Water is critical for socioeconomic development, energy and food production, healthy ecosystems, and human survival. Although 2.6 billion people have gained access to improved drinking water since 1990, far too many people still lack access to safely managed water supplies. Water scarcity affects more than 40 per cent of people around the world, an alarming figure that is projected to increase because of drought, desertification and the rise of global temperatures as a result of climate change. By 2050, at least one in four people is projected to be affected by recurring water shortages. Corruption hinders progress in ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water. Many of the SDGs can only be met if the water sector is free from all forms of corruption. While the scope of corruption varies substantially across the sector and between different countries, estimates by the World Bank suggest that 20 to 40 per cent of water sector finances are being lost to corrupt practices. A UNDP report highlights that key corruption risks in the water sector include collusion, contract variation and re-negotiation, bribery and embezzlement, elite capture, nepotism, and political mismanagement. - ‘Corporation Water’ available for 4 hours a day, is the only source of water for the hundreds of families dwelling here. With so little supply and so many takers, fierce quarrels and fights are regular affairs. Photo by: Sandipan Mukherjee, WIN Photo Competition 2019. The gender dimension to integrity In many contexts, women and girls carry the main responsibility for domestic water management. As such they are directly affected by lack of access to safe water for consumption and they lose time for productive or educational purposes due to the need to fetch water and care for sick family members. However, women also tend to be disadvantaged in decision-making related to public water management – from the community level to the national and international levels. For example, women are underrepresented as professionals in water governance and management – only 7 per cent of all ministers of water and natural resources are women. Women, who make up the majority of the world’s poor, are most often the main victims of corruption, disproportionately bearing the brunt of corrupt practices in the water sector. According to Cap-Net and the Gender and Water Alliance 2014 report, women are often the victims of corruption risks such as petty bribery or sextortion in informal water networks, as they are typically expected in many developing countries to fetch water, cook, clean, wash and care for the sick. Moreover, the under-representation of women in water governance further impacts transparency, accountability and integrity in the water sector. Strengthening integrity in the water sector through the gender frame There is a need to adopt a gendered perspective to tackle corruption in the water sector, yet the link between anti-corruption, gender and water is not sufficiently researched and recognized. The development community should focus on the following priorities to bridge the three streams of work – water, anti-corruption, and gender. First, focus should be placed on the governance approach to water sector management. Water reform programmes often tend to rely on management approaches to resolve major problems. Yet, unequal and unsustainable access to water is often attributed to corrupt practices, dishonesty, and malpractice. Tackling these issues requires an approach which strengthens oversight, transparency, ethical business values, and multi-stakeholder participation to improve service delivery and resource management. Second, both anti-corruption and water management and governance strategies need to integrate the gender perspective. Removing structural barriers to women’s economic empowerment; preventing and responding to gender-based violence; and promoting women’s participation and leadership in all forms of decision-making could contribute effectively to both water governance and preventing corruption in the water sector. For example, a project in the Philippines shows how women’s empowerment, voice and accountability are linked to improved service delivery in the water sector. Third, research is needed on how to better mainstream gender and anti-corruption in water governance. Gender analyses, gender-disaggregated data and gender-specific research will help understand the links between anti-corruption, gender and the water sector. Research on how corruption manifests itself in the water sector, including the disproportionate impact of corruption on women and girls, such as health and security risks related to water fetching, can shed light on the forms and scope of corruption in the water sector. Research is also needed on how to better mainstream gender and anti-corruption in water governance. Fourth, new technologies provide solutions to tackling corruption in the water sector from a gendered perspective. For example, satellite-based monitoring capabilities, which have already been used to map out water scarcity and other problems, could allow us to track the movement of daily activity in water fetching, which could serve as an innovative way of collecting gendered indicators. Conclusion Given that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is the world’s first comprehensive blueprint for sustainable development, synergies should be built between Goal 5 ‘Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls’, Goal 6 ‘Clean water and sanitation’ and Goal 16 ‘Peace, justice and strong institutions', by fostering greater synergies. In UNDP, we are trying to bring together all three streams of work together so that both gender and anti-corruption are an integral part of water governance and management strategies. The development community, however, needs to do more to provide concrete policy and programming guidance to address the ‘missing middle” problem – the links between water integrity, gender and corruption.

Where does the 2016 Kenya Water Act stand? In aligning the water sector with the devolution requirements of the 2010 Kenyan Constitution, the 2016 Water Act made major changes to the institutional arrangements and mandates in the Kenyan water sector. There is ongoing heated debate on to what extent the resulting institutional framework actually complies with the Constitution, and how suitable it is for improving sector performance. One issue at the centre of this debate is the role of the Water Works Development Agencies, an issue which led to an open confrontation between national and county governments at the Devolution Conference in Kirinyaga in early March 2019. Essentially, this conflict is about who will control the large share of financial resources for infrastructure development which are currently managed by Water Services Boards. The debate about the Water Act 2016 The Water Act 2016 transfers the mandate for developing cross-county water infrastructure from the Water Services Boards to the Water Works Development Agencies while giving the role of developing county assets for water service provision to (county-owned) water service providers. In late 2016, the county governments (through the Council of Governors) sued the then Cabinet Secretary for Water and Irrigation to stop the implementation of the Act, arguing that it established a centralized framework for water service provision which was unconstitutional. They challenged the role of the Water Works Development Agencies in particular. In April 2017, following an out-of-court settlement, the Cabinet Secretary, through legal notices 59 and 60, deferred sections of the Act on the transfer of functions, assets, liability and staff from Water Services Boards to Water Works Development Agencies (section 152), and of assets to the water service providers (153), and activated the transition clause on the dissolution of institutions from the 2002 Water Act, exempting the Water Services Boards. The boards, therefore, continue to exist and manage projects and have signed new loans with development partners in the last two years. The uncertain legal status creates an accountability gap because it is unclear who will be held responsible in the long run – given that it remains unclear how the new loans they have taken on since 2017 will be transferred to the (county-owned) water service providers or the (national government-owned) Water Works Development Agencies. The bone of contention: access to financial resources The national government wants eight regional Water Works Development Agencies to play a major role in infrastructure development, similar to that of the Water Services Boards. The counties, however, argue that they can coordinate infrastructure development amongst themselves and that the water service providers can handle even cross-country projects. This would imply that only one national Water Works Development Agency would be needed for large-scale national infrastructure projects. In 2013/14 and 2014/15, the Ministry of Water and Irrigation channelled 40% of its water and sanitation expenditure (about USD 60 million per year) through the Water Services Boards (see National Treasury 2018, forthcoming). In addition, the Water Services Boards have taken on the largest share of loans from development partners to the water and sanitation sector, which in total amounted to more than USD 100 million per year in 2014/15 and 2016/17 (WHO, 2018). These Boards, however, have repeatedly been mentioned as vehicles for corruption in the Kenyan water sector and were in charge of more than 50% of the water and sanitation services funds investigated for corruption by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission in the last 5 years (WIN 2019, forthcoming). Lack of due process in establishing the Water Works Development Agencies The Water Act (section 65) mandates the Cabinet Secretary for Water and Sanitation to “establish one or more Water Works Development Agencies” and to define their area of jurisdiction. Section 67 states that “the Cabinet Secretary shall, in consultation with stakeholders, develop the criteria for establishment of the water works development agencies”. In February 2019, the Cabinet Secretary of Water and Sanitation, through Gazette no. 16, appointed chairpersons and members of eight Water Works Development Agencies, without prior stakeholder