community based management approach in the management of water ...

COMMUNITY BASED MANAGEMENT APPROACH IN THE MANAGEMENT OF WATER RESOURCES BY DIFFERENT ORGANISATIONS IN THE LAKE CHILWA BASIN, MALAWI by G. Chilima, B Nkhoma, G. Chavula and W. Mulwafu, University of Malawi

ABSTRACT This paper discusses the community-based management (CBM) approach as promoted by the Government and various NGOs in the management of water resources in the Lake Chilwa basin. It uses case examples of the Rural Water Supply, National Water Development Programme, Malawi Social Action Fund (MASAF), the Christian Service Committee (CSC) and Inter-Aide. The paper shows that there are striking similarities and differences in the approaches and procedures followed by the different organizations. Common to all is the active involvement and participation of the beneficiary community at nearly all phases of project cycle (inception, planning, designing, construction, operation and maintenance). All the NGOs consider that the involvement of the beneficiary communities in project implementation is crucial for sustaining any water supply programmes and installed facilities through building a sense of local ownership and capacity to supervise construction works and maintain the facilities. Government recommendations are highlighted and compared with what actually takes place on the ground. While the Malawi Government recommends that all the CBM activities should be coordinated through the District Assembly, the Area Development Committees, the Village Development Committees, and the Traditional Authorities, not all the NGOs follow this procedure. Experience from integrated groundwater projects and gravity-fed rural piped water schemes in many parts of Malawi show that CBM is a useful tool for achieving sustainability of installed water supply facilities such as boreholes, hand-pumps and taps. Our research in the Lake Chilwa Basin, however, indicates that while the CBM approach has had some notable positive contributions in the provision of quality water to the communities, there are many challenges and problems largely associated with inadequate coordination and monitoring of the different projects. The paper suggests that these problems and challenges need to be addressed in order to promote equitable and sustainable access to water resources.

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INTRODUCTION Community based management (CBM) is basically the involvement of the beneficiary communities in the management of water supply facilities. It is an approach that has been in use since the early 1980s, long before the birth of Community Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM). CBNRM may be said to be a broadening of the CBM, as the former not only looks at water resources but also other types of natural resources as well, e.g. forests, fish resources, wildlife etc. The focus in both CBM and CBNRM is to pay attention to consumer demand for services, build community capacity to manage resources and facilities, and consider long term institutional arrangements for technical assistance to communities. The need to involve beneficiary communities in resource supply projects has been realised for some time and is well established in the different laws, acts and policies of Malawi (USAID, 2000). The area under study is the Lake Chilwa basin situated to the south eastern part of Zomba district in the southern region of Malawi. It is a basin that covers some parts of Zomba, Machinga and Phalombe districts. According to the 1998 census, these districts had a total population of around 1.1 million with the largest proportion residing in the basin (Lake Chilwa Wetland State of the Environment Report). The study was done in five cluster areas along the Likangala river namely, Peri-Urban, Urban, Estates, Irrigation and Fisheries sectors. Data collection involved field study, institutional and key informant interviews, and focus group discussions. Prior to the 1980s, the Malawi Government was responsible for the provision and maintenance of all rural water supply facilities. For example, in addition to the construction of boreholes for the local communities, the Ministry of Water Development was also responsible for carrying out routine maintenance of hand-pumps. The same was true of the gravity-fed rural water supply schemes, although in the case of the latter, the communities were called upon to dig trenches for the pipeline network. During this period, different types of hand-pumps were installed on boreholes throughout the country. The popular ones were the Climax, the National, the Conssalen, the Bush, and the India MK2 pumps. Such a diversity of pumps made maintenance work very difficult. The problem was compounded by scarcity of spare parts for the pumps, which had to be ordered from abroad. The bureaucratic process involved in the procurement of these spare parts through the Government Stores Department only exacerbated the situation. As a result, broken-down boreholes would in some cases take several years before they could get repaired. The heavy and robust nature of the pumps was another hurdle in the maintenance of the pumps by the beneficiary community. A truck fitted with a winch was required for use in the maintenance of a broken borehole hand-pump. The problems highlighted above compelled the Government to initiate a programme of manufacturing pumps locally by Petroleum Services Company. This led to the birth of the Maldev (Malawi Developed) pump, which was later modified to the Afridev borehole handpump. The Afridev pump had now replaced all the other pumps in the country for rural water supply. However, a few Climax pumps are still in use in institutional boreholes where water has to be lifted over high heads. Locally-identified repair teams were trained by government and this complemented the installation of the Afridev pumps on most rural boreholes. The repair teams were selected from the Water Point Committees, which were formed at the village level and were also responsible for the general cleanliness of the water point surroundings and raising funds for the procurement of spare parts for the borehole or taps. This in essence

