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WATER COOPERATION, SUSTAINABILITY AND POVERTY ERADICATIONProtecting natural systems can help ensure a high-quality water supplyThe Safe Water and Sanitation for all in Moldova InitiativeThe Republic of Moldova, with a total population of 3.56 millionpeople, is one the poorest countries in Europe, with a gross domesticproduct (GDP) of US$7 billion. According to World Bank data in2005, only 4 per cent of the rural population had a sewerage connectionand only 55 per cent of the total population had access to basicsanitation (a pit latrine with a lid). However, even having accessto a house connection did not mean having access to safe water.Indeed, the Moldovan National Environmental Action Plan calculatedthe social and economic impact of water pollution and reachedthe conclusion that polluted drinking water (rural and urban) ledto between 950 and 1,850 premature deaths and 2-4 million sickdays annually. The cost to the economy was assessed to be 5-10 percent of GDP. According to Moldova’s Ministry of Health, poor waterquality is responsible for 25 per cent of acute diarrhoeal diseases,hepatitis A, and 15 per cent of non-infectious diseases registered inthe republic. The most widespread diseases caused by the consumptionof poor quality water are chronic nitrate intoxication, dentalfluorosis and gastrointestinal diseases.Rural citizens in the Republic of Moldova rely on small-scalewater supply systems or shallow wells which can be contaminatedwith microorganisms and nitrates. In rural Moldavian communities,severe nitrate contamination of wells is common and animal andhuman excreta are the main sources of contamination. Illegal wastedumping, of which 45-50 per cent is animal waste, often leads tosurface water pollution and unsightly areas.The Safe Water and Sanitation for all in Moldova initiativewas started by non-governmental organization (NGO) Ormax toImage: Ormax ACTimprove the situation in rural Moldova by mobilizingcitizens and authorities to realize and respect theright to access safe water and sanitation through thesustainable management of local resources. Such implementationsincluded maintaining clean water sourcesto improve human health, which helps to maintain theenvironmental integrity of aquatic ecosystems.The main strategy for achieving these objectiveswas to promote the participatory practice of includingthe local population in educational (workshops,training) and practical activities (testing and mappingthe wells, identifying sources of pollution, cleaning),and demonstrating solutions (such as Ecosan toilets)for effective and affordable water protection in ruralareas. In each community a village committee wasestablished which included the mayor, the schooldirector, one or two teachers, one or two parents, andchildren’s representatives involved in a water safetyplan (WSP). The village committee was responsiblefor project activities, implementation and communicationwith the village inhabitants and the localNGO partner.The water quality measures were shown on mapswhich were available in the village halls, and peoplecan now avoid the most polluted sources of water.The activities had a visible impact on the community’sbehaviour: no more solid waste is dumped near thepublic or private wells. Spring cleaning of wells is onceagain a tradition in the communities where awarenesswas raised during the project. The number of leafletsdistributed, wells tested, and meetings and workshopsheld, have all superseded the original planned numbersand now serve as parts of a toolbox for the people of theRepublic of Moldova.Public participation was a determinant factor in thesuccess of the project. Another factor was the authorities’support and participation. The initiative involvedlocal, regional and national authorities in all the activitiesand found that their support motivated publicparticipation. In this particular project, the importanceof involving authorities in the activities was crucial forachieving the project objectives and ensuring sustainability.Developing activities with national authoritiesat all levels was a way to guarantee that activities wereboth coherent with the local community’s needs andsustainable after the project was finished.Public institutions, the regional council and theteaching inspectorate supported project activities,and their regional representatives were present in thecommunities during the core activities. This strategywas sent to the ministries of environment andhealth and some of the proposals were integratedin the national strategy for water protection: theWSPs were recognized by the national authorities asan effective tool in water protection at communityscale and are recommended by national authoritiesto be implemented in rural communities in orderto protect water resources by identifying risks andreducing sources of pollution.195