Water Week Ends with Priorities for Boosting Water Access for the Poor

MANILA, PHILIPPINES (30 January 2004) - ADB's Water Week meetings closed yesterday with delegates setting practical goals and priorities for providing better water access to the poor.

The week, attended by 350 water stakeholders from across Asia and the Pacific, featured extended discussions, keynote presentations, and speeches under the overall theme: "Water for the Poor: Setting the Rules and Finding the Money."

Focusing on rural poverty, the last day of talks saw discussion on the importance of channeling finance to rural areas and the finance mechanisms to help achieve this through decentralization.

Among the priorities set were the need for

• ADB and governments to decentralize funding to local communities and nongovernment organizations in a demand-led manner;
• ADB to prioritize action research and scale up successful pilot programs to improve project design and incorporate them within the institutional structures;
• Promoting the local private sector as a key source of financing and key partner in water projects
• A greater focus on incremental actions at a local level.

Solving the water crisis "is about more than global strategy, money and a doubling of financing," Michel Camdessus, former Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said in his keynote address. "It is about commitment and determination. The problem can only be solved if all the various parties accept the need to change their approach, in some cases radically."

ADB Vice-President, Geert van der Linden, arguing the case for leadership, cited examples of political, managerial and civil society leadership in Sri Lanka, Cambodia and India. "Leadership matters and finance must be directed where good leadership exists," he said.

Erna Witoelar, United Nations Special Ambassador for the MDGs for Asia and the Pacific, gave an overview of where the Asia and Pacific Region stands in its goal of achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving the number of those without access to clean water and sanitation by 2015.

"What is keeping the world from achieving the Goals is not the lack of finances or technical capability, it is the political obstacles and the lack of political will," she said. "Questions that should be asked include: Is the focus on the rights of poor people to realize the goals? Are the appropriate policies in place? and Are institutions responsive to the legitimate aspirations of women, the poor and marginalized people?"

A number of speakers posed the question as to whether there is actually a conspiracy against the poor. "Water utility underperformance may in some cases be deliberate, or at least tolerated, in order to protect informal markets and capture financial flows," added Charles Andrews, ADB's Principal Water and Sanitation Specialist. "This conspiracy is strengthened by poor governance and low tariffs."

He argued that such a conspiracy can only be tackled through greater autonomy for utilities, pay commensurate with that in the private sector for utility managers and their staff, well-meaning and effective leadership, and a strong role for civil society to catalyze reform.

Intizar Hussain, Senior Economist, International Water Management Institute, questioned whether low irrigation charges are "disadvantageous to the poor, resulting in a lack of revenue, a deteriorating infrastructure and no feeling of entitlement."

Ravi Narayanan, Director of the charity, WaterAid, argued that there should be a greater focus on poverty resulting from the exclusion of women and that the "poor should not be seen as victims but a great source of knowledge, capability and resources."

He concluded that: "Development requires vision, sustained commitment and it demands optimism. Given all these things, it is blinding in its simplicity."

On Tuesday, Water Week recognized outstanding examples of leadership in the region, awarding ADB's 2004 Water Prize to the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA) in Cambodia. PPWSA has transformed Phnom Penh's water supply over the last 12 years increasing network coverage from 40% of Phnom Penh to over 80% and reducing non-revenue water from 72% to 22%.

"It is clear that creativity and innovation in water policy and implementation is urgently needed if we are to achieve the MDGs of halving by 2015, the proportion of people without safe drinking water and basic sanitation," concluded Wouter Lincklaen Arriens, ADB's Lead Water Resources Specialist.

"The last few days have shown the many different approaches and solutions to Asia's water crisis and that, through a common understanding of the water needs of the poor, an appreciation of what each side brings to the table and the courage to move beyond conventional mindsets, these goals can be achieved."