Water

Interim Review of ADB's Water Policy Implementation

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In 2003, the Asian Development Bank issued a "progress report" on its new "Water for All" policy, which was the first policy of its kind at the bank.

• Why review the policy?
• What were the findings?
• How was the review conducted?
• How will ADB move forward with these findings?
• What's at stake?
• What are the contents of the Board Information Paper?

The ADB Water Policy stipulates that an in-house review on policy implementation should be conducted in the third year (2003), and that this interim review should be reported to the Board as an information paper. ADB took up the interim policy implementation review to

• assess the extent to which the water policy has been integrated into ADB water operations
• stimulate improvements in ADB project design and implementation

Has ADB's water policy implementation made progress in the sector since the policy was approved? Has ADB made progress on those areas that the interim review found lagging in 2003?

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In general, the 2003 interim review found that

• Four of the seven key elements of the water policy registered "encouraging progress," two elements experienced "moderate progress", and one element posted only "limited progress."

Encouraging Progress	Modest Progress	Limited Progress
Improving and expanding water services delivery Conserving water Fostering participation Improving governance	Fostering the integrated management of water resources Promoting regional cooperation	Promoting a national focus on water sector reform




• ADB and its clients in the developing member countries (DMCs) were able to connect a large number of Asia's poor to water services while stimulating water conservation among suppliers and users. Likewise, governments experienced positive results when they involved stakeholders in their bids to reform and improve the governance of their respective water sectors.

• However, introducing integrated management of water resources and fostering transboundary water resources cooperation remain active challenges. Major water and land resources are generally treated as distinct and unrelated resources, although most DMCs have started viewing them within a river basin context. In addition, the potential for regional cooperation among DMCs can be further tapped.

• The policy's principal challenge was in getting DMCs to develop national water policies, laws, and other reforms that link water to national development goals. Often, policies and laws have focused on a subsector or did not pay sufficient attention to rural areas and the poor.

• Of the water loans approved after the water policy's adoption, 54 percent were found to be consistent with the water policy, compared with just 10 percent of the water loans approved in the three-year period leading up to the policy's adoption.

Read the Board Information Paper on the Interim Review of ADB's Water Policy Implementation for more details.

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ADB's Water Sector Committee (WSC) conducted the interim review. The scope of the review included

• water assessments and policy dialogue in DMCs
• design of loan and technical assistance projects
• response to ADB's poverty reduction strategy
• progress of regional cooperation
• internal ADB actions
• impact of ADB's 2002 reorganization on policy implementation
• impact of the Cooperation Fund for the Water Sector on operations

The WSC's analysis focused on whether water-related projects had been designed to comply with the policy.

The WSC looked at 121 project designs for loans and technical assistance projects. Of these, 117 were public sector projects and 4 were private sector investments.

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The findings from the interim review will be important to the comprehensive review of the water policy implementation that ADB is undertaking in 2005.

The comprehensive review will involve the commissioning a review panel mostly comprised of experts outside ADB. It will also survey ADB staff and host workshops to , among other things, determine how the findings and recommendations from the interim review have been addressed internally. Consultation meetings will also be held in six member countries to hear from government officials, civil society groups and other representatives from each country's water sector.

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One in three living people in Asia Pacific must walk long distances to find water, which is often not safe to drink. Half of the Asia Pacific population does not have adequate sanitation facilities. By 2015, the United Nations expects these numbers to be reduced by half as part of its Millennium Development Goals.

Across Asia, the demand for water has never been higher or more urgent. ADB and its DMCs are now working to double their efforts in developing policies that promote water security, building community and institutional capacity to better manage water resources and deliver water services, catalyzing investments for the water sector, and more.

At the conclusion of this year's comprehensive implementation review, ADB will know how close its "Water for All" policy has lived up to expectations, and what must next be done to come into even closer range of meeting Asia Pacific's need for water.

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1. Introduction
2. Elements of the Water Policy
3. Methodology of the Review
4. Analysis of Policy Implementation
1. Summary of Progress
2. Country Assessments on Water Sector Reforms
3. Recently Approved Loan Projects (2001–2003)
4. Recently Approved TA Projects (2001–2003)
5. Loan Projects Approved Before January 2001 (1997–2000)
6. Common Constraints in Project Design
7. Asian Development Bank Poverty Reduction Strategy
8. Regional Cooperation
9. Large Water Resources Projects
10. Internal Asian Development Bank Policy Actions
11. Asian Development Bank 2002 Reorganization
12. Cooperation Fund for the Water Sector
5. Conclusions and Recommendations

1. Policy Actions to Support the Asian Development Bank Water Policy “Water for All”
2. Methodology and Scope of Review
3. Overview of Water Sector Reforms in Developing Member Countries
4. Achievements of Recently Approved Loan Projects (2001–2003)
5. Private Sector Investment Facilities to the Water Sector
6. Achievements of Recently Approved TAs (2001–2003)
7. Achievements of Earlier Approved Loan Projects (1997–2000)
8. Policy Actions with Low Achievement
9. Assessment of Internal Asian Development Bank Policy Actions for Water Policy Implementation
10. Impacts of Asian Development Bank Reorganization on Water Policy Implementation
11. Impacts of the Cooperation Fund for the Water Sector on Water Policy Implementation