According to bank provided information, the Project "Strengthening Rural Resilience in Mauritania through Water Resource Management and Development for Domestic, Productive, and Ecological Purposes", hereinafter the Project or 3R-Water, is part of the Strategy for Accelerated Growth and Shared Prosperity (SCAPP2) 2016-2030, the framework for public action consultation and convergence in economic, social and environmental development. In particular, 3R-Water contributes to: its pillar (2), relating to human capital and access to quality basic social services, strengthening the resilience of the most vulnerable groups by promoting gender equality, drinking water supply and access to sanitation services; and to its pillar (3), relating to more comprehensive governance, particularly through sustainable peacebuilding and social cohesion, promoting women's civic participation and local development. The Project addresses several SDGs, including SDG #6 "clean water and sanitation"; SDG #5 "gender equality"; SDG #13 "climate action" and SDG #10 "reduced inequalities". It also aligns with the African Union's 2063 Agenda3 aspirations, particularly contributing to the objective of environmental sustainability and climate resilience of economies and communities; and high quality of life, good health and well-being of affected populations. At sector level, the Project addresses all four pillars of the National Strategy for Sustainable Access to Water and Sanitation by 2030 (SNADEA)4, namely: (i) understanding, monitoring and protecting water resources; (ii) providing widespread access to drinking water; (iii) improving access to wastewater management and hygiene and (iv) improving sector governance. The 3R-Water project is estimated at UA 15,066,025, comprising UA 13,256,025 (88.0% of total cost) through a Transition Support Facility (TSF) loan and UA 1,810,000 (12.0%) as in-kind contribution from the Government of Mauritania.

The 3R-Water project strengthens rural Mauritanian communities' resilience against water scarcity, addressing growing climate change and growing pressureson water resources, integrating a proactive and preventive approach. It supports infrastructure development and sustainable water and sanitation services across multiple uses in the Brakna, Adrar and Tagant regions. These objectives are grounded in proven institutional frameworks from similar successful initiatives. To ensure sustainability, the Project incorporates institutional capacity-building to address identified weaknesses, particularly in budgetary resources and data reliability.

The population in the intervention area totals 501,333 inhabitants, with a 1.89% growth rate. The population is predominantly young, with women comprising over half the population across the three wilayas (regions). Poverty rates are notably high, particularly in Brakna (64%) and Tagant (61%). In Adrar and Tagant, livestock farming is the main occupation (20% and 29% respectively), followed by agriculture and commerce. In Brakna, agriculture is the primary activity. Women represent 41% of the agricultural workforce compared to 6% in livestock farming.

Name Alba SERNA GONZALEZ
Email a.serna@afdb.org 

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit an information request for project information at: https://www.afdb.org/en/disclosure-and-access-to-information/request-for-documents. Under the AfDBÕs Disclosure and Access to Information policy, if you feel the Bank has omitted to publish information or your request for information is unreasonably denied, you can file an appeal at https://www.afdb.org/en/disclosure-and-access-to-information/appeals-process 

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF AfDB

The Independent Review Mechanism (IRM), which is administered by the Compliance Review and Mediation Unit (CRMU), is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an African Development Bank (AfDB)-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the IRM, it may assist you by either seeking to address your problems by facilitating a dispute resolution dialogue between you and those implementing the project and/or investigating whether the AfDB complied with its policies to prevent environmental and social harms. You can submit a complaint electronically by emailing crmuinfo@afdb.org, b.kargougou@afdb.org, b.fall@afdb.org, and/or s.toure@afdb.org. You can learn more about the IRM and how to file a complaint at: https://www.afdb.org/en/independent-review-mechanism/