Climate hero advances rural water resilience
Acting Chair in a rural municipality in Nepal takes important steps in improving and digitising WASH data to drive climate action.
Manju Sharma has emerged as a trailblazing figure in Nepal, serving as the Acting Chairperson of Mahabu Rural Municipality (RM) in Dailekh district. She played a pivotal role in driving the RM to district and national recognition for investments in climate actions for water supply services.
In 2023, Manju and her team decided to update Mahabu RM’s database on water supply service levels, which had been used to develop the existing Water Supply Services Improvement Strategy (2020-2030). This time, her team would link into the government’s NWASH-MIS platform (National Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Management Information System) to digitise the RM’s water supply assets and map out risks to the infrastructure from climate hazards and natural disasters. Through this process, they gained new insights and uncovered a groundbreaking finding: 82% of all existing water supply schemes were impacted by floods and landslides.
Between May and August 2023, Manju’s team collected climate-relevant, geo-referenced data for all 55 water supply schemes of the RM, which serviced a large portion of the community (14,263 out of 18,059 people). The RM also had water supply schemes under construction that would connect seven of the 42 unserved communities.
Mahabu RM's water supply systems
Using the NWASH-MIS data to update the level of service for each scheme, it was found that:
more than half of all households (52%) received a substandard level of service or no service at all.
of the households that did not receive a service, 25% were Dalits.
53% of water sources were on the decline.
Co-developing climate actions
The latest status of the water supply service levels, infrastructure condition, remaining unserved areas, and climate impacts were presented during a meeting attended by RM municipality and ward leadership and representatives, including women, people with disabilities, Dalits, and other marginalised groups. Together, they deliberated on all parameters and agreed on a system of prioritising future water investments. The prioritised list of investments was incorporated within a strategic WASH Plan of Mahabu RM.
To demonstrate what a well-functioning, inclusive, and climate-resilient water supply system would look like, Manju and SNV co-financed the upgrade of two priority water supply systems. SNV supported the technical design and a series of capacity building activities for women-led service provider entities of the schemes.
For the upcoming year's municipality plan and budget, Manju also requested additional financing from federal and provincial funds to support Mahabu RM’s water access, resilience, and sustainability initiatives.
Manju Sharma, a climate hero
Last April, Manju Sharma was invited as one of several speakers to a workshop in Kathmandu. There, she shared her NWASH-MIS experience and presented the challenges and opportunities of digitising data, monitoring progress, and investment planning to enhance people’s water security.
Promoting NWASH-MIS and the critical process of data gathering and monitoring, Manju said, ‘All the information in NWASH-MIS contributes to the local government’s WASH Plan. It guides decision-making on water supply services improvement and (points us in the direction of) prioritising our actions to ensure resilient, equitable and universal WASH services.’
All these significant achievements were made under Manju’s visionary leadership in less than 15 months, a testament to the progress that can be achieved with the right leadership and determination.
*Manju Sharma is a local government partner of the SNV project ICRRWASH-Nepal, which is generously supported by the Australian Government's Water for Women Fund.
**Contact our Water experts in Nepal, Ratan Budhathoki (Project Leader), Madan Bahadur Bhandari (RWSS Advisor), Ram Prakash Singh (District Coordinator), and Sabitra Dhakal (GEDSI Advisor) through our Nepal office.
Locally-led climate-resilient WASH
'How can we inspire and support local government leaders to prioritise progress towards climate-resilient and inclusive WASH services?'
Gain some insights and tips from our Climate Hero Toolkit: an outcome of leadership-focused research and learning activities by UTS-ISF and SNV.