Uhakika wa Maji July 2014 - Water Witness International

Fair Water Futures ~ Uhakika wa Maji
Maji safi na salama kwa maisha ya sasa na yajayo
Progress Report: July 2014
What is Fair Water Futures?
The Fair Water Futures project, known in Swahili as Uhakika wa Maji was set up in 2013 to support equitable
and effective water resource management (WRM) in Tanzania, for poverty reduction, sustainable growth and
climate resilience. Funded by the UK government (DFID), it uses citizen agency1 and evidence-based advocacy
to guide better WRM for the benefit of everyone in Tanzania. This second update reports progress and helps
stakeholders understand the work and how they can participate. More details are available from Water
Witness International’s website or from the Project Manager, Jane Joseph [email protected].
Uhakika wa Maji aims to help activate Tanzania’s excellent water resource policy and law so that Tanzania’s
ambitious development plans can be delivered based on sustainable and equitable water use. It works with
vulnerable water users, helping them to understand their rights and obligations, and to use the law to secure
legal entitlement and protection for the water resources they need to escape poverty and build resilient
livelihoods. By working with communities to seek legal protection for water via water use permits, pollution
control, statutory drought and flood management and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) certification the
project tests how well relevant institutions are working from the ground up. By tracking responses to this
‘community activation’ and analyzing how financial and human resources are used in the sub-sector, the work
will identify how institutional performance can be improved. It will generate compelling evidence based
advocacy for where change is needed to be targeted at the public, WRM practitioners and decision makers in
government, development community and the private sector.
Through this social accountability monitoring and advocacy, the project aims to empower vulnerable
communities and raise the profile of WRM in Tanzania: emphasizing its importance for social and economic
progress so that water managers in Tanzania are provided with the authority, support and resources they need.
Co-managed by the Tanzanian organisation Shahidi wa Maji and the UK charity Water Witness International,
the project is based on participatory research between 2005 and 2010 of how to implement the Tanzanian
National Water Policy (NAWAPO, 2002). Working closely with the Ministry of Water and the National
Environment Management Council (NEMC), the project will help to implement government policy and
legislation, build capacity and accountability, and show how government services can be improved. In
collaboration with the Tanzanian Water and Sanitation Network (Tawasanet) and the African Network on
Water and Sanitation (ANEW), the project will share experience of how citizen agency can be used to improve
water security and climate resilience. Learning will be disseminated across 69 countries via the Freshwater
Action Network (FAN).
Why is Fair Water Futures needed and who will it benefit?
People, businesses, and ecosystems across Tanzania need good quality and reliable supplies of water in order
to thrive. This depends on water resources being well managed, balancing the needs of all users, avoiding or
reducing conflict, the impacts of floods and droughts, and preventing degradation and depletion of lakes, rivers
and groundwater. Efforts to implement the Environmental Management Act 2004, the Water Resource
Management Act 2009, the Water Sector Development Programme and Integrated Water Resource
Management Plans are making progress towards this. However, the job of water resource management is
challenging and is made harder by an increasingly unpredictable climate and underinvestment in the sector.
The relatively young institutions responsible need widespread support, accountability and incentives to deliver.
1
‘Citizen agency’ is about enabling people to get better information more quickly, cheaply and reliably; to monitor and discuss what’s going
on; to speak out; and to influence society and governance (Twaweza, 2013)
1
Uhakika provides this support, so that economic growth is based on sustainable resource use, conflicts are
avoided, and the needs of ecosystems and poor people are protected. Uhakika wa Maji will: support policy
implementation and government institutions; empower vulnerable communities; improve aid effectiveness,
value for money and impact; and establish Tanzania as a world leader in new approaches to equitable WRM.
How will the work be delivered?
Uhakika wa Maji will deliver through six phases of activity:
1.
Inception – establishing project logistics, project team, systems and detailed planning.
2.
Water security scanning– desk and field-based assessment of water resource priorities and risks, and identification
and recruitment of communities.
3.
Community activation of WRM – working with water users towards securing water entitlements and obligations.
- Popularized versions of water laws, policies and processes which will improve understanding of rights,
responsibilities and duties relating to water and public access to responsible authorities.
- Sensitizing communities, SMEs and wider private and public sector water users on the need for legal entitlement and
protection of water resources, and the value of use permits, pollution control, EIA, and user fees.
- Direct help to vulnerable water users to obtain legal protection for the water resources. This work will prioritize
water security for women.
4. WRM budget analysis – exploration of how funding flows through the sector and how this relates to front-line,
operational performance, and identifying where changes or new investment is needed to improve WRM.
5. Constructive advocacy - bringing together lessons from 2, 3 and 4 to generate targeted advocacy for improved WRM in
Tanzania.
6. Evaluation and outreach - independent review on the effectiveness of the project, its results and lessons.
Communication of insights, tools and good practice to an international audience for scaling up.
What has happened so far?
Uhakika wa Maji has successfully completed its first year of activities:
 A multi-stakeholder Project Advisory Committee has been established to ensure ownership of the work
and its outputs. The Project team has been established and is working successfully with members
representing Basin Water Offices, NEMC, and Tawasanet. MoU’s with key partners are in place and an
office has been established in Morogoro with support from the iWASH programme.
 A Water Institutions Map has been developed which sets out clear and concise information on WRM
law, policy, processes and regulations, the responsibilities of relevant organisations, and their
relationship to the national development vision.
 A Water Security Scan has been completed based on field work in Wami-Ruvu, Pangani, Rufiji and
Internal Drainage Basins and a questionnaire completed by 28 Tanzanian NGOs. This work has
identified 12 case study locations for community activation of WRM (Figure 1) representing the range
of water security challenges facing Tanzania.
 In March 2014, Shahidi wa Maji held the Water Security for All workshop in Morogoro, where over 30
water stakeholders (NGOs, Government representatives and media) came together to learn about
Tanzania’s water policies, law and regulations, and the Uhakika methodology. 80% of evaluation
respondents felt that they had gained new knowledge, and 72% intend to apply this knowledge to their
work with vulnerable communities.
2
Oldonyo sambu:
Fluoride
contamination
Kikuletwa:
Functioning of WUAs
Usambara:
WUPs and catchment
degradation
Mbulu:
Water use permits,
conflict and EIA
Msimbazi River:
Pollution and flood risk
Mkondoa:
v
Drought and flood
vulnerability
Mgeta:
WUA/WUP
applications
Kilombero Valley:
EIA/eflows and WUP
Ngerengere River:
Water quality
challenges
Water quantity, depletion and conflict
Water quality and pollution challenges
Flooding and drought problems
Legal/Institutional functioning
Map 1: Map of Uhakika wa Maji’s Case Study Locations (key)
3