consultation or notice of establishing the Agencies. The Council of Governors is challenging these appointments in court. Kenyan activist Omtatah also went to court, challenging all of the appointments to State corporations made by President Kenyatta (including those to water sector institutions), arguing they were not based on merit. The majority of appointees are former politicians who lost their seats in the last elections. This raises the issue of State corporations as vehicles of patronage, which merits a more detailed discussion than this blog can encompass. At the Devolution Conference county governments made it clear that they were ready for dialogue but would not cooperate under the current circumstances. During two separate panel discussions, when confronted with the question about what was presented as “illegal appointments without stakeholder consultations” neither Permanent Secretary Joseph Irungu nor Chief Administrative Secretary Winnie Guchu openly defended the decision. Instead, they called on counties to collaborate, saying “let us sit down together and discuss”. Now what? The Devolution Conference was an important step in opening up the discussion on several issues that are impacting negatively on strong sector governance. Unless these issues are addressed, sector coordination will be ineffective and it will be difficult for stakeholders to report performance and hold each other to account through joint review. What the Devolution Conference did not address, however, was how the new institutional arrangements, in whatever shape they are finally accepted, are going to reduce corruption and patronage in the water and sanitation sector in Kenya, and what it will take to ensure that funding, from whatever source, is used effectively in the delivery of water and sanitation to the more than 19 million Kenyans still deprived of this basic human right. The national water sector dialogue foreseen in the final Communique of the Devolution Conference, as well as the operationalization of the Inter-Governmental Water Sector Coordination Framework signed by the Ministry of Water and Sanitation and the Council of Governors in March 2018, will be crucial to resolving some these issues. It is hoped that these future dialogue forums will also make space for civil society to actively participate in the discussions and that issues of transparency, accountability and anti-corruption will be placed firmly on the agenda. Several other issues discussed at the Devolution Conference have an integrity dimension, in particular in relation to asset and loan transfers, as well as corporate governance of water service providers. We’ll come back to these in future blogs. In the meantime, contact us for more information or comment below. References National Treasury. 2018. ‘County Public Expenditure Review for the Health and WASH Sectors in Kenya’. World Health Organization. 2018. ‘UN-Water GLAAS TrackFin Initiative Tracking financing to WASH in Kenya Final Report’

The Sustainable Development Goals (Goal 6) calls for universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all by 2030, as well as access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all, and an end to open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations. This requires the development and maintenance of effective water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) systems. It is not just about pipes and tubes. The WASH system, according to IRC, consists of ‘the whole network of people, organisations and institutions (actors) plus infrastructure, resources and behaviours (factors) that deliver WASH services. The WASH system exists within the wider political economy and interacts with other sectors. Taking a systems approach encompasses ‘any of a range of methodologies that use systems thinking to learn about and drive change. The common thread is an effort to make the entire system – its individual components and their interactions – more effective in achieving the desired outcome.’ WASH systems, if examined closely, consist of many overlapping and interacting sub-systems and meta-systems, including physical, institutional, political, social, financial, and other systems. Finding sustainable solutions to the WASH crisis requires that these sub-systems be synced. It requires a willingness to work across disciplines and a new way of thinking and describing the issues. The challenge is to find the right balance between sufficient simplicity—to be able to understand and manage the system—and sufficient complexity—so as not to lose the nuances and complexity of the interactions. This requires careful choices: In identifying those parts of the system that are most relevant to the problem being addressed; In drawing the relevant boundaries for a particular context. The shadow system One of the sub-systems that are often not sufficiently addressed - or deliberately left out - is the shadow system of corruption. This shadow system exists in WASH systems throughout the world. It syphons off money and water, undermines skills and capacity, prevents us from reaching the SDG targets for goal 6, and contributes to the ongoing violation of the human rights to water and sanitation. It is active, present, and often skilfully managed by those involved. By not addressing the shadow system, we jeopardize our ability to make water and sanitation systems work and deliver on the SDGs. The shadow system of corruption This shadow system takes many forms: Infrastructure projects, including hydropower projects, are vulnerable to bribery and private-sector collusion (the construction industry is considered to be one of the most corrupt globally). The personal business interests of officials may run counter to their public duties. In South Africa, for example, it has been alleged that some municipal politicians and officials own water tankers and therefore have a financial stake in the failure of piped water systems. Water allocation may be skewed towards those with money, power, and access to decision-makers. Decisions on where to implement water and sanitation schemes may be biased by political concerns, ethnicity, religion or other influences. This results in a failure to provide services to those who don’t meet these arbitrary criteria. Decisions not to enforce licence conditions for abstraction and pollution discharge may reflect a lack of integrity, or may, indeed, reflect active corruption. Individuals may be required to pay a bribe in order to get access to services or may opt to pay bribes to get water bills reduced. Women and girls face a particular vulnerability at this level, with sextortion requiring them to make their bodies available to male officials in return for access to affordable services. Whatever their forms, corruption and lack of integrity in the water sector lead to higher costs and reduced access to water, especially for the poor and most vulnerable. Such actions reduce the sustainability of water and sanitation services, and of water services institutions. They contribute to inequitable water resource allocation, reduced water security, uncontrolled and illegal pollution, over-extraction of groundwater, the degradation of ecosystems, and the violation of the rights to water and sanitation. Too big to be left out The actual costs of corruption and lack of integrity are hard to measure since, by their nature, these dealings take place in the shadows, unrecorded. Only a small part of the iceberg breaks the surface into daylight. Estimates, however, suggest that they add costs of between 10 – 45%. According to the Water Integrity Global Outlook of 2016 between US$ 770 billion and $1,760 billion is needed annually to develop water resources and services worldwide. A 10% loss is already equal to a loss of $80 to 170 billion per annum. That is only estimating the direct financial costs of corruption, not the indirect social and environmental costs such as reduced health and lost productivity and the time costs of collecting water. A recent study on Identifying and Reducing Corruption in Public Procurement in the EU, conducted by PWC found that 27% of projects analysed involved kickbacks and 14% showed a conflict of interest type of corruption. While the study was not water sector specific, it included the water and waste sectors. The study also found that, on average, the estimated probability of corruption is higher in water and waste compared to other sectors and ranges from 25% to 35%. The estimated direct costs of corruption in public procurement in the water & waste sector in the eight Member States studies ranged between EUR 27 million and EUR 38 million (or 1.8% and 2.5% of the total procured amount). The integrity wall Addressing corruption and lack of integrity is a critical element of making water and sanitation systems work and delivering on the SDGs. Some ways to move forward and keep out corruption are outlined in the Integrity Wall, which stands on four pillars: transparency, accountability, participation and anti-corruption measures. The Water Integrity Network develops and works with a suite of tools related to these pillars and builds capacity amongst civil society, government and the private sector. There are many good examples of how corruption and a lack of integrity have been tackled at different levels, through Transparency, Accountability, Participation, and Anti-Corruption. For example: The Kenya Water Services Trust Fund developed a system called Maji-data which is freely available online and which shows all projects that they have funded across the country. The Guma Valley Water Company in Sierra Leone took control of its billing system by analysing historical water use relative to payments for water, thus turning around a shadow system of negotiating low water bills in exchange for personal payback. This resulted in both greater revenue for the company and a better investment profile for donors and other investors. Research is also providing new insights. It shows for example that gender and diversity on Boards and in management reduces the likelihood of corruption because they serve to break in-group thinking and behaviour. However, overall corruption remains a scourge that is all too present. It is a dark shadow that we need to shine a bright light on as we progress towards 2030 and the target of providing water and sanitation to all.

