Overview

This two-year (2023–2024) research project titled Addressing climate vulnerability in Nepal through resilient inclusive WASH systems (RES-WASH) is implemented by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) office in Nepal in collaboration with Bagmati Welfare Society Nepal; Global Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies (GIIS); Everest Club, Dailekh; and National Association of Rural Municipalities in Nepal. The project is funded by the Water for Women Fund, a key initiative of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) as part of the Australian Aid program.

The RES WASH project is built on experiences and insights gained from the earlier project (phase I) titled A gender perspective to understand and enhance the functionality of water supply systems: Lessons from Nepal, which was also supported by the Water for Women Fund. This project explored how gender relationships and power dynamics influence the sustainability and functionality of water supply systems in the country. It aimed to address a major limitation in the current approaches to women’s empowerment in the water sector, where the focus of research and development interventions has been on women’s empowerment with inadequate attention given to collective action and collective empowerment.

The RES-WASH project aims to achieve the following objectives:

• Assess the vulnerability and risk of WASH infrastructure and facilities to climatic and non-climatic hazards such as landslides.
• Identify gendered and social vulnerabilities related to WASH and climate change experienced by diverse groups of women, girls, PwDs and marginalized communities.

Improve knowledge and capacity for effective WASH systems, programs and institutional mechanisms that are more inclusive and climate resilient.