WATER P-NOTES 47311 ISSUE 23 JanUary 2009 Improving Water Security for Sustaining Livelihoods and Growth in Tanzania T he Tanzania Water Resources Assistance Strategy Sector Development Strategy (2008), giving mo- (TWRAS) illustrates that food security, energy mentum to institutional reform, establishment of security, environmental security, health security, river basin organizations throughout the country, industrial security, and social and economic security involvement of water user groups, and cooperative all hinge directly or indirectly on water security. The management of the country's major transboundary cooperative management and development of rivers, water bodies. A new Water Resources Management lakes, and aquifers shared with other nations also Law is being drafted. have significant implications for national security. A water sector review in 1993 resulted in re- The TWRAS has guided the preparation of the forms following two parallel but linked tracks: second generation of the Bank's programmatic and sectorwide investments, emphasizing improved link- ages between programmatic elements. It argues for Track 1: reform of water resources an integrated investment program supported by a management more empowered, better resourced, and account- able governance regime. This process took place in three phases: The Strategy establishes that equitable and sus- 1. Rapid water resources assessment un- tainable management and development of water re- dertaken in 1994­5 to identify water sector sources is a fundamental prerequisite for achieving priorities; the outcomes of the National Strategy for Growth 2. Basin level management actions and Reduction of Poverty, which identifies the follow- through specific projects, for example the ing intended poverty reduction outcomes: growth River Basin Management and Smallholder Irri- and reduction of income poverty; improved quality gation Project (RBMSIIP), Dar es Salaam Water of life and social well-being; and good governance Supply and Sanitation Project (DWSSP) and and accountability. Lake Victoria Environmental Management Proj- ect (LVEMP); Water resources reforms and 3. Implementation of policy, interventions, investments and programs sectorwide, drawing on the experience and framework of phase 2 to imple- Government-initiated water reforms during the ment decentralized, multisectoral water resources 1990s have led to the development of a farsighted management nationwide (now being implement- National Water Policy (2002) and National Water ed under the Water Sector Support Project). This note contains a summary, for practitioners, of the World Bank Report United Republic of Tanzania Wa- ter Resources Assistance Strategy: Improving Water Security for Sustaining Livelihoods and Growth (February 2006). The Strategy was prepared by Rafik Hirji (Lead Author), Richard Davis, and Francis Ato Brown (Team leader), with inputs from Jakob Granit, IJsbrand de Jong, Reynold Duncan, Ladisy Chengula Robert Liver- nash and England R. Maasamba. Readres may download the report from www.worldbank.org/water. WATER P-NOTES Track 2: Sectoral water developments people and to navigation, fisheries, commerce and water supply in the three riparian nations and is a The second track involved development and policy source of serious political tensions between them. reforms in the various water-using sectors that com- plement and support the reforms in water resources management including water and sanitation, irriga- Achievements, challenges, and tion, hydropower; and environment. lessons Much remains to be accomplished and significant challenges remain (see section 5 for further details). The fact that Tanzania (a nation with abundant fresh- water resources) continues to face very serious water problems after three decades of investments in rural, Water resources conflicts urban, and irrigation water supply and hydropower development and a decade of reforms is an indica- tion of how complex and difficult the problem is. The Tanzania's per capita freshwater availability is TWRAS reviewed the achievements to date, the chal- amongst the highest in East Africa, but the spatial lenges remaining, and the lessons learned. and temporal variability of flow causes significant human and economic problems. Five main river ba- sins and the four lake basins are the legally defined units for planning, development, and management Key achievements of water resources. The Pangani and Rufiji Rivers are the main sources of hydropower and irriga- · Strong policy platform. The 2002 National tion. The three transboundary great lakes--Victoria, Water Policy incorporates sound principles of Tanganyika, and Nyasa/Malawi--contain immense water resources management, including sepa- volumes of freshwater and are of great ecologi- ration of operational and policy and regulatory cal and economic significance as well as regional functions; involvement of stakeholders at both integration and trade. The newly discovered Kimbiji policy and operational levels; and reinforce- aquifer contains an immense quantity of high qual- ment of economic incentives. ity water that is expected to meet all future water supply needs for Dar es Salaam in conjunction with · Institutional reorganization. Ministry- the regulation of the Ruvu River. Overall, Tanzania level functions are being streamlined, and is endowed with abundant freshwater sources of decentralized river basin management is being adequate quality for meeting its present and future strengthened. water needs, if harnessed and managed properly. · Supporting legislation. The new forthcom- Poor planning, inadequate hydrological and ing Water Resources Management Legislation water use information, inadequate as well as unreli- will provide legal support for many components able water resources development, and misman- of the National Water Policy, including institu- agement of resources have created conflict between tional reorganization and autonomous financing users in a number of sectors, including hydropower, of basin water resources management offices. irrigation, livestock, and environmental flow to sup- · Cooperative transboundary water body port biodiversity, wildlife and tourism. Increased management. Several options are being pur- tension and conflict over scarce water resources is sued to foster regional cooperation in develop- likely to center around a number of issues, includ- ment of water resources. ing the challenge of meeting growing urban de- mand while increased upstream extraction reduces · Sectoral developments. Water-dependent flow; the adverse impacts of pollution and poor sectors, particularly irrigation and the environ- land management on water quality and quantity; ment, are increasingly being viewed as essential and joint management of transboundary water re- components of integrated, cross-sectoral ap- sources. Over abstraction