Sustainable Water
Management in Small Island
Countries
Theme 3 Awareness
political will, advocacy, community
participation, gender equity
environmental understanding
Everyone is a water manager
Our attitudes, beliefs, habits, customs, decisions
and behaviour have an impact on the local watershed.
For example, as Conference attendees, tourists:
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How much water am I using in this resort?
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Where is the coming from? Is it affecting the local
community?
Where is my waste water going? What detergents and
other chemicals are used?
Is the coral dead partly because of effluent from the
resorts?
If the fringing reef is damaged what impact does that have
on livelihood and coastal protection?
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Who are the other water managers
affecting this catchment?
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Local householders
Farmers, loggers, factory owners
Water Utility and Lands Department personnel
Politicians who decide on budgets, programs, and
approve development
NGOs who advocate for the voiceless, and work
within the community
Regional organisations providing technical assistance
and supporting research
Donors who provide funding for programs
How to achieve sustainable
water management?
By
understanding the attitudes, beliefs
and vested interests of all water
managers
Creating
dialogue that results in
motivation to change behaviour where
necessary
Action
requires multi - dimensional
approach to achieve changed behaviour
and attitudes
How to achieve sustainable water
management?
MOBILISATION
To bring together all feasible sector allies to create
demand for beneficial program or behaviour and assist
with delivery of services
PROGRAM COMMUNICATION
Targeting specific audiences and groups with messages
and training. Using traditional protocol, and non
traditional inter-personal and mass media channels
ADVOCACY
Providing a voice, or facilitating the voiceless.
Examining who is making decision and how? What is
decided? How is it implemented?, Who benefits?, Who
is disadvantaged?
Equal Expenditure on
Behaviour Change

Need for equal expenditure on behaviour
change, how water is used and valued

There has been concentration on technical
solutions. ‘Coverage’ does not always
achieve public health, relieve poverty, or
protect natural assets
Coverage must be supported by
behaviour change
 Toilet systems are built but may not being used or
maintained, or they are vandalised
 Piped water is wasted, leaks not reported. People
object to paying bills
 Rainwater tanks have been provided but gutters and
downpipes are not maintained
 Private wells not covered
 Disease paths not understood. Hygiene not practised
 Outcome: High incidence of water borne disease,
and diarrhoea in children under 5 in the Region
Behaviour change requires
time and money

Takes time, patience, money, skill,

Culturally complex, touches on taboos
and personal habits/hygiene,
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Not as prestigious as infrastructure
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Outcomes are not obvious or immediate
Behaviour change requires dialogue

Receiving information does not
always lead to behaviour change,
even if message is entertaining
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Health and environment messages
are often one way mass media, no
space to identify own concerns
How do people learn and remember?
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20% of the information they hear
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30% of the information they see
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50% of the information they hear and see
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70% of the information that they hear,
see, and talk about
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90% of what they hear, see, talk about,
and do
(SPACHEE/Ecowoman 2000)
Behaviour Change requires
opportunity
Even if attitudes change, capacity and
opportunity is required for behaviour change.
Need time, flexibility, and viable alternatives
clearly demonstrated
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Insufficient resources for Government
employees to use training. Can contribute
to ‘braindrain’
Women may not have time or fuel to boil
water
No safe waste disposal option available
Behaviour change is not logical
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Habits such as sanitation practices are
learnt at a very early age
Not everyone believes the germ theory
People may continue certain behaviour
even if they know it is not good for them
Not everyone wants to be consulted. Some
people just want someone else to show the
way. Visionary leadership is also required
Mobilisation: stakeholder participation
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WHY? Programs which have not allowed
stakeholders to be involved in decision
making and management have usually
failed.
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To promote user ownership of services,
decisions should be taken at a level as close
as possible to the source of the problem, in
consultation with the people most directly
affected
Stakeholder responsibility

80-90% of PIC population use on-site
water and sanitation facilities but have
limited access to capacity building to
encourage responsibility
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If centralised services are desired the
Community needs to understand the cost
of centralised services and accept
ownership
Stakeholders need to share information
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Responsible stakeholder involvement requires
comprehensive information exchange and coordination
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Limited communication within departments,
between government agencies, and between
NGOs, donors and regional organisations
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Sector roles not clearly defined
Stakeholder equity
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Do water sector policies and programs
recognise differences in womens and mens
needs, priorities, and access to resources?
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What negative and positive effects do policies
have on women and men? eg downsizing
water utilities?
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Are the youth involved in decision making
about the long term future of their health and
water resources?
Stakeholder involvement can allow
government and community partnership
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Government has limited purse so needs
partnership with community, private
sector and other stakeholders
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Government also has limited power to
make decisions regarding the control of
water resources, or to enforce regulations
Empowerment could replace conflict
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Land is customary owned so centralised
facilities such as water reserves, sewage
treatment plants, require ongoing community
agreement
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To avoid conflict communities could retain
ownership of facilities. Could also be income
generating
Self regulation could replace
weak enforcement
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Communities are related or familiar, so
enforcement is awkward. Interference in
private domain is not welcomed. Direct
confrontation is uncommon
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Therefore well trained self-management
and self-regulation is most feasible
What is being done?
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Improved information exchange and
consultation at all levels
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Attention to household-centered water
and sanitation systems in some programs
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Improved customer/utility relations and
demand management through
institutional strengthening
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Integrated catchment protection
Village Mobilisation - Waste
Management (Tonga)
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Capacity building of “message carrier”
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Mobilising village resources for waste
minimisation and catchment protection
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Gender dynamics in conservation
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Civic pride motivates conservation
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Local fund raising and commitment to sustain
the program (not dependent on external funds)
Waibulabula/Coral Gardens. Fiji
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Partnership between private sector (resort) and
community (8 villages), University of South
Pacific, Government, NGOs to protect livelihood
and marine and fresh water
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Development of eco-friendly sanitation system
with the potential for village use
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Operating through traditional protocol, decision
making and consultation process
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Gender specific consultation process
Community participation in
groundwater research and protection
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Groundwater research involving Tongan
Government, students, teachers, householders and
supported by Regional Organisations
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Research designed and conducted by personnel
from Health, Lands, and Water Board
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Increased understanding of use of private wells,
raintanks, piped water
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Water Utility supports trial of non - polluting dry
sanitation system
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Technology transfer of sanitation system through
Government and Community co-operation
Community Development and
Participation Initiatives (CDPI)
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ADB project in Tarawa in Kiribati which aims to
involve community in long term ownership of public
water supply and sewage treatment systems
Suggested initiatives
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Donors examine ways to sustain longer
term funding to allow behaviour change,
perhaps by serial funding. Maintain
ongoing local workers for extended period
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Centralised information exchange: research
process and outcomes, bi-lateral aid
project reports, NGO and CBO activities ,
government agenda, planned programs
Suggested initiatives
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Mobile training program for householders
and tradespeople in selecting, siting,
building and maintaining septic tanks, pits,
composting toilets, rainwater tanks, wells
etc
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Promotion of local e-mail service using
shortwave radio, a low-end computer, and
solar energy. Can be used for disaster
mitigation, access to regional database,
advertising eco-business. ‘People First
Network’ in the Solomons
Suggested initiatives
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Sanitation Park: Demonstration of
sanitation systems (including cost)which
allows villages to select system most
appropriate to their needs. Assisted with
construction
Integrated Eco-Home: including all the
inputs and outputs of a domestic
compound. Zero discharge
Suggested initiatives
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Develop and adopt National participatory
frameworks that allow effective
participation by civil society in water and
sanitation management
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Adopt mechanisms to achieve gender
equity at all stages of program design and
implementation