Gambia - Climate Smart Rural Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Development Project (CSRWASHDEP)

The additional financing Gambia Climate Smart Rural Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Development Project (CSRWASHDEP) includes delivery of better waste management services to improve environmental conditions and better protect national water resources in changing climatic conditions, particularly in riverine and coastal communities. The Project is designed to deliver the objectives through an Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) approach. The IWRM approach entails coordinated stakeholder interventions to improve the quality of economic and livelihood-driven interaction with nature’s water cycle (the Hydrological Cycle) in a manner that promotes safe, equitable and sustainable utilization of the water resources; the approach naturally embeds the need to improve sanitation, and to address the potential climate change impacts. Therefore, the Project interventions are premised on the following key building blocks, thus: (i) providing climate resilient WASH infrastructure, including infrastructure for monitoring the occurrence of water resources; (ii) fostering coordination and active participation of all sector specific and sector relevant agencies/stakeholders in addition to building their capacity for IWRM; (iii) improving beneficiary communities’ sanitation & hygiene knowledge, attitudes and practices, as well as enhancing their awareness and adoption of relevant climate change adaptation measures; (iv) promoting beneficiaries’ gainful participation in the delivery of WASH services, including nurturing publicprivate partnerships at the lowest appropriate level; and (vi) introducing livelihood-centred measures to protect and sustain the aquatic environment. The estimated cost is UA 27.47 million (GMD 1.8845 billion). The project will be implemented over a period of approximately 63 months beginning September 2018. The project contributes to climate finance, with 4 million USD of the total approved amount dedicated to adaptation.