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Water & Sanitation
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Water and Environmental Sanitation
With increases in populations, the pressure on the
environment is demanding improvement in the management of this finite resource (Smet, Hyde). Better cooperation between agencies is important in response to
emergencies such as floods (Bradbury). Incentives can also make a difference in
controlling natural disasters such as desertification (Wasteneys). Author(s):
Abou-Bakr, H. Title:
Impact Evaluation Report on Desert Farming Systems (Egypt) III.
“Integrated Farming Systems for Productive Use of Arid Land.
Phase Three: On-Farm and Back Up Research and Demonstration.” Source:
IDRC Evaluation Report, 1997 ([email protected];www.idrc.ca/evaluation) Key Words:
project evaluation, arid zone, on-farm research, farming systems,
cultivation practices, crop rotation, Egypt, IDRC Reviewer:
IDRC Evaluation Unit Description:
The Desert Farming Systems Project (DFSP) was undertaken in
Egypt to improve the productivity of the virgin desert sandy soil, and to
develop suitable desert farming systems for management by small holders and
co-operatives. Phase III of the
project focused on improving farming systems in newly-reclaimed desert lands
through on-farm demonstration, crop rotation, fertilisation, tillage and
irrigation. This evaluation
assesses the impact of the Desert Farming Systems (Egypt) Phase III project. Most of the research results obtained throughout this
project in its three phases have furnished the basis for other research and
development projects at the Desert Development Centre (DDC), including the Model
farms, the Horticulture/Fodder/sheep model farm, and the Fodder/Animal Research
project. Although all the farmers who worked with DFSP have ceased
field crop cultivation and have transformed their lands into horticulture, the
project did have positive impacts. During the period from November 1994 to May
1997, fifteen training sessions were organized in the training centre in South
Tahrir Station, attended by 1274 trainees.
The problem of soil infestation by plant parasitic nematodes was solved,
and farmers can now better manage weed problems through the different practices
extended to them by project staff. During
the implementation of the On-Farm Demonstration Programme the yield of
groundnuts increased as a result of the application of the inputs package
suggested by the project. Alfalfa proved to be the best fodder crop in the
desert, and it is now grown successfully on the DDC farm.
Five cuts/season can be harvested, and animals reared in the farm (mainly
500 heads of Barki sheep) depend entirely on alfalfa production.
Alfalfa is now cultivated in many other desert areas in Egypt. In addition to farming practices, the DDC attempted to
introduce biogas, solar energy and types of desert architecture.
The two types of houses built in the DDC farm, and the biogas and solar
heaters, dryers and cookers are, however, still not applicable.
It seems that this area needs more research at the technical and
socio-economic levels. Farmers in
the area are still building their houses using the same way of building in the
cities, although they complain that these houses are very hot in summer and very
cold in winter. Author(s):
Abou-Bakr, H. Title:
Impact Evaluation Report on Integrated Pest Management Source:
IDRC Evaluation Report, 1997 ([email protected];www.idrc.ca/evaluation) Key Words:
project evaluation, pesticides, cultivation practices, on-farm research,
maize, pest control, plant production, environmental effects, agricultural
extension, integrated approach, training, Egypt, IDRC Reviewer
IDRC Evaluation Unit Description:
The Integrated Pest Management Project involved the
development and evaluation of an
integrated pest management (IPM) system for corn, in view of reducing pesticide
use, decreasing health and environmental damage, and increasing the income of
corn growers in Egypt. This
evaluation assessed the project’s impact. The package of cultural practices provided by the project
has led to increasing corn productivity and in turn higher farm income.
The reduction of pesticide amounts on corn has not only allowed safer
fodder for farm animals, and corn grain with less pesticide residue, but has
also led to a reduction in production costs, of great benefit to small farmers,
especially under the application of structural adjustment programs (SAP), which
raise the price of inputs. The
designed cultural package is considered a good step to the Low External Input
Agriculture (LEIA). Farmers working
directly or indirectly with the project team have a greater awareness of the
environment, and now recognise the
role of predacious insects in corn fields in decreasing the numbers of harmful
insects. The working atmosphere
created by the project has encouraged several farmers to take initiatives to
solve problems in their fields. These
are impressive innovations which should be followed and developed. There is an increasing trend among farmers in El Beheira to
adopt the package provided by the IPM project for corn cultivation, with pest
control strategy becoming more dependent on biological and cultural methods
rather than chemical pesticides. The
same might be said regarding corn varieties, planting dates, irrigation; and
other farming practices. At the
national level, there is already a strong endeavour by the Ministry of
Agriculture to reduce pesticide application and encourage the use of
environment-friendly pest control methods.
