Title

Malaysia: Water Conservation Initiative in School Environment for Future Change

Ghana: Integrating water security into the national development planning process

Uganda: Rural water supply: major strides in sector coordination and performance
Country
Malaysia
Ghana
Uganda
Summary

This project aims to conduct a water conservation initiative in school environment in Malacca state (Malaysia). Water footprint findings demonstrated that approximately 60% of total water use was due to toilet use. The rainwater harvesting system was selected as this method enables the use of a renewable source (rainwater), conveniently fit the existing building rooftop and plumbing system. The rainwater harvesting system at school lavatory has led to significant reductions between 24m3 and 278m3 of water use with water bill saving of USD285. Benefits gained from this water conservation initiative in school can be seen from environmental, social and economic perspectives.

GWP-WA/CWP-Ghana, through Water Climate and Development Programme in Africa (WACDEP), an initiative responding to the Sharm El Sheik Declaration by Heads and Governments of African States, facilitated capacity development on water security and climate resilience for government agencies and Metropolitan Municipal and District Assembly planners in the 2014-2017 National Medium Term Development Planning process. This effort contributed to mainstreaming of water security in the planning landscape in Ghana.

Uneven geographical distribution, rapid population growth, industrialization, and environmental degradation, are big challenges to the sustainable development of Uganda’s freshwater resources. However, the policy and institutional framework has advanced over the past two decades in Uganda including the introduction of the Water Act (1995), the Uganda Water Action Plan (1995), and the National Water Policy (1999). Political support matters in achieving success and prioritization of water and poverty was central.
Related IWRM Tools
  • Integrated Urban Water Management Plans (
    A3.05
    )
  • Stakeholder Analysis (
    C1.03
    )
  • Supply Efficiency (
    C3.02
    )
  • Recycle and Reuse (
    C3.03
    )
  • Water and Climate Finance (
    D2.06
    )
  • Economic Value of Water (
    D1.02
    )
  • Policies with Relation to Water Resources (
    A1.02
    )
  • Water Allocation Regimes (
    A2.03
    )
  • Local Authorities (
    B1.02
    )
  • Policies with Relation to Water Resources (
    A1.02
    )
  • International Water Law (
    A2.02
    )
  • Recycle and Reuse (
    C3.03
    )
Keywords
School
Lessons Learned

Utilization of renewable resources via harvesting rooftop rainwater helps to reduce treated water use and to limit land impact while optimizing land use and landscape diversity in school environment. Moreover, responsible consumption of renewable rainwater contributes to wealth creation via water bill savings.   

The success of a project depends on wide participation and inputs, f.e. in this case including the Parent-Teachers Association, university (Universiti Putra Malaysia), and non-governmental organization (Green Growth Asia Foundation) helped with transparent decision-making process, project monitoring and risk management to ensure the project’s sustainability.

A sense of solidarity and common cause - to conserve water - enables efficient teamwork, facilitates ongoing effort to educate school children, and willingness to change their behaviour to use rainwater for flushing purposes.

A better understanding of the equilibrium between each dimension of IWRM boosts overall project impact for the school.

Continuous capacity building and campaigns to provide technical backstopping to highlight the threats to water systems and inform decision making remains important to achieve water security.

The water security cross-cutting theme in the guidelines has undergone two cycles of implementation and the 3rd medium term development planning cycle (2022-2025) begins soon. This presents opportunity to engage the different stakeholders towards strengthening the capacity for mainstreaming water security.

Political prioritization of water and poverty was central. The depth and longevity of sector reform relies on political support, which can ebb and flow. Sector-level governance reform is unlikely to be successful without broader political reform, which takes time.

Long-term engagement of donors can help build capacity and create relations of trust. A genuine process of mutual learning and knowledge transfer between donor and aid recipients is crucial, as opposed to using relative power to impose ideas and conditions.

Reforms are unlikely to be effective without addressing underlying incentives within recipients and donor agencies. Consultative reform processes or sector ceilings created incentives for active engagement and encouraged sector actors to take responsibility for effective resource allocation within the sector.

Drivers outside of the sector – international actors, political imperatives, alliances with powerful ministries – can influence sector progress. Sector leadership may not be sufficient for strong progress in the absence of wider support at national or even international level.

National ownership of the reform process and a core of technically competent and relatively powerful ‘reform champions’ within government were key factors in driving and sustaining sector progress.
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