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WASH Governance in an Era of Climate Change
A number of
recent studies in the general adaptation literature have begun to
question prevailing approaches to adaptation finance and policy -
specifically, the preference for ‘concrete’ and more readily visible
adaptation projects and options and a relative under-emphasis on the
political and governance context in which adaptation funds are being
spent. In part, this is driven by a fixation with ‘additionality’ and
the need to identify and measure specific adaptation measures
(Fankhauser & Burton, 2011). As the authors argue, this can be unhelpful
if softer adaptation paths, focusing on changes in planning, practice
and behavioural change are neglected.
The implication is that adaptation to climate change
when it comes to WASH or any other sector cannot be considered as one
policy issue. It must also account for the development context and for
gaps in existing capacity to deliver basic public goods (Lockwood,
2013).
The impacts of climate change must be recognised and
acted upon by a set of stakeholders that include service users, public
sector and private sector providers, local and central Government
agencies, NGOs and development partners. These stakeholders act within
an ecosystem of policies, procedures, financing and management
arrangements that determine the effectiveness of service delivery.
Crucially in view of the uncertainties attached to climate change, these
actors need data derived from the monitoring of water and other
resources. They also need the basic capacity to deliver and support
services. A high priority set of adaptive actions need to take place
focusing on the capacity of WASH institutions and on strengthening the
enabling environment. These include:
• Amendments to national
WASH sector policies to take account of climate change.
• Developing climate
change relevant technical guidelines and standards.
• Strengthening or
establishment of water resources and WASH service monitoring
arrangements.
• Inclusion of
investigations of climate change and its impacts within national WASH
learning.
• Evolution to more
flexible planning and budgeting processes to enable responses to
slow-onset changes and also effective rapid onset emergency responses.
• Proper understanding
and tracking of financing to the WASH sector.
Adaptive design and implementation of WASH programmes
can then follow from a position of institutional strength, up-to-date
local knowledge and the ability to respond flexibly and rapidly.
Relevant aspects of design and implementation include:
• Taking account of
increasing needs for source protection.
• Choosing water supply
sources which are less vulnerable to variations in water resources
caused by climate change.
• Designing water and
wastewater treatment systems to allow for future changes in water
quality.
• Selecting raw water,
potable water and wastewater lifting technologies to allow for future
changes in energy cost, with a preference for the use of renewable
energy sources.
• Matching water storage
requirements to projected and monitored changes in timing and amount of
water flows.
• Designing and
constructing latrines and other on-site sanitation technologies to be
less flood-prone, or to be more cheaply replaced if flooding is
unavoidable.
• Paying due attention to
storm water drainage and solid waste management in peri-urban settings.
A key conclusion is that adaptation should start with
the measures that tackle the weather risks that countries already face,
since climate change will exacerbate these risks. A key argument is that
many of these measures, such as improved siting and construction of
water points, or changes in latrine design, are relatively simple, if
implementation capacity exists. A focus on vulnerability rather than
prediction is also pragmatic given present uncertainties with climate
projections, particularly for rainfall and difficulties in translating
rainfall projections through hydrological systems to impacts on the
ground.
q
Sanghamitra Misra
smisra@devalt.org
References:
1. The Water Policy Programme at ODI, together with Oxford Policy
Management (OPM) and Richard Carter & Associates.
2 Adapting urban water systems to climate change: a handbook for
decision makers at the local level (Loftus, 2011, ICLEI)
3 Adaptation strategies guide for water utilities (USEPA, 2012)
4 Samuel Fankhauser and Ian Burton January 2011 Centre for Climate
Change Economics and Policy Working Paper No. 47 and Grantham Research
Institute on Climate Change and the Environment Working Paper No. 37
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