Synthesis of Existing Knowledge and Experience on the Provision of ...

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3.1.3.1. Highlighted projects, actors, <strong>and</strong> activitiesEngaging with customary institutions to better inform planning <strong>and</strong> implementation <strong>of</strong> water schemesis emphasized by some NGOs, especially those working on longer term pastoral development. Inaddition, introducing a more long-term development emphasis to improve emergency reliefinterventions is also observed among some donors, as well as promoting partnerships betweenpractitioners <strong>and</strong> enhancing coherence in approach. Below are a few examples.The Pastoral Livelihoods Initiative (PLI) 40The PLI, begun in 2005, is implemented by a consortium <strong>of</strong> international <strong>and</strong> local NGOs 41 , in Afar,Somali <strong>and</strong> Oromia (Borana) regions, funded by USAID 42 . It focuses on ‘supporting pastoralists toimprove household livelihood security <strong>and</strong> maintain assets during drought cycles,’ <strong>and</strong> reflectsUSAID’s new emphasis on taking a livelihoods-based approach to emergency interventions. Waterdevelopment under this project is undertaken within a broader l<strong>and</strong>scape context, recognizing theintricate relationship between water, pasture <strong>and</strong> pastoral mobility. Planning for water developmentinvolves attempting to underst<strong>and</strong> the extent <strong>and</strong> quality <strong>of</strong> local rangel<strong>and</strong> resources, users <strong>of</strong> theseresources, <strong>and</strong> patterns <strong>of</strong> use. To do this, participatory natural resource mapping is used to benefitfrom pastoralists’ detailed knowledge <strong>of</strong> the rangel<strong>and</strong>s, to improve community participation in theplanning process <strong>and</strong> to reduce the risk <strong>of</strong> water related environmental degradation <strong>and</strong> conflict(Box 12).Box 12: Participatory natural resource mapping – Save the Children USAIn 2005, Save the Children USA began to use participatory resource mapping to inform its development interventions inpastoral areas in Oromia <strong>and</strong> Somali regions. This tool identifies water <strong>and</strong> pasture at the level <strong>of</strong> the madda* (a Boranaterritorial unit which roughly conforms to the boundaries <strong>of</strong> the lowest administrative unit, the PA). Through thisprocess, customary institutions involved in local natural resource management are identified. Maps <strong>of</strong> water <strong>and</strong> pastureare produced based on community knowledge <strong>of</strong> the natural resource base, <strong>and</strong> mobility patterns overlaid based oncommunity feedback. Following this exercise, communities <strong>and</strong> PA <strong>of</strong>ficials identify the problems related to the differentnatural resources, <strong>and</strong> a community action plan is prepared. For example, if there a problem has been identified with anexisting traditional water point, a plan is put in place to rehabilitate the point (like fortifying cattle troughs <strong>and</strong> wellladders). The entire process closely involves local government, who receive training on how to apply the tool. In Libendistrict, for example, local <strong>of</strong>ficials are now in a position to undertake participatory natural resource mapping withoutexternal support. The use <strong>of</strong> this tool has also been promoted among all PLI consortium members, broadening itsapplication.* Participatory resource mapping is currently being explored for the dheedha level, which is the largest Boranaterritorial unit crossing the boundaries <strong>of</strong> several PAs. This is to better underst<strong>and</strong> broader mobility patterns which canaffect <strong>and</strong> be affected by water development interventions.The PLI constructs water points, but major focus is also put on rehabilitating existing ones to buildon what is already there, as well as training <strong>and</strong> contracting local masons in water pointrehabilitation. Making the most <strong>of</strong> what is already in place is a cost effective means <strong>of</strong> improvingwater supply <strong>and</strong> allows partners to avoid the risks associated with new infrastructure. Training localmasons embeds a local cadre <strong>of</strong> expertise <strong>and</strong> thereby reduces dependence on external assistance.40 This project is currently in its second phase, PLI II, which runs from 2009-2013.41 This includes two <strong>of</strong> the partners who supported the production <strong>of</strong> this review.42 NGO partners in Phase I included Save the Children USA, Save the Children UK, the International RescueCommittee (IRC), the Agricultural Cooperative Development International/Volunteers in OverseasCooperative Assistance (ACDI/VOCA), the Global Livestock Collaborative Research Support Program underthe Pastoral Risk Management project (GL-CRSP PARIMA), Tufts University, CARE International, the UnitedStates Forest Service (USFS), <strong>and</strong> Action for Development (AFD) as well as others.62
