In March 2011, UNDP/MGSDP announced a contest in the framework of a global project “Every Drop Matters“ implemented by UNDP and financed by “Coca-Cola” company. The purpose of the competition was to encourage local communities for participation in initiatives aimed at preserving water resources of the country and raising people’s awareness of responsible attitude to water resources.

One of the major components of the Project “Every Drop Matters” is capacity development of local communities on implementation of initiatives for sustainable development through renovation of natural springs and creation of recreational zones around them (community projects). Therefore, in June 2011, 7 community projects on rehabilitation of natural springs submitted by 6 UNDP/MGSDP partner municipalities were selected for implementation, to include: Dolyna (Ivano-Frankivsk region), Novograd-Volynsky (Zhytomyr region), Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Tulchyn (Vinnytsya region), and Rivne.

Projects approval enables local communities to get 90% funding for renewal of natural water springs which will be implemented with the help of school communities. Children themselves will help to make and keep the springs clean and will take part in the official openings of the renovated water springs.

Moreover, a series of trainings for school children on sound water management will be held in short-listed municipalities starting from the second half of August 2011. The trainings are to cultivate responsible attitude to water resources and realization of the fact that each person by its environmentally sustainable behavior can change the world for the better.

At the end of the project, all school communities will be assessed based on indicators of active participation in classes, the highest scores on practical lessons, and most creative approach to rehabilitation of the spring (design of recreation area, official launching programme, participation of the children etc.). 2-3 school children from each school community, participating in the project, will be awarded a study trip to Kyiv with the visit of the Kyiv Water Information Center, United Nations House and “Coca-Cola” company.

The “Every Drop Matters” project in municipalities will be supported by wide information campaign to promote responsible attitude to water recourses. Street-boards revealing the slogan “Nature has given us clean water. Let us preserve it” will be placed near the project sites and will bring people’s attention to the necessity of keeping renovated spring clean and well-sustained.

For information: The UNDP/MGSDP and Coca Cola Ukraine competition “Every Drop Matters”  was held   on March through July 2011 in 29 UNDP/MGSDP partner municipalities. The idea emerged from lack of good quality water, while the bottled one is high-cost and hardly affordable to every Ukrainian and the tap water is dirty and unsafe. Therefore, the usage of natural springs, if available, could be one of the solutions to this challenge.

Unfortunately, a large number of the natural springs in Ukraine are abandoned or poorly kept, the fountains are destroyed, and the majority of them are desolated and at risk of disappearing. As a solution to this problem the UNDP/MGSDP and Coca Cola Ukraine project “Every Drop Matters” emerged targeting at increasing access to natural water resources, as well as to drinking water, facilitating the use of environmentally sound industrial technologies, and promote responsible water resource management by outreach and awareness raising activities.