Host and refugee population cooperation: case of Dumse water supply and sanitation project, Damak-5, Nepal

UNHCR promotes the use of technology and solutions with low long term operational cost and in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. UNHCR advocates for refugees’ access to local services, and mainstreaming the management of refugee WASH services into local structures. In Nepal, Bhutanese refugees have been hosted in settlements in the forest areas of Jhapa and Morang for more than 24 years. In the past, water was provided from boreholes equipped with electric pumps powered by diesel generators. The cost of operating the diesel generators was high and unsustainable without ongoing support from UNHCR. This paper presents a ‘best practice’ case study describing the development of a new sustainable, low cost gravity flow water system, shared by refugees and host community, and mainstreamed into local structures.