Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T19:44:10.041Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Delivering water services during protracted armed conflicts: How development agencies can overcome barriers to collaboration with humanitarian actors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 June 2020

Abstract

This note discusses the challenges of water service delivery before, during and after protracted armed conflict, focusing on barriers that may impede successful transition from emergency to development interventions. The barriers are grouped according to three major contributing factors (three “C”s): culture (organizational goals and procedures), cash (financing practices) and capacity (know-how). By way of examples, the note explores ways in which development agencies can overcome these barriers during the three phases of a protracted armed conflict, using examples of World Bank projects and experiences in the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa. Before the crisis, development agencies need to work to prevent armed conflict. In a situation of active armed conflict or when conflict escalates, development agencies need to remain engaged as much as possible, as this will speed up post-conflict recovery. When conflict subsides, development agencies need to balance the relative effort placed on providing urgently needed emergency relief and water supply and sanitation services with the effort placed on re-establishing sector oversight roles and capacity of local institutions to oversee and manage service delivery in the long term.

Type
Humanitarian-development nexus
Copyright
Copyright © icrc 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

The findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed in this note are entirely those of the author. They do not represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the executive directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent. The author would like to thank Anders Jägerskog, Dominick de Waal, Michael Talhami, the anonymous reviewers and the editorial team of the Review for their comments, which greatly improved this note.

References

1 United Nations (UN), The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015, New York, 2015, p. 8Google Scholar, available at: www.un.org/millenniumgoals/2015_MDG_Report/pdf/MDG%202015%20rev%20%28July%201%29.pdf (all internet references were accessed in May 2020).

2 World Bank, Forcibly Displaced: Toward a Development Approach Supporting Refugees, the Internally Displaced, and Their Hosts, Washington, DC, 2017Google Scholar.

3 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), States of Fragility 2015: Meeting Post-2015 Ambitions, Paris, 2015Google Scholar.

4 UN, above note 1, p. 4.

5 John Norris, Casey Dunning and Annie Malknecht, Fragile Progress. The Record of the Millennium Development Goals in States Affected by Conflict, Fragility and Crisis, Center for American Progress and Save the Children, 2015.

6 Paul Collier, V. L. Elliott, Håvard Hegre, Anke Hoeffler, Marta Reynal-Querol and Nicholas Sambanis, “Breaking the Conflict Trap: Civil War and Development Policy”, World Bank and Oxford University Press, Washington, DC, 2003, pp. 13 ff.

7 For a discussion of the ambition and challenges of SDG 6 on clean water and sanitation for all, see Herrera, Veronica, “Reconciling Global Aspirations and Local Realities: Challenges Facing the Sustainable Development Goals for Water and Sanitation”, World Development, Vol. 118, June 2019CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

8 International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Protracted Conflict and Humanitarian Action: Some Recent ICRC Experiences, Geneva, 2016, p. 9Google Scholar.

9 For a discussion of the importance of considering the cumulative impacts of conflict, see ICRC, Urban Services during Protracted Armed Conflict: A Call for a Better Approach to Assisting Affected People, Geneva, 2015Google Scholar.

10 World Bank and UN, Pathways for Peace: Inclusive Approaches to Preventing Violent Conflict, Washington, DC, 2018. p. 255Google Scholar.

11 World Bank, The Toll of War: The Economic and Social Consequences of the Conflict in Syria, Washington, DC, 2017Google Scholar.

12 Devarajan, Shantayanan and Mottaghi, Lili, “The Economic Effects of War and Peace”, Middle East and North Africa Quarterly Economic Brief, World Bank, Washington, DC, January 2016Google Scholar.

14 Shantayanan Devarajan, “An Exposition of the New Strategy: Promoting Peace and Stability in the Middle East and North Africa”, World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015.

15 OECD, The Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the Accra Agenda for Action, 2008, p. 4, available at: www.oecd.org/dac/effectiveness/34428351.pdf.

16 “A New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States”, International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding, p. 2, available at: https://tinyurl.com/yc9zgbl9.

17 More details on SDG 16 can be found on the Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform, available at: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg16.

18 For an elaboration of this point, see Filipa Schmitz Guinote, A Humanitarian–Development Nexus that Works”, Humanitarian Law and Policy Blog, 21 June 2018, available at: http://blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy/2018/06/21/humanitarian-development-nexus-that-works/.

