Increasing synergy between SDG6 and SDG16 is possible in Nepal, if stakeholders act now. In 2018, Nepal, one of the world’s youngest democracies, held federal elections three years after the adoption of a federal system in the 2015 Constitution. This federal system, with three levels of government, is now responsible for fulfilling the aspirations of 29 million people and for achieving the SDGs and moving Nepal out of the status of being among the least developed countries. This is a major challenge: twenty-five per cent of the population lives below the poverty line, more than half of the population lacks access to “at least basic” sanitation, and the country is ranked 124 out of 180 in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index. But as the country redraws its provinces and builds new decentralized institutions at a provincial level, there is also an immense opportunity for Nepal to tackle its many governance challenges – including those pertaining to integrity and corruption. This is a critical moment: with new institutions come new opportunities and new risks, especially where the capacities of officials in the provinces are still in the early stages of development. Want to know more about our work? New map; new institutions; new risks and opportunities It is often assumed that decentralization processes will have a positive impact in reducing corruption and increasing integrity, due to their potential for increased representativity in decision-making. Research, however, highlights that in some circumstances decentralization can actually result in increased corruption. It is, therefore, a critical juncture in the struggle for increased integrity in decision-making. In Nepal, new government agencies are now being set up in the provinces, where more than 60 per cent of the elected representatives are political novices. A lot of money is going to flow into these institutions, which will be responsible for providing essential services like healthcare, education, water, and sanitation. As this process takes place, it is important to ensure that strong legislation and regulation are implemented and that governance is transparent. It is also crucial that roles and responsibilities be made as clear as possible — in decentralization processes in other countries, such as Kenya, we’ve seen that uncertainty on roles and resource transfers create integrity risks. Officials must be held accountable to ensure that basic services are inclusive and fulfil the tenets of human rights and are not undermined by corruption, nepotism, fraud, theft or any other possible integrity risks. If there are weak governance mechanisms in place, corruption, malpractices, and collusion will thrive and public trust in the new structures will erode. Transfer of knowledge and capacity to new institutions requires support and engagement In the process of decentralisation, there is a risk that knowledge and capacity built up at the national level over years, including integrity, is lost. The Water Integrity Network (WIN) has been working for the past seven years with the Helvetas Swiss Inter-Cooperation and local partners, the Federation of Drinking Water and Sanitation Users Nepal, to support better WASH service delivery, especially to vulnerable communities. The focus of our Water Integrity Programme, which is supported by the Swiss Development Cooperation, is on transparency, accountability and participatory (TAP) practices for improving integrity in the WASH sector. One major programme achievement was the incorporation of water integrity principles into the final draft of the Nepal Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene Sector Development Plan (2016–2030). In the document, water integrity is described as the adherence of water stakeholders and institutions to the principles of transparency, accountability and participation, based on the core values of honesty, equity and professionalism. The plan also refers to the need for both vertical and horizontal accountability across the WASH governance structure. Integrity, by requiring that public interest be paramount, provides the basis for accountable WASH projects and service delivery. For good accountability in WASH services and operation it is necessary that politicians, policy-makers and WASH service providers are transparent, accept responsibility for their actions, and recognize that they should be called upon to give an account of why and how they have acted or failed to act. However, due to the decentralization, this national draft WASH sector development plan no longer has strong ownership within the government and there is a risk that it might be abandoned. There is now an urgent need to translate the national policy principles into provincial planning documents. Building the capacity of local stakeholders The Federation of Water Users and Sanitation Users Nepal (FEDWASUN) has been an essential partner of the Water Integrity Programme in Nepal. Special attention has been given to building the voice and capacities of its members around Transparency, Accountability, and Participation. FEDWASUN is a federation of water and sanitation user groups that are responsible for service provision and tariff collection at the local level due to the very limited capacity of the government. They work closely with government agencies. Due to the current changes in roles and responsibilities, FEDWASUN is being restructured but there is still no clarity on how the new relationship with the government will evolve. These changes, and the incorporation of new people into FEDWASUN who were not part of the integrity training, can result in the integrity capacity and focus of FEDWASUN being diluted or even lost. It will be important, at the local level, for the administration to collaborate with FEDWASUN to ensure that the capacities and knowledge of FEDWASUN members can continue to support the government agencies in strengthening integrity and governance in WASH service delivery. Renewing engagement for sustained change The Water Integrity Programme in Nepal has been supporting the transition to the new federal structures, ensuring water integrity principles are embedded in action plans and that the capacity of right-holders and duty-bearers is enhanced. While the project was originally focused on national and district levels, due to the establishment of the new provinces, the focus of the work needs to shift. Unfortunately, the current water integrity programme is ending at the end of July 2019, at a crucial time in Nepal’s democracy. However, moving forward, Helvetas Swiss Inter Cooperation has committed to mainstreaming water integrity in their Water Resources Management Programme (WARM-P) to ensure that stakeholders are able to translate integrity principles into action and to transfer their learnings to other INGOs and CSOs involved in developing water user master plans. WIN will also continue engagement on the topic of water integrity and explore opportunities to strengthen collaboration with partners on increasing integrity and reducing corruption in WASH. We are actively seeking new engagement and partnership opportunities. For Nepal WASH sector stakeholders to capitalize on past learning and get on track to achieve #SDG6, a top priority is to focus simultaneously on #SDG16 and tackle governance issues to strengthen institutions. The time to support integrity initiatives in Nepal is now.

Me: “Why is collecting water a woman’s job?” Male villager: Says with a grin, “Because it has always been! In our tradition men and women have been assigned specific (household) duties” In the village of Kapau, Zambia, fetching water has always been the task of women (and children). This is a deeply ingrained cultural institution or norm. Institutions - not to be confused with ‘organisations’ - are understood as ‘rules in use’ in a place. It is these institutions that affect how interventions are made to improve water access. Water access in this context is defined as people’s ability to derive benefits from water, according to a definition of access by Ribot & Peluso (2003). World Bank’s The Rising Tide report (2017) says that water-related norms “serve to assert status and power and reinforce established hierarchies”. Norms, therefore, have to be carefully taken into account, especially in terms of gender, in the design and implementation of any intervention to improve water access. Generally, new water infrastructure such as a borewell, pump, pipes, taps etc. is installed to reduce the burden of the water fetcher, but local norms can counter-intuitively affect that purpose, as we illustrate with the example of Kapau, which also shows us that water access has as much to do with governance as it has to do with infrastructure. This blog is a summary of seven months of research conducted both in Zambia and the Netherlands as a part of a post-graduate programme with IHE Delft funded by the Coca Cola foundation and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme. Through this research, it can be asserted that the sociocultural norms of a place greatly influence the pillars of integrity: transparency, accountability, and participation: a) by affecting what people wish to or are allowed to say; b) by affecting which complaints are acceptable and; c) by affecting who is allowed to speak or take. A new borewell for Kapau: the interplay between water integrity and norms Kapau is a remote village in the Western Province, Zambia, with a population of almost 1300 people. The people here are so poor that they barter maize for everyday products within the village, and not many use currency notes unless required. The village has no formal electricity or telephone connection. People who live here are from the Lozi tribe and have distinct cultural practices. The region is known for its periodic rivers and shallow water pans amidst the extended Kalahari sand dunes. The water table is shallow and water is relatively easy to reach but water access is still an issue. The Ministry of Local Government and Housing’s Department of Infrastructure and Support Services (DISS) has been subsidising the construction of borewells under the National Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Programme (NRWSS), funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB). The NRWSS Program is being implemented by involving stakeholders to increase the water supply network and reduce the walking distance for women and children. The village in need of the wells must apply in writing to the authority concerned. The local authority validates the application, checking during a field visit whether the situation is dire enough for the construction of a subsidised borewell. Once the situation has been confirmed and the application fee is paid, the construction order is sanctioned and the borewell gets constructed for the villagers. When the water point used to be relatively far, both men and women would fetch water with an ox-cart. When Kapau received its borewell, and the water point became closer, the water fetching activity became ‘trivial’, and was fully delegated to women and children. This activity, though ‘trivialised’, still takes five hours in the day for many women (and children), and requires significant effort: lifting 20-litre buckets and walking in the hot, sometimes thorny, Kalahari sand. Complex gender norms The ‘last mile’ of water service delivery strongly depends on local norms, which establish how chores are managed and distributed. Religion can play a role in how these norms are set in stone. In an interview, the pastor in Kapau pronounced that their faith instituted delegation of chores. He said: “Man is the head of the house. And our faith has assigned certain roles for my wife and for me”. Other cultural practices and traditions also influence water-related norms. For example, the payment of a bride price. Many in Kapau have come to understand that once money is paid to a woman’s parents before getting married, the woman will do all the house chores. At kitchen parties, which are like bachelorette parties hosted for the bride, older women teach the bride-to-be how to perform household chores gracefully. Complaints about chores or body pain can lead to divorce. Many are therefore afraid of voicing pain and sometimes also accept it as their ‘duty’. How norms are perceived and experienced, differs greatly. Older women, new