Rwanda Integrated Water Security Program (RIWSP)

At the local level, the RIWSP program targets rural populations, particularly subsistence farmers facing severe challenges in WASH, food security, and climate vulnerability. USAID/Rwanda has identified two sub-basins displaying a typical combination of challenges in the above-mentioned areas, namely the Akanyaru basin (south) and the Akagera basin (east). The potential districts under consideration include: Bugesera; Nyagatare; Gatsibo; Kayonza; Huye; Nyanza; and Gisagara. RWISP will target one to two watersheds within the defined sub-basins as sites for the implementation of the program. The selection of the watersheds will take place after the conclusions of an initial assessment. Following the preliminary scoping of the various districts in the sub-basins and in collaboration with the local partners, we will further refine the final location for the on-site activities. The general location of the Akanyaru and Akagera basins.

The primary goal of the Rwanda Integrated Water Security Program (RIWSP) is to improve the sustainable management of water quantity and quality to positively impact human health, food security, and resiliency to climate change for vulnerable populations in targeted catchments in Rwanda. We propose to accomplish this by: (i) Increasing sustainable and resilient access to water and WASH related infrastructure and services for domestic and productive use; (ii) Strengthening governance of water-related resources at the national, watershed, and community scale to increase sustainability and resiliency of the resource for all users; and (iii) Improving technical practices and approaches to optimize the use and resiliency of available water resources for multiple uses. While the program is expected to contribute to health, food security and climate change-related development objectives, the overall focus of RIWSP is on water as a unifying theme. In this context, the overall strategy of the Program is rooted on an Integrated Water Resources Management approach.

The conceptual approach guiding RIWSP involves a carefully coordinated set of simultaneous and sequential activities nested at multiple spatial scales, particularly at the community and central government levels. At the community level, through implementing practical and innovative technical activities, we aim to improve the livelihoods of vulnerable rural populations, while building capacities at the local level to ensure the long-term benefits of these activities. At the district and national levels, we will contribute to institutional strengthening through capacity building of human resources and support to the development and implementation of national policies and strategies related to the three sector areas (water, food security, and adaptation to climate change) addressed by RIWSP.

The project activities will observe a series of core principles intended to ensure the highest possible benefits including; local ownership, participation, impact at scale, technical excellence and innovation, and financial, environmental and overall project sustainability. Central to the program success is recognizing the situation of women in Rwanda, many of whom are head of households in rural areas with inadequate access to water and sanitation. Cognizant of the importance of the role of women as change agents at the community and household levels, gender issues, including advocacy and capacity building activities will be integral and complement all interventions.

The initial stage of the program will include a preliminary assessment and scoping activities after which the project implementation sites will be defined. Two to four watersheds will be selected in total. These will be sub-catchments of the Akanyaru (south) and Akagera (east) basins and are to represent the realities and challenges across the water resources, WASH, food security, and climate change related sectors. The activities proposed for the RIWSP Program will, from beginning to end, engage stakeholders (civil society, government, local NGO's, CBOs) at multiple levels, build capacity, and transfer knowledge. A significant proportion of our effort will be invested to effectively implement and integrate a wide range of low-cost and innovative technologies for water supply, sanitation, and agriculture, with a strong focus on the behavioral change at the community level, needed to ensure real and sustainable transformations in the country. The Program will aim at creating an enabling environment as a means to promote long-term improvements in water and sanitation service delivery and capacity to adapt to climate changes.

RIWSP will implement activities related to Multiple Use Water Services (MUS), sanitation marketing and product/supply chain development, as well as on-farm water use efficiency schemes. Actions related to community climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction, together with climate resilient water management will also be targeted. In the health sector, importance will be given to scaling up community hygiene behavior change and the integration of improved WASH into facility based care. Lessons learned during these ground-level interventions, coupled with the results of national policy and institutional assessments, will be the basis for cooperation with national authorities to influence existing policy and institutional frameworks and create better enabling conditions for the replication of ground-level interventions in other parts of the country. RIWSP contemplates providing support and guidance to the Rwandan Government in the adoption and implementation of "adaptive" Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) strategies. The role of decentralized governance will be addressed at all levels as a means to attain sustainable water resources management, WASH services and agricultural water use in the context of the social, economic, and environmental realities of Rwanda. Assistance to the Government of Rwanda will also include the strengthening of the national hydrological data and information in management systems in support of IWRM.

