Key results and outputs of the FinWaterWEI II Programme

Key Results achieved and outputs produced in the projects supported by FinWaterWEI II will be displayed here.

• Result 1. Improved application of integrated management of water resources and strengthened basis for transboundary cooperation
• Result 2. Reinforced capacity of the water, environment and health administrations to monitor the quality and quantity status of waters
• Result 3. Enhanced adaptive capacity and preparedness towards climate variability and change in the basins/areas supported by the interventions
• Result 4. Improved capacity of rights holders - including the poorest and other vulnerable groups - to understand and realise their rights and responsibilities towards waters

The first project to have been completed under FinWaterWEI II is the “Assessment of the water-food-energy-ecosystems nexus in transboundary river basins: The Syr Darya” implemented by UNECE.

• Strengthened capacity of national administrations and a wider information basis for further improving the use and management of water resources in the countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and, to some extent, Uzbekistan).
• New knowledge about the characteristics of the water, food and land, energy and ecosystem services, and their governance.
• Conclusion: strengthening transboundary cooperation on the integrated management of different resources in the Syr Darya Basin will bring real benefits. 
• The need for a nexus approach is increasingly pressing with climate change and socioeconomic drivers.
• A broad range of beneficial response actions is outlined. Solutions proposed span institutions, information, instruments, infrastructure as well as international coordination and cooperation.

A publication Reconciling Different Resource Uses in Transboundary Basins: Assessment of the Water-Food-Energy-Ecosystems Nexuswas launched at the Seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention on 17-19 November 2015 in Budapest, Hungary. The assessment of the Syr Darya river basin forms one chapter of this wider publication. (Indicators 1 and 4)

The ‘KGZ-Water/Issyk-Kul’ project is an inter-institutional cooperation project between SYKE and the State Agency for Environment and Forestry in Kyrgyzstan (SAEFP). There is a recognised need to bolster and expand water-quality monitoring networks linking monitoring objectives with priority environmental problems.

• The project has developed a Water Resources Register, available at: http://waterbody.at.kg/ru/
• The project has developed a Laboratory Information Management System (DigiLab): http://digilab.at.kg/login
• A network of upgraded sampling points on Lake Issyk-Kul is being developed: 39 samples at 16 sampling points at several water levels, bottom sediments sampling from the depth of 9m.
• Progress in the project can be measured by indicators 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

The project “Enhancing resilience to the negative effects of climate change through improved water management in Gorno-Badakshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO)" covers three districts of GBAO (Rushan, Ishkashim, and Murgab) and serves approximately 12,000 direct beneficiaries. These are rural communities with limited or no access to clean drinking water with poor sanitation systems, living in areas of multiple natural hazard risks.

The communities are adapting to negative effects of climate change by taking small measures which can be implemented by the rights-holders themselves.

• The project has been well adopted by the Local Authorities who support the communities with the required legal and other documents.
• The project has provided safe drinking water for 4,315 people. Out of those, 1,208 women and 1,166 men have gained access to safe drinking water through building of a small-scale water supply system. 1,098 women and 843 men receive safe drinking water from a borehole.
• The project has a specific focus on safe sanitation. 83 households have access to proper toilets (mainly Urine-Diverting Dry Toilets) and 100% of the population in the project area has separate special places for hand washing.
• 94% of households in the project area have direct access to safe drinking water (14 villages have completed construction of Water Supply Systems and the quality of drinking water has been checked by the Sanitary Epidemiological Service and approved it as safe).
• The project is also strong on capacity-building. 77% of women (out of 374 participants in Ishkashim, Rushan and Murghab districts) participated in decision-making process on operation and maintenance of WSS projects. AKHS involved 61% of women (out of 570 participants of the three districts) in water and sanitation sessions for environmental hygiene and sanitation.
• Disaster resilience in the project area has increased thanks to the project. More than 20 village organisations developed village hazard maps for identifying village hazard zones and disaster management plans for resilience purposes.
• Progress in the project can be measured by indicators 2, 3, 4 and 5

The "Community-driven water and sanitation project (CoDWSS)" is implemented by Oxfam in the districts of Ayni and Rudaki in Tajikistan. Ayni is a mountainous area with underdeveloped infrastructure wheras Rudaki is very close to the borders of the capital Dushanbe, yet overlooked in development plans.

• The project has developed mechanisms by which sustainability and integrity of water supply systems will be guaranteed. Water Trust Funds, networks of local stakeholders and Drinking Water User Associations have been established.
• The Water Trust Funds have not only been established to serve one project but Oxfam has pooled funding for the participating communities from FinWaterWEI II and from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) through the another project (TajWSS). The structure of the Water Trust Funds is transparent and water users can propose new projects for them to finance.
• Eventually, the CoDWSS project will benefit around 7000 children, women and men in rural areas in Ayni and Rudaki (of which around 3700 are women). Gender-sensitive consultations have been carried out and the application form to the WTF includes gender disaggregated data.

The project “Securing livelihoods for vulnerable women, men and children, through their participation in community governance of water resources, and enhanced ability to use water efficiently” is implemented in rural Kyrgyzstan by UN Women. The project aims at securing livelihoods through efficient on-farm use of water and equitable community governance of water resources.

The project focuses on work in schools and with local self-governing authorities in rural Kyrgyzstan.

• Through schools, the project will prepare girls and boys in secondary schools to value the efficient use of water, understand topical issues such as how climate change affects them, and build skills to be successful farmer entrepreneurs using scarce water and land resources efficiently and effectively.
• The work with the local authorities aims at ensuring that Local Self-Government carries out its oversight functions over Water Users Associations and the equal participation of all, including traditionally excluded or vulnerable groups.

As a result, the rural population (in particular women and girls) are empowered to productively use limited on-farm water resources for starting to build livelihoods in an environment where communities appreciate inclusion and water conservation. This, in turn, will make people in the communities healthier and more prosperous.

• School children are taught to manage small kitchen farms in order to supplement their family’s income and to learn independent decision-making, as well as to manage water effectively. By January 2017, 1648 students (773 girls, 875 boys) are enrolled in the My Prosperous Farm (MSP) course and learning about livelihoods and efficient water use.
• The Kyrgyz Academy of Education has evaluated the MSP and My Safe and Peaceful School courses and approved them and recommended they be used in public schools as extra-curricular subjects. The Academy has also recommended that some chapters from the books be used in Humanity & Society and Economics classes.