mothers, young men, and children will sense the distance to the water point differently. At the village borewell, many interviewed children claimed to detest water fetching, saying it is a painful ordeal. But some children, especially girls, love their job. They feel the act is satisfying as they feel good helping their mothers. Some of them leave early from school just so that they can fetch the required number of buckets. How norms affect participation Norms affect participation in village meetings convened by the village chief also known as the Induna. Both men and women attend these meetings, although mothers caring for small children are often held back by their household duties and find it difficult to attend. There are instances where older children share domestic tasks and make it easier for women to attend. There are also exceptions. A few individuals have deviated from gender norms. Well-educated English-speaking women, older women, and the wife of an influential man were all more vocal in the meetings. This attendance by both men and women does not mean, however, that issues are given equal representation. What constitutes a valid issue to be voiced, and who voices it, is deeply impacted by local norms. During interviews carried out in the village, body ‘pain’ or ‘distance’ were acknowledged as issues mostly by women and few men, but were not considered worthy enough to be voiced at meetings. Most people interviewed (including women) echoed this statement: “It’s a woman’s job, and it is part and parcel of life”. Some women complained that the men did not allow them to speak. A few elder women said: “Younger women do not have ideas, hence they choose to remain quiet”. These patronizing regulations affect meaningful participation. Future considerations The research highlights that new infrastructure alone does not necessarily reduce the burden of fetching water on women and children. Cultural norms are important, they reinstate people’s sense of belonging to the place, and they are valued and respected. In terms of gender, their impact on how water sector interventions are carried out and their results is considerable. An important takeaway is that support programs such as the NRWSS should not only inform themselves well on cultural norms that affect women and marginalised communities but also stock-take on how water access creates a shift in power dynamics within the accepted hierarchies. In this situation, it is imperative as a first step, to foster more inter and intra-village interaction. Researchers from LSE, Fujiwara et al. (2014) have published a report which states that when people engage in sports, the likelihood of volunteering rises by 3% while through arts it is 7%. With more platforms to engage discussion increases among different groups of people. In Kapau for example, although not all women spoke in formal village meetings, later the same group would congregate and discuss in someone’s private courtyard. Enabling such intermediaries and informal spaces to facilitate exchange, allows the ‘issues’ (which were otherwise considered trivial) to get acknowledged, and thereby be voiced in public forums later. Interactive cultural events, and local sports competitions, especially during the festivals, provide an opportunity to navigate through the cultural norms in place and voice out the issues in regard to access to water. These activities, therefore, support the promotion of integrity pillars, transparency, accountability and participation (TAP). Neha Mungekar is a water manager, urban designer and documentary photographer from India. This blog is based on her MSc research “Whose job is it to fetch water?” – Understanding the role of gender in access to water for domestic use in Kapau, Zambia at IHE Delft, Netherlands. This research was conducted in connection with the project “Women and Water for Change in Communities”. The project aims to promote the inclusion of women in water-related decision-making and strengthen the role of women as sustainability change agents in rural African communities. Action Research activities conducted at three sites in Zambia, Tanzania and Uganda aim to improve our understanding of what ‘empowerment’ truly means, and how it can be meaningfully supported by development partners. All activities were made possible by support from The Coca-Cola Foundation (Community Grant IG-2016-1764) and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (Grant No. 689744). Want to know more about our work? Photo Credits: Neha Mungekar References: Ribot, J.C. and Peluso, N.L., A theory of access. Rural Sociology, 2003

Globally, in 2015, 2.3 billion people lacked even a basic sanitation service and 892 million people worldwide still practice open defecation. The World Health Organization (WHO) define sanitation as access to and use of facilities and services for the safe disposal of human urine and faeces. A safe sanitation system is a system designed and used to separate human excreta from human contact at all steps of the sanitation service chain from toilet capture and containment through emptying, transport, treatment (in-situ or offsite) and final disposal or end-use. Safe sanitation systems must meet these requirements in a manner consistent with human rights. In 2016, 21% of healthcare facilities globally had no sanitation service (they had unimproved toilets or no toilets) and the healthcare facilities serving more than 1.5 billion people had no sanitation service. [2] Half of these unacceptably large numbers of people without access to decent sanitation are female – women and girl children – a group particularly at risk from poor sanitation services. - Figure 1: Access to sanitation according to the JMP 2017 report Want to know more about our work? Why are women and girl children particularly at risk? Women and girl children have different sanitation needs from men, not least because of biological differences such as menstruation, pregnancy and the challenges of peeing standing up. During menstruation, pregnancy and postnatal stages adequate sanitation services are critical. Women and girls often stay home during menstruation if their school or workplace does not have adequate sanitation services. Each day, more than 800 million women between the ages of 15 and 49 are menstruating.[3] The school enrolment and success of girls is negatively impacted when safe sanitation services are not provided. Female teachers working in schools without adequate sanitation, or women workers or business owners without access to nearby facilities, face the choice of the indignity, danger and health risks of open defecation or use of unsafe facilities, or leaving their work. [4] Pregnant women generally need to urinate more often and dehydration to avoid this is a particular risk. In addition, about 44 million pregnant women have hookworm infections arising from inadequate sanitation[5]. In many places, in the absence of appropriate sanitation facilities, cultural norms mean that women wait until it is dark to go to the toilet. In order to avoid having to go to the toilet too often, women often drink less, resulting in urinary tract infections, chronic constipation and other gastric disorders, and dehydration – as mentioned, a particular health threat for pregnant women.[6] In addition, as has been well documented across the developing world, women and girl children are most often responsible for cleaning toilet facilities and disposing of human waste. The cleaning of toilets and the disposal of excreta without adequate health protection or equipment puts the health of these women and girl children at risk. Women are also generally the caregivers for family members who are ill as a result of poor sanitation services, hampering their economic productivity. Women and girls also face physical threats where sanitation services are inadequate. They are vulnerable to violence, including sexual violence, when they use public or open sanitation facilities, especially if they have to use those facilities at night. Such violence has been well documented in many countries, including, for example, Fiji, India, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Kenya, Ethiopia, and South Africa, and the tsunami refugee camps of Sri Lanka[7] For women with disabilities, the challenges are exacerbated significantly. [8] But what of the connection to corruption? All of this is known, recorded, and of significant concern in the WASH sector. The World Bank estimates that close to USD20 billion per annum is required to extend basic sanitation services to all, and close to USD50 billion per annum to meet the SDG target of universal access to safely managed sanitation services[9]. Basic sanitation facilities are essentially the provision of a toilet facility of some form, while safely managed sanitation services are not shared, enable excreta to be safely disposed of in situ or treated off-site, and provide handwashing facilities with soap and water. According to the UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS) 2017 report, countries have increased their budgets for water, sanitation and hygiene at an annual average rate of 4.9% over the last three years. Yet, 80% of countries report that water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) financing is still insufficient to meet nationally-defined targets for WASH services.[10] Corruption in the sanitation sector results in a reduction in the availability of already limited financing for the provision of sanitation, or in the delivery of sub-standard facilities and services. Poor and dishonest monitoring of service delivery by governments compounds the problem.[11] In addition, Pusok has shown how, in the case of public-private partnerships for the delivery of water and sanitation services in contexts of high levels of corruption, attention is focused on the more lucrative water provision, resulting in low levels of sanitation delivery. She argues that ‘corrupt governments have no incentives to promote coverage in the sanitation sector’. [12] Building the integrity wall Corruption in the sanitation sector is widespread, and the impacts are felt most by the poor and the marginalised who lack access to safely managed sanitation. Amongst the poor and the marginalised, women and girl children are hit hardest, given their specific sanitation needs and duties. Corruption in the sanitation sector results in an ongoing violation of the rights to dignity, health, and education of women and girl children. It is a scourge that is insufficiently highlighted, and insufficiently addressed. It is a battle that we have to take on if we want to meet that SDG on sanitation, and enable women and girls to achieve their full potential as active and equal members of thriving societies. Given the scale of funding that is needed to achieve sanitation for all WIN recommends that anti-corruption measures are embedded into all levels of programme/project planning and implementation from the start, creating a wall of integrity through a combination of measures that improve transparency, accountability, and participation and reduce corruption at all levels of planning and implementation. Corruption in the sanitation sector should not be treated casually. We have to take it on if we want to meet that SDG on sanitation, and enable women and girls to achieve their full potential as active and equal members of thriving societies. References [1] Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene: 2017 update and SDG baselines. Geneva: World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 2017. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO. [2] World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund, WASH in health care facilities: Global Baseline Report 2019, WHO and UNICEF, Geneva, 2019. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO. [3] http://mirror.unhabitat.org/documents/media_centre/APMC/Sanitation%20-%20A%20womans%20issue.pdf [4] Needs and Trends in Menstrual Management: A Global Analysis; Ashwini Sebastian and Vivian Hoffmann, University of Maryland and Sarah Adelman, MountHolyoke College; [5] https://lifewater.org/blog/sanitation-for-women/ [6] https://www.unicef.org/wash/index_womenandgirls.html [7] https://www.waterpathogens.org/book/gender-and-sanitation [8] http://www.seri-sa.org/index.php/more-news/818-video-sanitation-for-women-with-disabilities-living-in-informal-settlements-10-august-2018 [9] The Costs of Meeting the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal Targets on Drinking Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Summary Report Guy Hutton and Mili Varughese, WSP/World Bank 2016 [10] https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/13-04-2017-radical-increase-in-water-and-sanitation-investment-required-to-meet-development-targets [11] https://www.newsclick.in/glaring-corruption-implementation-swachh-bharat-abhiyan, https://swachhindia.ndtv.com/corruption-swachh-survekshan-survey-assessors-caught-accepting-bribes-aurangabad-4816/, http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/2018/apr/11/corruption-in-swachh-bharat-raises-a-stink-1799790.html, https://www.indiatoday.in/india/rajasthan/story/swachh-bharat-mission-scheme-narendra-modi-reward-corruption-rajasthan-1054904-2017-09-29, https://www.pratidintime.com/massive-corruption-in-construction-of-swachh-bharat-toilets/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swachh_Bharat_mission [12] Pusok, K 2016: Public-Private Partnerships and Corruption in the Water and Sanitation Sectors in Developing Countries, Political Research Quarterly 2016 Vol 69(4), University of Utah

