Srepok River, Vietnam. Efficient water use in coffee production.
Efficient water use in coffee production in the river basin of the Srepok, which feeds into the Mekong river. © Alisher Sharypau

Demand for water continues to grow while the total volume of water available on the planet is limited and increasingly exposed to pollution. The main challenge is to manage the water sustainably and achieve an equitable distribution of water between households, agriculture and industry as well as between countries. The SDC is working to promote sustainable water use between sectors and peaceful cooperation across borders.

SDC Focus

The SDC is committed to achieving sustainable management of water resources to ensure access to water and reduce the risks of environmental degradation and conflicts. It strives to link peacebuilding with sustainable management of water resources in regions where tensions exist, and promote the efficient use, reuse and proper management of water in areas where it is in short supply.

Background

Transboundary cooperation

The SDC promotes dialogue between countries, which rely on the same river basin for their water supply. Sharing policy frameworks and technical information can help deflate existing or nascent tensions and conflicts. Switzerland, as a neutral actor with experience in mediation and acknowledged expertise in water management, is ideally placed to facilitate such discussions. At the technical level, , the SDC also supports common methods of measurement for determining the quality of water available and the quantities of water used. This data enables decision-makers to speak a common language when it comes to the management of shared water resources, and thus work together to set and reach commonly defined objectives.

Water – a commodity to be valued

Water is not free. Its protection, distribution and treatment obey the same economic laws as any other consumer good. At the same time, water is a resource to which everyone should have access, including the poorest and marginalised populations. The SDC develops mechanisms for making better use of water and promoting the reuse of wastewater.  The mechanisms provide incentives to manage water sustainably and construct environmentally friendly infrastructure in a particular region or industry.

For example, the SDC is involved alongside major corporations in facilitating the transfer of knowledge in relation to the water footprint, an indicator that enables the water used in the whole manufacturing cycle of a product to be better managed. The SDC is also pursuing the development of the 'Water Stewardship Standard' which aims to encourage all actors from business, government and civil society to take responsibility for their particular impacts on this shared resource and to work together to achieve sustainable management. Payment mechanisms are also being developed for compensating populations in the river basin areas for protecting water resources.

Current challenges

By 2030, demand for water is expected to rise by 30% while the degradation in quality caused by pollution will reach unprecedented levels.  Worldwide, 80% of urban and industrial wastewater is discharged into the environment without prior treatment. The majority of the time, the self-purification capacity of aquatic ecosystems is largely insufficient to be able to cope with such large volumes. Furthermore, agriculture requires a great deal of water, accounting for almost 70% of global consumption.  However, water is often used inefficiently and can be contaminated by fertilisers and pesticides. In addition, industry currently uses 22% of water and as it continues to grow will put water resources under even greater pressure.

By 2025, half of the world's population will be living in regions suffering permanent water scarcity, which will have the effect of weakening local economies and force millions of people to relocate. That is why it is already especially important today to use water so as to preserve its regenerative capacity and allow it to be distributed equitably.

Current projects

Object 85 – 96 of 104

Maximum cooperation needed to manage glacier melt in Central Asia

Two men working with specialist equipment on a glacier.

01.05.2017 - 31.07.2022

How to meet the needs of Central Asia’s 68 million inhabitants for water while respecting the glaciers overlooking Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan? The SDC’s project is building on voluntary regional cooperation and rigorous scientific monitoring of the changes taking place in the glaciers.

Country/region Topic Period Budget
Central Asia
Water

Water diplomacy and security
Water sector policy
Water resources conservation

01.05.2017 - 31.07.2022


CHF 1'200'000



Health Promotion Cabo Delgado

01.04.2017 - 31.12.2021

Switzerland contributed to health promotion in Cabo Delgado Province in Northern Mozambique by supporting the retention of health promotion workers, strengthening community involvement and the public finance management. Phase 2 of the project builds up on this and newly address Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in order to improve access and quality in the provision of health and WASH services targeting the 23 rural health posts in  three districts of the Province that are serving a total population of 570’000 people.


Soutien au Panel Global de Haut Niveau pour l’Eau et la Paix

01.04.2017 - 30.09.2020

Le Panel Global de Haut Niveau pour l’Eau et la Paix, initiative fer de lance initié par la Suisse ainsi que 14 pays co-parrains, a été lancée avec succès le 15 novembre 2016 dans le cadre du projet Blue Peace Global. L’objectif de cette phase est d’assurer la bonne continuation des travaux du Panel, soutenu par le GWH (7F-08448.02) et le Strategic Foresight Group, ainsi que d’assure par la suite la promotion de leurs recommandations au plus haut niveau politique.


