Water

Country Water Action: Sri Lanka
3rd Water Supply and Sanitation Project—
Participatory, Consultative and Empowering
September 2006

Large-scale water projects have been ongoing in Sri Lanka since 1986, with the initial project focusing on developing the water supply sector. A follow-up project in 1993 covered both water supply and sanitation sectors. Progress, however, remained relatively slow and was delayed when the 2004 Asian tsunami hit the country. Could a third water supply and sanitation project be Sri Lanka’s charm in providing water supply and sanitation coverage to its citizens?

A third project in Sri Lanka, which began in 1999, is currently developing water and sanitation facilities in rural and urban communities covering 1 million people. By June 2007, it aims to have provided

• new and improved piped water systems to 80,000 households
• tube wells and dug wells to 100,000 households
• latrines for sanitation improvement to 120,000 households

In the past, two large-scale water projects supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB)—one on water supply systems rehabilitation in the 1980s, and another on water supply and sanitation expansion in the 1990s—achieved modest results. They were saddled by security risks and high inflation in the local construction industry, among others.

Unlike these previous attempts however, this third project introduces a consultation and participation approach in all of the project stages—from project design to implementation and completion and to operations and maintenance—that has never been done in the country before. It is demand-driven by beneficiaries—the poor—who are to

• choose the type of water supply and sanitation technology they want
• communicate the level of service they are willing and able to pay for
• play a dynamic role in project planning and design
• contribute time, labor, and materials to the project
• operate and maintain the system to ensure sustainability

Top

The modest achievements made by past water projects in Sri Lanka provided the groundwork for the current project, particularly in the formulation of its consultation and participation (C&P) approach. Before 1999, consultations with stakeholders, especially the poor, have been minimal. With the C&P approach, the poor are given a better chance of participating in the project.

The National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB), Sri Lanka’s principal agency for water supply and sanitation and the project’s implementing agency, has gained the autonomy necessary for mobilizing community-based organizations (CBOs) for the participatory process. Furthermore, some CBOs established by Pradesiya Sabas (PS) or local village councils during previous projects are now more organized. The PS supervises CBOs and acts as their immediate link to the NWSDB. It also taps local nongovernment organizations (NGOs) as partners to provide technical support and advice, and hygiene/health education training programs

Each CBO is composed of a few hundred people, each representing beneficiary households. Their willingness to participate has become the most important factor in the project’s success or failure, and the C&P approach ensures their participation.

C&P is a process through which stakeholders influence and share control over development initiatives, and the decisions and resources that affect them. There are four different levels of C&P to engage stakeholders:

• Information sharing is one-way communication often involving dissemination of information about an intended project, program, or strategy
• Consultation means gaining stakeholder input on proposed or ongoing activities
• Collaborative decisionmaking means that stakeholder groups jointly make decisions about the project
• Empowerment , a deeper level of participation, is where beneficiaries and other key groups initiate action and take control over development decisions and resources

Top

Following the C&P approach, discussions were held with CBOs to get them involved right from the project planning stage. The extent and level of public consultation and participation took place over the four C&P levels, and these, in turn, demonstrated the successes the project has so far made.

Information Sharing

Consultation

Collaborative Decision Making

Empowerment

Top

The high level of C&P has clearly helped eliminate potential big issues that could have seriously delayed the project. Two external factors, however, did cause some delays.

One was a classic fight over water rights. A group of farmers in Hambantota District were not willing to share their water sources. Since, the farmers were outside of the project area and were not beneficiaries, the government signed an agreement not to touch their water source and to look for other water sources. The project in Hambantota District, thus, started two years later than in other districts.

Top

An independent audit of the project commissioned by the NWSDB and released in January 2005 showed that communities’ enthusiasm over the project was overwhelming in some villages. Most CBOs met the target and paid up on time.

The effectiveness of the C&P approach caught the attention of the Sri Lankan government. In 2001, the government institutionalized certain aspects of the project by making them a matter of national policy. The beneficiary cost-sharing and responsibility was incorporated in the National Policy for Rural Water Supply and Sanitation, thereby mandating that the water and sanitation sector be demand-driven and based on participatory approaches.

The policy further encourages the beneficiaries to take over full responsibility for ownership and management of the assets. The policy particularly mentions women, saying they should play a central role in the decision-making process of the water supply and sanitation sector.

Top

As of August 2006, 96% of the project has been completed. While everything seems to be going as planned, the NWSDB-commissioned audit still calls for

• more technical training to sustain operation and maintenance
• more CBO training to show management and financial transparency
• hygiene awareness programs to change behavioral practices for better utilization of the new facilities
• legalization of the CBOs, as they are currently considered volunteer organizations, so that they can gain access to credit and be held accountable.

CBOs are now in the process of fulfilling all of these in time for the project’s completion in June 2007.