Women in India’s capital Delhi bear the responsibility of fetching water for their families. Often, this can take time away from other activities that would earn them more money. But at the base of one of Delhi’s landfills, women are working together to support one another in the hopes that their children will have a better future. Many of the women have built their own collective, and they say paying bribes would deplete the savings they’ve built together. Every day, Latipha, who lives by a landfill in India’s capital, Delhi, spends two hours getting water while her husband goes to work picking through waste. She and around 30 other families share a water pipe set up by the government. They say most of the free water they get from the pipe is bad — they only get around 30 minutes of good water every day. “Women have to face more problems,” says Latipha, who manages the home and works on the landfill. “Men go out to work. When women have to stay back at home, they have to face more troubles for water.” Latipha’s story isn’t unusual. Around 90 per cent of Delhi’s groundwater is in a critical or semi-critical condition, the Central Ground Water Board told India’s Supreme Court. Every year, Delhi’s population of an estimated more than 26 million uses more groundwater for drinking, daily use and construction activities than gets refilled through rains, according to the Central Ground Water Board. A woman’s responsibility In India, a Dasra report found 23 per cent of girls drop out of school when they hit puberty - and it’s largely related to a lack of water and sanitation. Women usually bear the responsibility for collecting water. Across Delhi, women in slums spend between two to five hours per day trying to get water for their families, according to studies by Jagriti Kher and Savita Aggarwal from the Institute of Home Economics at the University of Delhi. Kher and Aggarwal also found that women often make more than six trips a day to access water. In some parts of Delhi, water is brought by trucks, while other parts of Delhi rely on groundwater. But the water levels have been dropping for decades. “Climatic changes and the non-climatic drivers such as rapid urbanization and high rate of population growth will further confound the scenario and make the lives of poor women harder,” the study found. “It is extremely important to enhance the adaptive capacity of women to face climatic stresses and to invest in water- and sanitation-related infrastructure.” Part of helping women be more prepared to face climatic stresses like access to water would be to include more women in decision-making processes. When women are part of local governments or in positions of leadership within their community, they are able to raise awareness and set up processes to support issues that directly affect them. And to encourage women to be in leadership, it also helps to study their needs. Part of helping women be more prepared to face climatic stresses like access to water would be to include more women in decision-making processes. - Latipha manages her home and water supply and works on the landfill. Photo by: Manon Verchot. For example, knowing that fetching water takes up several hours of a woman’s day can help NGOs and government bodies direct their attention towards relieving women of that burden. When that burden is relieved, the women can turn to other activities that may help their family earn more money. “When women are empowered with safe water and toilets at home they are empowered to change their world,” according to Water.org, a non-profit aid organisation. “No longer burdened by the water crisis, they can care for their families. They can start small businesses, adding to their household income.” For Kher and Aggarwal, there currently isn’t enough research that focuses on women’s needs and how issues like water and climate change affect them in particular. When studies and programs don’t look at gender impacts, it can mean women will be left behind. “[Women’s] strategic gender needs of education, skill development and income will continue to be ignored leading to persistent gender gaps in attainments in different sectors,” they found. “It is therefore very important to enhance the overall adaptive capacity of urban poor women to face the challenges of rapid urbanisation and climate change.” Waste pickers work together for a better future Many of the people in the community at the Bhalswa landfill moved to Delhi in search of a better livelihood. Some have been in Delhi for decades. Over time they’ve learned to come together and advocate for themselves. By talking to the government with the help of an NGO, they have managed to add some infrastructure to their locality. The women have also created their own support group. Two years ago, they got a toilet complex. It was built to serve 30 families, but a much larger number of people actually use it. It came at the request of Anil Chaurasia, from the Chath Puja Samiti NGO and head of the Residents Welfare Association near the landfill. He reached out to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government. AAP had promised in its 2015 manifesto to build 200, 000 toilets across Delhi, 150,000 of which would be in slums. “Lots of people used to have to defecate on the road or landfill and we’d also have to face that smell and pollution,” he says. “And women would also have to. It didn’t seem right.” Latipha feels the same way. “Since they’ve made the toilet, all women go there,” she says, “Earlier, women faced a lot of trouble having to sit in the open.” The women would climb up the landfill just behind their houses when they needed to relieve themselves. But they wouldn’t have any privacy. The community has appealed to the government for more help. They spent months approaching the local minister to get a sewage line installed. After 8 months, the government put in the sewer. Appealing to the government doesn’t always work, though, several community members said. They’d like to get a better water supply, drains and a proper road. When coming into power, AAP had promised 20,000 litres of free water per month per household in Delhi. The party claims to have laid water pipelines in 217 colonies (authorised and unauthorised). The government also promised to set up a water supply plant near Bhalswa, according to Chaurasia. But he says they told him they will only do it after 2019 - an election year. “There’s nothing we can do,” says Latipha. “We go to the government officials and they say they’ll do it, but no one does it. They promise, then leave.” A support system for women Around the world, women’s responsibility of providing water for the family can put them in difficult situations, a report from the Water Governance Facility found. “Women may often be expected to engage in corrupt behaviour – such as paying a bribe to get a water supply connection for the home, or accepting that the water bill gets hiked by one’s landlord,” the report said. In Bhalswa, though, the women are adamant about not paying any bribes for their water supply. Many of the women have built their own collective, and they say paying bribes would deplete the savings they’ve built together. “A lot of the men do alcohol and other intoxicants,” says Saira Banu, one of the women living by the landfill, and one of the leaders of the collective. “I ask women not to increase the conflict by fighting with them. Let us unite as women. First, we’ll try to convince them to become better and improve the kids’ lives.” Saira and some of the other women put aside what they can, whether it’s ₹10 or₹20 (0.12-0.25 euros). Every month, it adds up to ₹200-300 (2.48 to 3.71 Euros), which they keep in a bank account. “Some men are into gambling and use force to take away the money, and don’t even help us out when in need,” says Saira. “As long as men keep getting the money at home, there will be no improvement, because they don’t think about its significance.” - Saira Banu, one of the women living by the landfill, is a leader of the women’s collective. Photo by: Manon Verchot. In Bhalswa, the women are adamant about not paying any bribes for their water supply. The women now use the money when someone is in need, or when the whole community is facing problems. They’ve even used the money to buy debris to soak up the flooding during rains. Gradually, they’re bringing the men on board. “After a while of collecting money, we noticed improvements,” adds Saira. “By saving up little by little, we have seen that our account has increased to ₹ 20,000 (247 euros). And no one is in need for it, so we thought let’s keep adding to it.” The women are still waiting for a clean water supply from the government. It’s a slow and tedious process of returning to government offices. But now that they have a toilet and a sewer system, they are encouraged that their living conditions are slowly getting better. And with the help of NGOs, they continue to strive to solve the issues they face. Links Urbanization, Climate Linked Water Vulnerability as Impediments to Gender Equality: A Case Study of Delhi, India Vulnerability of Poor Urban Women to Climate-linked Water Insecurities at the Household Level: A Case Study of Slums in Delhi Delhi Government’s Water Yearbook 2016-17 Water.org: A Women’s Crisis WGF Report 8 – Women and Corruption in the water sector

