Main beneficiaries & outcomes
Given the scope of the measures implemented, the benefits of this project reached a large number of people across the country in different ways and at different scales. For example, Bhutan's 20 districts benefited from the new availability of real-time localized water data, the establishment of the National Flood Warning and Weather Centre (NFWWC), and the drafting of the National Climate Change policy, while individual districts and villages benefited from the development of water resource inventories, the establishment of local-level disaster management committees, and the adoption of climate-resilient water harvesting approaches, among other activities.
Most of the assets were widely available, however, several of the measures implemented mainly benefited some of the country's most vulnerable population groups, such as women, youth and highly impoverished communities. This was the case for the measures under Outcome 2, whose target areas included two of the poorest districts in Bhutan (Mongar and Samtse).
Planning and implementation
The planning process for this ambitious project began in 2012 with the submission of the proposal to the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the subsequent preparation of a grant and a project concept. Its implementation was finally approved in March 2014 and had a four-year duration.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) acted as the implementing agency, while the National Environment Commission Secretariat (NECS) was responsible for the project's execution. To facilitate the coordination of the implementing partners, which included the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Works and Human Settlement, Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Phuentsholing Tromde, Mongar Municipality, and Tarayana Foundation, NECS led the Project Management Unit (PMU) which ensured the timely and on-budget implementation of the project. In addition, the PMU was also responsible for the preparation of annual work plans and project monitoring and reporting.
A project inception workshop was organized prior to the start of implementation activities with the objective of involving, engaging and preparing the entire project team and implementing partners.
Finance
The total planned budget for the project was estimated at US$67,612,429.
Of this amount, about 92.5% was provided by co-financing from local and international partners, including ADB, Finnish Meteorological Institute, Government of India, Government of Norway, Helvetas, ICIMOD, Swiss Red Cross, Tarayana Foundation, and the World Bank. The remaining cost was covered by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Innovation
As part of the solutions implemented during the project, several innovative technical approaches were explored under Outcome 2 regarding Climate-Resilient Water Harvesting, storage and distribution systems, which proved very unique and effective for the areas and conditions in which they were applied. Examples include the provision of syntax water tanks for households above and beside sources where drawing pipelines to the home is not feasible, gravitational supply system in upper locations, installation of rain water systems for households, planting of trees and fencing around water sources, and others. Likewise, awareness programs were provided to villagers focusing on the relevance of tree conservation around water sources, and the planting of less water demanding trees and crops.
Performance evaluation
Long term maintenance and sustainability
Despite the need for a clearer maintenance plan for the implemented infrastructures and equipment, it was considered during the terminal evaluation that this project is most likely to be sustainable from the financial resources, socio-economic, and institutional framework, and governance perspectives in the long term. In this case, sustainability is highly dependent on the provision of continuous funding, public awareness, and cooperation regarding the relevance of the solutions, the enforcement of necessary laws, and sustained capacity building at the different governance levels. This project has laid the foundations for such a purpose, yet, continuous work is equally needed. By the closing of the project, 30 water-user groups had been formed along with a group saving scheme for the maintenance of water resources.
From the environmental perspective, the sustainability of the project is likely to be effective in the long term thanks to the support of the diverse outputs and outcomes towards environmental protection.