of water from Lake Victo- proaches. ria has contributed to rapid lake level declines and · Decentralization of urban and rural caused enormous economic hardship to the lake water supply and sanitation. Community shore communities that comprise several million willingness to pay for services and to engage in 2 ISSUE 23 · JANUARY 2009 operation and maintenance has been demon- national as well as transboundary water issues strated in pilot projects and guidelines have been and conflicts (including those of Lake Victoria). established for extension to other communities. · Developing a strong basin-level institutions is key to the reforms and requires proper training, remaining challenges organizational systems, and sustainable financ- ing if it is to function effectively. Despite these achievements progress has been · Changing to a new model of water manage- patchy and a number of structural weaknesses ment takes time and commitment, including remain that, unless tackled as part of the imple- from donors. mentation of the reforms, will hamper achieving the outcomes of the National Strategy for Growth and · A multisectoral approach applies not just to the Reduction of Poverty (section 2). These include: borrower but to the Bank and other donors, who will need to coordinate across their sectors · Inadequate and unreliable infrastructure, result- in formulating their lending programs. ing in difficulties meeting targets in urban and rural water supply and sanitation and in hydro- · Alignment between country policy and Bank ac- power generation; tivities is key to effectiveness. · Institutions for developing water resources for · Cross-sectoral compliance involving all stake- water supply, irrigation and hydropower produc- holders is essential to successful reforms. tion remain administratively and financially weak; · Knowledge is important but research needs to · Uncoordinated water management, particularly be management driven, with clear purposes at cross-sectoral and transboundary levels; and applications. · Lack of engagement of stakeholder groups, lead- · Management of transboundary water bodies is ing to conflicts between users (which is already challenging but achievable. threatening the National Irrigation Masterplan); · Limited technical and administrative capacity; Tanzanian Water Resources · Weak allocation, regulation and monitoring Assistance Strategy (TWRAS) procedures, compounded by deficiencies in data collection and management; Context · Growing pollution of water resources and inad- The TWRAS must fit into the context of an economy equate pollution control or land use controls to with key water-using sectors linked to the manage- protect water sources. Inadequate consideration ment of water resources (figure 1). of environmental impacts during planning and project decision making. Priority World Bank assistance areas Lessons learned From the analysis of progress with water reforms and the Bank's experience in Tanzanian water man- From the above, a number of lessons can be drawn agement, three areas emerge as priorities for Bank to inform the TWRAS: assistance: · A solid policy, institutional, and legal framework is important but is only effective if properly im- Water resources reforms at local and basin plemented on the ground. Implementation must be emphasized. levels Decentralization of responsibility to river basin and · A multisectoral approach requires active in- local levels is at the heart of the reforms. The Bank tervention at all levels, with support from the has supported the process, for example through highest levels of government. Strong political the RBMSIIP (in the Pangani and Rufiji basins) and support must be mobilized for addressing both DWSSP (in the Wami-Ruvu basin). 3 WATER P-NOTES Cross-sectoral coordination Investments in infrastructure The water resources reforms are a cross-sectoral Increased infrastructure investment is vital for the issue requiring involvement from all water-using water sector. Possible areas for Bank support in- sectors at the national, basin, and local levels. The clude expansion of irrigation improvements, sup- Bank's experience and comparative advantage can ply of water to Dar es Salaam (including Kimbiji be beneficial in several areas: aquifer and regulation of the Ruvu River), and · Support increased national-level co- exploration of options to improve hydropower ordination to help overcome major issues generation within a coordinated water resources such as mercury contamination from mining to system. Support short term high priority investments unregulated declines in levels of Lakes Victoria, in water resources infrastructure and long term in- Tanganyika and Jipe; vestments through support for the preparations of 9 integrated river and lake basin management and · Promote and strengthen education development plans. curricula in national institutions to inform children and adults about responsible water use and train a new generation of water re- Support for the national Strategy for source experts; Growth and reduction of Poverty · Increase the environmental component of water-related activities, for example through Completion of the reforms for the management of strengthened environmental assessment capac- Tanzania's water resources and the expansion of ity and efforts to improve water quality and pro- investments in its water-related sectors (primarily ir- tect water sources; rigation, water supply and sanitation, and energy), together with protection of its aquatic environment, · Ensure coordination within the Bank will provide direct support to the country's poverty itself of all lending and nonlending operations reduction program, and will encourage sustainable in Tanzania. economic growth by increasing the reliability of in- put factors such as water and electricity. Figure 1. Conceptual framework linking water resources management with water-dependent sectors Suggested Conceptual Framework Alignment of sector policies, strategies and laws ­ Draft Water Act Roll-out of new WRM institutional Water for people Water for food Water for Energy Water for Env Water for other framework ­ Strengthening of 9 uses including WBOs and transboundary water industry etc. management Water Sector Agric. Sector Dev. Emerg. Power Lake Vic and lower Operationalization of instruments Support Program Program Program NELSAP Kihansi Env. for water quality, source Program GEF Special National protection and pollution control Programs The Water Sector Board Practitioner Notes (P-Notes) series is published by the Water Sector Board of the Sustainable Development Network of the World Bank Group. P-Notes are available online at www.worldbank.org/water. P-Notes are a synopsis of larger World Bank documents in the water sector. 4 THE WORLD BANK | 1818 H Street, NW | Washington, DC 20433 www.worldbank.org/water | whelpdesk@worldbank.org