|
In rural Cambodia, a large part of the population remains unserved by water and
sanitation services. Of increasing concern recently are the high-levels of arsenic
that have been detected in some of the existing wells across the country.
To address this issue, the government has taken several steps, one of the most
critical being the formulation of a national policy on water supply and sanitation
which was approved in 2003 and which covers issues such as private sector, participation,
financial sustainability, protection of the poor, decentralization and regulation.
The challenge remains to operationalise these policies. In view of the task
at hand, the government allows and encourages private service providers to participate
in the sector, even though the legal and regulatory frameworks are not yet adequately
developed. Some are very small, and informal, but some are on a large scale,
and operate under a license from the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy
(MIME).
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
Location: Cambodia |
|
|
Branch: |
|
|
Partner: Asian Development Bank |
|
|
Donor: UN-HABITAT Water and Sanitation Trust Fund |
|
|
Theme: |
|
|
Cost: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Based on rapid technical and institutional appraisals, three towns in Cambodia
have been identified for participation in the Mekong Water and Sanitation Initiative.
The two most fundamental criteria for selection were need (level of service coverage)
and the incidence of poverty. The town appraisals included stakeholder consultations
and workshops, as well as key informant interviews.
In Cambodia, the government has submitted a draft proposal for a Cooperation
Agreement to scale up and replicate an output-based-aid approach for water and
sanitation. Asian Development Bank has also requested UN-HABITAT to provide
capacity building assistance to a proposed public-private initiative in Siem
Reap.
To build country level capacity in Household Water Treatment Systems (HWTS)
for Cambodia, UN-HABITAT is collaborating with the Centre for Affordable Water
and Sanitation Technology (CWAST) of Canada with the two partners contributing
equally to funding for capacity building, information dissemination, demonstration
and promotion of HWTS. The Household Water Treatment Programme does not require
high capital costs and is, therefore, affordable for small community organizations
and cash strapped government agencies. The project, whose main objective is
technology transfer, includes training, education, technical consulting and
network building. It will also encourage and empower independent organizations
to implement similar programmes on a small-scale.