19 Perspectives on development are varied and multifaceted. For a more detailed account of development from the perspective of the World Bank, see Morrison, Mary and Harris, Shani, Working with the World Bank Group in Fragile and Conflict-Affected States: A Resource Note for United Nations Staff, World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015Google Scholar.

20 For a more detailed account of the significance of institutions in economic development, see Acemoglu, Daron and Robinson, James, “The Role of Institutions in Growth and Development”, in Brady, David W. and Spence, Michael (eds), Leadership and Growth, World Bank, Washington, DC, 2010Google Scholar.

21 On the role of climate change, see, for instance, Asian Development Bank, A Region at Risk: The Human Dimensions of Climate Change in Asia and the Pacific, Manila, 2017. On the importance of justice and political stability, see UN Briefing on SDG 16, available at: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/files/metadata-compilation/Metadata-Goal-16.pdf.

22 Fiduciary control ensures that development funds are transparently used for the intended purposes, that they achieve value for money, and that they are accounted for. In fragile contexts, countries are often not able to guarantee this fiduciary control, which increases the risk of corruption and inappropriate use of development funds.

23 World Bank and UN, above note 10, p. 249.

24 United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, Articles of Agreement: International Monetary Fund and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, US Treasury, Washington, DC, 1944, available at: https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/files/docs/historical/martin/17_07_19440701.pdf.

25 John Borton, Future of the Humanitarian System: Impacts of Internal Change, Feinstein International Center, Somerville, MA, 2009

26 Justin Armstrong, The Future of Humanitarian Security in Fragile Contexts, European Interagency Security Forum, 2013.

27 McGoldrick, Claudia, “The State of Conflicts Today: Can Humanitarian Action Adapt?”, International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 97, No. 900, 2015CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

28 UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, “OCHA on Message: Humanitarian Principles”, 2012, available at: www.unocha.org/sites/dms/Documents/OOM-humanitarianprinciples_eng_June12.pdf; World Food Programme, “Humanitarian Principles”, WFP/EB.A/2004/5-C, Rome, 2004; UNICEF, “UNICEF's Humanitarian Principles”, 2003, available at: https://tinyurl.com/y7cgmasy; Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, “Humanitarian Principles”, available at: https://emergency.unhcr.org/entry/114728/humanitarian-principles.

29 See the UN's “Deliver Humanitarian Aid” web page, available at: www.un.org/en/sections/what-we-do/deliver-humanitarian-aid/.

30 For more details on UNRWA's work, visit the UNRWA website at: www.unrwa.org/who-we-are.

31 “Other situations of violence” are situations in which acts of violence are perpetrated collectively but which are below the threshold of armed conflict according to the ICRC. See ICRC, “The International Committee of the Red Cross's Role in Situations of Violence Below the Threshold of Armed Conflict”, International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 96, No. 893, 2014Google Scholar.

32 ICRC, “Fundamental Principles: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow”, 7 October 2015, available at: www.icrc.org/en/document/red-cross-principled-humanitarian-action.

33 See, for instance, Bennett, Christina, The Development Agency of the Future: Fit for Protracted Crises?, Overseas Development Institute Working Paper, London, 2015Google Scholar; Earle, Lucy, “Addressing Urban Crises: Bridging the Humanitarian–Development Divide”, International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 98, No. 901, 2016CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Georgieva, Kristalina and Kellenberger, Jakob, “Discussion: What are the Future Challenges for Humanitarian Action?”, International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 93, No. 884, 2011Google Scholar.

34 World Bank and UN, above note 10, p. 249.

35 World Bank, World Development Report 2011: Conflict, Security, and Development, Washington, DC, 2011.

36 World Bank, World Bank Group Engagement in Situations of Fragility, Conflict, and Violence, Washington, DC, 2016, available at: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/24915.

37 World Bank and UN, above note 10, p. 250.

38 The countries that the World Bank Water and Sanitation Program worked in were the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Nigeria, the Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan and Zimbabwe.

