How to manage crises differently in ASALs without talking about a nexus: what we can learn from the water sector

This policy brief examines the provision of water in the arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) of eastern Africa, offering a different way of addressing a long-standing problem: the international aid model for responding to emergencies does not work well where crises are frequent. Long-term development planning struggles to deal with crises, often leaving the responsibility to separate emergency interventions, but these short-term measures frequently undermine longer-term strategies, and the various theoretical approaches proposed to address this fragmentation have had little success. By identifying the specific problems caused by the lack of integration between emergency water interventions and water development, the study argues that sensible solutions can be found without getting bogged down in jargon around the development–water–peace "nexus" or in resilience frameworks, offering more practical ways forward than approaches that start from the architecture of emergency assistance rather than from a shared responsibility for providing a reliable water supply.

The brief emphasizes that predictable crises must be factored into longer-term planning, with actors focused on drought response and those focused on natural resource development agreeing in advance on who will finance what and under which eventualities, respecting that agreed strategy and committing only to arrangements they can realistically sustain. When installing or repairing water supplies, it stresses the need to plan for maintenance and surge capacity, including a clear system for financing increased demand during droughts, without which an intervention should not proceed. It cautions against assuming that maintenance capacity exists elsewhere or that another actor will take responsibility, and calls for accountability in water source maintenance, since authority to collect fees cannot be devolved without clear accountability mechanisms. Ultimately, water illustrates the need to integrate long- and short-term thinking: a "nexus" approach does not mean loosely coordinating separate activities, nor that every actor must address both short- and long-term priorities, but rather agreeing on a shared strategy for reliable services and resources that incorporates potential crises, and respecting that strategy when crises occur.