Furthermore, attention is given to scheme management to ensure equitable access <strong>and</strong>representation. The PLI also focuses on other development needs in the rangel<strong>and</strong>s, includingveterinary health <strong>and</strong> access to markets.A review <strong>of</strong> the PLI found that “future USAID-funded water development programs should considerrequiring communities to make cash contributions for water point construction/rehabilitation. Thiswould encourage the growth <strong>of</strong> the private sector construction businesses in pastoral regions.”Since this recommendation was made, Save the Children USA’s pastoral programs have requiredcommunity contributions to water development. For example, in the case <strong>of</strong> de-silting ponds, aminimum <strong>of</strong> 40 per cent community contribution is required. The organization has learned that costrecovery is much more possible where customary institutions prioritize the intervention, organizethe labour <strong>and</strong> carry out the work. Importantly, they also take responsibility for maintenance, aswater points in pastoral areas – wells particularly – are invariably managed by customary institutions.The PLI is one <strong>of</strong> the first initiatives to build partnerships between different NGOs in an attempt toharmonize approaches to development <strong>and</strong> community engagement. It also emphasizes coordinationbetween NGOs <strong>and</strong> government 43 . Project staff works closely with Woreda Water ResourceDevelopment Offices to identify water points in need <strong>of</strong> rehabilitation, <strong>and</strong> organizes workshops tobring together NGOs, grassroots community groups <strong>and</strong> local government. Additionally, TuftsUniversity organizes regional technical coordination meetings in Afar <strong>and</strong> Oromia as a forum forconsortium members to inform local government on project progress, <strong>and</strong> to harmonize practice<strong>and</strong> approach between government initiatives <strong>and</strong> the PLI (PLI/ENABLE Afar Region TerminalReport, 2008). Furthermore, close linkages with the Livestock Policy Forum under the MoARD hasshown to be a highly effective way for the project to communicate lessons learned in the field <strong>and</strong> tobring to the table approaches which have been shown to work in the pastoral context for thebenefit <strong>of</strong> a wide audience.A further crucial value provided by the PLI experience is the use <strong>of</strong> impact assessments, pioneeredby Tufts University, to gauge the impact <strong>of</strong> interventions on livelihoods. The PLI is the first project inthe rangel<strong>and</strong>s to do this.Regional Drought Preparedness ProgramBegun in 2007 <strong>and</strong> funded by the European Commission’s humanitarian aid organisation (ECHO), theRegional Drought Preparedness Program, under the Regional Drought Decision (RDD), is anotherexample <strong>of</strong> emergency interventions with a livelihoods based emphasis in the rangel<strong>and</strong>s. It alsoillustrates a further case <strong>of</strong> bringing disparate actors together to work towards a common goal. TheFood <strong>and</strong> Agriculture Organization (FAO) coordinates the Regional Drought Preparedness program,with access to water for humans <strong>and</strong> livestock a prominent theme. Priority is given to traditional,affordable technologies familiar at the local level (Schimann <strong>and</strong> Philpott, 2007). ECHO partnersinclude DanChurchAid (DCA), SC-UK, Action Contre La Faime (ACF), Vétérinaires Sans Frontières(VSF), FARM AFRICA, Cooperazione Italiana (COOPI), Caritas/HCS, CordAid, <strong>and</strong> Oxfam GB.The program emphasizes strategic distribution <strong>of</strong> water points to open up existing pasture, asopposed to rehabilitating heavily degraded areas, which requires more time than the 18 monthsavailable for the project. In order to correctly distance <strong>and</strong> place water points, focus is placed onmapping existing water infrastructure as well as the physical attributes <strong>of</strong> an area. Mapping waterpoints is meant to improve planning <strong>and</strong> “facilitate the strategic spatial distribution <strong>of</strong> water points,settling resources-linked conflicts <strong>and</strong> rehabilitating rangel<strong>and</strong> potential” to improve productivity <strong>and</strong>livelihoods (Schimann <strong>and</strong> Philpott, 2007: 8).43 The PLI project helped inform rangel<strong>and</strong> management planning for the Oromia Growth Corridors Initiative,where PLI guidelines for the controlled burning <strong>of</strong> rangel<strong>and</strong>s were used.63
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Synthesis
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TABLE OF CONTENTSLIST OF ACRONYMS..
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTSI would like to exte
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LIST OF ACRONYMSACDI/VOCAACFAFDCDDC
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARYWater development
Page 12 and 13: understanding <str
Page 14 and 15: Agreed upon guidelines for water de
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Page 18 and 19: to inform their own work an
Page 20 and 21: Within pastoral areas, it is recogn
Page 23 and 24: Section 2. Overview of</str
Page 25 and 26: Dohrn, 2006). Spatially variable ra
Page 27 and 28: The following broad overview touche
Page 29 and 30: In areas of adequa
Page 31 and 32: observed response was for individua
Page 33 and 34: Specific to water development, seve
Page 35 and 36: Section 3. Water development todayT
Page 37 and 38: Eliciting payments for water from l
Page 39 and 40: ureaus 25 . The ministry’s interv
Page 41 and 42: National policy paints a conflictin
Page 43 and 44: will be given to pastoralists to en
Page 45 and 46: Water supplyGovernance and<
Page 47 and 48: vulnerable to conversion for other
Page 49 and 50: • Agro-pastoralists’ priorities
Page 51 and 52: Although the WSDP principles are se
Page 53 and 54: The Universal Access ProgramThe Uni
Page 55 and 56: • Help ensure that public works d
Page 57 and 58: However, the development model for
Page 59 and 60: Figure 4: Proposed pilot la
Page 61: Many international and</str
Page 65 and 66: CARE International, under the GWI,
Page 67: and traditional me
Page 70 and 71: • Understand exi
Page 72 and 73: 4.2 Key observations in the water d
Page 74 and 75: epresent a firm attempt to preserve
Page 76 and 77: learning from NGO experiences in Bo
Page 78 and 79: However, there are currently no spe
Page 80 and 81: 4.3 Conclusion, ways forward <stron
Page 82 and 83: In sum, pastoralism as a livelihood
Page 84 and 85: • Water interventions selected sh
Page 86 and 87: • Promote effective participation
Page 88 and 89: Gebre-Mariam, A. (1982). Organizati
Page 90: Schimann P. and Ph
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