Corruption is draining water sector finances; looking away doesn’t help. Globally, only seven in ten people had access to safe water-managed water services and only four in ten had access to safely managed sanitation services in 2017. Water sector financing, however, is falling behind what is needed to make progress and achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6. Attracting new financing is a commonly acknowledged, major challenge for the WASH sector. Sector analysts and stakeholders regularly point to poor governance as a major stumbling block to attracting investments (GIZ, 2018; World Bank, 2017). Corruption and poor integrity in the WASH sector are important elements of poor governance. Unfortunately, they are usually only mentioned in passing as factors in the equation. They should be looked at in more detail. Conservative estimates indicate that the global water sector loses more than USD 75 billion to corruption every year. We cannot afford to disregard these figures. An integrity lens provides a new perspective on the challenge of attracting investment. It points to a key precondition: to bridge the water sector financing gap, we also need to spend available money more efficiently and fairly. This is also a big challenge, but one we can tackle with targeted integrity measures. Want to know more about our work? Poor integrity contributes to inefficient investments Through fraud, embezzlement, or bribes, money seeps out of the WASH sector instead of being used for its intended purposes. This is obviously inefficient. Unfortunately, there are no standard patterns of poor integrity and perverse incentives can be hard to spot. The OECD identified procurement as the government activity most vulnerable to waste, fraud, and corruption due to the size of financial flows. Collusion between project owners and bidders, kick-backs, bid rigging, and bid suppression are relatively common examples of corruption in all infrastructure development, including water and sanitation. As a result, projects become more expensive than they should be. They are not built up to standard and break down sooner than they should if they ever even become fully operational. There are also serious integrity concerns in the planning and design phase of infrastructure development, which can even be more damaging. The actors involved, the location, the size, and the technical specifications of development are all elements that can be manipulated to suit personal or political interests, regardless of technical, financial, or environmental sustainability and social impact. For example, it is not uncommon for a technical solution to be designed by consultants who also bid to support the realization of the same or similar projects. This means these consultants have an interest in designing larger rather than smaller or simpler solutions. Political considerations and vested interests can also lead to infrastructure developments that are not appropriate. A typical example is when a bigger project is planned in a politician’s home region or used to sway opinions and votes. Large-scale investments can also be more attractive targets for corruption because of the bigger margins and opportunities for rent-seeking. The development of many small projects can also be problematic. Evidence from Kenya shows that local government assemblies tend to equally split water budgets by voting geographies, irrespective of population or inequalities in service levels. Many boreholes and other small projects are then built, but they are often technically and financially unsustainable. In such cases, fewer and larger projects targeted at ‘leaving no one behind’ in underserved areas may be more efficient. Integrity risks undermine investor confidence “The […] point is governance. Not only of our policy-makers and regulators, but most importantly governance of public utilities, which are highly vulnerable to political changes.” – Sergio Campos, Water and Sanitation Division chief at the Inter-American Development Bank Senior water sector managers from the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the African Development Bank have underlined poor governance and lack of transparency and accountability of utilities as major problems for their non-sovereign loan programmes to utilities. Utilities themselves must be creditworthy and able to defend their track record to access such loans which are not backed by central government guarantees. Integrity issues and suspicions of integrity issues are keeping too many utilities out of the running. For example, red flags for investors include wasteful expenditure by boards of directors (often populated by political appointees) and different forms of political transgression into procurement processes, management decisions and tariff setting (for example, keeping tariffs unreasonably low especially around election times). Patronage in human resource management, financial irregularities, poorly kept records, or unclear mandates are equally problematic. Such risks are related to institutional governance and controls. Other risks are related to the predominant model for utilities as fully or partially state-owned companies. These utilities face the real difficulty of balancing commercial viability and their role as instruments of public policy for water and sanitation. While (local) governments, as duty bearers responsible for fulfilling the human rights to water and sanitation, need to be able to exercise some level of control over how these services are provided, they are also prone to unduly use water utilities and asset development corporations for political or financial gain. At the same time, these utilities are not necessarily subject to the same transparency, oversight and control mechanisms as other government institutions. Their financial plans and statements tend to be less publicly available, and public participation and reporting mechanisms are less developed. Integrity measures to improve efficiency and performance: integrity measures to attract financing Integrity measures can directly contribute to increasing financial efficiency by curbing corruption and mismanagement in the implementation of investments. Integrity can also contribute to bigger gains by addressing perverse incentives and the undue influence of special interest groups in the planning and design of infrastructure solutions. Importantly, integrity can also contribute to building the trust of users in duty-bearers — a condition for tariffs to be understood and accepted, and to building the creditworthiness of service providers — a condition to attract new financing. Integrity measures are needed at the local and national levels to strengthen sector governance, and also, and this is key for new financing, at the level of individual sector institutions and utilities in particular. Integrity measures are based on four key principles: Transparency, Accountability, Participation, and Anti-Corruption. They should be developed based on a risk analysis that identifies and prioritizes the specific risks stakeholders face. Contextualization is crucial. Some key examples include: Public disclosure of data on budget allocation and execution, as well as on project designs, contracting, and important contractors (and their ownership) can enable effective oversight by people and watchdog institutions if combined with mechanisms for such actors to participate in decision-making. The INFOBRAS system of Peru is an interesting example in terms of disclosure. It is an open, web-based monitoring platform that provides data and information on execution, finances, schedule, operating expenses and maintenance of public works. Oversight by external, independent oversight bodies, including regulators and audit institutions, which can monitor procurement processes, help detect irregularities through financial audits, and help increase efficiency through performance audits. AFROSAI-E has for example developed an auditing approach that is meant to deliver tangible results for local communities. Public participation and civil society oversight on budgets, plans, and even construction, are powerful measures to help detect wrongdoing (embezzlement, contracting irregularities, use of substandard materials for construction…), prioritize investments, and build trust. Complaints mechanisms can be important ways to enable such participation. In Bangladesh, for example, civil society monitoring of climate-change adaptation projects uncovered integrity issues and resulted in stronger planning procedures. In Makueni County in Kenya, more than 50 per cent of all budget allocated through participatory budgeting went to water; because water is the people’s first priority. The definition of transparent criteria and procedures for investment decisions, procurement, tariff setting, or even budget allocation can reduce bias and opportunities for corruption. For example, positive experience from Ethiopia shows that a transparent and evidence-based water sector budget allocation formula that prioritizes underserved areas in order to increase equity can reduce biased allocation (that could favour special interests) and encourage donors to use country systems. Automation and digitization of certain high-risk processes and operations, for example through e-procurement, automated red flag analysis, or the use of Financial Management Information Systems (which can help track budget implementation and strengthen public reporting) can help detect wrong-doing and enable timely responses. The World Bank BOOST initiative is an interesting example of this. Definition and adherence to anti-corruption commitments and pacts, as an institutional policy, in contracts, or in procurement, are important motivators to address corruption. For example, in 2015, the National Water and Sewerage Administration of El Salvador implemented an integrity pact with the bidders on three pipe replacement projects to prevent corrupt practices. The pact was monitored by the Foundation for Studies on the Application of Law in El Salvador (FESPAD) and the UNDP Water Governance Facility at SIWI. Transparency and controls in human resources, especially when appointments are made by government decision-makers are important and ideally combined with enforcement mechanisms. Ensuring that board members and senior management of utilities have adequate technical qualifications, include independent members, and are appointed on merit and with public participation, or defining clear remuneration and promotion systems are examples. In Kenya, the Water Services Regulatory Board (WASREB) has developed regulatory guidelines for corporate governance and the appointment procedures for boards of directors. Corruption is draining water sector resources. Looking away doesn’t help. Proactive, targeted integrity measures can support more efficient spending and help bridge the water sector financing gap. These measures must be built into comprehensive water and sanitation sector investment plans and financing strategies, and become standard practice for utility governance. The first, and most urgent, step is comprehensive integrity risk assessments.

