On 25th and 28th September 2017 Watershed – Empowering Citizens programme was launched in Laikipia and Kajiado Counties respectively. The event attracted different stakeholders from the two counties, including representatives from national and county government and government agencies such as Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Water Resources Authority, National Environment Management Authority and National Drought Management Authority, the Dutch Embassy, Civil Society Organisations and the local communities.
Watershed programme interventions are aimed at addressing the issue of poor water governance in the Athi and Ewaso Ng’iro North Catchment area and strengthening relationships with its stakeholders. Water security is a key issue in the 2 counties and most recently conflicts were experienced in Laikipia during the drought period over water allocation. To address this challenge, the programme works to build the capacity of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) for evidence-based lobbying and advocacy on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services and Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) issues, including fulfilment of human right to water, sanitation and sustainable allocation of water resources. The programme contributes to the Sustainable Development Goal for universal access to water and sanitation services and water security (SDG 6) by making the voices of citizens heard, strengthening governance and accountability.
So far, several Water Resource User Associations (WRUAs) in the two counties have developed and committed to implement advocacy action plans as strategies for policy influencing and conflict resolution. Additionally, the County government of Kajiado Departments of Water and Public Health have established the Kajiado County WASH/WRM Technical Working Group, mandated to provide a platform for joint planning, information sharing and effective coordination of WASH/WRM interventions in the county.
This year, the programme’s focus is on capacity development of CSOs to promote a more socially inclusive and gender-sensitive WASH, and to develop a greater understanding of local water security and IWRM contexts and their implications for WASH. Both implementing and partner CSOs will also initiate lobbying and advocacy activities to raise awareness of government processes and citizens’ rights, roles and responsibilities in holding government and service providers accountable. In terms of supporting the programme’s work on knowledge and research, the Watershed partners have developed a detailed lobbying and advocacy strategy that will be used to influence policy directly.
Watershed – empowering citizens, is a five-year (2016 – 2020) strategic partnership programme between the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and IRC, Simavi, Wetlands International and Akvo Foundation. It is implemented in 5 Countries globally i.e. Kenya, Uganda, Mali, Ghana, Bangladesh, India and at the international level, in The Netherlands. In Kenya, the programme implementation partners include five Civil Society Organization, namely; Kenya Water and Sanitation Network (KEWASNET), Kenya Water Health Organization (KWAHO), Laikipia Wildlife Forum (LWF), Neighbours Initiative Alliance (NIA) and Centre for Social Planning and Administrative Development (CESPAD).
Here are some links on more recent activities on the Watershed programme
- Integrating landscapes into water resources planning: https://rsr.akvo.org/en/project/6020/update/22116/
- Promoting gender equality into water resources management in Kenya: https://rsr.akvo.org/en/project/6020/update/22102/
- Freshwater conservation – WASH Community of Practice Webinar: https://rsr.akvo.org/en/project/6020/update/22117/
- Lake Ol Bolossat gazetted as a wetland protected area: https://rsr.akvo.org/en/project/6020/update/22101/