Case study work is well underway with exciting results at several sites. The core team are recruiting
Mashahidi wa Maji: community members who will work with the project to activate water resource
management law and regulations to improve water security in the project locations.
The project is actively sharing its methodology, learning and insights through involvement of Ugandan,
Kenyan and Zambian staff, and presentations about the work by the Tanzanian team at international
events.
Feedback from participants and stakeholders:
Before the project came we did not know that we needed Water Use Permits. Uhakika is showing us
how we can protect our water.
Community Representative
You have brought new information about pollution and the law which will help us to protect the health
of this community.
Community Leader
Using the knowledge I have gained, I will empower the community to understand the importance of
managing water resources and compliance with the legislation.
Community Based Organisation
For us, it is important to refer to laws, regulations, and rules in our work. Uhakika has helped a lot on
this and this increases credibility and makes advocacy more meaningful.
Journalist
For the first time people are demanding their rights on water. This is powerful and will help things
change.
Government
Shining a light on performance, and how money and resources are used has not happened before now.
The work is a big step towards greater accountability.
Development Partner
The Uhakika wa Maji approach is very exciting – it has real potential for advancing water justice and
implementation of IWRM. We look forward to learning the lessons generated.
International Development Research Organisation
What are the next steps?
The Uhakika wa Maji Budget Analysis ‘action learning’ workshop is planned for July 2014 to be attended by 25
regional and national delegates. Alongside this the core team will continue to support communities at case
study locations and training will be provided for Mashahidi to sensitise them to Tanzania’s water laws and
regulations to enable them to lead their communities in improving water security.
The results will be combined to generate targeted advocacy material in early 2015 prior to external monitoring
and evaluation of the project. The team are also working to respond to demand for scaling up the approach in
Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Rwanda and Uganda.
How can you find out more or get involved?
To find out more about the project or to get involved, contact the Project Manager, Jane Joseph, at
[email protected] or at our website www.waterwitness.org.
4

Download Report