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Water and Sanitation Projects for Border Communities Development

GEF/UNDP Zarumilla-Puyango/Tumbes-Catamayo/Chira projects

By IW:LEARN

December 11^th, 2019

Earlier this year, Enma and her family of six did not have any toilet or shower facilities in their home. Six months later, Enma’s family and the 137 residents living in El Atillo in Ecuador all finally have increased quality of life thanks to the construction of basic sanitary units in each of their homes.

Enma doing some washing in her home. Photo credits: María José Carvajal and Esteban Valdospinos

Hundreds of families have benefited from the infrastructure put in place by the Integrated Transboundary Water Resources Management (ITWRM) Project of the Puyango-Tumbes, Catamayo-Chira and Zarumilla watersheds and aquifers. The works are being carried out with the collaboration of Ecuador's National Water Secretariat, the Peruvian National Water Authority and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

So far, water and sanitation projects have been built in the Provinces of El Oro and Loja in Ecuador. The projects include the construction, rehabilitation and upgrading of drinking water and wastewater treatment systems, and the implementation of basic sanitary units. The aim of the work is to promote integrated water resource management, control pollution from multiple sectors and to increase access to water in the aforementioned watersheds.

Water and Sanitation Projects for Border Communities Development

According to data from the United Nations, 80% of global wastewater is discharged into water without proper treatment. Untreated wastewater released in surface waters (lakes, rivers, oceans) causes problems affecting ecosystems and people’s health.

Sewerage and wastewater treatment systems allow for adequate disposal of wastewater. Such systems therefore maintain a better water quality in the border zone, which conseqyently benefits both Ecuadoreans in the high watersheds, and Peruvians in the low watersheds.

Projects that contribute to gender equity

Women and girls are responsible for collecting water in 80% of households without access to water. This exacerbates gender inequity since women must spend long and exhausting hours obtaining this vital resource, and girls even neglect their studies in order to support this work in their homes.

Doria, from the community of Guineo Chico says:

"before the drinking water system and the basic sanitary units were implemented it was very difficult to wash clothes, do dishes, etc. We had to go to the river and ration the water a lot because there was tap water for only one hour every other day."

They had a tap with untreated water and it did not come every day. Doria also commented that the residents, especially children, were affected by stomach diseases, though they did not know for certain that this situation had a direct relationship with the water quality.

The role of women in integrated water resource management is essential as they are the water collectors when homes do not have access to clean and safe drinking water. They are the ones responsible for the rationing and management of water for domestic, agricultural and food use. Women are also concerned about hygiene and family health, both of which are directly related to water.

When a drinking water and sanitation project is carried out in a community it benefits all people, especially women and girls.

Management and sustainability models

Complementing these projects, and in order to contribute to the establishment of a financial, social and environmental sustainability framework, participatory management models for drinking water and sanitation were developed in the communities where these water infrastructure works were built. In a participatory manner, proposals for the improvement of drinking water systems and the setting of an optimal cost for the drinking water tariff were defined such that the sustainability of the service would be guaranteed. An analysis of the administrative, commercial, financial and social aspects related to the provision of these services was taken into account in the development of these models.

The pilot projects are highlighted as part of the lessons learned from the ITWRM Project, as they represent a comprehensive action in water resources management. Based on an analysis of the problems of the border area, they provide a viable and strategic solution; and are part of a sustainable management model of environmental and economic resources.