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COMBATTING CLIMATE CHANGE AND COVID-19. ONE WATER DROP AT A TIME.

Guaranteeing access to clean, potable water through a project funded by the Special Climate Change Fund of the GEF, supported by UNDP, is a source of pride.

Por Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD) en América Latina y el Caribe

21 de March de 2021

The pandemic continues to reveal the priceless nature of clean drinking water in reducing inequalities. Water is the main defense against COVID-19, and the lack of access exposes people to greater vulnerability, especially women and girls. According to the United Nations, one in three people in the world lives without clean, potable water. It is projected that by 2040 global demand will increase by more than 50%.

Climate change and environmental degradation has complicated matters even further. Severe droughts, unhealthy forests and watersheds, spiking temperatures and increasingly eradicate weather are affecting our ability to access clean, safe and reliable water.

In Costa Rica, around 15,000 people work voluntarily in communal aqueduct associations to ensure access to potable water for about 30% of the rural and peri-urban population. Community water management is one of the country’s greatest strengths, ensuring 97,8% percent coverage of indoor water. This near universal coverage is critical in reducing health risks for rural communities, and preventing the spread of COVID-19 and other diseases. To provide these services, local community aqueduct associations (ASADAs) face never-ending structural, environmental and climate-related challenges, which multiplies the merit and the impact of their work on community development and progress.

COMBATTING CLIMATE CHANGE AND COVID-19. ONE WATER DROP AT A TIME.

A NOT-TOO-DISTANT REALITY

Iguanita, is a small town located in the Nicoya canton of Costa Rica’s Guanacaste Province. Here in the Northwest reaches of the country, the climate crisis has dramatically affected lives and livelihoods. Rivers are almost completely dried-out during the summer months, and all the inhabitants, men, women, girls and boys, having to find imaginative and resourceful ways access to this precious liquid.

Can you imagine living in a hot region where water is so scarce during the summer that it only reaches your home for just one hour a day, from 5 to 6 in the morning? To make things even worse, imagine living in a pandemic, where your frontline of defense is handwashing.

The situation could be much worse if it were not for the tireless work of the Iguanita community aqueduct association (ASADA), led mainly by women –these local groups are responsible for equitable water management among some 90 families.

COMBATTING CLIMATE CHANGE AND COVID-19. ONE WATER DROP AT A TIME.

COMBATTING CLIMATE CHANGE AND COVID-19. ONE WATER DROP AT A TIME.

“Iguanita is a small community with limited income sources, most of the inhabitants are small-scale farmers. In the summer months there is terrible drought conditions and water levels drop significantly. Added to this is population growth,” explains Diley Rojas, who began her work as a general member of the local ASADA about 8 years ago and later became the President.

From the beginning, Diley took her commitment to the ASADA very seriously. She started out by learning and training herself on natural springs, pipes, water sectorization and everything related to her work, which today she knows like the back of her hand. As she puts it, she does her work out of pure love, because she is not paid beyond the satisfaction of knowing that water is reaching every household in her community.

COMBATTING CLIMATE CHANGE AND COVID-19. ONE WATER DROP AT A TIME.

COMBATTING CLIMATE CHANGE AND COVID-19. ONE WATER DROP AT A TIME.

COMBATTING CLIMATE CHANGE AND COVID-19. ONE WATER DROP AT A TIME.

WHEN ADAPTATION AND AWARENESS BECOME CRUCIAL

"Climate change has had a massive effect on us. The decreased water levels in the natural spring is significant. We have seen effects of this by the end of February for the last six years," says Diley. When the droughts became more severe, there were sectors that spent up to a month without practically a drop of water.

In addition to installing water meters in order to have better control over consumption, the ASADA implemented a sectorization plan and sometimes had to close the spigots to ensure water for the next day.

COMBATTING CLIMATE CHANGE AND COVID-19. ONE WATER DROP AT A TIME.

“We had to implement measures to guarantee an equitable service, even if for only two hours a day. We had to make sure that everyone in the town received at least some water, every day”, says Diley,

It’s the diverse topography of Iguanita that allows the water to reach each household through gravity. Those that live in lower-elevation areas have the greatest possibility of receiving the most water, to the detriment of those who live in higher-altitude areas since low water levels lead to decreased water pressure. Water wasting by the lower-elevation households has improved little by little since Diley has been in charge.

COMBATTING CLIMATE CHANGE AND COVID-19. ONE WATER DROP AT A TIME.

COMBATTING CLIMATE CHANGE AND COVID-19. ONE WATER DROP AT A TIME.

COMBATTING CLIMATE CHANGE AND COVID-19. ONE WATER DROP AT A TIME.

“YES, WOMEN CAN DO IT”

In addition to dealing with water shortages and the challenging work of building consensus with community members, Diley and some of her colleagues have also faced the general machismo of those who believe that women should not be involved in this type of work. They even had to face the drivers of the water tanker trucks who didn’t believe that a woman was in charge of receiving the water.

“It has been difficult because many people still view the role of women in a discriminatory way. I have heard several times, 'what do women know about this?', when we come to check a meter. Foolish words fall on deaf ears. We are showing them with concrete actions that women can effectively manage an ASADA,” she affirms with the utmost confidence.

COMBATTING CLIMATE CHANGE AND COVID-19. ONE WATER DROP AT A TIME.

Since 2016, the Iguanita ASADA has benefited from the support of the “Strengthening the capacities of Associations of Rural Aqueducts (ASADAS) to face risks of Climate Change in Communities with Water Stress in Northern Costa Rica” Project. The project is implemented by the Costa Rican Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers (AyA) and with support from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and funding from the Special Climate Change Fund of the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

“We have received a lot of help from the UNDP. We got 60 tubes to change the source pipes all the way to the tanks, and about 30 meters that we really needed. They recently came for a technical visit to help us increase and improve storage with new tanks,” explains Diley.

COMBATTING CLIMATE CHANGE AND COVID-19. ONE WATER DROP AT A TIME.

A HUMAN RIGHT IN THE TIMES OF A PANDEMIC

Water equals development and transforms into well-being, dignity and health. In times of a pandemic, it is even more important to guarantee its supply. That is why Diley´s work, and that of the more than 15,000 community water managers in Costa Rica, is essential.

"In the face of the pandemic the situation has been very complex," says Diley. “No one´s service is being suspended; we make payment arrangements. Likewise, people are very aware. They know that if they don't pay, we won't have funds to maintain the service,” she adds.

COMBATTING CLIMATE CHANGE AND COVID-19. ONE WATER DROP AT A TIME.

COMBATTING CLIMATE CHANGE AND COVID-19. ONE WATER DROP AT A TIME.

At the same time, they have implemented measures to guarantee the continuity of the service while preventing the spread of COVID-19, ensuring ample water, soap and gel alcohol at the bill collector´s home. Mandatory mask use, social distancing for payments and encouraging community organization so that one individual delivers the payments of several households, are among the numerous COVID-19 prevention measures advanced through the project.

"We have tried to show everyone that women do know. That women can and are very capable of managing and operating an ASADA," Diley reaffirms. “We know that a water supply can depend on whether a housing bond is granted or not. Our job is to support the development of a small town that has been hit hard by droughts for several years now.”

"Water is a basic human right" concludes Diley, a brave frontlines climate hero, working every hour of every day to build resilience for community, and a better future for her nation.

Hear her full story in the video below and share it

Footnotes

The full story was originally published by UNDP Costa Rica

FootNotes

The full story was originally published by UNDP Costa Rica

© 2026 Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD) en América Latina y el Caribe

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