LAKE VICTORIA REGION WATER AND SANITATION INITIATIVE INI TIATIVE REPORT ON MISSION TO BURUNDI Sunday 16th – Friday 21st September 2007 Joint Technical Mission Report Contents of this Report 1. Background 2. Recent Developments in Burundi Political, Economic and Social Situation 3. Vulnerable Groups in Burundi 4. Institutional and Organizational Framework in the Water Sector 5. Findings from the Field Visit to the secondary towns: Rutana, Gitega, Cankuzo, Muyinga and Ngozi 6. Meetings with Development Partners: UN Agencies, GTZ/KWF 7. Recommendations and Way Forward Source du Nil (southernmost source of the Nile) 1 1 BACKGROUND TO THE MISSION 1.1 Objective of the Mission To carry out a preliminary technical assessment on prevailing water and sanitation conditions and the needs for interventions in the proposed secondary towns. 1.2 Composition of the Mission Mission was carried out jointly by representatives of the Government of Burundi and UN-HABITAT team members: UN-HABITAT a) Mr. Robert Goodwin Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) Lake Victoria Water and Sanitation Initiative Water Sanitation and Infrastructure Branch; Head of Mission. b) Mr. Pieter Van Dongen, Consultant; Lake Victoria Water and Sanitation Initiative c) Ms Anne Malebo, Consultant; Lake Victoria Water and Sanitation Initiative; d) Francois Muhirwe HPM Burundi e) Mr Moise Kagayo- Driver UNDP a) Mr. Louis Nduwimana, Deputy Country Representative b) Mr. Aron Nsavyimana, Information and communication Officer c) Mr. Hérménegilde Kamenge, driver Government of Burundi a) Mr. Didace Birabisha, Permanent Secretary; Ministry of Public Works; Head of Mission b) Mr. Anselme Wakana, Director General; Ministry of Public Works; c) Mr. Denis Barandemaje, Ministry of Environment and Tourism d) Mme Scolastique Ntirampeba, Ministry of Gender and Human Rights e) Mr Déo Simbare and Mr Oscar Ndayishimiye, Ministry of Public Works; drivers 1.3 Expected outputs a) A preliminary assessment report of the secondary towns, and recommendations for the selection of pilot secondary towns; b) A draft of the Memorandum of Understanding between UN-HABITAT and the Government of Burundi to support selected secondary towns in achieving the water and sanitation related Millennium Development Goals. 1.4 Mission preparation During the preparatory phase of this mission the UN-HABITAT Programme Manager (HPM) made consultations with the Ministry of Public Works, Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Minister of Internal Security, and Ministry of Gender and Human Rights to prepare the mission and sort out security issues. Furthermore, consultations were held with the UNDP Country Representative and BINUB headquarters office. 2 2 GENERAL INFORMATION ON BURUNDI 2.1 Physiography The Republic of Burundi is a small country in the Great Lakes region of Africa. It is a landlocked country, bordered by Rwanda on the north, Tanzania on the south and east, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the west. Most of its western border is adjacent to Lake Tanganyika. The country's modern name is derived from its Bantu language, Kirundi. Geographically isolated, facing population pressures and having scarce resources, Burundi has the lowest GDP per capita in the world, arguably making it the poorest country on the planet. It is also one of the most conflict-ridden countries in Africa. Its small size belies the magnitude of the problems it faces in reconciling the claims of the Tutsi with the Hutu majority. 3 Burundi has an equatorial highland climate. Called "The Heart of Africa", it lays on a rolling plateau, with Lake Tanganyika in its southwest corner. The average elevation of the central plateau is 1,700m amsl, with lower elevations at the eastern border. The highest peak, Mount Karonje (2,685m), lies to the southeast of the capital Bujumbura. Elevation at the southeastern and southern borders is roughly 1,400m. Only the strip of land along the Ruzizi River, north of Lake Tanganyika, is an area below 1,000 m: this valley forms part of the Albertine Rift, the western extension of the Great East African Rift Valley. Land use is mostly agricultural or pastoral, the creation of which has led to deforestation, soil erosion and habitat loss. Deforestation of the entire country is almost complete due to population pressure, with a mere 600 km² of original tropical forest remaining and an ongoing loss of about nine percent per annum. There are two national parks, Kibira National Park to the northwest (a small region of montane rainforest, adjacent to Nyungwe Forest National Park in Rwanda), and Ruvubu National Park to the north east along the Ruvubu River. The country is administratively divided into 17 provinces, 117 communes, and 2,638 collines. Provinces include Bubanza, Bujumbura Mairie (Municipality/urban), Bujumbura Rural, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Mwaro, Ngozi, Rutan and Ruyigi. 