The article is based on the observed experience of Aguatuya in one of its projects in Bolivia. Studies show that women are most affected by water and sanitation deficiencies. Globally, sixty four percent of women are still faced with the responsibility of providing water for their households [1]. UNICEF has highlighted that women and girls collectively spend as much as 200 million hours each day – more than 22,800 years – collecting water. Besides the huge opportunity costs, this puts them at risk of sexual abuse, disease, and missing out on school. Lack of access to water and sanitation impacts directly on the lives of women and girl children who are generally responsible for water collection, sanitation needs, and for taking care of family members who may be ill due to poor water and sanitation services. In addition, the education of girl children is hugely impacted by the challenges of menstruation. BOLIVIA, WOMEN AND WASH In recent years, the Government of Bolivia has made great efforts to improve access to safe drinking water and especially to basic sanitation. On July 28, 2010, acknowledging the United Nations resolution (64/292) on the human right to water and sanitation, Bolivia recognized that access to safe drinking water and sanitation are essential human rights. At the same time, investments in water and sanitation were made to fulfil the “2025 Patriotic Agenda” and the “2016 – 2020 Economic and Social Development Plan“. Both these documents provide the supporting framework for investments in water and sanitation at different operational levels. Due to this, 88% of the Bolivian population has access to an improved water source and 46% of the population has access to improved sanitation facilities. But disparities continue to exist – women and girls in Bolivia face the brunt of poor water and sanitation access. These disparities may exist because of lack of access to services, but also because of the lack of participation of women in public processes around the provision of services, despite their being the main users of these services. In Bolivia, being born a woman is considered to be a disadvantage. As a result of this social prejudice, participation of women in political decision-making is very low. Their participation increases at the local or neighborhood level because women, in terms of social and cultural norms, are considered responsible for hygiene and cleanliness of the home. The issue(s) of household water are designated to women and thus their participation at this level is accepted. ABOUT AGUATUYA Aguatuya has more than 15 years’ experience in providing technical assistance to ensure sustainability and develop the capacities of the entities responsible for providing water and sanitation services to people (communities, committees, companies and municipalities). Currently, Aguatuya has a team of 20 people and works in five of Bolivia’s nine most important cities (Cochabamba, Santa Cruz, La Paz, Tarija, Sucre) with different projects, in which it always implements gender mainstreaming in productive, reproductive and community political roles. Aguatuya was born as the social arm of Plastiforte (a pipe company), so from the beginning the objective was to provide technical and management advice, to ensure that the provision of water and sanitation services is participatory, innovative and provides sustainable solutions to improve the quality of life of the population and protect the environment. - Deep wells of Molle Molle WATER COMMITTEES AND AGUATUYA Water committees in Bolivia are citizen associations that were initiated as a response to the lack of drinking water service provision by the state. They take diverse forms of organization (committees, associations, cooperatives) and enable residents to have household water services through their own investments in, for example, drilling wells and implementing networks of pipes. The self-owned and self-managed services allow greater participation of women in decisions on payment of fees, tariffs, cost of entry into the system and investments for expansion. For the last 15 years, Aguatuya has provided support to these water committees with technical assistance in the design of infrastructure engineering and capacity development for service management, to ensure that they have an efficient water distribution network, a high-quality well and a management system through home meters, and an affordable tariff that covers operation and maintenance. Users themselves own the infrastructure and are responsible for managing the service. Aguatuya partners with CIDRE[2] in providing social loans for water services. Together, Aguatuya and CIDRE have been able to support the implementation of number of water committees that provide families with 24-hour water services. COMMUNITY WATER MANAGEMENT: THE CASE OF THE MOLLE MOLLE CENTRAL WATER COMMITTEE The Molle Molle Central water committee in Tiquipaya, Cochabamba, is comprised of a neighborhood of 300 families that did not have water services. In 2001 they began working with Aguatuya and CIDRE. Aguatuya provided technical assistance in the design of the drinking water network, which includes tap and meters for each house. CIDRE, for its part, provided credit that allowed the committee to finance the drilling of their wells and the implementation of the entire drinking water system. - Two members of the community stand in front of the information board of the Molle Molle water committee Aguatuya also provides the committee with training in sustainable management of the system. Thanks to the efficient administration of the water committee, the community has been able to pay off the CIDRE credit each month. Sonia Mendoza, a leader in her community, has been in charge of the administration of the Molle Molle water system for 18 years. During this time, she has implemented a transparent administrative system that reports regularly to users on the management of finances including expenses, payments for energy services and the monthly payment of financing costs. The monthly water rate that families pay according to their consumption generates sufficient income to ensure the sustainability of the service. Sonia works in coordination with the board of directors and through the treasurer to whom she is responsible for reviewing and reporting to the assembly of members. As an administrator Sonia is responsible to engage with water users, to charge fees, to bill users, to register water users, and to receive requests and complaints from users. She is also monitors the work of the plumber who is responsible for meter readings and repairs, and manages the hiring of labor if excavations are needed. Sonia has been run the system since its inception. She believes that being a woman increases her social interaction and gives her a better understanding of community needs. - Sonia Mendoza attending to a water user This generates an advantage that leads to the community being more cohesive so that more improvements can be made in the neighborhood. Sonia expresses that she has never felt discriminated against because of being a woman. But she is quick to mention that although she is the administrator, they don’t call her “administrator”, they always call her ‘secretary’, despite the president repeatedly clarifying to them that “it’s not the secretary, it’s the water administrator”. But this doesn’t affect her – it’s only the name of the position, and she has never felt that they underestimate her ability because she is a woman. The water committee has been able to influence other important activities in the neighborhood, such as creating a mothers club where they meet to give talks or courses. Currently they are working on creating a health care point for the neighborhood. In the water committee, Sonia makes sure that women participate more[3], identify problems, propose solutions or give ideas. Overall, women participate more and are more active than the men, but the highest positions on the board such as president or vice-president have always been held by men. Carlos Salazar, former president of Molle Molle Central, comments: Many water committees fail to manage their water distribution and collection systems. Our success is due to our administrator Sonia Mendoza, who with her youth and ability has achieved an honest and transparent administration, the look of a woman in matters of distribution of resources is usually more fair and accurate. WOMEN AS MANAGERS AND NOT CARRIERS Women have an important role in water management and in ensuring access to water, as well as overall water governance – given their knowledge and experience as the primary water decision-makers at household level. As mentioned – women are the providers (for cooking, cleaning, hygiene, livestock, crops and small business) and know intimately their water and sanitation needs. It therefore makes sense that they have the wherewithal to manage water resources and systems better – given how they understand, value and prioritize the resource so well. Increasing the inclusion of women in governance structures is an important and desirable policy in itself, but literature also shows that an important extended effect is reduced corruption in society. CONCLUSION Access to adequate water and sanitation empowers people and communities. It helps to transform gender relations and support women and girls as agents of change. [4] The issue of access to water in Cochabamba is a decades old problem. The municipal water company does not have the capacity to serve the population due to various issues, including limited financial and technical capacity. Neighbourhoods of the city were therefore organized to provide their own water services based on contributions from each family that allowed them to drill a well and build a water network with sinks. (This is the typical Cochabambino case, there must be more than 500 water committees in the city). Although in the last 10 years the state of Bolivia has made many more investments in water and sanitation issues, in order to comply with SDG 6, solutions of organization and civil participation will continue to be needed. And these civil or community organizations clearly provide greater opportunities for women’s active participation in water and sanitation issues that otherwise would not be taken into account. [1] https://www.wateraid.org/ca/sites/g/files/jkxoof281/files/WASH_A%20Pathway%20to%20Gender%20Equality%20and%20Empowerment%20EN%20PRINTED.pdf) References: Anand Swamy & Stephen Knack & Young Lee & Omar Azfar, 2000. “Gender and Corruption,” Center for Development Economics 158, Department of Economics, Williams College. [1] Progress on household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene 2000-2017. Special focus on inequalities. New York: United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organization, 2019. [2] CIDRE IFD is a non-profit civil association that works to improve the standard of living through the intermediation of financial services in general, with ethics, sustainability and inclusion. [3] Sonia works every morning in the office and receives people. She takes into account everything that is presented to her and suggests it to the board. Given that the women are the ones who are paying for water services defined by societal gender roles, she ensures that their demands are forwarded to the board ensuring their indirect participation. [4] https://www.wateraid.org/ca/sites/g/files/jkxoof281/files/WASH_A%20Pathway%20to%20Gender%20Equality%20and%20Empowerment%20EN%20PRINTED.pdf