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marked the early stages of active involvement of communities in water resource management projects in Malawi. During the Mal del Plata Conference of 1977 when the period 1980-1990 was declared the Water Supply and Sanitation Decade (WSSD), it was realised that the provision of sustainable water supply and sanitation could only be achieved by getting the beneficiary communities more actively involved in the water supply project implementation. At a time when the government was facing severe budgetary constraints, community-based management of water and other resources was thought to be ideal for cost sharing, cost effectiveness, and reduction in government commitments. Central to the sustainability of water supply was the ownership of the facilities by the communities themselves and their ability to maintain wells, taps and borehole hand-pumps.

THE USE OF CBM APPROACH BY DIFFERENT NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS Table 1 summarises the steps and procedures that are followed by three of the NGOs active in the Lake Chilwa Basin in the provision of water resource facilities. It is noted that all other NGOs and donor projects in the area and elsewhere in Malawi basically follow the same procedures with minor modifications. All the NGOs in the Lake Chilwa Basin are supposed to ensure that communities are involved right from the project initiation stage by facilitating only those projects that originate from the communities themselves. While the Malawi Social Action Fund (MASAF) requires that projects are also approved by the Area Development Committees and District Assemblies, the other NGOs only require the approval of the local community leaders such as chiefs and village headmen. Borehole drilling projects by MASAF begin with pre-drilling training courses given to a team of three villagers in collaboration with the Water Department. Contractors aim this at empowering the communities and developing skills that enable them to oversee and monitor the drilling as it takes place. MASAF believes that it is the pre-drilling training that has minimised the problem of boreholes drying up in the dry months since the villagers themselves are in control over the contractors. The pre-drilling session is being carried out as part of community-based management approach. None of the other NGOs conduct pre-drilling courses. All the organisations however, conduct CBM training courses through various techniques. MASAF conducts a one-off formal training of the communities using handouts and classroom lectures that involve trainers from the Ministry of Health and Population Services, the Ministry of Women Youth and Community Services, and the Ministry of Water Development. This training is conducted after completion of a project and focuses on health, sanitation and maintenance of water supply facilities. Other NGOs such as Inter-Aide conduct CBM training of local community committees which in turn teach the rest of the community members informally, using drama, songs etc. Trainers from the government ministries are not involved. Unlike MASAF, Inter-Aide training is an on-going process and begins long before commencement of the project. According to the Ministry of Water Development, the objective of the training is to equip the local communities with skills that will enable them to manage the water sources (hand-pump/tap maintenance, community mobilization and leadership skills, sanitation and hygiene and fund raising) during the project period and long after external funding has been withdrawn. The training is seen by all the organisations to be critical for the 3

sustainability of water supply facilities and improvement of the quality of life of the rural community. Inter-Aide undertakes village-level operational maintenance of water facilities one year after completion of a project.

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Table 1 Procedure and requirements of the different organisations involved in the provision of water resource facilities in the Lake Chilwa Basin MASAF

INTER-AIDE

CSC

1. Community awareness Campaign

facilitated by Community Development Assistants

Not done

Done through the churches

2. Request originates from Communities

Through Village Development Committees then Area Development Committee, and District Assembly

Through Village Development Committee only

Through a member church

3. Project verification survey

By MASAF and District Environmental Committee

By Inter-Aide personnel

By CSC personnel

4. Hydrogeological survey

Done by MASAF but involving Ministry of Water Development

Done by Inter-Aide technicians only

Done by CSC personnel

5. Community Committees

Two required (temporary Pre-drilling Committee and permanent Village Health and Sanitation Committee)

Three required (Technical, Health and Sanitation and General Water Source Committees

Only one required (Village Health and Water Committee)

6. Community contribution

Local materials (sand, bricks, quarry stones)

Local materials (sand, bricks, quarry stones)

Local materials (sand, bricks, quarry stones)

7. Pre-drilling training

Done by MASAF and Ministry of Water Development.