The impact of the present project on this area is an indirect and
long-term one. More important is
the possibility to increase productivity of the land unit through modification
of farming practices and the introduction of new appropriate technologies and
techniques. This has significant
implications for Egyptian agriculture which suffers from the scarcity of
cultivable land. The project has a positive impact on the agro-ecosystem and
the environment in general. Modification
of planting methods (in rows) has resulted in a reduction in the amount of
irrigation water, vital under Egyptian conditions.
Populations of natural enemies in the fields where the
project package is applied have increased considerably, leading to a more
balanced agro-ecosystem. The
production of corn grains and green fodder free of - or at least with less -
pesticide is of great positive import for human and animal health, non-target
organisms and the rural environment in general. Author(s):
Black, R., and Sessay, M.F. Title: Refugees
and environmental change in West Africa: the role of institutions Source: Journal of
International Development 10, 699-713, 1998 Key words:
refugees, migration, institutional reform, Senegal, Guinea Description: Africa is host to hundreds of thousands of refugees, with
very real associated threats of conflict over scarce resources. This paper
examines the relationship between forced migration and environmental change in
West Africa. The Authors analyze the changing institutional context
through which resource use and management decisions are made.
They use case studies of refugee influxes in Senegal and the Republic of
Guinea, where despite significant increases in the population of host areas,
degradation of natural resources has remained limited.
They draw from the work of Leach and Mearns (1991), who have highlighted
how institutions shape the ways in which different groups of people gain access
to and control over resources, and in doing so, affect environmental outcomes. Their principal aim was to consider what institutions exist
(in the context of Senegal and Guinea) that are relevant to natural resource use
and environmental change. Secondly,
they consider whether these institutions have been able to cope with rapid
population increase caused by the presence of refugees; and thirdly the specific
involvement of refugees both formally within institutional structures and also
in respecting rules of behavior established by various institutions. They evaluate institutions at the international, national
and local levels. At the
international level, there is an increasing range of institutions that have
taken up the cause of environmental or refugee protection, and intervene locally
to promote laws and practices that conserve natural resources. At the national level, government departments dealing
with environmental issues have been increasingly receiving external support to
continue conservation efforts. At
the local level, the institutionalization of conservation efforts needs to be
supported through formal administrative structures, keeping in mind traditional
and successful conservation efforts. In both Senegal and Guinea, there was a flexibility of
institutions to absorb new populations. Access
to institutions and to resources were not denied to the incoming populations,
ensuring a lack of widespread abuses of natural resources that could have led to
degradation. Finally, international
aid has been structured in such a way that environmental impacts have been
dispersed, conflicts on the environment were not exacerbated, and local
institutional structures were built up rather than undermined. The Authors caution that the status quo of refugees, vis-à-vis
the host population is not necessarily stable or desirable from an environmental
or equity point of view. The
potential for conflict and competition over land use and development is very
real. Nevertheless, it is to be
expected that the adaptability of various institutions will contribute greatly
to the way in which these future problems are resolved or perpetuated. Author(s):
Bradbury, M., and Coultan, V. Title: Somalia
inter-agency flood response operation phase I: November-December 1997 Source: UNICEF,
Somalia Support Centre/Governments of Sweden, USA, UK, 1988 Key words:
emergency, flood, programme evaluation, Somalia. Description:
This report evaluates the first phase of the Somalia
Inter-Agency Flood Response Operation that occurred between November and
December 1997. This operation was a
complex and expensive logistics operation to distribute emergency assistance to
scattered and isolated flood-affected populations. It was also a test of the international humanitarian
system’s capacity to respond to an acute emergency in a country that has been
without a government for six years. It
involved coordination and collaboration among seven UN agencies, European
Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO), International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) and 19 international and Somali NGOs, with funding and support by 17
donor governments. There is an exhaustive list of agencies and people involved
at the two main levels of the humanitarian context (in and out) of Somalia in an
annex. The framework of the humanitarian framework for Somalia was
reviewed. Key areas related to
disaster (rapid onset emergency) that were assessed in detail were:
preparedness, early warning system, coordination, assessment, response
implementation, supplies, security, operational principles, working with local
structures, Somali responses, building capacity, media and public information,
funding and response effectiveness. On the whole, this complex operation was evaluated as a
success. An initial objective, to
‘rescue’ flood-affected populations was not fulfilled.
