Water and Development Partnership Programme: Projects selected for funding

Project description: Marginalised rural communities in Palestine face severe water and food insecurity. Current water policies overlook quality and socio-economic aspects, and political issues have hindered large-scale recycling initiatives. The AGRIMAR project aims to explore nature-based solutions, particularly HomeBiogas systems, to convert agricultural food waste into biogas and liquid fertiliser. As part of this project, women farmers will use the fertiliser in their hydroponics to grow high-value crops, promoting sustainable agriculture.

Thematic areas: Water and Health; Water for Food

Project coordinator: Dr. Eman Duwaik, Palestinian Hydrology Group – Palestinian Women Water Practitioner Network, Palestine

Focus country: Palestine

Project description: This project aims to address significant environmental and economic challenges faced by artisanal dyeing workers in Mali and Algeria, a sector largely led by women. Since the 1990s, local authorities have restricted these activities due to severe pollution caused by untreated wastewater effluents discharged into streets and natural environments. The project seeks to improve environmental safety by promoting sustainable dyeing practices that reduce water consumption. It also seeks to identify safer colouring substances to mitigate environmental degradation of aquatic ecosystems. The project further aims to enhance productivity and income opportunities for dyers, especially among ethnic minority textile artisans in southern Algeria who frequently travel across the Mali-Algeria border for trade. By fostering new skills and reinforcing cultural heritage, the project will help artisans in both countries develop commercial connections and improve their livelihoods.

Thematic areas: Water and Health

Project coordinator: Dr. Awa Doumbia, CERFILTEX, Mali

Focus country: Mali and Algeria

Project description: This project aims to develop an online learning platform to enhance the knowledge and skills of water professionals, thereby supporting capacity-strengthening in the water sector of the Sahel region. The platform will offer interactive, open-access courses focused on water governance and diplomacy to support inclusive and sustainable water utilities. Topics to be covered include water monitoring and management for food and health.

Thematic areas: Water and Health; Water for Food; and River Basins and Deltas

Project coordinator: Dr. Rita Houngue, National Water Institute, Benin

Focus country: Benin and Ghana

Project description: This project seeks to conduct research in Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda to address the challenge of providing safely managed sanitation services in areas where inadequate sanitation poses significant threats to human health and the environment. By evaluating the City-wide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) approach, which promotes inclusive, equitable, and sustainable sanitation solutions, the project aims to ensure effective sanitation service delivery for marginalised populations in rapidly expanding urban areas. The knowledge gained from this evaluation will help improve the CWIS model and facilitate better implementation of sanitation initiatives in other areas of need.

Thematic areas: Water and Health

Project coordinator: Dr. Joy Riungu, Meru University of Science & Technology, Kenya

Focus country: Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda

Project description: Many (peri-)urban areas along the northern coast of Central Java Province in Indonesia face significant vulnerability to land subsidence, primarily due to excessive extraction of deep groundwater and the pressure of urban development on the soil. This project aims to support knowledge production to enhance understanding of the complex interplay between water-related risks and land subsidence in the area. By doing so, it aims to facilitate the development of sustainable and inclusive solutions to mitigate the sinking.

Thematic areas: River Basins and Deltas

Project coordinator: Dr. Hotmauli Sidabalok, Environmental & Urban Studies Program, Soegijapranata Catholic University), Indonesia

Focus country: Indonesia

Project description: In India and Costa Rica, there is a rise in social mobilisation and grassroots initiatives that centre on local indigenous practices and traditional knowledge as viable, and often innovative, alternatives for managing soil and water resources. This project aims to support two grassroot initiatives in developing capacities towards just and sustainable transformation in agriculture and share experiences to stimulate joint learning on processes of social mobilisation.

Thematic areas: Water for Food; River Basins and Deltas

Project coordinator: Dr. Jyoti Nair, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, India; and Dr. Olivia Sylvester, University of Peace, Costa Rica

Focus country: Costa Rica and India

Project description: Excessive solid waste production, inadequate infrastructure and environmental degradation have led to significant landfill leachate contamination of water sources used by Moroccan farming communities. This project adopts an interdisciplinary and participatory approach in collaborating with communities in the Khenifra region to conduct research aimed at developing innovative technologies and nature-based solutions for the treatment and reuse of landfill leachate.

