**
**
*Water and Sanitation Program*
* *
*FY2006 Business Plan*
* *
* *
*October 2005*
* based on the information from the Website of **the WSP SA. It is solidly
involved with JNNURM*
* *
* *
* *
* *
*S**OUTH **A**SIA***
*The Challenge*: South Asia has found it difficult to progress towards the
WSS MDG, and in fact coverage has declined in many areas. No city in the
region has 24 hour water supply, while arsenic contamination and poor
maintenance hamper access in rural areas. The key problems are
institutional, not technical or financial. Service providers are not
accountable to customers, incentives favor capital works projects rather
than sustainable service delivery, and subsidies do not benefit the poor.
Inadequate knowledge and lack of systematic policy reform mean change mostly
occurs by stealth, and not on scale.
*Opportunities: *The institutional constraints to WSS delivery are beginning
to be recognized, which offers opportunities for WSP-SA to support the
necessary reforms.
*WSP-SA's Role*: WSP-SA's core message is that it is not the pipes that need
fixing, but the institutions.
Advocacy, advisory services and knowledge sharing on water and sanitation
projects in isolation cannot achieve this on scale. WSP-SA therefore engages
at different levels – from region-wide knowledge sharing to supporting
national policy reform, to working with sub-national clients and partners on
strategy design and the development of fiscal financing mechanisms conducive
to service delivery.
*WSP-SA's Comparative Advantage*: WSP-SA is uniquely positioned as an honest
broker in the WSS sector without a political, lending or bottom-line agenda
and with rapid and flexible access to the joint knowledge of donor
organizations and international expertise.
*Strategic Activity Selection*: WSP-SA is currently active in Bangladesh,
India and Pakistan. To make an impact on scale, WSP-SA has organized its
work around themes and programs, at three levels. Although related to each
other, they make it possible to focus on the key areas of impact. First,
from a water and sanitation perspective, WSP-SA helps shaping effective
relations between levels of government, supported by appropriate policies.
Second, with operational challenges in the WSS sector as an entry point, it
helps building sub-national institutions that deliver services responsive to
customer demand, especially to the needs of the poor. Third, in fiscal year
2006 concerted efforts will be made to develop and strengthen regional
linkages and programs across South Asia, possibly including Sri Lanka, to
facilitate policy dialogue and knowledge sharing about WSS management and
its broader institutional requirements.
*Key activities*: With its emphasis in catalyzing institutional change on
scale for more efficient and
accountable water delivery, WSP-SA will:
• Help build a critical mass of informed WSS stakeholders across South Asia;
• In Bangladesh, build on community-based projects to support the
introduction of new water
management institutions.
• In India, assist reform of national urban policy and fiscal relations
reform as well as of urban and rural water and sanitation service providers;
• In Pakistan, support water service institutions within the new
decentralized system;
* *
* *
*India***
*The Challenge: *India has committed itself to 100% WSS coverage by 2007,
eight years before the MDG
targets. However, while this promise has driven new investment (e.g., under
the Accelerated Rural Water
and Sanitation Program) past investments have been poorly maintained. Even
worse off than the rural
areas, no Indian city or town has 24 hour, 7 days/week water supply.
Systemic reform in governance and service delivery is required. Although the
Constitution designates
authority for WSS to the local level, supply remains centrally-driven – in
rural areas through State level
government departments and in urban areas through water utilities, neither
of which is accountable to their
South Asia FY06 Business Plan
Pg 48
clients. The fiscal system mainly entails central-to-state-to-local
transfers, but volatility in the annual
release of funds and weak policies and performance incentives discourage
local-level multi-year planning
and retard the quality of services, such as WSS, and economic development.
In response, GoI's National
Urban Renewal Mission (NURM) announced in 2005 aims to provide fiscal
incentives to state and city
governments for urban sector reform. And demand responsive, community led
rural programs initiated in
1999 and scaled up in 2002 under the Swajaldhara program, is now supported
by a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) model that sets a central framework for states to choose
their strategy and access
fiscal incentives.
*Opportunities: *The NURM presents an opportunity to advocate policy and
institutional reform at different
levels to support sustainable WSS service delivery. Local governments are
also under increasing regulatory
and public pressure to address their shortcomings in solid waste management.
Progress with state sector
assessments and the demand-led rural sanitation strategy in pilot districts
of Maharashtra can be
consolidated to support policy change and improved implementation.
*WSP-SA's Role: *WSP-SA engages and advises policy makers on policy reform
and implementation across
the WSS sector, but it also uses local pilot projects as a basis from which
to inform reforms of local and
intergovernmental systems and incentives.
*WSP-SA's Comparative Advantage: *WSP-SA is able to provide technical advice
on institutional and policy
change from a WSS service delivery point of view. Being unencumbered by a
lending or other external
agenda lends it credibility.
*WSP-SA's Strategic Activity Selection: *Activities will seek to support the
new reform momentum in the
urban sector, further state sector transformation policies and plans, and
take forward the agendas on
performance enhancement (through M&E and benchmarking), demand-led rural
sanitation strategies and
solid waste management.
*Key Projects: *Given these strategic opportunities, the key projects in
India will be:
• The principal urban project is working with the GoI to take the NURM
forward, especially enhancing
fiscal incentives for local WSS service delivery (This includes
consolidating and applying the
findings of rapid city assessments done in 2004-05).
• In rural context, State Sector Assessments lay the ground for WSS sector
transformation and the
message from the Demand-Led Rural Sanitation pilots in Maharashtra is to be
tested more widely.
Solid Waste management is another priority.