Not done

Not done

8. Community-Based Management training

One-off formal training by MASAF and Ministry of Community Services, Youth and Gender, Ministry of Health and Population Services.

On-going by Inter-Aide

One-off formal training by CSC and Ministry of Community Services, Youth and Gender, Ministry of Health and Population Services.

9. Village level operation maintenance

Not done

Done

Not done

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THE CBM APPROACH RECOMMENDED BY THE MALAWI GOVERNMENT The Malawi Government through the Ministry of Water Development recommends basically the stages outlined in Table 1 except that CBM training should begin long before the installation of the water supply facility. It is argued that this approach would give the beneficiary community sufficient information and skills for the supervision of the actual construction works. This approach, it is assumed, would resolve the problems that have been observed in many parts of the country where borehole drilling contractors, have sometimes provided the community with wrong/inaccurate data on borehole depth, taking advantage of the communities’ lack of knowledge. The government further recommends that there should be sufficient community empowerment and monitoring of CBM activities by the different organisations. To this effect, it assigns Water Monitoring Assistants to designated areas to provide technical assistance to members of local water resource committees. Unfortunately due to resource and personnel constraints this has not been effectively carried out. The CBM approach by government also emphasises multi-sectoral collaboration in order to minimise fragmentation of efforts, waste of resources and competition for participatory actions. The government recommends that from the very beginning, implementation responsibilities for rural water supply projects should be community-level centred and involve relevant ministries, such as the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Community Services, Gender and Youth and the Ministry of Water Development. To ensure compliance with standards of quality, sanitation, health and hygiene in CBM water provision projects, the Ministry of Water Development underwent a highly consultative process, and developed a CBM Implementation Manual, which sets out guidelines. The manual is complemented by three technical manuals: Technical Manual on Groundwater Resources; Technical Manual on Sanitation, Hygiene Education and Community Mobilization; and Technical Manual on Rural Gravity Piped Water Schemes.

PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES FACING THE CBM APPROACH IN THE LAKE CHILWA BASIN Our studies in the Lake Chilwa Basin indicate that many wells have been sunk in the area by the different organisations. The table below shows the number of water sources provided by various organisations.

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Table 2

Water Sources

Provider of Water Source

No. of Sources

Percentage

Local Community

5

12.5

Individuals in the communities

19

47.5

Government

14

35.0

Inter Aide

2

5

TOTAL

40

100

(This information was drawn from the key informant interviews done for each of the water points) The table further indicates that there most water sources are provided by the government or are privately-owned. The government departments providing water sources in the area include the Municipality of Zomba, especially in the Urban and Peri-Urban sectors, the Rural Water Supply and National Water Development Programme. While some notable achievements have been made through the CBM approach (such as community participation and some element of sustainability) there are many issues that are reducing the effectiveness of community-based management in the Lake Chilwa basin. I) NON-FUNCTIONAL WELLS

It has been observed that about 55% of the wells in the study area dry up during the dry months of the year when water is needed most. Table 3 shows that 22 out of 40 water sources in the study area dry up in the dry season. The major reason for this development is that most water points were not constructed according to the recommended standards. In addition to skimping on equipment and installation standards, most of the contractors did not make adequate use of local knowledge with reference to identifying appropriate sites where water points could be installed. Besides, the local communities who were charged with the responsibility to supervise contractors lacked the capacity to oversee the drilling works since they are not always trained and this was easily taken advantage of by some contractors. Table 3. Seasonal Variations of Water Sources Cluster

All Year round

Seasonal

Urban

3

3

Peri Urban

2

4

Estates

4

4

Irrigation

7

6

Fisheries

2

5

8

TOTAL

18

22

Pump breakdowns are also quite common and when these occur, wells remain non-functional for long periods (usually several months at a time) as the communities often do not have funds for repair works. At times, communities have had to go back to the service providers for assistance in diagnosing and repairing. This indicates lack of technical capacity by the communities, despite the efforts by the different organisations in addressing capacity building through CBM training. It has also been noted that the communities do not have funds readily available for maintenance and repair works of the water facilities though this is emphasized in the CBM training. Unfortunately, communities only start to contribute to the fund when there is a breakdown; and in any case these committees are most of the times not functional hence they cannot enforce contributions towards the fund. Further, not all users of a village water facility are resident in the village and, as a result, they are not compelled to contribute towards the maintenance fund, which frustrates those that have contributed. II) T OO MANY UNCOORDINATED COMMITTEES

