Critical Connections: Enhancing Resilient WASH in the Islands Region of PNG

Participants of the New Ireland Community Plumbing Workshop. The workshops involved both female and male participants through 19 three-day workshops across New Ireland Province (Live & Learn Environmental Education)

All people living in Papua New Guinea (PNG) are being affected by climate hazards. Increasingly, severe weather events like landslides, seawater inundation and extended periods of dry weather are affecting people in rural and urban settings by threatening water supply and sanitation systems. In the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (ARoB) and New Ireland Province, where Plan International and Live & Learn Environmental Education (LLEE) are operating in partnership with Water for Women, climate hazards are a reality.

Logging and other environmentally harmful activities, in combination with severe weather, are leading to watershed degradation and contaminated water sources. Increased rainfall intensity and flooding can compromise access to clean water and toilet facilities, reducing the reliability of WASH services. These impacts are typically more severe for women, children and people with disabilities, exacerbating the underlying social inequalities. The degradation of WASH services not only affects the people who rely on them but also government staff and decision-makers who help provide them.

Building climate resilience through inclusive WASH interventions for all

Plan International Australia’s Water for Women project in PNG is being implemented in the ARoB and New Ireland Province. In New Ireland Province, the project is also collaborating with Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), through the Australia Pacific Climate Partnership, to strengthen understanding and application of climate science in its various approaches to addressing climate-related issues.

The project has established a Resilient WASH Safety Planning approach, based on UNICEF’s Drinking Water Security and Safety Planning package. This approach draws on established best practice in risk-based WASH management, while contextualising it for PNG, focusing on the country’s specific climate hazards and incorporating GESI considerations. This builds upon the approach’s emphasis on localised and diverse leadership and community inclusion, as well as increased knowledge and understanding of the water cycle.

CSIRO has supported the project to deliver capacity-building training to develop knowledge brokers within government and community stakeholders. These knowledge brokers have an increased understanding of, and access to, climate data and science to support conscious decision-making. The knowledge brokers are working with project staff to translate, both literally and figuratively, climate science research and resources for application at community level.

Towards transformation: focusing on gender equality and social inclusion in support of climate resilience for all

Through the project’s Resilient WASH Safety Planning approach, there is a strong emphasis on inclusion, specifically of women. LLEE is actively enabling equitable gender participation in community WASH assessment and planning, demonstrating the value and importance of considering women’s points of view.

With input from CSIRO, the project created and used catchment maps, predicted sea level rise maps and other visual aids to strengthen community-level knowledge of water catchment systems, groundwater recharge and coastal inundation, as well as resources to show broader climate impacts during both wet and dry seasons.

Critical results for critical times: how inclusive WASH is contributing to more climate-resilient outcomes

An understanding of WASH and water resource management plays a big role in understanding how climate change will affect communities, and in strengthening the resilience of those communities to mitigate against or overcome these impacts. Climate science offers valuable insights to complement local knowledge and experience, but needs to be communicated clearly for practical application at the community level. The hope is that community members’ improved understanding and knowledge of climate projections and risks translates into better decisions and WASH action planning, and in turn builds WASH-related resilience.