The Metropolitan Region of São Paulo faced a grave water crisis from 2014 to 2016. Despite the gravity of the situation, the political leadership of Brazil’s largest city remained mostly silent about how to address it. Seeing no one take action, Alliance for Water broke the status quo by asking a simple question: What exactly are the real responsibilities of Brazilian municipalities in the complex and multi-sectoral management of water? In practice, the answer was surprisingly not clear. The question has since become the baseline for new initiatives and innovations in campaigning for water sector reform. Read this post in Portuguese here: Inovações na gestão das águas no município de São Paulo: protagonismo da sociedade civil ABOUT THE ALLIANCE FOR WATER Founded in October 2014, the Alliance for Water is a civil society movement that came together to tackle the water crisis in São Paulo and to build a “New Culture of Care for Water” in Brazil. The Alliance is comprised of a wide and diverse group of over 60 organizations and movements focused on the environment, consumer rights, human rights, education, activism, and innovation. FROM LEGAL REVIEW TO CAMPAIGN FOR REFORM During the water crisis, the Alliance witnessed a lack of transparency in the management of water resources. It became clear that this directly influenced the population’s perception of the crisis and made it more difficult to engage citizens to tackle the issue. Under the coordination of Estela Neves, Professor of the Graduate Program in Public Policies at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ, (Portuguese acronym), members of the Alliance collaborated with the Institute of Democracy and Sustainability (IDS), to conduct an extensive review of the Federal Constitution of 1988 and the Brazilian legal-regulatory framework and map all the responsibilities of cities for water management. The resulting report, “Who cares for water? Fresh water governance: the national legal-institutional framework”, was published in 2016. This technical document formed the basis of a campaign called #VoteForWater, initiated by the alliance. The campaign successfully transformed the findings from the research into a draft bill, which was applicable to any municipality in Brazil. This text was conceived under the aegis of the Water Security concept, as defined by UN-Water. The draft bill was conceived as a single legal instrument that did not create any new responsibilities but helped to ensure that local governments could be held accountable for the actions they already officially have the responsibility for. It was meant as a useful instrument to inform as well as put pressure on candidates campaigning during the municipal elections in 2016. As a result of the campaign, over 300 organizations, which had the commitment from 82 candidates for Congress and 18 candidates for the Executive branch across Brazil in 47 municipalities, signed a declaration to take the draft bill forward. Of these candidates, two mayors in the municipalities of Itu and Marabá and five city council members in São Paulo were elected. The technical and political result of this process was the development of a document that provided a framework for municipal water security on seven fronts, illustrated in the image below. Transparency, the access to information, and social control mechanisms are fundamental dimensions of the Municipal Water Safety Policy, as laid out in item VI, paragraph two, article 2. NEW WATER SECURITY BILL ADVANCES IN SÃO PAULO In the city of São Paulo, the largest city in Brazil, the draft bill actually advanced. After it was presented in the local parliament, the declaration became a bill in December 2016. It was named PL No. 575 and was authored by city council member Eduardo Suplicy from the Labour Party, with the support of representatives[1] from several other parties. It was approved during a second debate in the Municipal Council on May 8, 2019, and enacted on May 31 of the same year through Law No. 17,104, which created the Municipal Policy for Water Security and Water Management (PMSH, Portuguese acronym). There are two important provisions in the law: Article 3: which determines the creation of a “competent body to implement the Municipal Policy for Water Safety and Water Management”, and Article 4: which reiterates that “Municipalities shall be liable (…) for presenting Water Security Status Reports”. This innovative public policy places the spotlight on Water Security actions and policies at the local level and pushes the agenda as political priority. Two major challenges in the São Paulo’s case, in order for the policy to really take effect is a) the creation of the specific body inside the government to articulate and integrate local action, and b) to build a set of indicators that can be used as a powerful instrument for monitoring, improving public policy and wider communication with the society and the citizens. To make inroads for the implementation of the PMSH, Mayor Bruno Covas from the Social Democratic Party of Brazil (PSDB) signed a Directive (No. 349) on June 25, constituting the Water Security Commission. The Commission members include six municipal government departments, two representatives of civil society[2] and one representative from academia. It has two main tasks: drafting a proposal for setting up a specific body to exercise the responsibilities laid out in article 2, and drafting a proposal for collaborative monitoring and improvement of indicators. The indicators to be considered include, for instance, local water stress index and the historic evolution of data on hospitalization due to waterborne diseases. This effort in São Paulo is the fruit of a technical process resulting from a partnership with academia, followed by mobilization of the electorate with the active participation of multiple civil society actors, with the backing of different political parties; the legislature and the executive branch of the São Paulo municipality. THROUGH THE OPEN GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIP LENS This co-created effort is part of an open government and social participation logic that, among other elements, seeks to better monitor the implementation of the new law –and related challenges- with strong indicators. Indicators feature elements from the seven themes that formed the basis for the law. The indicators emerged from a process that was based on a dialogue with civil society. The Alliance for Water played a fundamental role in providing technical support and social mobilization in the process. Considering the lessons learned from Brazil’s water crisis, especially the São Paulo case, transparency should be one of the key components of the process of implementing the law instrumental in promoting social control and quality participation. São Paulo has a lot to share with the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Local Program, as it relates to the pillars of transparency, participation, co-creation and accountability, and to open government reforms in public services. Future commitments on water resources in the city of São Paulo’s action plan will hopefully build further on this Alliance for Water experience. About the authors: Guilherme Checco holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Science from the Institute of Energy and the Environment at the University of São Paulo (Procam/IEE/USP, Portuguese acronyms) and a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC/SP, Portuguese acronym). He is currently a researcher at the Institute of Democracy and Sustainability (IDS). Marussia Whately is an architect and urban designer, specialist in water and sanitation. She is one of the leading people behind the Alliance for Water. She is an author of several books and publications, among them “Século da Escassez. Uma nova cultura de cuidado com a água: impasses e desafios. She currently serves as the executive director of the Water and Sanitation Institute. More on the Community of Practice on Water and Open Government Tackling today’s water challenges, from expanding service delivery to cleaning up the world’s waterways, will require more than improving infrastructure and stepping up investments. Governments and civil society must also address daunting political challenges such as fragmented resource management, corruption, and unequal access to clean water. Adopting open government reforms can help institutional capacity, facilitate coordination between stakeholders, and resolve information asymmetries, to promote fairer, more reliable and more efficient water and sanitation service delivery. The Community of Practice on Water and Open Government is a collaborative space for stakeholders to share ideas and expertise to support open government reforms for water. It is run by Fundación Avina, the Open Government Partnership, Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), Water Integrity Network (WIN), and the World Resources Institute (WRI) since 2017. Find out more at: https://www.opengovpartnership.org/policy-area/water-sanitation/ Footnotes [1] City Council members Gilberto Natalini (PV), Nabil Bonduki (PT), José Police Neto (PSD), Soninha Francine (previously PPS, currently CIDADANIA), Ricardo Young (REDE), Toninho Vespoli (Psol), Jair Tatto (PT), Sâmia Bomfim (Psol) and Celso Giannazi (Psol). [2] Alliance for Water and Nossa São Paulo Network. In June 2019, due to an issue of agenda availability, the RNSP (Nossa São Paulo Network) was substituted by the Institute for Democracy and Sustainability (IDS, Portuguese acronym), both members of the Alliance for Water.

A Região Metropolitana de São Paulo enfrentou uma grave crise hídrica ao longo dos anos de 2014 a 2016, e, não obstante sua gravidade, foi notória a falta de protagonismos dos Prefeitos na busca de soluções, em especial a liderança política da maior cidade do Brasil. Diante daquele cenário, um questionamento foi levantado pela Aliança pela Água: quais são, de fato, as responsabilidades dos municípios brasileiros na complexa e multissetorial gestão das águas? Desde então, esse desafio se transformou em iniciativas e inovações importantes. Leia este post em inglês aqui: Innovations in water management in the city of São Paulo: the leading role of civil society SOBRE A ALIANÇA PELA ÁGUA Fundada em outubro de 2014, a Aliança pela Água é uma articulação da sociedade civil criada para enfrentar a crise hídrica em São Paulo e construir uma “Nova Cultura de Cuidado com a Água” no Brasil. A Aliança é composta por um grupo amplo e diverso de mais de 60 organizações e movimentos envolvidos com questões do meio ambiente, direitos do consumidor, direitos humanos, educação, ativismo e inovação. SEGUINDO OS PASSOS CERTOS Em 2016, a Aliança decidiu criar uma frente de trabalho técnico para poder abordar essa questão de maneira mais efetiva. Um dos principais desafios observados durante a crise foi a falta de transparência na gestão dos recursos hídricos, o que influenciou diretamente a percepção da crise pela população e tornou mais difícil envolver os cidadãos em seu enfrentamento. Sob a coordenação de Estela Neves, Profa. do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Políticas Públicas da UFRJ, foi conduzido um processo de revisão extensiva da Constituição Federal de 1988 e do arcabouço legal-normativo brasileiro, de modo a mapear e sistematizar todas as atribuições dos municípios nas diferentes políticas setoriais. Esse processo contou com a colaboração de integrantes do secretariado da aliança e do Instituto Democracia e Sustentabilidade (IDS), resultando na publicação do documento “Quem cuida da Água? Governança da água doce: a moldura jurídico-institucional nacional” (2016). A partir desse documento técnico, foi criada a campanha #VotePelaÁgua, iniciada pela Aliança. Esta campanha conseguiu transformar os resultados da pesquisa em uma proposta de projeto de lei, organizada em três artigos e aplicável a qualquer município do Brasil. Esse texto foi concebido sob a égide do conceito de Segurança Hídrica. É importante salientar aqui que nenhuma atribuição nova foi criada e que o texto foi organizado na forma de um único instrumento legal, ou seja, a proposta de projeto de lei. Com isso, seria possível garantir que os governos locais respondessem pelas ações de sua responsabilidade. Foi um instrumento útil para informar e também pressionar os candidatos em campanha durante as eleições municipais em 2016. O resultado prático dessa mobilização foi a declaração assinada por mais de 300 organizações, em que foi ratificado o compromisso de 82 candidatos aos Legislativos e 18 candidatos aos Executivos de todo o Brasil, distribuídos em 47 municípios, de levar adiante a proposta do projeto de lei. De todos esses candidatos foram eleitos dois prefeitos nos municípios de Itu e Marabá, e cinco vereadores em São Paulo. O resultado técnico-político desse processo foi a elaboração de um documento que estruturava a segurança hídrica municipal em sete frentes, ilustradas na imagem abaixo. A EXPERIÊNCIA DE SÃO PAULO No município de São Paulo, maior cidade do país, a proposta de projeto de lei efetivamente avançou. Depois de ser apresentada