Effective gender-responsive programming in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene or what is better known as the WASH sector can contribute to progress towards gender equality and important results [1]. In 2019, WIN has its sight set on the theme of gender and water integrity, exploring the dynamic interface that underpins the relationship between gender and integrity in the water and the overall WASH sector. To mark International Women’s Day, we asked some of our partners to share the work they are doing in this regard. Here is what End Water Poverty, Simavi, Stockholm International Water Institute, and World Resources Institute have to say! END WATER POVERTY (EWP) - Credit: Kiana Alavi, End Water Poverty, Zambia’s NGO WASH Forum. Could you tell us how your work is narrowing the gender gap in the water sector and empowering women and other non-traditional leaders? Can you share a story or an experience? By working closely with civil society organizations, promoting accountability for Goal 6 and raising awareness about the human rights to safe water, sanitation and hygiene, End Water Poverty (EWP) is supporting its members to narrow the gender gap. EWP also ensures that all key stakeholders, such as governments, civil society organizations, development partners and UN agencies, focus on reaching the marginalized and most vulnerable, this includes women and girls. To ensure that all groups are reached, the Secretariat dedicated the first week of its annual Water Action Month (WAM) campaign to reducing inequalities in WASH with a particular focus on women and girls. EWP’s members across all regions also work closely with community and non-traditional leaders to ensure that voices from the local level reach decision-makers at the national, regional and global levels. The Secretariat provides support to help facilitate this and allows CSOs a platform to share these voices. While the Secretariat does not do any WASH service provision, we work closely with members across various regions to advocate for the human rights of all, including women and girls. To us, the future is better if women are not just involved in key conversations, but are empowered and provided with the platform to share their voices and help build a sustainable world for future generations. What do you think are the key issues pertaining to gender, integrity and anti-corruption in the water sector? We identify three key issues pertaining to gender and integrity in the water sector: The lack of accountability by decision makers who committed to reaching everyone and ensuring access to their human rights by 2030. This also leads to an increase in corruption. A lack of space for the input of marginalized groups (e.g. women) during the planning, implementation and review of strategies/projects. This hinders progress as the work that is done does not reflect the needs of these groups. For example, if women are not given the space to be involved in the planning processes, then the sanitation facilities planned and built (often by men) do not address their specific needs. A lack of data (or disaggregated data), which not only prevents us from seeing how much progress we have made but also provides spaces and opportunities for corruption to take place. How would you like to work with WIN on this issue? We would like to continue to work with WIN and link its work on transparency and integrity to EWP’s ongoing work on the human rights approach to WASH. Whether this work is based on gender inequalities or working with a variety of marginalized groups, we want to work with WIN and other EWP members to ensure that marginalized groups are listened to and reached. We would also like to provide more capacity-building support at the national level to civil society organisations. We would like to not just provide support to civil society organizations at the national level but to produce content with WIN that can promote the joint work of both organizations at a more global level and help engage new audiences, such as youth groups. SIMAVI - Ritu with her daughter. Credit: Simavi. Could you tell us how your work is narrowing the gender gap in the water sector and empowering women and other non-traditional leaders? Can you share a story or an experience? Simavi uses women-centred rights-based approaches in its programmes. For our WASH programmes, this means that we look into what women need and what contributes to their empowerment. We consider empowerment as a process of change that enables women to make choices and transform these into desired actions and results. When doing so, women, are taking control of their own lives, and their own bodies, improving their own positions, setting their own agendas, gaining skills, developing confidence in themselves, solving problems and developing self-sufficiency. In other words, by empowerment, we are referring to increasing the economic, social, political, and physical strength of women. To get a better insight into the “if-hows-and-whys” of women’s empowerment resulting from participation in the WASH committees or other WASH interventions, we conducted a study on 6 cases where we thought empowerment had taken place in Bangladesh. What we learnt was that WASH programmes can create an enabling environment to facilitate empowerment. The following interventions were found effective in creating an enabling environment for women from this study: Providing knowledge and information on health, sanitation and rights through several techniques: courtyard sessions, training workshops, posters, leaflets and banners, and exposure visits. Providing a platform to discuss and share this knowledge with others and advocate for and claim rights. Mentoring and coaching on how to claim their rights and participate in decision-making processes. Creating an enabling environment to claim rights, assist in building linkages and participate in decision-making processes. What do you think are the key issues pertaining to gender, integrity and anti-corruption in the water sector? In many places of the world women still bear the (unpaid!) work of fetching water and care work within the household, even during pregnancy and when they have their periods. They are also the first ones to suffer when there is too little or too much water (drought and flood) or a lack of access to sanitation. They are often not allowed to participate in decision-making processes within their households and their communities. As was mentioned in the first question, when the enabling environment is created for them to empower themselves, they can become powerful drivers of change. The rest of the question reminds us of a participant we met during a workshop in Bangladesh. She told us that after learning about her WASH rights and how she can demand them, she has been able to convince the local government to provide her community with Water Supply (Tube Well), three times! The first two times two well-off men from the community convinced the contractor to dig the well in their yard promising they make it available to the community. But afterwards, they put a fence around it and put a lock on the well. Only the third time did they manage to get real access to the water. Power dynamics and the tendency to prioritise personal interests above those of others are among the major perennial issues pertaining to integrity and anti-corruption. How would you like to work with WIN on this issue? The root causes of gender inequality within and outside the water sector cannot be addressed in isolation. Simavi believes working in partnership with like-minded organisations such as WIN would enable us to tackle different dimensions of the issue. For instance in Bangladesh, Simavi and WIN support a common local partner – Development Organisation for the Rural Poor (DORP). While Simavi support focuses on the use of a social accountability tool to monitor and demand adequate gender-responsive and inclusive WASH budget allocation and expenditure, applying WIN’s integrity tool aims to increase the transparency of the process, which is complementary to our work. STOCKHOLM INTERNATIONAL WATER INSTITUTE (SIWI) - Credit: Pilar Avello, SIWI Could you tell us how your work is narrowing the gender gap in the water sector and empowering women and other non-traditional leaders? Can you share a story or an experience? SIWI's main focus area is water governance – who gets what water, when and how, and who has the right to water and related services, and their benefits. The gender gap plays out in terms of power relations and its consequent effect on people’s