Participatory and integrated water management
02 feb 2011
Kenya is a water-scarce country with less than 1,000 m3 renewable freshwater supplies per capita. To meet future water demand Kenya aims to 'conserve water sources and start new ways of harvesting and using rain and underground water'.
Surface waters cover only two percent of Kenya's total surface area while more than 80 percent of Kenya is made up of arid and semi-arid lands. The uneven distribution of rainfall and temporal and spatial variations often lead to recurring droughts in the north and east and to floodings in the rainy seasons. As a result, local populations have limited socio-economic opportunities. More than half of the annual water abstraction is used for domestic purposes and livestock production while the remaining water is used for irrigation.
There are hardly management strategies, and water resources allocation decisions related to surface and groundwater abstractions are not based on adequate data. Controlling abstraction should therefore have the highest priority.
Although licensing is carried out quite comprehensively most license holders do not comply with abstraction according to licenses. Kenya's national average of water lost (through leaks, theft, or through legal usage for which no payment is made) in the systems after treatment is between 40 and 50%. Special attention should be paid to the sustainability of facilities and water and energy saving technologies.
Kenya aims to improve its infrastructure to provide safe drinking water from sustainable resources and to increase access to water, especially for the population living in drought and flood level areas (MASP 2009-2011).
NICHE support will focus on rural water management and provision. According to UNICEF, more than half of the population does not have access to clean water. Issues at institutional level raised during consultations are: the need for improved policy making and to develop community environmental management skills.
At organizational level NICHE will focus on:
- developing educational programmes in rural water management and provision;
- involving more women in water source management.
With regard to human resource development NICHE will focus on:
- developing entrepreneurial skills for rural water schemes;
- improving practical skills of graduates at all levels.
Opportunities
NICHE has identified a range of opportunities in rural water supply and management, including:
- developing and/or reviewing curricula in order to include water management and water governance in rural areas taking into account gender issues;
- developing post-secondary courses and education, including entrepreneurial skills courses, on sustainable water provision in rural areas and appropriate techniques;
- training of trainers and students in (rural) management and other professional skills, existing contexts and environments, partly in local languages;
- producing new or revised curricula aimed at delivering competent technicians;
- developing curricula on the socio-economic aspects of water;
- aligning new and existing courses with the latest development in water management and provision, and with the demand of the market.