Water

Comprehensive Review of ADB's Water Policy Implementation
Report of the Independent Panel

ADB has concluded a year-long process to review the implementation of its Water for All policy. The review aimed to provide ADB and its stakeholders with an assessment of progress regarding the implementation of the water policy, as well as recommendations to improve ADB's water investments and operations.

The review was led by an independent panel of experts composed of senior developing member country officials, representatives from civil society, bilateral donors, and the private sector.

The review was undertaken in a participatory, consultative, and transparent manner that included a series of in-country and regional consultations as well as a survey, and studies contributed by civil society. The process also involved extensive internal consultations, including staff workshops and an informal seminar with ADB’s Board of Directors.

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The panel’s report includes a detailed assessment of the implementation of ADB’s water policy, as well as a roadmap for action to achieve the ADB’s vision of water for all.

The key recommendations of the panel to ADB are as follows:

	Increase ADB’s commitments and develop ADB’s capacities: Increased investments, staff realignment and development, and providing leadership in the region to prioritize water.
	Develop long-term partnerships with DMC stakeholders and donors: Policy dialogue, sector assessments, training, and promoting programmatic or policy-based lending approaches to raise status of water, strengthen institutional frameworks, improve water governance, develop capacities, and improve donor harmonization and aid effectiveness in the DMCs.
	Focus the implementation of IWRM on stakeholder needs and ownership: Supporting IWRM planning and implementation, increasing knowledge on IWRM in DMCs and at ADB, and developing and improving assessment tools for benchmarking, monitoring, and evaluation.
	Promote “business unusual”: Leveraging innovations to increase access, affordability, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness, including nuanced guidance on subsidy use, promoting PPPs, alternative financing modalities under IEI, robust O & M arrangements, and scaling up of alternative technologies.
	Improve processes to ensure effective policy implementation: Improving ADB’s internal communications and procedures, coordination with DMCs on CSP/U process and national planning, and monitoring and evaluation efforts to mitigate social and environmental impacts of ADB projects.

Download the panel's report.

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ADB supports the general thrust of the report and accepts the challenges given by the panel.

View ADB's response to the five key recommendations of the panel.

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View the document [ PDF: 616kb | 74 pages ]. To read, you need Acrobat.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

I. INTRODUCTION

II. ASSESSMENT OF PROGRESS OF ADB’s WATER POLICY IMPLEMENTATION:
HALF FULL OR HALF EMPTY?

1. An Overview
2. Progress in Key Areas: The Three Pillars of ADB’s Water Policy

• National Water Policies and Water Sector and Sub-Sector Reforms
• Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)
• Water Service Delivery (Water Supply and Sanitation / Irrigation and Drainage)

III. CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: WHAT ACTION IS REQUIRED?

1. Raising the Status of Water in the DMCs and ADB’s Development Agenda
2. Improving Governance and Addressing Institutional Constraints in the DMCs
3. Leveraging Donor Harmonization: Helping DMCs Maximize Investment Benefits
4. Mitigating Adverse Social and Environmental Impacts: Improving Project Design, Benchmarking, Monitoring, and Evaluation, and Targeting Investments
5. Developing Capacities and Addressing Constraints within ADB
6. Improving the Alignment of the Country and Strategy Program (CSP), DMCs’ Water Sector Roadmaps and ADB’s Water Policy
7. Ensuring Affordability and Equity in Water Service Delivery: Clarifying ADB’s Position on Subsidies and Ensuring Access for the Poor
8. Targeting Efficiency and Cost Effectiveness in Water Service Delivery: Leveraging O & M, Appropriate Technologies and Public Private Partnerships (PPP)

IV. RECOMMENDATIONS TO ADB’s MANAGEMENT: TRANSLATING POLICY INTO ACTION

APPENDICES

1. Suggested Action Plan
2. Background on ADB’s Water Policy and Review Processes
3. Short Biographies for the Review Panel and Special Advisers
4. Summary Timeline of Major Activities
5. Summary of Key Review Inputs: Assessments and Review Processes

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• Read the press release from the report's presentation in Hyderabad, India.