possibility to participate, influence and benefit from policies, activities and investments. Women do not have equal access to institutions and decision-making processes that determine access, allocation, management and regulation of water resources and services. Particularly in water negotiations, women are greatly underrepresented or absent. SIWI's work in this regard includes for example: the new water law in Comoros, in which specific recommendations were provided by SIWI to include gender aspects in the text to overcome gender-based disparities in access to water services and resources. The text is now being discussed at the Parliament. Another example is our water integrity programme in the MENA region aimed at empowering stakeholders to act as change agents. The project worked closely with women professionals that allowed us, on one hand, to improve our understanding of the gender dynamics of corruption in the water sector in the region; and on the other to develop a Community of Practice of women professionals to increase women’s access to decision-making processes within overall water management often hindered and dictated by their social, economic position or geographic location. What do you think are the key issues pertaining to gender, integrity and anti-corruption in the water sector? One key issue when working with gender and anticorruption is to understand how corruption impacts men and women differently in the water sector. The gendered impacts of corruption are not limited to a specific sector or type of service. Party politics based on clientelism and partiality effectively prevent women from entering higher positions since they lack access to these ‘boys’ clubs’. Protecting corrupt activities of men in party elites and/or old-school biases doubting women’s capabilities and trustworthiness can also hinder women from reaching higher political positions. Since citizens tend to give higher priority to investments benefitting their interests, the exclusion of women, as a result, can also have direct effects on the priority given to water and sanitation by governments. In addition to the general impacts of corruption on their lives, women experience gender-specific types of corruption – of which sextortion is one of the most prevalent. Despite cases of sextortion being documented in many sectors including education, health, humanitarian aid, migration and the judiciary system, it does not make headlines. More research is needed, as recent research also points out that lower levels of corruption do not necessarily correlate with higher female representation in policymaking. Democratic political systems that enforce the rule of law, encourage a free press and hold institutions accountable tend to encourage women’s participation and representation. Hence enabling the environment for better water governance can have positive impacts on both anti-corruption and gender equity efforts. Integrating a gender approach in anti-corruption work extends itself not only to improved understanding and inclusion of forms of corruption that affect women and men differently in legal frameworks and international conventions but also to create an enabling environment for women to fully engage as decision-makers. How would you like to work with WIN on this issue? WIN and SIWI are partner organizations that have collaborated on many projects in relation to the promotion and implementation of water integrity policies and tools, specifically in relation to water service delivery. SIWI's experience in research about gender and corruption [2], or in developing training materials and implementing methodologies to asses water governance and integrity risks can be of use for WIN's network of partners, organisations, and governments working to improve water integrity worldwide. We would like to continue our long-existing collaboration in this area looking for future opportunities to advance the theme in the water sector and ensure a gender-balanced world. #BalanceforBetter. WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE (WRI) - Women are underrepresented in the water sector. Credit: Flickr/Asian Development Bank. Could you tell us how your work is narrowing the gender gap in the water sector and empowering women and other non-traditional leaders? Can you share a story or an experience? World Resources Institute (WRI) has an obligation, which we committed to within our strategic plan, to ensure that our projects mitigate negative social impacts and reduce gender and social disparities. WRI’s portfolio of work on water management includes many projects with deeply integrated gender considerations. For example, we developed a set of guidelines for decision-makers using a tool within WRI Aqueduct – the Aqueduct Food Risk Analyzer. These guidelines consider gender and social equity in water and food security. With these guidelines, decision-makers can promote the involvement of women and other marginalized groups as important stakeholders in the usage and management of water. Our team working on water-related conflict and risk assessments identified possible gender indicators that might help to better predict water-related conflicts (for building an Early Warning System). They are also researching how gender may be linked to the causes, impacts, and/or solutions to water-related conflict, which will be integrated into an analysis that explores solutions for a variety of water and security pathways. The preliminary results of this research also led to the development of a blog that highlights that women have a role to play in effective water management, and when they are included, water tends to be more well-managed. Another project we focus on, Strengthening the Right to Information for People and the Environment (STRIPE), works to improve communities’ health and environment through their right to access information and participate in decision-making. Despite the passage of Freedom of Information laws around the world, people still don’t know if their water is safe to drink or if their air is too dirty to breathe. Worldwide, 80 per cent of countries don’t publicly report the amount of pollution that companies discharge. Without this information, local communities cannot voice their concerns, participate in decision-making, or hold powerful interests accountable. What do you think are the key issues pertaining to gender, integrity and anti-corruption in the water sector? One of the main issues that stands out is the lack of data. Many anecdotes point to women’s potential as key players in water management, especially as it relates to improving water management. But in order to spark action, we need more evidence. Impact evaluations that answer the “how” and “why” are especially lacking, which may help address how to include women in decision-making and project management. Women are the primary users of water at the domestic and farm levels. They are also directly impacted by any changes in the quantity, quality, and pricing that may result from corruption at the utility level. Women from low-income households often have to stand in long lines to collect water or purchase it from unreliable, private sources when utilities fail to service their communities. We also need to see more meaningful participation of women in the water sector. Current planners and providers should improve their understanding of issues facing women relating to water. Additionally, women tend to make more socially aware and environmentally sound decisions—for instance, research shows that women, regardless of political affiliation, show greater concern for the environment than men and that female lawmakers increase the level of collaboration, conflict resolution, and capacity for self-sustaining collective action. But there are many barriers to women entering the workforce, especially in technical roles, ranging from hiring practices and hostile work environments to social beliefs around women’s training in traditionally male-dominated sectors. How would you like to work with WIN on this issue? In 2017, WIN, SIWI, WRI, Fundación Avina, and the Open Government Partnership formed a Community of Practice on Water and Open Government. This forum brings together water and open government experts from around the world to facilitate knowledge sharing and the development of innovative, cross-sector approaches that leverage transparency, inclusive participation, and accountable decision-making to improve water management and service delivery. We would love to continue this work and find other opportunities to strengthen our collaboration as WRI continues to build on our gender and water work. References [1] UNICEF (2017) Gender-Responsive Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: Key elements for effective WASH programming. [2] UNDP-SIWI Water Governance Facility (2017). Women and corruption in the water sector: Theories and experiences from Johannesburg and Bogotá. WGF Report No. 8. Stockholm: SIWI.