no parlamento local, a declaração virou oficialmente um projeto de lei em dezembro de 2016, intitulado PL No. 575 e de autoria do Vereador Eduardo Suplicy (PT), com o apoio de um conjunto diverso de parlamentares[1] de diferentes partidos. A matéria foi aprovada em segunda discussão na Câmara Municipal em 8 maio de 2019 e promulgada em 31 de maio do mesmo ano a partir da Lei No. 17.104, que criou a Política Municipal de Segurança Hídrica e Gestão das Águas (PMSH). Dois dispositivos da lei devem ser destacados: o art. 3º, que determina a criação de “instância competente para implantar a Política Municipal de Segurança Hídrica e Gestão das Águas”; e o art. 4º, que destaca que “Caberá ao Município (…) apresentar Relatório da Situação sobre Segurança Hídrica”. Esta política pública inovadora coloca o foco nas ações e políticas de segurança hídrica a nível local e impulsiona a agenda como prioridade política. Dois grandes desafios no caso de São Paulo, para que a política realmente entre em vigor, é a) a criação de um órgão específico dentro do governo para articular e integrar a ação local, e b) a construção de um conjunto de indicadores que possam ser usados como um poderoso instrumento para monitorar, melhorar as políticas públicas e ampliar a comunicação com a sociedade e os cidadãos. Para avançar na implementação da PMSH, em 25 de junho, o Prefeito Bruno Covas (PSDB) assinou a Portaria No. 349, que constituiu a Comissão de Segurança Hídrica com as atribuições de elaborar uma proposta para a instituição de órgão específico para exercer as atribuições previstas no art. 2º da Lei e também elaborar uma proposta para monitoramento e aperfeiçoamento colaborativo dos indicadores e das políticas municipais previstas na Lei. Entre os diversos indicadores a serem considerados estão, por exemplo, o índice de estresse hídrico local e a evolução histórica dos dados de internação por doenças de veiculação hídrica. É igualmente importante destacar que a Comissão de Segurança Hídrica é composta por seis secretarias do governo municipal, dois representantes da sociedade civil[2] e um representante da academia. Por fim, cabe destacar alguns aspectos desse complexo percurso no âmbito da construção da PMSH/SP Esse trabalho em São Paulo é fruto de um processo técnico realizado em parceria com a academia, seguido de uma mobilização do eleitorado que teve a participação ativa de uma multiplicidade de atores da sociedade civil, com articulação política com diferentes partidos políticos e os poderes Legislativo e Executivo do município de São Paulo DO PONTO DE VISTA DA PARCERIA DE GOVERNO ABERTO Esse trabalho de cocriação se insere em uma lógica de governo aberto e participação social que visa, entre outros elementos, à construção de indicadores de monitoramento da nova lei. Esses indicadores permitirão acompanhar os avanços na implementação da lei e identificar os desafios para o avanço dessa agenda. Esses indicadores foram desenvolvidos a partir de um processo de diálogo com a sociedade civil, em que a Aliança pela Água teve papel fundamental ao proporcionar aporte técnico e mobilização social. Os indicadores contêm elementos das sete frentes que serviram de base para a lei. Considerando as lições aprendidas com a crise hídrica brasileira, em especial o caso de São Paulo, a transparência deverá ser um dos principais componentes desse processo, contribuindo para promover o controle social e uma participação qualificada, de acordo com os dispositivos explicitados na própria lei que criou a Política Municipal de Segurança Hídrica. São Paulo tem muito a compartilhar com o Programa Local da Parceria de Governo Aberto (OGP – Open Government Partnership) tendo em vista seus pilares de transparência, participação, cocriação e prestação de contas e o interesse da OGP em vincular as reformas de governo aberto com os serviços públicos – em que a água é um dos temas prioritários. Seria importante explorar futuros compromissos referentes aos recursos hídricos no plano de ação de governo aberto de São Paulo com base nesta experiência da Aliança pela Água. Sobre os Autores Guilherme Checco é Mestre em Ciência Ambiental pelo Instituto de Energia e Ambiente da Universidade de São Paulo (Procam/IEE/USP) e Bacharel em Relações Internacionais pela Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC/SP). Atualmente ele atua como pesquisador no Instituto Democracia e Sustentabilidade (IDS). Marussia Whately é arquiteta e urbanista, especialista em água e saneamento. É uma das idealizadoras da Aliança pela Água. É autora de diversos livros e publicações, entre eles o “Século da Escassez. Uma nova cultura de cuidado com a água: impasses e desafios”. Atualmente é diretora-executiva do Instituto Água e Saneamento. Mais sobre a Comunidade de Práticas no domínio da Água e da Governação Aberta Os desafios atuais no domínio da água, desde a expansão da prestação de serviços até à limpeza das vias navegáveis mundiais, exigirão mais do que a melhoria das infraestruturas e a intensificação dos investimentos. Os governos e a sociedade civil devem também enfrentar desafios políticos assustadores, como a gestão fragmentada dos recursos, a corrupção e a desigualdade de acesso à água potável. A adoção de reformas governamentais abertas pode ajudar na capacidade institucional, facilitar a coordenação entre as partes interessadas e resolver assimetrias de informação, para promover a prestação de serviços de água e saneamento mais justos, confiáveis e eficientes. A Comunidade de Práticas sobre Água e Governo Aberto é um espaço colaborativo para que as partes interessadas compartilhem ideias e conhecimentos para apoiar reformas governamentais abertas para a água. É administrada pela Fundación Avina, a Open Government Partnership, o Instituto Internacional de Água de Estocolmo (SIWI), a Water Integrity Network (WIN) e o World Resources Institute (WRI) desde 2017. Saiba mais em: https://www.opengovpartnership.org/policy-area/water-sanitation/ Notas [1] Aliança pela Água e Rede Nossa São Paulo. Em julho de 2019, por uma questão de disponibilidade de agenda, a Rede Nossa São Paulo (RNSP) foi substituída pelo Instituto Democracia e Sustentabilidade (IDS), ambos membros da Aliança pela Água. [2] Vereadores Gilberto Natalini (PV), Nabil Bonduki (PT), José Police Neto (PSD), Soninha Francine (à época PPS, atual CIDADANIA), Ricardo Young (REDE), Toninho Vespoli (Psol), Jair Tatto (PT), Sâmia Bomfim (Psol) e Celso Giannazi (Psol) LABELS: Region/Country: Americas, Brazil CONTRIBUTORS: Authors: Guilherme Checco and Marussia Whately Reviewer: Comunidade de Práticas no domínio da Água e da Governação Aberta

A CONTRIBUTION FROM THE WATER AND OPEN GOVERNMENT COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE The promotion of an open government and the empowerment of citizens through co-creation processes using technology could sound like a distant goal. But as challenging as it sounds, there are steps being taken in this direction. This is evidenced by the initiatives contained in the action plans adopted by the governments that are part of the Open Government Partnership, (OGP). LAUNCHING OPEN GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES: OPENING UP INFORMATION ON WATER LICENSING In Chile, the Water Directorate (DGA in Spanish) has taken part in the OGP process since 2016. The OGP participation in Chile is coordinated by the Presidency’s Secretariat General (SEGPRES), which serves as the national point of contact (PoC). Since Chile’s first Action Plan, SEGPRES has promoted a participatory process with civil society organizations and public entities. Through this process, the DGA presented its first commitment in the 2016-2018 Action Plan. To fulfil its first commitment, the DGA developed an easy-to-access web app. The app makes it possible to obtain information on the demand and granting of water use licenses in the country and makes it easier to file complaints in case of damage. In particular, the app makes it possible to visualize georeferenced information on resolved and ongoing water rights submitted to the DGA and allows public consultation of water-rights documentation. It also provides visualizations of the location of citizen complaints filed in relation to violations to the Water Code (Código de Aguas, C.A.). Among the most frequent violations are: the construction of unauthorized works on watercourses (Art. 41 y 171 C.A.) unauthorized water extraction (Art. 20, 59 and 163 C.A.; Art. 42 and 43 D.S. 203/2013), and non-compliance with the conditions for the exercise of water use rights (control of water extractions, Art. 68 C.A.). THE FOURTH OPEN GOVERNMENT NATIONAL ACTION PLAN: PROGRESS AND NEW TOOLS FOR TRANSPARENCY ON WATER EXTRACTION ARTICLE 68°- “The Water Directorate General may require the installation and maintenance of systems for the measurement of flows, of extracted volumes and of phreatic levels in [the construction and operation of hydraulic] works, in addition to a system for the transmission and sharing of the information obtained. In the case of non-consumptive exploitation rights, this requirement shall also apply to aquifer restitution works […]” Water Code, Law 21.064 Since 2018, DGA is working to disseminate information to the public and increase transparency on the use of water resources as a contribution to commitment #8 on water resources of Chile’s latest OGP Action Plan 2018-2020. These efforts are in line with the most recent changes to the Water Code, Law 21.064, specifically in relation to article 68. Specifically, the DGA has decided to make available to the public data on water extraction by different users, including farmers, mining and forestry companies, and other water rights holders. To do this, DGA is developing a new web app. The data visualized in this app will be partly user-generated and further complemented by documentation on water use rights. Larger water users have to set up a meter system that automatically generates the georeferenced data that is then sent to DGA, while smaller users will report the information through excel sheets centralised by DGA. While there is the risk of users manipulating the excel sheet (or even the meters), DGA expects that the publication of the data and social monitoring and pressure will be an incentive for relatively accurate input. Focused on transparency and public access to information on water use, this work on National Action Plan commitments seeks to reduce uncertainty regarding water availability, given the extreme water scarcity that affects Chile. A water scarcity decree has been issued for 56 communes and an agricultural emergency officially declared in 111, impacting over 400,000 people. The DGA has been questioned for not having all relevant information on the registration, allocation and management of water rights in the country. The new system is an attempt to respond. DISCLOSURE MUST GO HAND IN HAND WITH CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT It is important to put these efforts into context. The issues we face in the water management sector will not be solved with just data. The creation of opportunities for citizens to use and engage with the information and platform for their benefit is essential. At present, the data that will be published is mainly contained in specialized studies. These studies neither disaggregate the data nor consider the local scale. This is an example of a dissociation between the functioning of public services and the people they serve. Disaggregation would allow for a better understanding and use of the information by those who need it most. And to further prevent or reduce disconnection to citizens’ needs, it is essential to listen to what people have to say, address and resolve complaints and grievances in an empathic, committed and needs-focused manner. This experience reinforces the idea that the main efforts to promote principles of co-creation, transparency and participation need to be initiated by the State. This will ensure credibility and increased cooperation between the government and civil organisations, allowing for the construction of a true path towards the improvement of people’s quality of life. However, such efforts, like the web platforms created to promote transparency and access to public information, will not fulfil their mission if they are not complemented well through citizen engagement.

