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The Watershed programme has been able to enhance the capacities, credibility and audience of water and sanitation civil society organisations (CSOs) in a fragile state.

TitleWatershed Mali : strengthening civil society for sustainable WASH-IWRM in Mali
Publication TypePresentation
Year of Publication2019
AuthorsBengaly, AC, Saaf, EJ
Pagination11 slides
Date Published11/2019
PublisherWetlands International
Place PublishedWageningen, the Netherlands
Publication LanguageEnglish
Keywordsfragile states
Abstract

The political crisis and insecurity existing in Mali since 2012 has had a negative impact on the country’s water and sanitation sector. Normative frameworks are non-existent or unknown, polices and laws are not enforced, water quality is hardly monitored and budget commitments are unclear. The lack of knowledge about the human rights to water and sanitation has led to poor accountability, and civil society organisations (CSOs) lack capacity to advocate and lobby for better services.

Within the above context, the Watershed empowering citizens Mali country programme focuses on two main issues: (1) water quality and waste management and (2) universal access to sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services. So far the programme has been able to enhance the capacities, credibility and audience of water and sanitation CSOs, including the Alliance Citoyenne Pour l’Eau et l’Assainissement (ACEA-Mali). A multi-stakeholder forum has been established and coalitions of CSOs, local government and media have been strengthened, which can mobilise stakeholders, including Parliament.

Because there enough water and faecal sludge disposal is not seen as a problem in rural areas, there is little incentive to integrate water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and water resources management (WRM). Watershed is trying to stimulate integration by developing a handbook and guideline in combination with collaboration with CSO networks and donor-funded programmes.

Issues emerging from the Watershed Mali programme include how CSOs can influence decision makers to increase national WASH budget allocations infragile states, how to harmonise the institutional and legal frameworks of the WASH and WRM sectors, how to encourage innovation.

A joint presentation by Afou Chantal Bengaly (Wetlands International) and Ele Jan Saaf (SaafConsult) at the WASH Debate "Sustainable WASH service delivery and local WRM in fragile states: how far can you get?", in The Hague, the Netherlands on 20 November 2019.

URLhttps://www.slideshare.net/ircuser/watershed-mali-strengthening-civil-society-for-sustainable-washiwrm-in-mali

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