Kyrgyz Republic: Naryn Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Development Program

Agriculture, natural resources and rural development / Rural sanitation - Rural water supply services

Naryn is a mountainous province and one of the poorest in the Kyrgyz Republic, with a poverty rate of 29% in 2017. Naryn's resident population was estimated at 287,000 in 2018 across Naryn township and 165 villages. In 2009, the urban population share was 15.3%. The ADB-supported Bishkek Torugart road traverses through Naryn and connects Bishkek to the People's Republic of China (PRC), providing regional connectivity with Central Asian neighbors and opportunities for rural development. Most villages in Naryn have unprotected water sources. Incidences of waterborne diseases are high in Naryn. The program will cover 64,000 people in Naryn and will support the design, construction, and rehabilitation of WSS facilities; and institutional capacity to provide sustainable and safe WSS services across 31 program villages. In addition, the program will ensure that detailed designs are completed for 12 program villages and ready them for implementation when additional financing becomes available.

The RBL program's impacts will be (i) health and quality of life of residents improved and (ii) adverse environmental impacts reduced by 2026. The outcome will be inclusive and reliable access to safe WSS for rural communities in Naryn improved. Two outputs will contribute to the outcome:

(i) Output 1: Water supply and sanitation infrastructure expanded and sanitation solutions piloted. The program will include the following infrastructure components: (a) safe water sources, water storage, and treatment and disinfection systems; (b) distribution networks for the target population of 64,000; (c) gender-sensitive safe water and sanitation facilities in selected kindergartens, schools, and health facilities; and (d) piloting of non-networked household sanitation solutions.

(ii) Output 2: Institutional capacities strengthened for enhanced sustainability in the rural water supply services and sanitation subsector. Output 2 focuses on institutional measures to strengthen WSS systems and improve service delivery. It will (a) establish and strengthen WSUs and secure at least 20% female participation across all WSUs by 2025, and 40% female participation in WSU-related trainings and public consultations; (b) deliver financial management training to further enhance internal control processes and procedures for ARIS and WSUs; (c) adopt and apply a procurement manual and a multiyear procurement action plan; and (d) develop and implement an M&E framework to improve knowledge of asset inventory and data management.

The Kyrgyz Republic is one of the poorest countries in Central and West Asia and its estimated gross domestic product per capita is $1,280. An estimated 22.4% of the country's 6.2 million people live below the national poverty line. The concentration of poverty in the country is higher in rural areas and greatest in mountainous areas, where more than half of the population is poor. The Kyrgyz Republic is also highly vulnerable to climate change impacts, including frequent drought and early snowfall, increasing the risk of water scarcity, frequent landslides, and floods, particularly for poor populations.

Access to safe drinking WSS in rural areas remains a significant challenge. Poor water quality and sanitation costs the country over $100 million annually, including productivity losses. Most of the rural WSS infrastructure was built in 1960s and has exceeded its design life, with little maintenance resulting in low-quality services. In 2014, only one-quarter of rural households had piped household connections, and about 73% of rural households had intermittent water supply. There are 200 water supply intakes without sanitary protection setback zones and they lack treatment facilities, exposing people to preventable diseases. Rural sanitation coverage is only 10% and characterized primarily by unimproved sanitation facilities. The key issues confronting rural WSS in the Kyrgyz Republic are (i) insufficient resources because of inadequate tariffs, (ii) weak capacity of WSS service operators, and (iii) limited operation and maintenance (O&M) and capital investment.

In March 2016, the government approved its national Strategy for Development of Water Supply and Sewerage Systems in Settlements (SDWSSSS) program, 2016 2026, covering all seven provinces in the Kyrgyz Republic. The goal of the national program is to increase water supply coverage from 40% to 90% and sanitation coverage from 10% to 70% by 2026. The nationwide program is also anchored in the National Development Strategy of the Kyrgyz Republic for 2018 2040 which prioritizes access to clean drinking water and sanitary facilities. The national SDWSSSS program provides a clear framework to guide sector development by outlining key areas and activities in developing urban and rural water supply and sewerage systems. It also contains measures to conduct analysis and monitoring. The resolution includes an implementation plan for ongoing and planned projects totaling $420 million with financing sourced from the state budget (6.4%) and primarily from external sources (93.6%).

The SDWSSSS aims to improve access to safe rural WSS and is aligned with Sustainable Development Goals 1, 5, 6, 10, 12, and 13. The results-based lending (RBL) program is embedded in the SDWSSSS program and will enhance development effectiveness. The government requested support from multiple development partners to implement the SDWSSSS program and allocated each of the seven provinces to different development partners to expedite efficiency and enhance coordination. The government requested ADB's assistance in Naryn.

The program is aligned with ADB's Strategy 2030, supporting four of the seven operational priorities: (i) addressing remaining poverty and reducing inequalities, (ii) promoting rural development and food security, (iii) strengthening governance and institutional capacity, and (iv) building climate and disaster resilience. The program is included in ADB's country operations business plan for the Kyrgyz Republic, 2019 2021 and is aligned with ADB's country partnership strategy for the Kyrgyz Republic, 2018 2022, which calls for equality between regions, and improved WSS services. The program is also aligned with ADB's Water Policy and Water Operational Plan.

ADB value addition includes (i) the introduction of a results-based approach for investment planning and strengthening of institutions; (ii) a focus on building the capacity and management practices of asset owners and WSUs; (iii) actions to strengthen the program M&E (para. 31), procurement, and financial management systems; and (iv) the incorporation of climate change risk management into subsector operations.

Water supply and sanitation infrastructure expanded and sanitation solutions piloted

Institutional capacities strengthened for enhanced sustainability in the rural water supply services and sanitation subsector