In conversation with Margarita Gutiérrez Vizcaino, director of the Area of Incidence and Systematic Change at Cántaro Azul. WIN and Cántaro Azul are collaborating on a project for the adaptation and implementation of the Integrity Management Toolbox for small water supply systems in Mexico. Tell us about yourselves: what do you do in the water sector, in what context and area do you work in? Cántaro Azul was born 13 years ago with the aim of ensuring access to safe water in rural communities. We operate mainly in the State of Chiapas, in Mexico. This State has the highest rates of marginalisation and poverty in the country, as well as the lowest rate of access to water, despite the large amount of water resources available in the area. It should also be noted that 50% of the population of Chiapas lives in rural areas and that, therefore, 2.5 million people obtain their water services through community structures. Cántaro Azul first focused on developing the “Mesitas Azules”, which is a low-cost ultraviolet water purification technology, easy to use and access by rural communities. First, the “Mesitas Azules” were used in households and Cántaro Azul subsequently introduced them in schools. However, it soon became clear that the technological component was not enough and Cántaro Azul began to develop a complementary social component. Our conclusion based on our experience is very clear: without a social component, there is no good management or sustainability in the use of water systems. Cántaro Azul operates 3 main programmes: Social Franchise: is a social entrepreneurship programme, working with groups of women who build and operate water purification kiosks. Cántaro Azul provides the seed capital, technical support and fosters the articulation among women’s groups. This programme operates mainly in peri-urban areas where bottled water is largely a solution to poor water services, and where these kiosks provide a more environmentally-friendly and affordable alternative to the local economy. Safe water in schools: within this programme, water purification systems are installed with linked pedagogical and recreational components. The purification system is in a transparent box that allows children to see how the water is purified through the system. An assessment is also made with the school community and school committees are created to promote hygienic habits Community water management: this programme began at the family and at the kiosks level creating a social structure to support the systems, whether they were “Mesitas Azules” in households or in community kiosks. Last year we changed the strategy and began to work with the community water committees which are self-organised. Our focus moved to actively supporting more centralized systems with the aim of achieving greater efficiency and sustainability. Our key activities support the committees in strengthening their capacities and improving the water systems. Could you share an example of a success story? The Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez school, in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, is a success story that provides safe water for around 600 children. It is located in a peri-urban area. There, we installed a large system of rainwater collection and purification. The school committee (i.e. parents, children and teachers) took over the system and they have made it financially sustainable by selling sell water to surrounding families. With the money collected they pay for the operation and maintenance of the system, including the salary of a technician. Another success story is the collaboration with the municipal government of the town of Berriozábal. Here, we have managed to share the problem and the proposals for a solution with a local government that serves 100 locations. The government has shown a strong commitment and created a municipal structure, endorsed by the State Congress, to institutionally support rural communities of the municipality. This municipal structure, called the “Organismo Municipal de Servicios Comunitarios de Agua y Saneamiento” (Municipal Agency for Community Water and Sanitation Services), serves 37 community water committees in rural areas. What are the challenges you see? Are there integrity issues? We find a major problem with regards to the poor quality of the data and information available. The official data on access to water and sanitation services do not reflect the complete reality, since they do not take into account the actual availability, the water quality or the availability of sanitation facilities. The only data available is about existing infrastructure, regardless of whether it is functional or not. The most serious consequence of this is that decisions are made based on these data and, therefore, real issues are not taken into account. This is a serious problem and particularly evident in the sharp decline in the budget dedicated to water and sanitation in the country in recent years. Another important challenge is that of investments. Total priority is given to infrastructure, but not to the social or governance component. One of the reasons behind this is the greater ease of diverting resources in construction projects, as well as the fact that tangible works generate more political capital. We find two immediate consequences, on the one hand not enough money is allocated to governance and management and on the other, low quality infrastructure is built without taking into account the context of the situation at all. Another notable challenge is people’s lack of awareness and participation. They normally do not know their rights, including the human rights to water and sanitation as well as water quality criteria. Not knowing makes them hesitant to demand quality service. In fact, when we go to the communities and ask about their water services, one of the first reactions is that they say they have no problems. Only after subsequent questioning, it turns out that the water is indeed contaminated and does not arrive every day into their homes. Why did you decide to work with WIN? In December 2018, WIN organized a full-day event in Mexico City to introduce the integrity concept and the Integrity Management Toolbox approach to water and sanitation organizations in the country. Aided by a series of presentations and a simulation exercise, participants discussed possible ways to apply the toolbox to identify and address their integrity risks and, thus, improve the performance and quality of their services. As a result of the workshop, we came to know WIN’s work at a very good time for us, coinciding with our change in strategy towards a model more focused on community committees and as we began to establish our methodologies. Thus, we decided not to start from scratch, but to support and strengthen ourselves with WIN methodologies, adapting them to the rural context of Chiapas. What was your experience working with the IM Toolbox for small water supply systems? The IM Toolbox for small systems helped us identify things we wanted to, but never got down to doing ourselves. With regards to the process and the methodology used by Cántaro Azul we were unsure about the next steps and yes, knowing and applying the toolbox helped us to define the next steps – such as the action plan with the committee(s). The toolbox workshop inspired us greatly. On the one hand, it showed us how to build a working plan with the community. On the other hand, we greatly appreciate the tool’s self-management approach, which is aimed at avoiding paternalism and motivating the community to build their own solutions. - Cantaro Azul working with the IM Toolbox for small systems in Chiapas, Mexico What is your experience regarding gender? Do you work with women and other marginalised communities? This is a very challenging issue for us and for which we have yet to conclude our reflection within the organization. Chiapas is a State with a great proportion of the population being indigenous and living in rural areas. In these contexts, gender structures are very different from those in the west. On the one hand, there is machismo and little space for women in decision-making. On the other hand, certain aspects are a consequence of the people’s world vision and the distribution of roles in society. We have to be careful in trying to change the moulds without a deeper understanding and analysis, as it can close many doors. Moreover, some imported models of support for women only load them with more work. What we try to do is to make their voices heard as they are the main users of water and therefore our main stakeholders in the assessment processes. In mestizo communities we do try to push for more. For example, the “Social Franchise” project with kiosks is carried out with women entrepreneurs, but the work is made compatible with their household chores. Although it is not surprising that even when the woman is the final authority, the husband ends up making the decisions. Sometimes it is also a challenge for women facilitators to be heard on an equal footing, just like men in certain communities, but once we have achieved this, it helps immensely to break down barriers.