The proposed RIWSP Program is aligned within the Foreign Assistance Framework, contributing to both the Economic Growth and Investing in People objectives. Furthermore, the specific program activities focus (i.e, WASH, food security and climate change) also respond to the following: Congressional water earmark, the presidential Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative (Feed the Future), and the Climate Change- Adaptation presidential directive. The RIWSP program will take advantage of the opportunities for coordination and co-operation with other USAID programs, such as the Sustaining Partnerships to Enhance Rural Enterprise and Agribusiness Development (SPREAD), the Microfinance Project, the Behavior Change and Social Marketing Project (BCSM), and the Family Health Project, among others. RIWSP will also seek collaboration with USAID's supported multi agency programs, in particular with the new World Bank initiative, the Land Husbandry, Watershed Management, Hillside Irrigation Project (LWH).

The RIWSP Program will be implemented by a consortium of capable organizations and will be managed by a skilled team of professionals with experience in the scientific and socio-economic areas of program activities. This consortium will work under the leadership of the Florida International University (FIU), partnering with CARE International, ICIWaRM, Winrock International, World Vision, and UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education. This team will be complemented by a group of international consultants from the GLOWS Program and by national specialists contracted to execute specific task. Communication and outreach will also be an important component of the RIWSP Program to assure that progress and accomplishments are regularly and effectively communicated and that USAID is given proper credit and recognition.

FIU will develop and submit, with the annual Work Plan, an overall performance monitoring and evaluation (M&E) plan tracking standard indicators of the Foreign Assistance Framework, other program-specific performance indicators (both input/output and outcome), indicator targets and milestones (including the relevant timeframe for achieving them), baseline information, and compliance with USAID environmental regulations 22CFR216.

Countries: Rwanda
Catchment Area: ~ 40,000 km2
Rainfall: 5 billion cubic meters per year
Elevation Range: high altitude: the lowest point is the Ruzizi River at 950 metres (3,117 ft) above sea level
Length: 26,338 square kilometres
Source: Kivu, Burera, Ruhondo, Muhazi, Rweru, and Ihema lakes.
Outlet: Congo and Nile drainage basins
Main Tributaries: Akagera and Akanyaru
Larger Basins: Zaire River Basin and Nile River Basin
Land Uses: Arable land: 45.56% Permanent crops: 10.25% Other: 44.19%
Cultures: The culture of Rwanda is varied. Unlike many countries in Africa, Rwanda has been a unified state since pre-colonial times with only one ethnic group, the Banyarwanda, and a shared language and cultural heritage. Eleven regular national holidays are observed throughout the year, with others occasionally inserted by the government. Additionally, the week following Genocide Memorial Day on 7 April is designated an official week of mourning. The last Saturday of each month is umuganda, a national day of community service, during which most normal services close down.

	FIU will also take responsibility for technical assistance and capacity building in the areas of policy for IWRM, governance, climate change adaptation, along with the coordination of the small grants component.
	CARE is one of the world's largest organizations working to address the underlying causes of poverty so that people can become self-sufficient.
	ICIWaRM was established by the U.S. Army Institute for Water Resources (IWR) in 2007 in collaboration with U.S. institutions and organizations sharing an interest in the advancement of the science and practice of integrated water resources management (IWRM). It was formalized as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) category 2 water center in 2009 with the signing of an agreement between the U.S. The International Center for Integrated Water Resources Management (ICIWaRM) will have the responsibility of developing the Drought Atlas for Rwanda.
	UNESCO-IHE is the largest water higher education facility in the world and provides training, technical advice, and technical support services to water, environment, and infrastructure sectors in developing countries and countries in transition. UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education will take joint responsibility, with FIU, for the implementation of technical assistance to the GoR in the IWRM and decentralized governance at the national level. Additionally, they will provide technical assistance to the GOR through the strengthening of the hydrological plan.
	Winrock is a nonprofit organization that works with people around the world to increase economic opportunity, develop human capacity, sustain natural resources, and protect the environment, matching innovative approaches with the unique needs of its development partners. Winrock International will take primary responsibility for innovative approaches in water supply development, particularly through MUS.
	World Vison Rwanda began working with the people of Rwanda in 1976, then focusing on food, clothing, and education for children and their families. From the late 1980s and into the mid 90s, WVR began responding to an urgent appeal from the international community regarding the refugee crisis in southern Rwanda by meeting the basic needs of refugees fleeing ethnic violence. World Vision (Rwanda-WVR) will work on hygiene behavior activities at the community and facility care level. WVR will also assist farmers to introducing innovative technologies for irrigation.

E-mail: rwanda@globalwaters.net