Asian Development Bank (ADB)

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It includes the present and planned water utilisation across sectors and uses, within a framework of environment, conservation and sustainability. It also examined the present institutional arrangements for water resources management and assessed the requirements for institutional development, improvement in data collection and analysis, catchment and agriculture planning, and other reforms required to ensure sustainable water resources management.

This report by Asian Development Bank (ADB) deals with sanitation in India, in particular the progress, differentials, correlates, and challenges. Improved sanitation is essential to reduce ill health, child mortality, lost income associated with morbidity, and to improve environment, human dignity, and quality of life. Goal 7, target 3 of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) stipulates decreasing the proportion of population without sustainable access to basic sanitation by 50 per cent in the year 2015.

This discussion paper by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) examines the current state of sanitation services in India and offers recommendations that can help key stakeholders work toward universal sanitation coverage in India.

Providing environmentally-safe sanitation to millions of people is a significant challenge, especially in the world’s second most populated country. The task is doubly difficult in a country where the introduction of new technologies can challenge people’s traditions and beliefs.

This discussion paper examines the current state of sanitation services in India in relation to two goals—Goal 7 of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which calls on countries to halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without improved sanitation facilities (from 1990 levels); and India’s more ambitious goal of providing “Sanitation for All” by 2012, established under its Total Sanitation Campaign.

The various possible PPP structures for the sector were studied, and their applicability assessed in the context of the selected sample cities. Consultations led to development of term sheets for these PPP structures, which were identified as most suitable and feasible for implementation.

The above exercise has led to development of this report, which may be considered as a tool kit designed to help decision makers decide whether a particular project might be suitable for the PPP route or not. The tool kit can, therefore, be the basis for approving a project implementation structure as part of the overall project approval methodology.

The note complements ADB’s Guidance Note on Urban Water Supply Sector Risk Assessment and offers a framework for mapping governance risks to inform the preparation of future country partnership strategies.

Such a framework covers institutional aspects (policy, legal framework, and regulation); organizational aspects (planning, financial management, procurement, and human resources); and sector operations. While the note has identified entry points for mapping risks to development effectiveness in the sector, lessons from evaluations can augment ongoing efforts for mitigating these risks at institutional, organizational, operational, and project levels; and enhance the development effectiveness of ADB assistance in the sector.

This study report by the Water and Sanitation Programme (WSP), a global partnership administered by the World Bank suggests that inadequate sanitation causes India considerable economic losses, equivalent to 6.4 per cent of India's GDP in 2006 at Rs. 2.4 Trillion. It analyzed the evidence on the adverse economic impacts of inadequate sanitation, which include costs associated with death and disease, accessing and treating water, and losses in education, productivity, time, and tourism. The findings are based on 2006 figures, although a similar magnitude of losses is likely in later years.

The study focused on the safe management of human excreta and associated hygiene behavior. The methodology adopted by the study included disaggregating the economic impacts of inadequate sanitation into health-related impacts including premature deaths, costs of treating diseases, and productive time lost due to illnesses; domestic water-related impacts including household treatment of water, and money and time costs to obtain safe water; welfare losses including additional time spent by people for accessing toilets or open defecation sites, and girls having to miss school, and women not going to work; and the loss of potential tourism owing to inadequate sanitation.

Data on incidence (e.g. diarrheal diseases, deaths, etc.) were compiled from national sources (National Family Health Survey, WHO Demographic and Health Surveys, and other Govt. of India sources). Based on scientific literature, attribution factors were used to estimate the populations impacted by inadequate sanitation. Economic valuation was carried out using costs/prices based on secondary studies.

This discussion paper by ADB, examines the current state of sanitation in India in the context of the Millennium Developmental Goals, which call for a 50% reduction in the proportion of people without sanitation by 2015 and India's goal of providing Sanitation for All by the 2012.

The paper targets policy makers, governmental ministries, state and local governments, non-governmental organisations, developmental agencies and all those who are involved in the planning and implementation of sanitation policies in India. It makes a few recommendations for the successful implementation of sanitation efforts in India.The focus of these recommendations is on household sanitation, which includes safe disposal of human excreta, as measured by household ownership of a sanitary latrine and household access to drainage facilities.

As part of the research study, River Basins and River Basin Organisations in South Asia, done by the Society for Participatory Development Hyderabad, CapNet South Asia (Read More) and Gomukh Environmental Trust for Sustainable Development Pune (Click Here), data about individual river basins has been collected for the river basins in South Asia.

Climate change will affect everyone but developing countries will be hit hardest, soonest and have the least capacity to respond. South East Asia is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change with its extensive, heavily populated coastlines, large agricultural sectors and large sections of the population living under $2 or even $1 a day.