Priority themes WASH and Protection 2017

15.03.2017 - 31.12.2019

In the frame of the dispatch 2017-2020, 4 priority themes have been defined for the SDC/HA domain, namely DRR, SGBV, WASH and Protection, the two latter ones being hosted by the Africa H division. This CP will fund several activities implemented for the whole SDC/HA domain in order to increase the impact and coherence of priority themes such as defined in the operational concepts adopted by the HA domain in 2016.


Access to drinking water: a challenge in Tajikistan

Three children around a fountain.

01.03.2017 - 31.12.2021

In Tajikistan, the poorest country in Central Asia, half of the 8.5 million inhabitants do not have access to drinking water. In mountainous and rural regions, the figure reaches 80%. This situation poses a serious risk to public health. The SDC's project on 'Safe drinking water and sanitation management in Tajikistan' (SWSMT) focuses on access to drinking water and sanitation in the east of the country.

Country/region Topic Period Budget
Tajikistan
Governance
Health
Water
Decentralisation
Infectious desease
Water supply
Health systems strengthening
Water sanitation
Public sector policy
Medical services

01.03.2017 - 31.12.2021


CHF 5'300'000



Programme d’Hydraulique Rurale – Appui Au Secteur Eau et Assainissement (PHRASEA) Phase 2

01.01.2017 - 31.12.2021

Moins de 50% des nigériens ont accès à l’eau potable et seuls 7% disposent de conditions d'assainissement de base. La croissance démographique galopante, la dispersion de la population sur le territoire et la précarité des finances publiques sont des contraintes empêchant l'accès des populations à ces services de base. Le PHRASEA vient en appui aux efforts du gouvernement, en misant sur la maitrise d’ouvrage des communes.


Central Asia : Water Accountability in Transboundary Chu and Talas River Basins

15.12.2016 - 31.12.2021

Effective water resources management requires data management capacities for proper decision-making at different scales. In this context, a modern, Multi-Level Distributed Water Information Systems is a management instrument that provides stakeholders’ gateways for judicious and sustainable water resources management. The project is aiming at introducing such a modern management information system in transboundary Chu and Talas river basins to improve water accountability and transparency.


UN-Water: Strengthening the Global Water Architecture for the effective achievement of the 2030 Agenda

01.12.2016 - 31.12.2020

The role of UN-Water is to coordinate the UN system’s action on all water related issues, including sanitation. Therefore, UN-Water is key to bring a more effective, integrated and coordinated approach to support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda with regards to water and sanitation. SDC’s support as core contribution is crucial to ensure that the political ambition of the 2030 Agenda for water has an efficient institutional setting.


Scaling-up SuizAgua Peru and Chile

01.10.2016 - 31.08.2021

Corporate Water Footprint (WF) frameworks in Chile and Peru animate private companies to use and manage water in a sustainable manner. Civil society is made aware of sustainable water cultures by behavioural change campaigns and by being part of watershed collective actions with the private sector. Cooperation among SuizAgua Colombia, Peru and Chile and with other partners ensures further outreach of the project in Latin America with the help of an active community of practice sharing gained knowledge.


UN-Water: Strengthening the Global Water Architecture for the effective achievement of the 2030 Agenda

01.08.2016 - 31.12.2030

UN-Water has now firmly established itself as a major actor in water and in coordinating UN agencies to speak as one voice for water. SDC’s support to UN-Water’s core budget is crucial to ensure that the political ambition of the 2030 Agenda for water and its related targets has an efficient institutional setting allowing an integrated monitoring and an efficient follow-up and review and strong coordination between UN agencies. UN-Water will be key to bring a more effective, integrated and coordinated approach to support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda with regards to water and sanitation and to review progress.


Inclusive territorial economic development in the Muskitia region, department of Gracias a Dios

cocoa drying

01.03.2016 - 31.08.2021

The economic development programme is carried out in the Honduran Muskitia, a fragile indigenous territory with great productive potential. The program empowers the territorial stakeholders in the cocoa and fishing value chains and the basic grains production chain located in the mid and lower watershed of the Patuca river. It promotes public-private alliances that respect indigenous rights in accordance to the convention 169 of the international labor organization. These public-private alliances generate 3000 new jobs and increase the income of 1500 indigenous families by 10-30%.


Swiss Bluetec Bridge: Swiss start-ups benefit disadvantaged populations

11.02.2016 - 31.05.2024

In addition to the sustainable management of resources and good governance, water-related challenges open up a wide field for technological innovation, particularly in the application of nanotechnologies for water treatment, especially ones which are energy-efficient. The challenge for Swiss Bluetec Bridge is to put these cutting-edge 'Swiss' technologies at the service of the poor and ensure that they are sustainably managed. To do this the project must seek to bridge the gap between public support for start-ups and private investment.

Object 85 – 96 of 104