39 World Bank and UN, above note 10, p. xviii.

40 Sadoff, Claudia W., Borgomeo, Edoardo and Waal, Dominick de, Turbulent Waters: Pursuing Water Security in Fragile Contexts, World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

41 Several development agencies have produced guidelines for understanding and applying conflict sensitivity approaches in their interventions, including the “do no harm” approach. See, for example, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, “Conflict Sensitivity in Programme Management”, Stockholm, 2017; Conflict Sensitivity Consortium, “How-to Guide to Conflict Sensitivity”, UK Department for International Development, London, 2012.

42 World Bank, “Results Framework and M&E Guidance Note”, Washington, DC, 2013.

43 Ruckstuhl, Sandra, Conflict Sensitive Water Supply: Lessons from Operations, Social Development Working Paper No. 127, Washington, DC, 2012CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

44 M. Morrison and S. Harris, above note 19, p. 24.

46 World Bank, Operational Manual: OP 8.00 – Rapid Response to Crises and Emergencies, Washington, DC, 2013Google Scholar.

47 M. Morrison and S. Harris, above note 19, p. 24.

48 See World Bank, “ICRC, World Bank Partner to Enhance Support in Fragile and Conflict-affected Settings”, 9 May 2018, available at: www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2018/05/09/icrc-world-bank-partner-to-enhance-support-in-fragile-and-conflict-affected-settings.

49 World Bank, Yemen Integrated Urban Services Emergency Project, Washington, DC, 2017Google Scholar.

50 World Bank, “Yemen Emergency Health and Nutrition Project”, Factsheet, Washington, DC, 2019, available at: www.worldbank.org/en/news/factsheet/2019/05/14/yemen-emergency-health-and-nutrition-project.

51 World Bank, World Bank and United Nations Fiduciary Principles Accord for Crisis and Emergency Situations, Washington, DC, 2008Google Scholar.

52 Ibid., Annex C.

53 World Bank, Yemen Emergency Crisis Response Additional Financing Project and Yemen Emergency Health and Nutrition Project: Chair Summary”, 2017, available at: https://tinyurl.com/ybaas4wy.

54 See Mayada El-Zoghbi, “Bridging the Humanitarian and Development Divide”, CGAP Blog, 2017, available at: www.cgap.org/blog/bridging-humanitarian-and-development-divide.

55 See World Bank, “Eight Countries Eligible for new IDA Financing to Support Refugees and Hosts”, 16 November 2017, available at: https://reliefweb.int/report/world/eight-countries-eligible-new-ida-financing-support-refugees-and-hosts.

56 For a list of projects supported so far, see the Global Concessional Financing Facility website, available at: http://globalcff.org/supported-projects/.

57 S. Devarajan, above note 14.

58 ICRC, Bled Dry: How War in the Middle East is Bringing the Region's Water Supplies to Breaking Point, Geneva, 2015Google Scholar; Sowers, Jeannie L., Weinthal, Erika and Zawahri, Neda, “Targeting Environmental Infrastructures, International Law, and Civilians in the New Middle Eastern Wars”, Security Dialogue, Vol. 48, No. 5, 2017CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

59 de Waal, Dominick et al. , Water Supply: The Transition from Emergency to Development Support, World Bank, Nairobi, 2017Google Scholar.

60 IDA is the World Bank's fund to provide concessional financing (loans extended on terms more generous than market loans, with interest rates below market rates and grace periods) through credits and grants to governments of the poorest countries. Eligibility for IDA support depends first and foremost on a country's relative poverty, defined as gross national income per capita below an established threshold and updated annually ($1,175 in fiscal year 2020). For some countries, like Somalia, there is no IDA financing because of protracted non-accrual status. For more information, see: http://ida.worldbank.org/.

61 World Bank, Somalia Emergency Drought Response and Recovery Project, Washington, DC, 2017Google Scholar.

63 D. de Waal et al., above note 59, p. 13.

64 Ibid., p. 36.

65 Diep, Loan, Hayward, Tim, Walnycki, Anna, Husseiki, Marwan and Karlsson, Linus, Water, Crises and Conflict in MENA: How Can Water Service Providers Improve Their Resilience?, IIED Working Paper, 2017Google Scholar.

66 van Veen, Erwin and Dudouet, Veronique, Hitting the Target but Missing the Point? Assessing Donor Support for Inclusive and Legitimate Politics in Fragile Societies, International Network on Conflict and Fragility, OECD, Paris, 2017Google Scholar.