Increased Access to Water Supply for Resilience in Comoros (IAWASuR)

Project details

This project is part of a programmatic approach designed to help the government of Comoros achieve its overarching goal of “ensuring universal access to climate resilient water supply by 2030”.  It completes and complements efforts underway and in planning to address the full suite of gaps and barriers that are noted in the water sector. The specific objective of the project is to increase access to high quality, stable, reliable and resilient water supply in order to reduce climate vulnerability in Comoros.

The project is based on the following theory of change: if integrated water management of water infrastructure and ecosystem services is decentralized and based on reliable data and sustainable finance, then resilient infrastructure can be extended to reach last mile users, which will lead to reduced vulnerability among local communities, enhanced ecosystems resilience and improved protection of water sources despite climate change.

In order to achieve a preferred scenario where every citizen of Comoros has access to reliable, resilient and safe water supply, a number of key barriers must be lifted:

• There is a lack of reliable data, and data systems are fragmented, which prevents the coordinated climate risk management in the water sector - for adequate decisions to be made about water services, allocation, quality and quantity, localized data must be available and shared among different partners. This includes data on water extraction rates, water availability at source point according to climate parameters, water use at household level, water quality at different points in the system depending on infrastructure type, all of which should be disaggregated by gender, locality, ability, and age, to ensure equitable access in all climate conditions. However, the SONEDE currently does not have the capacity to collect the data and the protocols are not in place for sharing among partners (DGEME, ANACM, SONEDE).
• There is a lack of sustainable, predictable finance for the water sector and the other foundational utilities (energy and climate services). This lack of sustainable financing means that energy supply to the water infrastructure and network is sometimes interrupted by SONELEC, or that the climate data is not transmitted in a timely manner by ANACM.  The long-term sustainability of the water network requires that all other utilities operate at a minimum level of service to ensure continuity of water supply to vulnerable communities.
• Incomplete institutional frameworks prevent the effective decentralized management of water services, be they built infrastructure or natural ecosystem services.  Integrated water resources management and integrated watershed management are nascent approaches in Comoros, but are currently only applied at central government level.  There is a need to create structures at municipal and basin level to better manage water and the watersheds that provide water-related services. Planning watershed rehabilitation and land use in accordance with the principles of integrated water management requires coordination and capacity at decentralized levels, given that it is municipal authorities who must enforce laws and rules about land use in fragile watersheds, access to land for the water network (e.g. boreholes), and the protection of spring heads and forest cover.
• In the absence of adequate protection, the destruction of watersheds continues. Deforestation and unsustainable use of vegetation and forest cover in sensitive areas lead to soil erosion, accentuate impacts of flooding, siltation of water bodies, and loss of soil moisture. This destruction is mostly due to deforestation.  At municipal and watershed level, ecosystems must be restored so they can continue to provide water-related services in the face of climate change. 
   

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Key results and output

Outcome 1. Climate informed Water Supply Management is decentralized and based on sound science and stable financing.

Output 1.1. Legal and regulatory texts governing water management and allocation, integrated water management and watershed management, are downscaled and decentralized.

Output 1.2. A complete climate sensitive water supply data sharing system is operational and supports reliable EWS.

Output 1.3. Sustainable financial mechanisms are in place to ensure stable operation of foundational utilities for water services.

Outcome 2. Coverage by adequate, climate resilient water infrastructure is increased.

Output 2.1. 177,13 km of water pipelines, 19 reservoirs,7 water infrastructures, are installed and managed according to the principles of resilient integrated water resources management.

Outcome 3. Watersheds are restored and managed to ensure continued resilient water supply.

Output 3.1. 2,600 ha of watershed restored and under sustainable management.

Outcome 4.  Project knowledge is managed, and project results are monitored and evaluated to foster learning, adaptive management, sustainability, and replication.

Output 4.1. Knowledge management and dissemination system, and mainstreaming gender equality for evidence-based decision-making and scaling up of best practices.

Output 4.2. Effective Monitoring and Evaluation Plan implemented.
 

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Monitoring & evaluation

An M&E plan will be prepared at PPG stage and it will include gender-specific aspects to allow the project to support gender equity in the water sector.

Project-level monitoring and evaluation will be undertaken in compliance with UNDP requirements as outlined in the UNDP POPP and UNDP Evaluation Policy. The UNDP Country Office is responsible for ensuring full compliance with all UNDP project monitoring, quality assurance, risk management, and evaluation requirements. Activities under the M&E component will include the hosting of an Inception Workshop (and development of the associated report); producing annual GEF Project Implementation Reports (PIRs); monitoring of Social and Environmental Safeguards Screening, stakeholder engagement and gender action plans; supervised site visits and on-the-ground assessments; an Independent Mid-term Review (MTR); and a Terminal Evaluation (TE).
 

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