The communities are “full of committees”. For instance, apart from the Water Committees, there are School Committees, Church Committees, Health Committees, Village Natural Resource Committees, Beach Village Committees etc, all of them involving often the same members but the committees are poorly coordinated and follow different rules. Even within the Water Resource Management sector, different NGOs require different numbers of committees, some of which may not be necessary and they duplicate each other’s roles. For example, conflicts arise between the Village Health and Water Committee and Borehole Maintenance Committee where it is not clear who is in charge of repairs for broken-down boreholes. Further, committee members are usually involved in more than one committee, sometimes causing conflicts of interests and reduced commitment. It has also been observed that some committees attach monetary and other added benefits which further leads to reduced participation and commitment of members in those Water Committees that do not attach such benefits. III) POOR MONITORING AND COORDINATION OF CBM ACTIVITIES

There are subtle differences in the way CBM is presented and practiced by the different organizations, which have an impact on its success. While the objectives of the different organisations are the same, and they deal with the same communities, using different approaches without a clear mechanism of co-ordination is of great concern. The result is that communities often get “confused”. A good example is the World Bank funded project to drill 50 boreholes without requiring village contributions in the same area where the communities are required to contribute MK15000 towards a maintenance fund before a borehole is constructed. The communities are reluctant to contribute this sum when similar projects by other donors do not impose the same condition.

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Unlike CBNRM where the coordinating roles of the District Assemblies and other permanent government structures are apparent, CBM initiatives are mostly community-centred. Studies in the Lake Chilwa Basin indicate that even the Ministry of Water Development has no clear roles in CBM. The effect of CBM in the Lake Chilwa Basin thus de-links communities from District Assemblies and other organisational structures. The result is that since each organisation is operating semi-independently, standards can be compromised. There is a clear role that the Ministry of Water Development and District organisational structures can play in coordination. Most NGOs however, prefer not to go through these structures, to avoid getting bogged down in bureaucracy and mixed up in politics. A further impact of lack of a proper coordinated structure is that communities are not fully aware of where to channel their problems and requests on water issues. An example is an incidence in one Village where the committee contributed some money and other materials in anticipation for a borehole that never materialised. The members of the water committee said they have no clue where to seek assistance. GENDER ISSUES Table 4 shows a number of water committees formed as a way of facilitating CBM activities in the Lake Chilwa basin. Both men and women are members of the water committees. This is so because almost all the organizations that provide water sources advise the communities to include women in the water committees. There is a dominance of women in three committees. The male members in these were included primarily to carry out maintenance work for the sources. This is also true with the maintenance committee in one village where a shallow well is under construction with funding from Inter Aide. No woman was included in this maintenance committee of four members. This gender profile has many problems, which more often affect the objectives of the CBM. The keeping of women away from maintenance committees serves to widen the gender division of labour where maintenance is labeled “men’s work”. As suggested by Jackson (1996), this leads to delays in repairing broken down facilities since men are often away from water sources doing other routine chores when breakdowns occur. Studies elsewhere in Southern Africa have shown that failure to involve women in the identification of sites, design and management of water sources results in disuse and low financial contribution to management funds. In the Lake Chilwa basin, it has been shown that while most women understand the need to contribute to maintenance funds, committee discussions and other development activities, their views are often overshadowed by the rest of the members and chairpersons, the majority of whom are men.

