Water

Water for the Poor - Partnerships for Action
Partnership with Viet Nam

The partnership between ADB and the Government of Viet Nam is working to reduce poverty through ADB's water projects, through Better access to water for health and livelihoods Pro-poor water governance Reduction of vulnerability to disasters Development of sustainable natural resource management The partnership helps Viet Nam to achieve its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through a participatory approach that combines capacity building, community empowerment, and investment.

SPOTLIGHT Read the highlights of the Joint Donor Review of the Viet Nam Water Supply and Sanitation Sector.

• Link water sector strategies and activities in Viet Nam more directly with the national poverty reduction and development strategy, and ensure that water management is more effectively targeted to poverty reduction

• Provide a coherent framework that links players and activities across subsectors and at different levels (national, regional, river basin, provincial, district, and commune). This will be the basis for the development of integrated water resources management (IWRM) in Viet Nam.

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The basis for more effective poverty targeting is to work from the overall development goals to the goals, objectives, and targets of individual projects and activities, through the following sequence:

• National Development Goals and Targets as defined in the Comprehensive Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy (CPRGS) and the MDGs.

• National Water Goals and Targets which specify the contribution that water management can make to the achievement of the national development goals. These will be integrated into the development of the National Water Resources Strategy.

• Provincial Water Goals and Targets, which will be based on the national water goals and targets to reflect the specific characteristics and priorities of individual provinces. These will be the basis for the development of provincial water resources strategies.

• Project Goals, Objectives, and Targets: the design of individual projects will then be based on specifying the contribution that they will make to achieving provincial and, where appropriate, national goals and targets.

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1. Establishment of national-level partnerships that provide a framework for generating local-level actions

As of July 2004, the following activities have been undertaken:

• National-Level Water and Poverty Assessment, which provides an overview of water and poverty trends and relationships in Viet Nam. The assessment report will be completed soon.
• National Dialogue on Water and Poverty- Facilitated by the Viet Nam Water Partnership, this aims to build a knowledge base and establish consensus on the approaches and actions needed for pro-poor water management and poverty-focused IWRM. The final report is being prepared.
• Viet Nam National Water Resources Strategy. Discussions on Inputs to the formulation of the strategy are ongoing.



2. Development of Provincial Water Management Guidelines

Support for the development of provincial water guidelines initially come from the ongoing ADB technical assistance for the Central Region Water Resource Sector Project (CRWRSP). The project, to be implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Institute for Water Resources Planning, is currently in the design stage.

One of the activities under the CRWRSP is the development of provincial water management guidelines in six provinces:

Thanh Hoa Quang Bing Quang Tri

Thua Thien Hue Quang Ngai Binh Dinh

3. Joint Donor Review of the Viet Nam Water Supply and Sanitation Sector

The review will focus on poverty reduction and involve donors such as ADB, Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), and World Bank. At the end of the review, donors will define their commitments towards supporting the sector.

4. Evaluation of Existing Approaches to Participatory Development

To facilitate and improve the effectiveness of the design process for the upcoming Livelihoods Development and Rural Infrastructure Project, which will start in late 2004, a request was made to undertake an evaluation of existing approaches to participatory development in the country.

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Between 2003-2008, the partnership will support water and poverty actions in Viet Nam up to a total of $335 million. The planned breakdown of investments is as follows:

• $75 Million from the Viet Nam Government
• $180 Million in expected ADB lending
• $80 Million from cofinancing (partners could include Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), DANIDA, and the Netherlands)

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• Letter of Intent between ADB and the Viet Nam Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development [ PDF ]
• Case Study: Water for the Poor Partnership in Viet Nam