Guest post by Ayushi Trivedi, a research analyst - gender and social equity at the World Resources Institute. We are promoting a conversation on the gender dimension of water integrity and water governance. We are particularly interested in learning more about gender-informed strategies to enhance integrity, reduce corruption and improve service. We’ll be publishing a series of blog posts throughout 2019 to capture diverse views and better understand the nuances of gender, participation, and the fight against corruption across various cultures and locations. Contribute to the conversation and tell us about your work on the topic. This examination of how women’s participation can support better water management was originally published on WRI’s Insights blog. It is cross-posted here with permission. Thank you! In the 1980s, the government of Malawi began providing piped water to low-income households in 50 districts, establishing community-run tap committees to collect bills and manage systems. Men made up 90 per cent of committee memberships—and problems quickly became apparent. The men were often away from home, while women were the ones actually using and managing water day-to-day. Over the years, the tap committees failed to collect payments, manage their money or retain membership. To salvage the project, the government recruited women into the tap committees and trained them. Once women made up the majority of members, they paid water bills more reliably, held regular meetings with high attendance rates, and redesigned communal taps to be more user-friendly. The result was that nearly 24,000 low-income families across Malawi gained access to reliable water supplies. This story is hardly unique: A growing body of evidence shows that water projects can become more effective when women participate. Yet women’s representation in the overall water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector is dismal, from community water groups like the ones in Malawi to the national policy level. In 2014, women made up less than 17 per cent of the WASH labour force in developing countries. They were particularly underrepresented in technical jobs such as engineers and hydro-geologists, and in leadership roles such as policymakers, regulators and managers. In an increasingly water-stressed world, many countries and regions face the risk of political instability or conflict over water. For this reason, women’s lack of involvement in the water sector is troubling not only for gender equity but for peace and security as well. The rising tide of women in water management Especially in developing countries, men and women may have different priorities and responsibilities for water use. In addition to farming alongside men, women are often responsible for fetching water and using it for domestic chores such as cleaning, cooking and washing. Women are already the primary water decision-makers at the household level. And when women influence water management, their communities get measurably better outcomes - including better-functioning water systems, expanded access, and economic and environmental benefits. UNDP research on 44 water projects across Asia and Africa shows that when both men and women engage in shaping water policies and institutions, communities use water services more and sustain them for longer. Research also shows that women share water more equitably than men do, especially in times of scarcity. At the national policy level, women representatives can help design more inclusive policies and raise issues that might have been otherwise neglected. For example, when Maria Mutagamba served as the Ugandan minister of state for water, she developed five-year gender strategies for the water sector. These strategies promoted women to take up key positions on decision-making committees and provided guidance on integrating women’s concerns into the water and sanitation sectors. With the implementation of the first round of strategies, Ugandans’ access to safe water increased from 51 per cent to 61 per cent in only two years. - Maria Mutagamba was a leader in gender strategies for the water sector. Flickr/World Travel & Tourism Council. Better water management can reduce conflict As increasing water demand and climate change lead to higher rates of water scarcity and conflict, water management is becoming an increasingly urgent issue. WRI’s new research on water, security and conflict shows that water stress is an important factor driving social instability and conflict around the world. A community’s risk of water stress depends not only on droughts and floods but also on its ability to govern fairly and be resilient in the face of these natural hazards. For instance, in the Black Volta Basin in Ghana, community members devised a system of water use rules - including designated times and places to get water - that ensures equitable access among families, herders and farmers in the basin. This system has reduced the region’s water-related conflicts. Research on women, peace and security overall provides strong evidence that countries with greater women’s empowerment and gender equality are also more peaceful and stable. Women play important roles in formal and informal peace processes, and policymakers now widely recognize gender as a key factor in how people experience conflict, and in how we can reduce it. Given that women can be powerful water stewards, it stands to reason that women’s involvement in water management can also reduce water-related risks and conflicts. - A woman manages the chlorination system at a camp for displaced people in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Flickr/Oxfam International. We need more research Many anecdotes point to women’s potential as key players in water management. But in order to spark action across more countries and regions, policymakers require more evidence - especially impact evaluations. When governments and NGOs evaluate the effects of water development and peace-building projects, they should make sure to measure the effects of women’s participation. With this kind of evidence, we will better understand how women can help solve the problem of water-related conflict. Increasing the number of women in local water committees is a great first step, but women’s leadership nationally and internationally would likely result in even greater benefits.