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Table 4. Water Committees in Likangala Catchment Area, July, 2000 Name

Cluster

Male

Female

Positions of female member

Total

Ramsey Village Committee

Irrigation sector

4

6

VC, S, VS,CM

10

Chilikho village Committee

Irrigation

6

4

CL, TR, CM

10

Ramsey 2 Village Committee

Irrigation

7

3

CL, CM

10

Namakoka Water

Estates

6

4

Tr, CM

10

Ramsey Village Committee

Irrigation

Nil

5

All

5

Mteche/ Naphambo Borehole committee

Per-Urban

nil

10

All

10

Habitat Communal Tap committee

Urban

1

9

All except Maintenance

10

Ramsey 1 Inter Aide Sanitation committee

Irrigation

4

3

Cl, Tr, Cm

7

Ramsey Inter Aide Maintenance committee

Irrigation

4

nil

Nil

4

Committee

NB: CL=Chairlady, VC=Vice Chairlady, S=Secretary, VS=Vice Secretary, Tr=Treasurer, Cm=Committee member

IV) T IME AND LABOUR COSTS

It is critical to remember that calling on members of communities to take part in development project implementation and committee meetings often interferes with other productive 11

activities of the communities. In short, there are time and labour costs involved. Organizers of CBM activities in the Lake Chilwa basin often fail to recognise this and the result is that communities do not participate fully. The most vulnerable group is women who, due to their being present more often than men (who leave the area to work in towns), are often targeted for voluntary work, making them take some time off from their productive activities. Some members try to “create time” to do their other activities by frequently absenting themselves from committee meetings and development activities while others delegate responsibilities to their children. This can have negative effects both for the individuals and families themselves as well as for the proper running of water and other committees.

CONCLUSIONS This study has shown that Government-controlled water resource projects that do not originate from or actively involve the beneficiary communities cannot be sustainable. The different NGOs in the Lake Chilwa basin recognise that Community Based Management is the best way of achieving the sustainability of community water supply resources such as boreholes, hand-pumps, and taps as it fosters a sense of ownership and enhances community empowerment. However, the CBM approach in the Lake Chilwa basin faces a number of organisational challenges and problems that need to be addressed. These include problems of non-functional committees, non-functional boreholes, poor coordination, poor monitoring, failure to address gender issues, and poor recognition of community labour and time costs. Government has laid out CBM procedures that, if implemented, could resolve some of the problems and challenges highlighted in this paper. Unfortunately some of the NGOs do not follow these procedures and there is no mechanism in place to monitor and control the activities of the NGOs.

RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Pre-drilling training should be conducted by all the organisations that are involved in provision of water facilities. Training should be as comprehensive as possible and should involve experienced specialists from the Ministry of Water Development. 2. The government should actively play a coordinating, monitoring and facilitating role and ensure that policy guidelines in the Implementation Manual are adhered to. The Ministry of Water Development through the District Water Monitoring Assistants should take the lead at the village and district levels. 3. Enforce compliance with recommendations on CBM training and delivery. CBM training should always involve the three ministries, Ministry of Water Development, Ministry of Health and Population Services and Ministry of Community Services, Gender and Youth and should be carried out before commencement of a project and also have another follow up session. This will ensure that there is a functional committee that will also take care of funding for maintenance works.

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4. NGOs should avoid establishing new committees but rather assign water responsibilities to well established existing committees such as school committees, natural resource committees, church committees, among others. 5. Increase public awareness of the available water resource supply activities in the area through Community Development Assistants in the District Assembly and the NGOs themselves. 6. Link the communities to permanent organisational structures through the District Assembly.

REFERENCES Baden S (1993) “Practical Strategies for Involving Women as well as Men in Water Sanitation Activities” (Report Prepared for the Gender Office, SIDA, May, 1993) Chavula G and Mulwafu W (2000) “Hazardous Water: An Assessment of Quality Water Resources in the Likangala Catchment Area for Domestic Purposes” (Unpublished paper) Jackson C “Gender Analysis and Environmentalism” in Radcliff, M and Boston, T (eds.) Social Theory and Global Environment (London: Rutledge, 1996) Malawi Government, Ministry of Water Development, Community Based Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene Education, Implementation Manual (Lilongwe: Ministry of Water Development 1998. draft) Malawi Government, Environmental Affairs Department, State of the Environment Report (Lilongwe: Environment Affairs Department, 1998) Malawi Government, Environmental affairs Department, Lake Chilwa Wetland State of the Environment Report (2000) Malawi Government Ministry of Water Development Water Resources Management Policy and Strategies (WRMPS) (Lilongwe: Ministry of Water Development 1999, Draft)

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