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28. Multiple water use

Full Title:

Models for Implementing Multiple-Use Water Supply Systems for Enhanced Land and Water Productivity, Rural Livelihoods and Gender Equity

Website:
www.musgroup.net

Recent Publications:

Multiple-Use Water Service Implemetation in Nepal and India [Download available from IDE Publications]

Download project proposal [PDF 1,636Kb]

It is increasingly recognized that promoting multiple water use schemes entails significant, but largely untapped opportunities to contribute to both the objectives of the Challenge Program Water and Food and the three Millennium Development Goals of halving, by 2015, the number of people without sufficient food and income and the number of people without access to safe domestic water, while empowering women. Water supply designed for multiple uses rather than for either productive or domestic uses improves more dimensions of well-being, especially for women. Moreover, the income gained allows water users associations to finance the capital costs with a loan, which considerably enhances the sustainability of schemes and the numbers of new schemes.

In line with the emerging appreciation for multiple-use water supply, the first aim of the project is to generate a knowledge base. Existing multiple-use schemes in rural and peri-urban areas, including indigenous schemes, will be studied and literature will be reviewed in project years one and two. In the years three to five, new pilot multiple-use schemes, fully financed with five-year loans will be created and studied in a participatory way. The total number of schemes will be 25, which allows drawing generic conclusions on livelihood impacts; the financial, institutional, health, technical and sustainability aspects of managing multiple-use water schemes; needed support; and the critical factors in the policy and institutional environment that enable or block massive upscaling. Models, guidelines, and community-level planning tools on how to implement multiple-use schemes successfully will be derived from this knowledge base. The new schemes will directly benefit 3,000 poor women and men. These benefits will be documented and quantified.

The second aim is to build capacity for upscaling among project partners, communities, professionals and policymakers at the local, national, and global level. Awareness raising will be achieved by disseminating the models, guidelines, planning tools, and a promotion video at the local, national, and global level. The capacity to study and implement multiple-use schemes will also be enhanced by developing curricula and training material for students and professionals. The project is unique in forging synergy across the conventional sectoral boundaries between the productive and domestic water sectors and between researchers and implementers. The project covers ten countries in five Challenge Program Benchmark Basins. A global Steering Committee of seven lead organizations (two CG centers, one global NGO, two NARES, and two ARIs) will engage in partnerships in each country with local ëchampioní NGOs, NARES, poor communities, and farmer networks committed to multiple-use water supply. Further, establishing national and global networks of project partners and other governmental and nongovernmental water sectors, development institutions, and financing agencies and donors will ensure broad information and awareness-raising and timely feedback and buy-in by key players.

The resulting global and national awareness of science-based and field-tested models, guidelines and tools for multiple-use schemes and the enhanced capacity to implement and study those schemes are expected to elicit their 100-fold upscaling within 5 years after this project.