In Mexico, the Supreme Auditor of the Federation (ASF, by its Spanish initials) is responsible for public accounting audits. Every year, they publish audit reports on public programmes and works. These are an invaluable source of data that shows how the government plans, deploys and operates programmes designed to deliver public services to the people. Through these, a relatively complete image can be constructed of how the Mexican government works, and how decisions that affect the everyday life of the citizens – both urban and rural – are taken. Our organization, ControlaTuGobierno (CTG) has been using these reports as a source of information for our workshops with grassroots communities. We know from experience that civil society engagement can play a very important role in enriching the work of the Supreme Audit Institution, in particular through social audits and through the tracking of audit reports on specific public institutions. From 2000 - 2016, the ASF carried out 222 reviews of the public works and programmes planned and operated by the National Water Commission of Mexico (CONAGUA as it is known in Spanish) and published the reports. Since 2014, we have conducted research reviewing all 222 of these reports – yes you read that correctly – including 31 reports on the performance of CONAGUA on Drinkable Water, Sewerage and Sanitation Programmes, which were studied in depth. We are now working on structuring the information contained in these reports, thanks in part to the ASF’s public system to consult the reports online. Our quest here was to find out what these audit reports reveal about the performance of CONAGUA. The initial questions set out were: How have the reports been used so far? How do marginalized communities effectively use this public information for active engagement? And does evidence gathered by civil society organizations complete the panorama that the official reports outline? Our experience shows that civil society engagement can play a key role to enrich the Supreme Audit Institution’s tasks and contribute to tracking the recommendations they make about public institutions' performance. Findings in an unexplored official source The first approach of ControlaTuGobierno to this enormous amount of information was to focus on a descriptive analysis of the number of audits per year; the type of actions derived from the audit exercise; as well as the budget amounts audited and recovered. This allowed us to highlight findings about the most audited States, the number of recommendations made by the ASF, and the audited amounts. Many of the findings point to irregularities in the use of the budget. Along the sixteen years of audits analysed, the ASF asked CONAGUA to return the money related to expenses up to 75 billion Mexican pesos (around 6 billion US dollars) [1], of which only 740 million pesos (1 per cent of this amount) were recovered. The lack of reliability in the information that CONAGUA offers as official data is even more alarming. For example, in 2011 the ASF highlighted that CONAGUA had no documentation and/or methodological evidence to support the improvement reported in their publication 2010 Situation of the Drinkable Water, Sewerage and Sanitation subsectors. According to their numbers, access to drinking water increased 6% in 10 years and sanitation coverage scaled from 79% to 96% in the same period. Considering the fact that CONAGUA does not consistently measure and produce this information, the fundamental question is what is the basis on which they plan and design their programmes. As another example, according to a 2014 ASF audit, CONAGUA agreed that communities in situations of extreme food poverty would be the target population of a programme designed to build sanitation facilities. However, CONAGUA did not prove that it had any updated and disaggregated information to locate these populations in the territory. Our research also throws light on certain limitations of the financial auditing and administrative approach that the ASF uses to audit. This is reflected in a lack of sustainability, human rights and gender perspective criteria. Proof of that is the fact that the ASF approach considers water resources as a matter of national security rather than a human rights issue. Finally, our analysis shows that despite crucial institutional failures and irregularities – such as failure in fulfilment of programs’ goals, lack of transparency in selection criteria of projects, overall opacity and incomplete information of financial performance – being reported year after year, the recommendations from the ASF were ignored and the same bad practices continued to be documented in subsequent Supreme Audit exercises. - Unloading dock of Poinsettia. The neighbourhood of Caltongo, Xochimilco municipality, Mexico City. This picture was taken during a walk along the Avenida Nuevo León made with press and other media members to put in the public eye the misdeeds and problems caused by the repaving works. The works could have potentially caused damage to the drinking water network had the women of the neighbourhood not kept watch. Conclusion These findings have shown that the water scarcity and pollution issues that we witness in our fieldwork with communities[2] are the product of a series of fallacious administrative practices playing out at different governmental levels and therefore a deep-rooted and ubiquitous problem. As our work is directly connected with grassroots communities that have been facing multiple problems with the proper delivery of public services such as drinking water and sanitation, our experience has shown us that access to official information – such as these audit outcomes – is essential to scale local demands to a higher level of government (either State or National). In 2018, Mexico went through a change in political administration. We believe that these findings, and the information contained in the reports, can help communities around the country to make proposals that encourage changes at the community level through better decision-making in the design and the use of available budgetary resources. - Wastewater treatment plant. Cocotitlán municipality, State of Mexico. This treatment plant is one of the very few plants that operate in the Amecameca and La Compañía river basins. The plant was designed to help clean up these rivers. Although it works properly, the water that comes out of the plant is polluted again as it reaches the rivers, making the process useless. Crops irrigated with wastewater surround the facilities. The picture was taken during a visit with agricultural producers of surrounding fields. References [1] Around 6,168 million dollars, considering 1 dollar=12.16 Mexican pesos, the historical mean between 2000-2016 according to data obtained from the Bank of Mexico. [2] The communities we work with are located in between Mexico City and the State of Mexico margins. About the authors ControlaTuGobierno has been working since 2013 with grassroots communities, both, urban and rural, in different areas around Mexico City. Our main goal is to help marginalised communities to take control of the public decisions that affect their everyday life. We believe the right to information is a key that helps to open the gate to claim other basic rights such as water and sanitation. Controlatugobierno.com Twitter: @ControlaTuGob FB: ControlaTuGobierno Links CONAGUA through the lens of the Supreme Auditor of the Federation reports: 2000-2016 (complete workbook in Spanish) First Meeting of Auxiliary Watershed Organizations: Good Practices, Limitations, Lessons, and Prospects (A brief report of the encounter among different autonomous water committees, academic experts, and Mexican NGOs organized by CtG in 2017)

CASE STUDIES FROM KENYA Case studies Published in 2018 with Caritas Kenya The Integrity Management (IM) Toolbox for small water supply systems is an innovative participatory approach to coordinate efforts between communities and local governments to improve the quality of services provided from small water supply systems in rural and marginalized areas. The IMT-SWSS is designed for community groups managing a small water supply system to help them improve their performance and compliance by analysing the way they currently manage their water system, identifying current problems, and selecting adequate tools. From this basis, community members define action plans, which are implemented through a long-term coaching process. Tools have been reviewed under the lens of the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation and look specifically at the engagement of disadvantaged groups, including women. Implementing partners have identified five case studies from Kenya, highlighting key achievements, challenges, and lessons learnt. Downloads:

Textile and ready-made garment production is one of the most water-intensive industries in the word, as access to this vital resource is essential for cotton cultivation, textile dyeing, and finishing. The water footprint of fashion is estimated at around 20% of all industrial water worldwide. How the fashion and garments industry approaches water sustainability in the face of a changing climate and increasing competition over resources is therefore crucial on both fronts of water use and water pollution. According to WWF, it can take up to 2,700 litres to produce the cotton needed to make a single T-shirt. Toxic chemicals can be discharged into water bodies from the textile dying process when appropriate effluent treatment measures are not taken. This not only affects the water bodies, but also has long-term implications on public health, food production, and the environment. The textile industry has been key to economic development in many countries, and is tied to job creation and economic empowerment. With water use predicted to increase by 50% between 2007 and 2025 in developing countries, and 18% in developed ones, governments and communities have a growing interest in environmental and water sustainability, as well as in understanding how the industry manages the resource. The textile and ready-made garments industry is a major driver of the Bangladesh economy, yet water pollution in the industry causes severe environmental damage across the country. Even though a regulatory framework for wastewater management exists, it is inadequately enforced due to the country’s weak institutional system and presence of high-level of corruption. A recent study published by the Water Integrity Network and Transparency International Bangladesh suggests that, ‘a plethora of policies and laws have been enacted and institutional frameworks have been put into place to govern and guide water governance and management […] Lack of supervision from any advisory and regulatory watchdog in this sector means that there is no organization overseeing activities from planning to operation, making critical comments and suggestions for improvements through systematic investigations, undertaking advocacy campaigns, and enforcing action against violations’. Most companies operating in the garment and textiles sector of Bangladesh are suppliers of multinationals that are legally obligated to provide oversight on their suppliers. However, the existing laws and regulations are not adequately enforced, and the water sources in the vicinity of the factories are highly polluted. Supply chain accountability has become a growing concern for brands. And despite important initiatives taken by the apparel industry, notably after the 2013 Rana Plaza tragedy that claimed an estimated 1,135 lives, there is still plenty of room for improvement. Effective wastewater management is one area where sustainable solutions already exist, and can be implemented. There are frameworks and guidelines in place; dialogues must be opened and capacity supported, for actors to achieve compliance. Water use and water pollution in the garment industry both severely impact on the public, private, and civil sectors. Although there are many initiatives that bring together buyers, factories, and experts to improve technical processes – Partnership for Cleaner Textile (PaCT) in Bangladesh – or chemical management – Better Mill Initiative in China – there is a need to bring the debate beyond the water sector and open it to the public, and engage the garment companies for a deeper understanding of public value. WIN and partner Your Public Value are advocating for building a dialogue with various stakeholders, including Global Brands, to jointly design an approach to tackle the problem of wastewater pollution in Bangladesh. Download infographic (pdf, EN) Download report (pdf, EN)

INTEGRITY RISK MAPPING OF THE WATER SECTOR IN BENIN Research and risk assessment Published in 2018 with GWP / PNE Benin Pour une compréhension globale et approfondie de la vulnérabilité actuelle et future du secteur aux phénomènes de corruption et autres pratiques contraires à l’éthique au niveau national, le PNE-Bénin, WIN et la coopération néerlandaise à travers l’Organisation néerlandaise pour le développement au Bénin (SNV Bénin) et le programme OmiDelta, ont accompagné le ministère de l’Eau et des Mines (MEM), dans la mise en place de la présente mission d’élaboration d’une cartographie des risques d’atteinte à l’intégrité dans le secteur de l’eau et de l’assainissement au Bénin, et accessoirement dans le secteur de l’irrigation agricole. L’objectif principal est de contribuer à l’amélioration de la gouvernance et de la performance du secteur de l’eau et de l’assainissement à travers l’établissement d’une situation de référence, assortie de recommandations stratégiques et opérationnelles pour prévenir et réduire les risques de déficit d’intégrité et autres pratiques contraires à l’éthique dans le secteur aux niveaux national, départemental et communal. Les objectifs spécifiques de l’étude sont, entre autres de : faire l’état des lieux des risques de déficit d’intégrité dans le secteur de l’eau et de l’assainissement prenant en compte les différentes fonctions du secteur, les principaux acteurs du dispositif institutionnel, les relations qui les lient, leurs activités et leurs procédures, etc. ; documenter les études de cas et bonnes pratiques en matière de prévention et de lutte contre la corruption à différents niveaux du secteur ; proposer des actions et recommandations stratégiques et opérationnelles dont la mise en œuvre permettra de prévenir et d’atténuer les risques d’intégrité et autres pratiques contraires à l’éthique tant au niveau national, départemental que communal dans le secteur etc. Le rapport de synthèse présente les principaux résultats de l’étude, les recommandations ainsi que les grands chantiers de promotion de la gouvernance dans le secteur de l’eau au Benin. Télécharger Résumé: Etudes de cas: Download:

Working paper By Carmen Fernandez Fernandez (WIN Associated Consultant) with inputs from the Centre for Rural Development (Seminar für Ländliche Entwicklung, SLE). Published in 2018 This working paper on land grabbing examines the link between land and water grabbing, the people that are most impacted by this, and legal frameworks related to both land and water rights, with special focus on Kenya and Ethiopia. The document examines integrity risks in the Ethiopian government’s leasing of land and water resources to foreign investors, and the land reform process in Kenya after the launch of the 2010 Kenyan Constitution. It also identifies how powerful actors are taking control of land and water resources at the expense of poorer, local communities. Land and water grabbing refers to the capturing of both land and any water resources that the area encompasses. Corruption in land governance plays a huge role in land grabbing, and integrity risks manifest through bribes, flawed decision-making processes, circumventing official procedures, and institutional fragmentation. Download (pdf, EN):

LESSONS LEARNED FROM WATER INTEGRITY ACTION UNDER WIN’S STRATEGY 2011 – 2016 WIN’s Lessons Learned Report captures experiences and challenges faced whilst working on water integrity between 2011 – 2016. The report demonstrates that working to improve water integrity is not always a straightforward matter. Approaching the topic, targeting interventions, interpreting key principles, and prioritizing actions can be considerable challenges. The lessons outlined in this report highlight how WIN and its partners have faced these challenges, and how we are moving forward to effectively support improvements in water management and WASH services. Lesson 1: Corruption happens everywhere. Keeping it hidden makes it thrive. Being transparent about it can build trust. Lesson 2: It is critical to carefully evaluate how far one can go when discussing corruption and only gradually push the limits. Lessons 3: Being sensitive about the topic means taking into account cultural relativity and using positive entry points to generate discussion and action. Lesson 4: Prevention is a sign of due diligence: it can build trust with financing partners and ensure effectiveness of projects. Lesson 5: Concerted action for advocacy and tool implementation is key, even if it is difficult to keep up. Lesson 6: Political will or top support helps. Lesson 7: Acting at lower levels and building up momentum for integrity is possible and effective. Lesson 8: Transparency is not just about opening up the account books. Lesson 9: Civil society and the media play a key role in independent monitoring and reviews of budgets or service levels. Lesson 10: Empowered, capacitated regulators can be strong change agents in the fight against corruption. Lesson 11: Ensuring stakeholder engagement is a slow process but if it is real and multi-directional, integrity work will be stronger. Lesson 12: Integrity programmes require thorough assessments and context analyses, detailed stakeholder mapping, and quality follow-up. Download the full report here: