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							Water & Sanitation Situation
         in the CHT
             and
Potentials for using Rainfall

             Hasin Jahan
 Programme Director, WaterAid Bangladesh
           February 24, 2011
    About WaterAid . . .

WaterAid is an International Organisation
WaterAid operates in 26 countries with the
mission for improving access to safe water,
hygiene and sanitation in poor communities
In Bangladesh, we reached over 2 million
water, 6 million sanitation and 7 million
hygiene beneficiaries till the last year
Current level of operation . . .
                 Area coverage:
                 Rural: 50 upazilas under 20
                   districts
                 Urban: more than 300 slums in
                   58 wards under 3 City
                   Corporations [Dhaka,
                   Chittagong & Khulna]
                 Small Town: 3 Municipalities
                   [Paikgacha, Fulbaria,
                   Shakhipur]
                     We stepped in the CHT since
                     1999
                At a glance: CHT


Hilly terrain
1/10th of total land area
Population: 1.16 million
Hardcore poor: 30%
11 ethnic communities
Vibrant Socio-political environment
Remoteness- depriving from fundamental
needs
       Sanitation Situation in the CHT

About 75% population use some
form of latrine while 25%
defecate at open places (ref. CHT
Baseline Census by WaterAid, PSU & Unnayan
Samannay, 2010)

Of them who are using latrines,
only 29% are hygienic
Sanitation facilities:
    Mostly pit latrines with/
    without lid
    Pit latrines with/ without
    water seal
           Water Situation in the CHT

Safe water coverage: 59%
Natural water sources: Springs
(jhiris) and Streams (charas)
Average daily consumption: 5-10
litres/person (ref: Counting the Hills, 2007)
Avg. water collection time and
distance: 2hr/day; 3 km
Spend about 1/3rd of monthly
income for treatment
Water technologies
   in the CHT
Shallow / Deep-set Hand Tubewell
Ringwell
Infiltration Gallery [IFG]
Gravity Flow System (GFS)
Distribution of households using different
   water sources (59% hhs having access to safewater)
Challenges in water technologies

 High investment cost
 O&M difficulties (requires technical skill and
 repairing cost)
 But the most importantly drying up of
 ‘sources’
Why?

WaterAid commissioned a Study to
investigate underlying causes of spring
flow deterioration jointly with CEGIS
and BCAS in 2007

 Image analyses
 Climatic and hydro-geological data analyses
 Perceptions of local inhabitants and indigenous
 knowledge
         Few key findings…

Analyses of climatic data

 Decreasing trend in Annual Rainfall (1961-2003)
 Increasing trend of Evaporation (1989-92)
 Increasing trend of Sunshine hours (1987-2002)
Few key findings…
 Analyses of Images of
 entire CHT (1989-2003)


    53% loss of dense
    forest (170,000 ha)
    23% increase of
    agricultural land
    and homestead
                          1989   2003
                       1989   2003

Few key findings…
  Khagrachari
  district

   97% loss of
   dense forest
   65% increase of
   agricultural land
Causes of Spring flow deterioration
  Loss of conducive environment at sources due to
  deforestation
  Due to plantation of exogenous species (like
  Shegoon, rubber, tobacco etc.) soil becomes
  exposed and loss of vegetation in the catchment
  area does not allow to percolate rainwater into
  the ground to fed the spring during dry season.
  Landslides are increasing as a consequence.
  Change in landuse pattern
Causes of spring flow deterioration




 Jhum cultivation cycles becoming too close
 Infrastructures constructed without considering of the
 impacts on overall environment
Major recommendations of the
study were:
• Social aforestation
• Spring management
• EIA for infrastructure development
• ‘Aquifer Recharge’ for ensuring
  drinking water in the long run
        Let’s look forward …

A holistic planning and adaptation of water
resource management is needed by relevant
sector actors
A separate Sector Development Plan (SDP) for
the CHT is underway; integration of
compatible strategies is essential
The emerging concern –protection natural
springs is essential which requires support
from beyond WSS sector and political will
THANKS



For further details, please contact
  WaterAid Bangladesh
  H 97/B, Rd 25, Block A
  Banani, Dhaka 1213
  Ph: +880.2.881.5757, 881.8521
  Email: info@wateraidbd.org
  www.wateraid.org/bangladesh