Human RightBased Approach to Water Governance

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Human Right-Based Approach to Water Governance

• Juerg Staudenmann
• Water Governance Advisor
• SIWI-Seminar The Right to Water and Sanitation
  Approaches and Practical Implications World
  Water Week Stockholm 20 August 2008

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Scope / outline

• Why applying a Human Rights-based Approach (HRBA)
  to Water Governance ?
• WSS matters (for Human Development)
• but Water Governance is the key !
• What does it imply ?
• How A new programme for Europe CIS
• Objective approach
• The 4 thematic areas of concern
• Conclusions
• (NOT Whats HRBA)

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Access to Water Supply Sanitation matters !

• Human Development strongly linked to WSS

The successfully tackling of the WSS crises
could trigger the next leap forward in human
development! (UNDP HDR 2006)
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Why a HRBA to Water Governance ?

• Fact
• 1.1 billion people without water, 2.6 billion
  without sanitation
• WSS a key driver to achieve the MDGs (child
  mortality / maternal health poverty food
  security healthy work force education )
• The growing Water Crisis is foremost a problem
  of Water Governance, not of lacking water
  resources
• A crisis of the poor and marginalized (incl.
  ethnic, gender or rural-urban disparities)
• Low political commitment to sanitation and
  hygiene
• Climate Change will add more complexity
  additional burden
• The way forward
• Focus on support to countries to develop national
  strategies plans towards integrated water
  resources management (IWRM)
• Promote international aid financing
• But also make water a human right and mean it !
  (UNDP HDR 2006)

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Applying a HRBA to Water Governance What it
may imply

• Prioritizing human and/or household
  allocation/consumption over all other uses
  (especially in crisis situations)
• Ensuring guaranteeing allocation of a minimum
  volume of (affordable) drinking water for
  everyone
• Providing (legal) instruments, e.g. for
  inhabitants to
• Claim their water rights
• Get access to info and political decisions
• BUT Choosing an integrated approach to Water
  Resources management (e.g. IWRM)
• not focusing on WSS only (pipes and pumps)
• To ensure sustainability !

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Linking HRBA to Water Governance

• Opportunities
• Promoting (increased) state budget allocations
  towards WSS
• Possibility to hold state accountable /
  responsible for
• prioritizing implementing WSS
• Participatory, non-discriminatory, inclusive
  approach
• Sensible prioritization while balancing between
  different water users (incl. the natural
  environment!)

• Challenges
• Other user groups (industry, energy sector,
  agricultural industry) often have stronger
  influence (financially, politically, socially)
• Finding the right balance between WSS and other
  development priorities like
• food security (irrigation / agriculture),
• livelihoods (production / industry), energy
  (e.g. hydropower for heating),
• environment

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How A new UNDP programme

• The UNECE Protocol on Water and Health A
  unique opportunity for Europe CIS
• Parties shall take all appropriate measures for
  ensuring (a) adequate supplies of wholesome
  drinking water (b) adequate sanitation...
• principles and approaches equitable access
  to water, adequate in terms of both quantity and
  of quality, should be provided for all members of
  the population, especially those who suffer a
  disadvantage or social exclusion.

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UNDP regional HRBA-to-Water Programme for Europe
CIS

• Objective
• Use momentum to develop concrete new projects (at
  national and local level)
• Mobilize partnerships and funds for projects and
  (mainstreamed) interventions
• Approach
• Analyze specific country situation, gaps and
  opportunities
• Verify needs with stakeholders and set priorities
  
• Develop and launch concrete projects (or
  mainstreamed interventions)

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4 Thematic Areas of Concern

• Accessibility Infrastructure
• Physical accessibility, primary focus on quality
  of the (WSS) services
• Dev. priority provide access to poor,
  marginalised and vulnerable groups
• Affordability Water Pricing
• Economic accessibility, water tariff system that
  provides standard volume of water to everyone at
  affordable prices (or free if necessary)
• Special consideration to poor, marginalised and
  vulnerable groups
• Allocation Quality Water Resources Management
• Supplied water needs to be safe and suitable for
  all different uses
• Balance among competing needs (incl. natural
  environment) while prioritizing human consumption
  
• Transboundary Cooperation Joint management of
  the resource
• Adequate cooperation between neighbour countries
  / communities sharing water resource/body (at
  national, basin or local level)
• HRBA to prioritize human water consumption

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Accessibility Infrastructure (connectivity and
service provision)

• Potential priority action
• Ensuring accessibility for vulnerable groups,
  including rural areas
• Prioritisation and targeting of vulnerable and
  marginalised groups in water policy including
  service provision
• Avoiding negative impacts of WSS infrastructure
  and facilities design on vulnerable and
  marginalised groups
• Ensuring public participation of vulnerable and
  marginalised groups in decision-making

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Affordability Water Pricing (water tariffs and
ability to pay)

• Potential priority action
• Integrating affordability into planning for
  financing water services
• Ensuring equitable pricing policies (and
  cross-subsidies as needed)
• Ensuring affordability of services in WSS
  concessions
• Public participation, transparency and
  accountability (redress mechanisms and
  procurement)

12
Allocation Quality Water Resources Management
(production, supply, demand management)

• Potential priority action
• Prioritising water for domestic uses
• Managing natural water resources to ensure water
  quality and quantity (and sustainability)
• Monitoring water quality safe for use
• Responding to climate change and natural
  disasters
• Public participation and transparency

13
Transboundary Cooperation (equal opportunities
and shared benefits)

• Potential priority action
• Promoting and facilitating transboundary
  cooperation on water resource management
• Enabling dialogue towards conflict resolution
• Public participation

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The role of UNDP in Europe CIS

• Through its new pan-regional HRBA-Water
  programme, UNDP is utilizing the regional legal
  context to
• Support EECCA-countries
• Recipient signatory states implementing the
  Protocol on Water Health provisions (national
  analysis, gap assessments, target setting,
  strategy project development)
• Donor signatory states identifying needs and
  priorities, and direct their ODA/investment
  towards interventions in the sense of the
  Protocol on Water Health
• Technically support development and implement of
  concrete projects and interventions to improve
  peoples life!

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Conclusions The role of Development Actors

• Identify momentum opportunities and design new
  programmes
• To promote the Right to Water
• To implement it
• Focus / prioritize / mainstream Access to
  sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically
  accessible and affordable water, and basic
  sanitation in(to) the national development
  agenda

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The role of Development Actors (cont.)

• Support countries
• Identifying national needs and opportunities
  (entry-points) for concrete interventions
• Advocate for WSS as priority area (towards
  achieving the MDGs)
• Taking a comprehensive approach (IWRM) to ensure
  long-term sustainability
• Mobilize partners and financial resources to
  prioritize and implement concrete WSS, RtW and
  Water Governance activities

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Thank you!

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