to focus on
demonstration project level stakeholders turned out to be a
national level consultation on water issues (with both vertical and
horizontal integration - cross-sectoral and all levels, city mayors,
water managers, university researchers, water service providers,
top Island authority leadership, etc);
 The workshops secured national media attention (prime time news
–see links at https://www.aio-iwrm.org)
 Empowerment and foundation for IWRM approach: the facilitated
training did only serve lay foundation for IWRM approach and focus
in planning, implementation – but significantly served to provoke
informed consultation, active engagement and open dialogues.
KEY ISSUES AND LESSONS FROM
PARTICIPATORY IWRM PLANNING (PIP)

12.  In almost all workshops, while it was admitted that it was not the
1st water intervention, neither first 1WRM project, but it was
evidently appreciated that the approach to embrace and empower
stakeholders at the onset for active participation in planning and
discussing stakeholders roles demonstrated open wiliness and
transparency to that is required to mobilize coordination within the
water sector
 Following the PIP workshop consultation and planning, the
challenges of lack of coordination and fragmented efforts were
apparent and the need to establish coordination platform was
natural conclusion. So far, interim coordination structures are in
place within framework of mandated institutions. Within a fairly
short time within the framework of the coordination platform, many
other water related initiatives which were not foreseen are coming
up; eg. In Comoros, the Governor of the Island of Mutsamundu
(demo site) is mobilizing the military to participate in river cleaning
activities,
KEY ISSUES AND LESSONS FROM
PARTICIPATORY IWRM PLANNING (PIP)

13. Summary of key lessons:
1. Empowering stakeholders (through training, information sharing,
etc) is essential for active and engaged participation in addressing
water issues in general, and in SIDS in particular.
1. A coordinated cross-sectoral approach, embracing stakeholders at
all levels is vital to secure practical and sustainable solution to
vulnerable groundwater resources in SIDS;
1. There is dire need to raise critical level of capacity within the
SIDS (for practitioners, water managers and trainers) on IWRM
with SIDS orientation/context – to drive in development of IWRM
road maps and their executions. The Minister in charge of water
resources in Maldives “ we need IWRM capacity development for
our engineers and water managers to realize our Government
agenda on IWRM”, 12 March 2014.
KEY ISSUES AND LESSONS FROM
PARTICIPATORY IWRM PLANNING (PIP)

14.  Opportunities
1. Practical opportunities to demonstrate results in SIDS context due to
their non-complex set up,
2. opportunities to mobilize and secure high level support (at national
level).
3. Need and opportunities to establish partnerships for mobilization of
financial resources for water interventions in SIDS, but these needs to
be brought in the key discussion platforms / forums;
4. Opportunity to capitalize on the International year of SIDS to mobilize
special attention of the global community on significance of
groundwater resources for the SIDS – how can this dialogue contribute
to that?
KEY ISSUES AND LESSONS FROM
PARTICIPATORY IWRM PLANNING (PIP)

15. For more information, please visit the project
website at: https://www.aio-iwrm.org
Results and Knowledge Management Specialist:
Daniel Nzyuko, danielnz@unops.org
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!!