Objectives to ameliorate the immediate humanitarian effects of the floods
and avert a nutritional and health crisis in the worst affected areas were, by
and large, achieved. This operation
gave an opportunity to apply past lessons learned from working in Somalia and to
apply innovative programming in several areas. Most of the principal findings that were reported were on
areas that could have made the operation less costly and more efficient.
These included: development of inter-sectoral strategies to deal with
future emergencies, securing advance commitments for rapid onset emergencies,
maintenance of a “rolling preparedness” planning process and the
establishment and maintenance of a strategic stockpile of emergency equipment
and materials in East Africa. Some recommendations on issues of security and operational
principles were that all personnel had to receive full security briefing, and
new personnel should receive thorough introduction to political and sociological
issues in Somalia, supported by written materials.
The evaluators noted an absence of guiding principles for international
humanitarian engagement in Somalia, and recommended that one be formulated in a
consultative process. Authors:
Hyde, K.A.L., and Jespersen, C.B. Title:
Karonga lakeshore integrated rural groundwater supply project - village
level maintenance: Third
Sociological and Technical Monitoring Report Source:
Centre for Social Research, University of Malawi, Zomba, 1994. Keywords:
water, sanitation, health education, participation, gender, Malawi,
DANIDA Reviewer:
Patricia Hari, Kenya Description:
The Karonga Lakeshore Integrated Rural Groundwater Supply
Project is a collaborative effort between the Government of Malawi and DANIDA.
It involves the installation of water points to provide accessible, clean
and potable water to the study population and integrates components of
sanitation and health education. The
ultimate aim was a steadily decreasing involvement of the donors and government
and transferring ownership of the project to the recipient communities.
An important step in this process was the establishment of a community
based (village level) operation and maintenance (VLOM) system for the water
points. This report summarizes the results of a formative
evaluation of the projects’ progress in achieving this aim. The report relied on both a sociological exercise (carried
out by an evaluation team) and regular technical monitoring exercises which were
an integral part of the work of project staff.
The sociological aspect of these exercises focused on the level of
success in promoting understanding of VLOM; the level of developed skills; the
establishment and viability of community institutions for VLOM; the level of
institutional support and the dissemination and utilization of the messages
promoted by the project and supporting institutions. Data collection methods included observation, focus group
discussions, open-ended interviews with representative samples of the user and
support groups, district administration and the VLOM community institutions as
well as inspections of the water points. The report concludes that a reliable and functional VLOM
system capable of maintaining the operation of the water points is in place in
the recipient communities. The two
main community institutions involved in the management of the water points are
the Village Water and Health Committees (VWHC) and the Pump Committees (PC). Of
the two, the PC’s which are directly involved in the water point operation and
maintenance were the most active and therefore viewed as the more sustainable
institution. A number of threats to the projects’ sustainability were
noted. These included lack of
support from the district administration, poor linkages and communication within
and between community institutions and user groups; lack of regular
contributions to the WPM; absence of locally produced fast running spare parts;
and the possibility of major inflation in the cost of spares. The project also experienced design changes and production
faults in water pump parts that have had serious cost and operation implications
for the management of the water points. Women’s’
participation in VLOM was noted to have been generally increased by the 50%
stipulation made by the project. However, the level of participation in some communities was
very low and there was evidence that women were being marginalised when it came
to managerial and technical roles. The recommendations made for improving the effectiveness
and efficiency of VLOM evolved from the identified problems and focus on the
following major areas: _
improved sustainability through improved financial management, training,
technical support and improved linkages within and between community
institutions and between community institutions and user groups and district
administration; _
increase in women’s’ participation in VLOM through community
education and mobilization; _
the establishment of a systematic health education system; _
change in the VLOM sequence to ensure that users are involved from the
beginning of project planning and implementation to develop a strong sense of
ownership and responsibility for the project.
Especially vital is proper and participatory needs analysis. Author(s):
Smet, J., et. al. Title:
Evaluation of GWES programme, Uganda.
