Presented at the 10th meeting of the Water Governance Initiative, 20 - 21 November 2017, Vienna

1. DECENTRALISED DEVELOPMENT
COOPERATION IN THE WATER SECTOR:
THE CASE OF FRANCE
10th WGI meeting
20-21 November, Vienna (Austria)

2. • Development aid extended by Local and Regional
Governments (LRGs) and basin agencies (BA) to support
water services in developing countries
– Since 2006, around 400 LRGs and 6 water agencies have
engaged in DDC related to water
• €250 Million in ODA grants from 2006 – 2016
– Represented 1.5% of French ODA targeting the water sector, but
has a similar volume to TOTAL ODA grants
• LRGs and basin agencies have supported more than 300
projects per year since 2006
– Predominately infrastructure-related, but also others
Overview of DDC for Water in France

3. DDC Legal Framework
1992
• The Decentralised cooperation law
• DDC competence for LRGs
2005
• The “Oudin-Santini” law
• 1% mechanism for water and sanitation
2007
• Thiollière law
• Defines the type of DDC activities
2014
• The Development and International Solidarity Act
• More flexibility for external actions

4. • The implementation of the 1% mechanism for water is a
political choice
– LRGs and basin agencies can decide whether to apply it or not and to
which degree
• The law foresees a defined scope for the resources mobilised:
– Promote access to water and sanitation services
• The law applies to both drinking water and sanitation
budgets, acknowledging these tend to relate to separate
budget lines.
– NOT possible to mobilise 2% of the drinking water budget and 0% on
the sanitation budget
1% mechanism in practice

5. Key Actors
300 to 400 local and regional
governments (LRGs)
Municipalities
(Communes)
Public
institutions of
inter-municipal
cooperation
(EPCI -
établissements
publics de
coopération
intercommunale)
Syndicat mixtes
in charge of
water services
6 Water
Agencies
Adour-Garonne
Artois-Picardie
Loire-Bretagne
Rhin-Meuse
Rhône-
Méditerranée-
Corse
Seine-Normandie
Implementation 1% mechanism:
Supporting implementation: PS-Eau, Organisation of LRGs,
NGOs on the ground
Policy Design and coordination at national level: Inter-ministerial
bodies (CICID), Commission for Decentralised Coop (CNCD), AFD

6. Water is a key sector in French DDC
Multisector, 12%
Gov & civil soc., 11%
Health. 12%
Agriculture, 9%
Other, 20%
Educ., 11%
Hum assistance, 8%
Water, 17%
2010
Multisector, 16%
Gov & civil soc., 9% Health. 8%
Agriculture, 14%
Educ., 8%
Other, 24%Water, 21%
2015
DDC sector allocations, 2010 and 2015 (sector allocable basis)
Source: OECD (2017), OECD CRS database, accessed on November 2017, https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=CRS1
Gradual increase since the adoption of the 1% mechanism:
From 14.2€ Million (76%) in 2007 to 28 € Million (85%) in 2016

7. Main contributors to Water DDC
% of Water DDC flows by type of actor,
2014
Top 15 contributors among LRGs and basin
agencies, 2014
Source: PS-Eau (2015), “10 ans de la loi Oudin-Santini Bilan du dispositif et analyse des actions financées via le 1% et la
cooperation decentralisee”, accessible at :
https://www.pseau.org/sites/default/files/0_repertoire_fichiers/0_general_site/3_fichiers/rapport_etude_qual_2015.pdf
Basin Agencies
54%Cities and
agglomerations
21%
Unions
15%
Regional
councils
6%
Departamental
councils
4%
0 1 2 3 4 5
Région Aquitaine
AIMF
Val-de-Marne
Région Ile-de-France
Région Rhohe-Alpes
BA Artois Picardie
Lyon Metropole
Ville de Paris
BA Adour-Garonne
BA Rhin-Meuse
BA Loire-Bretagne
BR Seine-Normandie
SIAAP
SEDIF
BA Rhone Méditerranée Corse
Millions

8. Geographical priorities
Africa
0.5%
Europe
1.0%
Far East Asia
14.7%
Middle East
9.0%
North & Central
America
6.9%
North of Sahara
1.7%
South & Central Asia
1.7%
South America
0.1%
South of Sahara
64.4%
Main recipient regions of French Water DDC, 2015
Source: OECD (2017), OECD CRS database, accessed on November 2017,
https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=CRS1

9. Type of activities in Water DDC
Type of activities in Water DDC financed by French LRGs, 2015
0.6%
1.3% 1.3%
1.5%
5.6%
49.4%
40.4%
Water resources protection
Water resources policy/administrative
management
River basins development
Education and training in water supply
and sanitation
Waste management/disposal
Water supply and sanitation - large
systems
Basic drinking water supply and basic
sanitation
Source: OECD (2017), OECD CRS database, accessed on November 2017, https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=CRS1

10. • Individual LRGs and basin agencies with financial
resources and human capital can decide to engage in a
DDC partnership with a local/regional government or
utility in the partner country
Partnership
modality
• LRGs and basin agencies can decide to partner with
other French actors to carry out a specific project or
capacity building activity in the context of DDC.
Network
modality
• Provide direct grants to local or regional counterparts
in the partner country, and/or to an NGO working in
the field to support projects
Direct
financial
support
Operational features of projects

11. Impacts since the adoption of the 1%
mechanism
Quantitative impacts
• Drinking water: 4.6 million people
• Sanitation: 400,000 people
Qualitative impacts
• Stronger financial stability to implement projects with a
multiannual budget
• Actors engaged in DDC activities claim an increase in the number
of projects that do not exclusively focus on hard infrastructure
• Increased capacities of French civil servants from learning and
sharing of experiences with partner countries -> raise awareness
• Local solutions for water services have helped develop larger scale
approaches.

12. • Territorial Reform (June 2014): will lead to a merger of
municipalities (36 700, at present), and service providers
– Opportunity: pool resources (Administrative and technical skills
+ Increase financial resources)
• 1% solid waste : Positive spillover from the 1% water and
similar financing and operational features
– Opportunity: Strong synergies to be developed with the water 1%
mechanism
• Global Agenda: in November 2016 the CICID issued
guidelines to align development cooperation actions with
the Global Agenda
– Opportunity: integrating LRGs efforts in a wider strategy
Emerging paradigms

13. 1. Encourage a greater focus on DDC activities that aim to
develop “soft” rather than “hard” infrastructure.
2. Moving towards a common monitoring and evaluation
framework (including indicators) for all Water DDC
projects. (Atlas of Decentralised Cooperation)
3. Foster the use of transparency mechanisms that increase
accountability of Water DDC activities.
4. Make the most of the territorial reform in terms of
financial resources, human capital, and skills for DDC
activities.
5. Fostering the water-waste nexus to make the most of
DDC flows.
Preliminary recommendations

14. THANK YOU!