2.2 Population As of July 2006, Burundi is projected to have an estimated population of 8,090,068, approximately half of which are aged 14 or less. This estimate explicitly takes into account the effects of AIDS, which has a significant effect on the demographics of the country. Roughly 85% of the population are of Hutu ethnic origin; most of the remaining population are Tutsi, with a small minority of Twa (Pygmy), and a few thousand Europeans and South Asians. The population density of around 315 people per square kilometers (753/sq mi) is the second highest in Sub-Saharan Africa, behind only Rwanda. The Twa are thought to be the original inhabitants of the area, with Hutu and Tutsi settlers arriving in the 1300s and 1400s respectively The largest religion is Roman Catholicism (62%), followed by indigenous beliefs (23%) and a minority of Protestants (5%) and Muslims (10%). However, Christian population may be as high as 90% with most of the remainder being Muslims. The official languages are Kirundi and French, although Swahili is also spoken along the eastern border. 2.3 Culture The culture of Burundi is related to that of neighboring countries and its prominence has been limited by the civil war. Burundian people are generally thought to be quiet and reserved. It is often said that you can offend a Burundian or even cheat him and even if he knows you are cheating him, he will never tell you. In their traditional philosophy anyone talking too much is not considered to be intelligent. 4 2.4 Recent Political, Economic and Social Developments in Burundi Since the signing of the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement for Burundi on 28th August 2000, the final ceasefire agreement in Dar es Salaam on 16th November 2002 between the Transitional Government of Burundi and the main armed movement CNDD-FDD, and the comprehensive ceasefire agreement between the elected government of Burundi and the PALIPEHUTU-FNL on 7th September 2006 in Dar es Salaam, the growing stability and improvement of the security situation has encouraged the return of refugee populations to the country. The establishment of democratic institutions marks a decisive juncture in the restoration of peace, the rule of law, and the restoration of calm, all of which are essential to Burundi’s socio-economic development. This political change was made possible by varied forms of support from the international community through United Nations Operation in Burundi (ONUB), which ensured the smooth operation of the entire process. The government is now in peace talks with the last rebel movement through its two branches within the framework of the democratic process in place. Nonetheless, during the same period, poverty has worsened considerably. This pauperization is further aggravated today because of the scant resources available to government and households and the presence of a large number of disaster victims resulting from the conflict, such as refugees, the internally displaced, street children, and orphans. 5 3 VULNERABLE GROUPS IN BURUNDI The remaining internal displaced Persons IDPs are among the most vulnerable population groups, one cannot easily say the same for returnees. On the other hand, many local population groups which have never been displaced, still live in a precarious situation, due to the years of upheaval, rain shortage, manioc disease or other structural problems. Also, female-headed households, HIV/AIDS-affected families as well as handicapped or elderly households might well figure amongst any of the above-mentioned groups. 3.1 Internally Displaced Persons If today only 117,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) remain in 160 sites scattered all over the country, OCHA estimates a core of 60,000 who will never be able to return to their places of origin and for whom alternative income possibilities and improved housing have to be made available. The reasons given for their unwillingness to return are security concerns, on one hand for mainly northern and central regions, fear of their former neighbors in the collines of origin and inter- community tensions, followed by concerns for cross-border banditry and crime. On the other hand, motivating factors to remain in the sites seem to be less banditry, but rather their relatively favorable location and comparatively better housing and shelter than in their zones of origin. Also, social ties, especially for those presenting specific vulnerabilities, such as the elderly, disabled, sick and traumatized, seem to be another reason to remain in a refugee site rather than go back to an isolated village of origin. The 2005 survey also shows that 58% of the displaced population is concentrated in the northern and central provinces of Kayanza, Ngozi, Kirundo, Muyinga and Gitega. This is a new distribution of internally displaced population compared to previous years and in comparison with the year 2004, when two thirds of IDPs in Burundi were located in the provinces of Makamba, Gitega, Kayanza and Bujumbura Rural. The results of the survey also point to the existence of sites where displaced persons and returning refugees coexist, particularly in the southern and eastern provinces.