Memorandum submitted by the International
Water Association
Each contribution makes a clear point that to
achieve the MDG target in halving the proportion of people without
access to water and sanitation by the year 2015, more attention
is needed in the following areas:
— giving higher priority to wastewater
and sanitation management and providing an adequate framework
for this;
— rethinking the often under economic
development paradigm given funds to international companies for
building conventional large infrastructure (whereas in some cases
indeed this may be useful); and
— need of follow-up measures for
short term interventions.
SUMMARY OF
CONTRIBUTIONS
Urbanisation and water/Water Service Delivery
Amereeta Regmi (Appendix 1) cites the example
of Indonesia in "Water impairs waters, drawing the wastewater
line in Indonesia", and argues that wastewater should
be seen as a critical element that spoils safe water. By adapting
policies and institutions to recognise the MDG target 7 to "ensure
environmentally sustainability" and by focusing on wastewater,
she claims, will benefit Indonesia.
However, there seems to appear to be misunderstandings
and consequences to achieving MDG-7, which in particular aims
to "ensure environmental sustainability", target number
10. Using the example of Indonesia, Regmi describes how the above
target 10 is not fully coherent with Goal 7 (Environmental Sustainability),
because:
(a) An immediate consequence of any success
on the water supply front will mean that the volume of sewage
produced will proportionally increase. MDG target 10 not only
represents an ambitious consensus that recognizes the connection
between water, sanitation and various other sectors, but implies
the creation of an entirely new institutional and development
sector "wastewater". In Indonesia sewage already presents
the main point source water pollutant. Achieving target 10 will
degenerate the quality of water. "13% of sewage in Indonesia
is discharged into water bodies such as rivers and lakes,... .
of which form the bulk water supply for both consumptive and productive
uses, achieving target 10 moves beyond the realm of domestic uses
of water to recognize the inter-sectoral linkages between the
environment and agriculture sectors." Therefore, in itself,
this target is not in line with the core objective of which it
is defined "environmental sustainability".
(b) The World Bank reports that the urban
sewage coverage for Indonesia is the lowest in Asia, reduction
of the number of people without appropriate sanitation is therefore
critical and will have obvious positive consequences for the public
health situation of these people, but it does not immediately
provide benefits for the environment. In fact, considering that
a substantial part of the sanitation solutions will involve septic
tanks, flush toilets and sewer connections, without proper treatment,
the water quality situation of both surface and groundwater resources
may further deteriorate.
The message is clear, that without appropriate
implementation to improve the areas of wastewater and sanitation
management of MDG 7, ie "Environmental Sustainability"
will not be achieved. Regmi concludes that target 10 is just a
reminder that it is becoming imperative to embed wastewater treatment
in safe water and sanitation policies, and the implementation
process to recognize the reciprocal interaction with other targets
of MDG-7. She suggests three clear points in which this could
be achieved:
1. There needs to be set clear national
and regional level benchmarks for access to "wastewater"
treatment to achieve the larger goal of environmental sustainability.
2. Integrated public water and sanitation
would be the agenda and concerns of pluralistic institutional
structures
3. A sector-wide integrated wastewater treatment
policy will be essential to link the sectors of safe water and
appropriate sanitation.
WATER RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT
Martin Parkes (Appendix 2) contributes two dimensions
to the problem; the first is related to the privatisation of the
Wastewater industry, in which he states "national governments
give preferential treatment to these companies for national interest".
He relates his experience to China, in which he believes "multinational
companies" responsibility is to their shareholders, and their
resources give them every advantage over the government in which
they are operating.
The World Bank's push for privatization is enabling
a handful of multinational companies to take over water services
and the profit potential is huge. Companies are operating in a
poorly regulated environment; they are not interested in serving
the poorest people, who are not seen as profitable customers.
The most critical aspect of privatisation is
perhaps the measurements most extensively used when making cost
and financing decisions, because they often do not capture and
are insensitive to the complexities of poverty, and thus the people
they are serving.
Which links to Parkes second issue which concerns
"local representation in the rural areas where the water
supply and sanitation concerns are most pressing" he argues
that it is unlikely that the poor are allowed to articulate their
opinions on their services, so what rights or "basis do outsiders
have to interfere or dictate necessary solutions—with good
intensions or otherwise...?"
By iniciating the model top-down characteristic
approach means decision-makers tends to have limited understanding
of conditions in poor areas, which in turn is reflected in unsuitable
arrangements and implementation for service delivery.
WATER SERVICE
DELIVERY
Michael Taylor (Appendix 3) gives accounts of
the evidence of the Asian countries and Pacific Island, and looks
into the cooperation, co-ordination and capacity-building between
and water-operators, governments and donors (including public-private
and public-private partnerships. He gives account of Aid programmes
of the Public Health Risk Management Plans (PHRMPs) developed
for each of the drinking water supplies participating in each
of the Pacific Islands and in the small water supplies in New
Zealand.
One major disadvantage of some of the Aid programmes
operating in the region is that they are too short lived. A contingent
of Aid workers arrives in the recipient country for a short period
and provides the country with equipment and rudimentary training.
Often little thought is given to the sustainability of the programme:
Examples that have been seen include failure to provide operating
and maintenance manuals for equipment, failure to check that an
ongoing supply of operating materials is available, etc. In some
cases, disposal of non-operational Aid materials poses a major
waste management problem find the recipient countries.
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