**
*Water and Sanitation Program*
* *
*FY2006 Business Plan*
* *
* *
*October 2005*
* based on the information from the Website of **the WSP SA. It is solidly
involved with JNNURM*
* *
* *
* *
* *
*S**OUTH **A**SIA***
*The Challenge*: South Asia has found it difficult to progress towards the
WSS MDG, and in fact coverage has declined in many areas. No city in the
region has 24 hour water supply, while arsenic contamination and poor
maintenance hamper access in rural areas. The key problems are
institutional, not technical or financial. Service providers are not
accountable to customers, incentives favor capital works projects rather
than sustainable service delivery, and subsidies do not benefit the poor.
Inadequate knowledge and lack of systematic policy reform mean change mostly
occurs by stealth, and not on scale.
*Opportunities: *The institutional constraints to WSS delivery are beginning
to be recognized, which offers opportunities for WSP-SA to support the
necessary reforms.
*WSP-SA's Role*: WSP-SA's core message is that it is not the pipes that need
fixing, but the institutions.
Advocacy, advisory services and knowledge sharing on water and sanitation
projects in isolation cannot achieve this on scale. WSP-SA therefore engages
at different levels – from region-wide knowledge sharing to supporting
national policy reform, to working with sub-national clients and partners on
strategy design and the development of fiscal financing mechanisms conducive
to service delivery.
*WSP-SA's Comparative Advantage*: WSP-SA is uniquely positioned as an honest
broker in the WSS sector without a political, lending or bottom-line agenda
and with rapid and flexible access to the joint knowledge of donor
organizations and international expertise.
*Strategic Activity Selection*: WSP-SA is currently active in Bangladesh,
India and Pakistan. To make an impact on scale, WSP-SA has organized its
work around themes and programs, at three levels. Although related to each
other, they make it possible to focus on the key areas of impact. First,
from a water and sanitation perspective, WSP-SA helps shaping effective
relations between levels of government, supported by appropriate policies.
Second, with operational challenges in the WSS sector as an entry point, it
helps building sub-national institutions that deliver services responsive to
customer demand, especially to the needs of the poor. Third, in fiscal year
2006 concerted efforts will be made to develop and strengthen regional
linkages and programs across South Asia, possibly including Sri Lanka, to
facilitate policy dialogue and knowledge sharing about WSS management and
its broader institutional requirements.
*Key activities*: With its emphasis in catalyzing institutional change on
scale for more efficient and
accountable water delivery, WSP-SA will:
• Help build a critical mass of informed WSS stakeholders across South Asia;
• In Bangladesh, build on community-based projects to support the
introduction of new water
management institutions.
• In India, assist reform of national urban policy and fiscal relations
reform as well as of urban and rural water and sanitation service providers;
• In Pakistan, support water service institutions within the new
decentralized system;
* *
* *
*India***
*The Challenge: *India has committed itself to 100% WSS coverage by 2007,
eight years before the MDG
targets. However, while this promise has driven new investment (e.g., under
the Accelerated Rural Water
and Sanitation Program) past investments have been poorly maintained. Even
worse off than the rural
areas, no Indian city or town has 24 hour, 7 days/week water supply.
Systemic reform in governance and service delivery is required. Although the
Constitution designates
authority for WSS to the local level, supply remains centrally-driven – in
rural areas through State level
government departments and in urban areas through water utilities, neither
of which is accountable to their
South Asia FY06 Business Plan
Pg 48
clients. The fiscal system mainly entails central-to-state-to-local
transfers, but volatility in the annual
release of funds and weak policies and performance incentives discourage
local-level multi-year planning
and retard the quality of services, such as WSS, and economic development.
In response, GoI's National
Urban Renewal Mission (NURM) announced in 2005 aims to provide fiscal
incentives to state and city
governments for urban sector reform. And demand responsive, community led
rural programs initiated in
1999 and scaled up in 2002 under the Swajaldhara program, is now supported
by a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) model that sets a central framework for states to choose
their strategy and access
fiscal incentives.
*Opportunities: *The NURM presents an opportunity to advocate policy and
institutional reform at different
levels to support sustainable WSS service delivery. Local governments are
also under increasing regulatory
and public pressure to address their shortcomings in solid waste management.
Progress with state sector
assessments and the demand-led rural sanitation strategy in pilot districts
of Maharashtra can be
consolidated to support policy change and improved implementation.
*WSP-SA's Role: *WSP-SA engages and advises policy makers on policy reform
and implementation across
the WSS sector, but it also uses local pilot projects as a basis from which
to inform reforms of local and
intergovernmental systems and incentives.
*WSP-SA's Comparative Advantage: *WSP-SA is able to provide technical advice
on institutional and policy
change from a WSS service delivery point of view. Being unencumbered by a
lending or other external
agenda lends it credibility.
*WSP-SA's Strategic Activity Selection: *Activities will seek to support the
new reform momentum in the
urban sector, further state sector transformation policies and plans, and
take forward the agendas on
performance enhancement (through M&E and benchmarking), demand-led rural
sanitation strategies and
solid waste management.
*Key Projects: *Given these strategic opportunities, the key projects in
India will be:
• The principal urban project is working with the GoI to take the NURM
forward, especially enhancing
fiscal incentives for local WSS service delivery (This includes
consolidating and applying the
findings of rapid city assessments done in 2004-05).
• In rural context, State Sector Assessments lay the ground for WSS sector
transformation and the
message from the Demand-Led Rural Sanitation pilots in Maharashtra is to be
tested more widely.
Solid Waste management is another priority.