Building Bridges Over Troubled Waters - ADB Review

Building Bridges Over Troubled Waters
ADB Review [ December 2006 - January 2007 ]

New ADB mandate to double water investments focuses on delivering results where they count the most—on the ground.

By Ma. Christina Dueñas
Knowledge and Communications Coordinator for RSID's Cooperation Fund for the Water Sector

ON THE GROUND At a press interview during the 4^th World Water Forum in Mexico City

It was an unprecedented commitment: during the 4^th World Water Forum in March 2006, ADB promised to double investments and accelerate actions in water to get double the results.

In 2000, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) urged countries to use the next 15 years to cut by half the number of people without clean water and basic sanitation services. Six years down the line, some countries just aren't getting there. And worse, water problems of all kinds are escalating—from shortages to pollution to wetlands degradation and more.

Clearly, countries need all the help they can get to accelerate their water programs and meet their MDG targets. This is where ADB's new Water Financing Program (WFP) 2006-2010 comes in.

Over the next 5 years, it intends to catalyze some $20 billion water investments in Asia and the Pacific to ensure that

200 million gain sustainable access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation;
100 million people face reduced risks to floods;
40 million people have more productive irrigation and drainage services;
integrated water resources management is introduced in 25 river basins; and
countries improve their water governance.

Wouter Lincklaen Arriens, ADB Lead Water Resources Specialist, was part of the collective brain power that designed the WFP. He talks candidly about the thinking behind this new program.

Why develop the WFP now?

We need more investments if we want to pull the plug on water problems. But financing alone is not enough. We need to make sure that these new investments work better and deliver results where they count the most—on the ground.

"There are so many examples of [rural, urban, and basin water] interconnectivity but we often miss them because we view water through the lenses of separate subsectors- water supply, irrigation, flood management, and others. If we use rural water, urban water and basin water as our lenses, we can see the linkages more explicitly. And when we do, we'll have a better chance of looking across institutional boundaries and addressing the opportunities and consequences of our project interventions"

-Wouter Lincklaen Arriens, ADB Lead Water Resources Specialist

Unfortunately, despite increasing need for water interventions, ADB's investment portfolio for 2000–2004 dropped to $4 billion, a dramatic reduction from the $6.3 billion figure of 1995–1999. For a range of reasons, ADB's Country Strategy and Program "business as usual" process did not seem to be converting needs into increased demands. WFP aims to change that and in the process make a difference in the lives of over 300 million people.

Is the WFP just about financing?

No, it isn't. Doubling investments is the means to an end, not the end itself.

WFP is about providing water and sanitation services, reducing people's exposure to flood damage, improving irrigation and drainage, and introducing sustainable water resource management practices.

It is also about taking bold, new steps to deliver these results. WFP adopts a comprehensive strategy for each investment—combining improvements in infrastructure with promoting reforms, building institutional capacity, and forging strategic partnerships.

Finally, WFP applies new lenses for analyzing water projects—rural water, urban water, and basin water. Rural water focuses on water supply, sanitation and irrigation in rural areas. Urban water focuses on water supply and sanitation in cities. Basin water covers integrated water resources management (IWRM), hydropower, flood management, wetlands conservation, and more.

Why focus on rural, urban, and basin water?

The linkages are clear. In Pakistan's rural areas, household water supply and pumped irrigation water often come from the same aquifer. Upstream of Jakarta in Indonesia, industrial pollution corrupts the water supply of downstream city dwellers.

There are so many examples of this interconnectivity but we often miss them because we view water through the lenses of separate subsectors—water supply, irrigation, flood management, and others. If we use rural water, urban water and basin water as our lenses, we can see the linkages more explicitly. And when we do, we'll have a better chance of looking across institutional boundaries and addressing the opportunities and consequences of our project interventions.

How would countries benefit from the WFP?

For sure, client countries can count on improving their service delivery and water quality. In fact, WFP plans to enable countries to go beyond the MDG targets and achieve more extensive coverage.

But they can also access a number of incountry and regional initiatives that provide more rapid assistance. Through the new Water Financing Partnership Facility, which aims to raise $100 million in grants, ADB will support governments, apex bodies, river basin organizations, water utilities, and communities pursue reforms and innovations, build their capacity, forge strategic alliances, monitor the results of their investments, and more.

What will help WFP to succeed?

Even when WFP was just being developed, it already succeeded in directing more attention to ADB's water operations. The result was a significantly increased 2006–2008 pipeline of over $7 billion, with good indications that this will further increase.

Beyond that, we can already observe several indicators on the readiness of ADB and its client countries for a program like the WFP. For starters, senior levels in governments now accept that a more integrated and sustainable approach to water resources management is essential. And ADB has just introduced a range of new financing modalities to address constraints raised by its clients, such as the multitranche financing facility, local-currency financing, subsovereign lending, and more. Add to that the fact that ADB now has greater success in delivering project interventions to specific target groups, particularly the urban and rural poor. I think that the conditions for the success of WFP are now moving into place.

IDEAS EXCHANGE Talking with regional water specialists in Cambodia as part of the review of ADB’s water policy implementation

What changes can we expect in ADB's water programming?

The next 5 years will be exciting times for water in ADB. One of the main challenges will be to increase investment in sanitation and wastewater treatment to mirror the investments made in water supply. Given the current spotlight on renewable energy, we can also expect a significant increase in investment demand for hydropower development. That will require closer coordination as part of IWRM.

In addition, ADB will need to continue assisting its clients to introduce enabling conditions and build the capacity of national water apex bodies, river basin organizations, and utilities.

WFP will offer a range of interventions but the ultimate test will be in delivering the desired results for the community, country, and regional stakeholders concerned.

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