The water supply and environmental sanitation programme in the 1995-2000
GoU-UNICEF country programme Evaluation
Report Volumes 1 and 2. Source: The Hague: IRC
International Water and Sanitation Centre/Nairobi: NETWAS International/Kampala:
NETWAS Uganda, 1998 Key words:
water, sanitation, programme evaluation, Uganda Description:
An interesting feature of this report is that it includes
comments on the draft report by Ugandan WES stakeholders and a reaction/response
to the comments by the Authors in one annex.
These comments provide insights to problem areas of the programme as well
as to the evaluation itself. This
report is a valuable contribution to programme evaluation. This extensive participatory evaluation was carried out to
suggest improvements in the planning and implementation of the current WES
programme in Uganda. It was based
upon analysis of the present programme and earlier experiences from the
South-West Integrated Project (SWIP) and the Water and Sanitation Programme
(WATSAN). The programme covers 34
out of 45 districts in Uganda; the evaluation covered six districts selected on
the bases of geo-hydrological, economic, social and cultural variations, and
provided a good geographical spread. Volume 1 is ten pages long and contains the executive
summary and main recommendations. Volume
2 is the main document, which contains an introduction, the methodology used,
the findings and the annexes. The evaluation was structured around general issues,
institutional and process issues and sustainability of the facilities.
A framework covering these aspects and appropriate indicators for
relevant levels is given in an annex, and stakeholders at different levels had a
forum for contributing their views and ideas on the programme through this
evaluation. The Authors employed multiple qualitative (participatory)
methods for different objectives. They
prepared and tested their methods and instruments prior to using them more
broadly. At the district level,
they used SWOT analysis (analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and
Threats) of the WES programme as perceived by stakeholders.
They carried out institutional mapping, evaluating who the key actors
are, and some of their roles and responsibilities.
They used other PRA techniques (mapping, FGD, sanitation ladder) for
in-depth analysis to identify problems hindering performance and possible
solutions. To get at issues related
to process and to highlight the differences between demand driven approach and
demand responsiveness, they used role plays.
An evaluation of the evaluation (process, methods and
report) was carried out in an evaluation workshop. Findings were rationalized in a “synthesis workshop”. Authors:
Wasteneys, C., and Woodley, E. Title: Afforestation
and social forestry in Northern Nigeria: a success story in desertification/land
degradation control Source:
Desertification Control Bulletin 32, 62-65 (United Nations Environment
Programme), 1998 Key words:
agriculture, deforestation, desertification, Nigeria Reviewer:
Clare Wasteneys, California Description:
An award-winning project for successful efforts in dryland
management and desertification control. The Authors report the findings of a 1997 evaluation of a
reforestation project in Northern Nigeria. The purpose of the evaluation was to
determine whether the project met the criteria for success for the Saving the
Drylands Award, an award given in recognition of successful efforts in dryland
management and desertification control. The
evaluation methodology followed a rapid rural appraisal approach, including four
days visiting project sites and interviewing rural stakeholders, five days of
interviews and meetings with project officers and government officials and five
days for reviewing project documents. The project had been undertaken in response to widespread
land degradation. This was
attributed to rapid deforestation, due to a lack of effective policies and
management practices in the forestry sector, excessive demand for agricultural
land, fuelwood and poles, and overgrazing by livestock. The project used an
integrated, multi-dimensional approach, including planting of shelter belts and
woodlots, establishment of nurseries, forestry extension services, community
mobilization, and special components focusing on youth and women. The evaluators recommended the Project for the Saving the
Drylands Award. Benefits identified
through the evaluation included soil conservation, improved soil fertility,
increased crop yields, increased supplies of fuelwood, fodder and poles,
generation of employment and income, increased awareness of the benefits of
afforestation, and improved nutrition through fruit production.
Shortcomings include a lack of emphasis in the original project design on
community participation and gender issues, although the project had increased
efforts in these areas following a mid-term review. The evaluators concluded that project achievements were
sustainable, because project activities had continued without external funding
for over one year and because there was a high level of awareness towards the
deforestation problem among policy makers and the general population.
Other factors contributing to sustainability included the strong
management capacity of project coordinating units and the commitment of project
and community leadership. Nevertheless, the evaluators had concerns about the
availability of water for sustaining further reforestation efforts, including
planting of shelterbelts, which was the main bio-physical intervention. |