Thematic areas: Water and Health; Water for Food

Project coordinator: Dr. Boumalkha Oumayma, Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Morocco

Focus country: Morocco

Project description: Mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue fever remain serious health problems in many Sub-Saharan African countries. This project will undertake research to investigate how water storage and wastewater management influence the spread of dengue-carrying mosquitos in Burkina Faso and Niger. The study aims to provide insights that will inform decision-making and strategies for managing water storage and wastewater in a manner that controls dengue outbreaks in the region.

Thematic areas: Water and Health

Project coordinator: Dr. Kobié Hyacinthe Toe, Université Joseph KI-ZERBO, Burkina Faso

Focus country: Burkina Faso and Niger

Project description: In Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, urban and peri-urban vegetable gardens face major challenges in accessing clean water for irrigation and washing crops. In these areas, both humans and animals often use the same water sources, which promotes the spread of waterborne zoonotic diseases and exposure to endocrine disruptors. Through the "One Health" approach, this project combats this issue by investigating the interrelationships between the health of people, animals and ecosystems. By using participatory methods and applying a gendered lens, the project will encourage co-creation of solutions with the community, in particular by collaborating with women gardeners to understand their specific needs and integrate their knowledge into project interventions.

Thematic areas: Water and Health

Project coordinator:  Dr. W. Patrick Kabore, Initiative Pananetugri pour le Bien être de la Femme, Burkina Faso

Focus country: Burkina Faso

Project description: Limited access to water presents a significant challenge for Palestinian households in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, profoundly impacting their quality of life. Considering natural and social factors as well as the historical uneven development and the implications of the Israeli occupation, this project focuses on addressing water challenges in unserved and underserved Palestinian communities. The overall aim is to promote water justice and ensure equitable access to safe and sufficient water resources.

Thematic areas: Water and Health

Project coordinator: Prof. Raeda Qarabsah, House of Water and Environment, Palestine

Focus country: Palestine

Project description: The Nineveh Plains in Iraq has been severely affected by drought and high temperatures, leading to a heightened reliance on surface and artesian wells for water supply. However, these water sources face challenges in both quantity and quality, requiring extensive digging and facing contamination by salinity, pesticides and fertilisers. This project facilitates knowledge-sharing and collaboration to raise awareness among local communities about groundwater quality and its importance in establishing a sustainable water management system. Emphasising inclusivity, the project will ensure participation of vulnerable and marginalised groups in decision-making processes towards a more equitable management of the water resources.

Thematic areas: Water and Health; Water for Food

Project coordinator: Prof. James Hassado Haido, University of Duhok, Iraq

Focus country: Iraq

The water agenda has been a central focus of discussions across the Somaliland area in Somalia. These discussions have centred on expanding water access to all parts of local communities. This project aims to develop positive interventions and activities to address inequality in the provision of basic infrastructure, particularly water, in Daami, Hargeisa. This area is predominantly inhabited by marginalised clans who have no or limited access to clean water and water availability.

Thematic areas: Water and Health

Project coordinator: Dr. Ayan Yusuf, Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies, Somalia

Focus country: Somalia and Kenya

Project description: In Mali, Mauritania and Morocco, large-scale farmers are increasingly migrating in search of better farming conditions. These influential farmers are taking over land and water resources and engaging in intensive farming practices to supply international markets. This has created pressure on resources and reduced water access for local smaller-scale farmers, making it harder for them to farm and live sustainably. In response to the growing water scarcity in these areas, this project seeks to conduct research on south-south farming mobilities and how local farming communities cope with changing water flows.

Thematic areas: Water for Food

Project coordinator: Dr. Ir. Hind Ftouhi, Centre de Recherche et d’Etudes sur les Sociétés Contemporaines, Morocco

Focus country: Mali, Morocco and Mauritania