The tangled roots of deadly pollution in a protected lagoon We supported investigative journalists Datadista in 2019 to take a deep dive in the circumstances leading to increasing pollution in the waters of the protected Mar Menor lagoon in southern Spain. What they found is a chilling call to action. It starts with grand plans and ends with three tonnes of fish dying on the shore. There are suitcases full of money and secret underground pumps. But the most striking piece of the story is thirty years of laissez-faire by authorities, despite foreseeable and dramatic consequences. In December, the Global Investigative Journalism Network picked this story as one of its top picks in Spanish for 2019. The whole investigation has just been translated into English. Take note! The original investigation published in Spanish: https://datadista.com/medioambiente/desastre-mar-menor/ The English version: https://datadista.com/medioambiente/desastre-mar-menor/eng/

This blog was written by Cartocritica, as a contribution to the Community of Practice on Water and Open Government. Access to water is a right that affects various aspects of life: environmental, social and political. It is essential for the conservation of biodiversity, to maintain hygiene, and to support health and livelihoods. In Mexico, water is considered the property of the nation and the government is responsible for guaranteeing the right to its access, its availability in sufficient quantity and quality, and access to safe sanitation. However, what can be seen in Mexico is desiccated landscapes, polluted aquifers, and communities that lack water access. Even in cases where water is available, quantity and quality are often inadequate. Much water is lost or polluted by excessive toxic discharge, large concessions for industries, and irregular system operation. When one tries to review official data on volumes of water available, extracted, licensed under a concession, or polluted, it becomes clear that there is little or no information available, and that most of what is available is in restricted access. Such opacity prevents interested users, especially territory and human rights defenders, from accessing key information that would allow them to know what the state of water resources is in their localities or to promote citizen participation in water management. This is why more transparency and accountability in the water sector are urgently needed. Incorporating water-related commitments in the Open Government Partnership (OGP) process is a means to address this and enable dialogue between government and civil society. Context: the first water-related Open Government Commitments Introducing water in Mexico’s Open Government Partnership National Action Plans Mexico has been a member of the OGP initiative since its creation in 2011. It has to date adopted four National Action Plans. While the second National Action Plan (2013 – 2015) included the governance of natural resources as one of its commitments, it was not until the third National Action Plan (2016-2018) that water was specifically included as a thematic focus. This has to do with the fact that this action plan was intended to address the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The objective of the water-related commitment in the third National Action Plan was: To measure both volume and quality of water consumption and discharges, as well as to promote water reuse, zero discharge of large-scale users and to supervise treatment, making information transparent in order to facilitate citizen participation in monitoring. Its principal line of action was described as: To promote inter-institutional coordination and the active participation of citizens in order to establish a system (public and open platform and other means of communication), to make up-to-date information available on water volumes extracted and granted in concession, as well as on discharges, based on available and newly created information. To act on the commitment, the National Water Commission (Conagua) launched a website where documents on water quality were published, although not in line with the original objective (see evaluations on compliance with third plan here and here) and only till early 2018. Documents were then replaced by a link to a web platform featuring a real-time map of installed water meters in the country, including information on volume extracted at each measurement point, but not on the volume of granted concessions or of discharges. However, the option for downloading open data was difficult to use and the platform ceased to be updated in March 2019. Mistrust between stakeholders leads to the interruption of work on commitments Unfortunately, the implementation and monitoring of the commitments made in the third Plan were interrupted in May 2017, following allegations of espionage directed at journalists and human rights defenders, some of whom were active participants in the OGP process. The Núcleo de Organizaciones de la Sociedad Civil (Nucleus of Civil Society Organisations, NOSC) then decided to withdraw from the OGP coordination board, known as the Tripartite Technical Secretariat (STT), on the grounds that there was a lack of trust and no enabling environment for the promotion of dialogue needed to continue the process. The government tried to get support from new CSOs to continue with the implementation of the third Action Plan but did not succeed. In mid-2018, presidential elections were held in Mexico. The opposition won the election, taking power at the end of that year. In this new scenario, the OGP process was resumed in 2019, with the publication of the fourth National OGP Action Plan on December 10th, 2019. A new commitment: preparing a fourth National Action Plan with a commitment for water Following the transition process into the new administration, the Ministry of Public Administration contacted members of civil society and academia (including UNAM, CartoCrítica, Agua para Todos) to review the most relevant issues on their agendas and consider them for future commitments. At that time, transparency and accountability in natural resources management had not shown many signs of improvement. Several civil society organisations were thus making efforts to promote access to natural resource data. During this new round of meetings, CSOs pointed out that the situation in Mexico was characterised by over-exploitation and pollution of aquifers, vulnerable communities having little access to drinking water, a lack of transparency regarding the volume of granted concessions and of real extraction, and a lack of information on fees paid by private entities and by the real beneficiaries of those concessions. Such a lack of access to information on the state, management, and protection of water limits the possibilities for constructive public debate and inclusive citizen participation. This lack of access to information also hinders the improvement of public policies that promote equity, efficiency, and sustainability in access to and use of water resources. Around the time of the meetings, a group of CSOs (Causa Natura, Reforestamos Mexico, the Fund for Environmental Communication and Education, and CartoCrítica) were already working on the design of a Natural Resources Transparency Index (ITRN in Spanish), a tool to measure transparency of public information regarding the management of forests, water, and fishing resources. In this work, recommendations were made for the development of commitments on open government. Proposals were then made to develop a commitment for water resources, to be integrated in Mexico’s fourth National Action Plan (2019 – 2021). The commitment would identify areas of opportunity to promote openness and dissemination of information in efforts to achieve SDGs (6, 14, 15 and 16), with the joint participation of three parties – government, civil society and the National Institute of Transparency, Access to Information and Personal Data Protection (INAI). An OGP Coordinating Committee replaced the STT and promoted meetings with the CSOs developing the ITRN, as well as with the government entities involved in natural resource management. In the water sector, these were Conagua and Semarnat (Ministry of the Environment). The meetings resulted in an agreement to include the Index in the fourth OGP National Action Plan, under commitment number 10: Strengthening transparency in forest, water, and fisheries management. The commitment covers two main developments: the implementation of recommendations from the transparency assessments carried out through the ITRN, and the creation of a participatory mechanism called Transparency Monitoring Groups (Grupos de Monitoreo de la Transparencia), to follow up on the progress of this commitment. The Natural Resources Transparency Index (ITRN): input for the OGP Action Plan Commitment The ITRN involves an analysis of transparency in the forestry, water, and fisheries sectors, through indicators for three types of data -categorised as active (required by law), proactive (voluntary, useful and available online) and reactive (requested). The ITRN examines these in three axes, or areas, of resource management: Permits and concessions: rights to use the resource. Subsidies: assistance or aid granted to the population for the use of the resource. Inspection and surveillance: compliance checks on resource-related obligations. The indicators are assessed based on a set of variables (required data) according to their availability and usefulness. A set of variables (and their components) is foreseen for each data or transparency category (Active, Proactive, and Reactive), in each area of management (concessions and permits / subsidies / inspection and surveillance). In order to identify these variables, both officials and users from each sector were involved. Vulnerable groups with direct links to the resources, who are defenders of territories and the main users of the data, in particular women, indigenous peoples and small-scale producers, were also involved in this process. To date, the variables identified are in the process of being evaluated. For example, one of the variables identified in the Active Transparency category and related to permits and concessions is: information on concessions for the exploitation and use of national surface waters. This variable is broken down into various components such as type of use, concession volume, validity period and location of the authorised point of extraction. A value of 1 is assigned to the variable if the components are available online, 0.5 if incomplete, and 0 if not available. With the results obtained, specific recommendations will be made for each sector to improve transparency and information access. The commitment made in the OGP Action Plan is to implement these recommendations. Moving forward with the new commitment A roadmap was developed to ensure implementation and follow-up of the commitment. This roadmap contains key actions that make it possible to identify the state of the commitment process at any point in time. The creation of the Monitoring Groups is a milestone in this process. These groups are public, inclusive, and have an open follow-up mechanism. They include participants who are also decision makers, and who verify and ensure that recommendations are implemented. They also provide feedback for the future, including new needs, new participants, and new commitments to be monitored. In the ongoing ITRN assessment of variables related to water resources, several issues have already been identified in terms of transparency and accountability. There is for example too little updated data on quality, extraction volumes granted and effectively withdrawn, and availability of environmental flows. After this first assessment, it is expected that not only will the information gaps identified be filled and that data will be made available in official websites in a timely and reliable manner and in open formats, but also that this data will be usable by different stakeholders: for a researcher studying the behaviour of a basin as well as for users defending their territories, and their rights.

A word from Barbara Schreiner, the new Executive Director of WIN. On 2 January 2019, I stepped into the WIN offices in Berlin, and into my new role as the Executive Director of this important network. I am very excited to have joined the WIN team and to be able to contribute to the efforts to improve integrity and reduce corruption in the water sector across the world. I step into this role as someone with over twenty years of experience in the water sector, in government, as a consultant, and in the NGO sector. Throughout all of those roles, my commitment to addressing issues of water governance has been driven by the question: How do my actions benefit Mrs Mkhwanazi? Mrs Mkhwanazi is a middle-aged woman, living in rural KwaZulu Natal in South Africa. She looks after a number of children – some her own, some grandchildren without parents, or with absent parents – with little to support her except a piece of land and her own hard work. There are other women, just like her, in Myanmar, Ecuador, and India – poor women struggling to make ends meet and look after their families. Mrs Mkhwanazi is my lodestone – is what I am doing in the water sector making her life better? On 28 July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly recognised the Human Right to Water and Sanitation. In 2015, the UN adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Goal 6 focuses on water, which also contributes significantly to the successful achievement of a number of other goals, including those pertaining to Zero Hunger (2), Good Health and Well-Being (3), and Sustainable Cities and Communities (11). At that time, 844 million people did not have basic water service, and 2.1 billion people did not have access to water on their premises, available when needed and free from contamination (what is called ‘safely managed drinking water’). The sanitation figures were far worse. Now, the demand for limited water resources continues to grow, and in many areas, water pollution is also growing. Corruption and lack of integrity in the water sector have enormous negative impacts on our ability to deliver on the SDGs and to meet the human rights to water and food across the world for poor women and men. The impacts come through, amongst other things, public funds being siphoned off into private hands; water authorities turning a blind eye to over-abstraction of water and high levels of pollution, encouraged to do so through ‘gifts’ and political pressure; capture of water regulators by powerful vested interests; collusion, particularly in the construction sector, to push up prices; delivery of sub-standard services in order to increase profit, and demands for payments, including sextortion, for people to access water and sanitation services. Corruption and lack of integrity in the water sector benefit those with enough power and money to bend the rules. Mrs Mkhwanazi is the one who bears the cost. I am delighted that one of our themes for 2019 is gender. It is important that we understand better the different impacts of corruption and lack of integrity on poor women and men and on other particularly marginalised groups such as people with disabilities. In my short time with WIN, I have understood the remarkable range of partners that we have across the world, from big, global players to country-specific NGOs. I have met and been impressed by the small, passionate team based in Berlin, some of whom have been around for a while, and some of whom are relatively new to WIN. I have begun to understand the excellent work that has been done by the WIN team and its partners over the past decade and the size of the challenges that still remain. Currently, we are in the third year of the implementation of our 2017 – 2022 strategy. 2019 will see us conducting a mid-term evaluation which will enable us to refocus our work in the second half of the strategy period, looking at how, from the strong base that we now have, we can build the reach and impact of the network. This requires us to enhance the work that we do in conducting research on integrity issues in the water sector, raising global awareness of the impacts of corruption and lack of integrity, developing tools to address the challenges, understanding better the impacts of corruption, including through a gender lens, and working on the ground with our partners to build capacity amongst civil society, government and the private sector. I have no doubt, from what I have seen so far, that we are well-placed to do so. I hope to have the opportunity to get to know all of our partners and donors in the coming months, to support the creation of new partnerships, to build on the current programme of WIN, and to see how, together we can grow our impact in the water sector. Mrs Mhkwanazi is counting on us, we need to do more. In the meantime, I invite you to be in touch with me as I come up to speed on the most pressing issues and on the opportunities that lie ahead of us.