Through the Pacific IWRM National Planning Programme, SOPAC has been requested by the Government of Nauru to secure technical support to assist in the preparation of a National Water and Sanitation Policy Framework (NWSPF) and associated Implementation Plan.

 

Specifically, it has been requested that technical assistance be provided to support Nauru’s Department of Commerce, Industry and Environment (CIE) to develop the Policy Framework and Implementation Plan with the active participation of stakeholders through the soon-to-be-formed National Committee on Water, Energy and Waste (NCWEW) and the existing Water Technical Committee (WTC).  While CIE is Nauru’s lead agency for water, it is acknowledged that the responsibility for managing this fragile resource is shared across various government and non-government stakeholders.

Nauru has no significant surface water resources, limited groundwater resources, and is highly vulnerable to drought.  Water for domestic use is obtained from a mixture of desalinated supply delivered by truck, rainwater harvested from roofs, non-potable coastal groundwater, seawater, and limited use of a thin lens of fresh groundwater under Nauru’s central plateau.  Consumption of potable water is relatively low, particularly during times of extended drought.

 

Despite relatively good toilet facilities, sanitation remains a significant problem on Nauru due to the impact of the island’s cesspits and septic tanks on coastal groundwater.   While there is no documentary evidence of health issues arising from contaminated groundwater, Nauru has one of the higher rates of hospitalized diarrhoea in the Pacific region.  The need for better water supply is widely acknowledged, but to date there has been relatively little engagement on the issues of sanitation and hygiene.

Nauru’s historical reliance on subsidized desalination has permitted both the attrition of alternative water infrastructure and the degradation of its groundwater resources.  While recent droughts and less reliable supplies of desalinated water have seen Nauruans embrace improvements to rainwater harvesting, these difficulties have also pushed people towards inappropriate use of polluted groundwater resources.

 

Despite Nauru’s small size, it is not immune to many of the barriers to cross-sectoral coordination experienced worldwide. Nauru currently has no institutional, legislative or policy frameworks for the management of water and sanitation, leaving the country with no specific objectives or agreed targets for the management of its water resources, and no clear lines of responsibility for water resources planning and decision making.  A further difficulty is that, despite a common concern about water, the citizens of Nauru are not effectively engaged in the protection of their water resources, and there is no clear mechanism in which to facilitate their participation in planning and management decisions.

 

There is a clear desire within Government to “do something about water,” and CIE is in the process of establishing the NCWEW to advise Government on water resource and sanitation management issues.  In addition to providing advice to Government on water, energy and waste, CIE intends for the NCWEW to be given the responsibility of providing multi-stakeholder advice on the development of an overarching Policy Framework and Implementation Plan.  

The CIE has identified the absence of such a policy framework as being a fundamental barrier to the integrated management of the Republic’s scarce water resources, and see its development as a priority for the implementation of IWRM on Nauru.  It is intended that the Policy Framework be a practical, “directing” document – capturing the key objectives, principles, priority issues, actions and responsibilities necessary to drive the management of water resources and sanitation across relevant agencies and sectors.  It should aim to mainstream water management into the annual cycle of Government business, and establish clear and practical roles for CIE, WTC and the NCWEW in the ongoing implementation, evaluation and assessment of the policy.

 

CIE has requested that the Pacific IWRM National Planning Programme support technical assistance to assist in the development of the Policy Framework and Implementation Plan.  CIE has further directed that the development of the framework should incorporate input from Nauru’s key water stakeholders (attached at Annex I), and acknowledge the process followed and lessons learned during the preparation of Nauru’s National Energy Policy Framework.  The energy framework was prepared by CIE with the assistance of the Pacific Islands Energy Policy and Strategic Action Planning (PIEPSAP) programme, and is considered by CIE to be a good example of a successful process.

 

These Terms of Reference outline the core activities of this technical assistance, however the details of individual tasks and their implementation will need to be determined during initial detailed discussions with CIE.  It is crucial also that the Policy Framework and Implementation Plan be both consistent and, where appropriate, integrated with the broader policies and initiatives of Government, including Nauru’s National Sustainable Development Strategy.  As such, the development of the NWSPF and Implementation Plan should seek the active input and engagement of the Minister for Commerce, Industry and the Environment, and where appropriate, Cabinet.











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