Climate change vulnerability and resilience of water, sanitation, and hygiene services: a theoretical perspective

Kohlitz, Jeremy; Chong, Joanne; Willetts, Juliet

doi:10.2166/washdev.2017.134

Cited by 24 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…Climate change impacts the availability and quality of water by shifting rainfall patterns and increasing temperatures, leading to extreme weather events that damage water and sanitation infrastructure, and changes the exposure to pathogens and other disease vectors (e.g., malaria) when sanitation and water services are disrupted and as water temperatures change. This has led to an increasing emphasis on reducing the vulnerability of WASH services to such change [10]. As summarized in South Africa's Third National Communication [11], southern Africa is generally expected to become drier along with warming trends; thus, planning for and reducing vulnerability to climate change is a priority.…”

Section: Wash Climate Change and Vulnerability Assessmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Vulnerability among Rural Areas and Small Towns in South Africa: Exploring the Role of Climate Change, Marginalization, and Inequality

Abrams

Carden

Teta

et al. 2021

Water

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Access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH)—including drainage-services—is essential for public health and socio-economic development, but access remains inadequate and inequitable in low- to middle-income countries such as South Africa. In South Africa, rural areas and small towns generally depend on a limited and climate-sensitive economic base (e.g., farming), and they have a limited capacity and are located in areas where transport challenges can increase WASH access risks. Climate change shifts hydrological cycles, which can worsen WASH access and increase susceptibility to the interlinked impacts of droughts and flooding in already vulnerable regions. We adopted a transdisciplinary approach to explore the needs, barriers, and vulnerabilities with respect to WASH in rural areas and small towns in South Africa—using two case studies to explore climate risk and vulnerability assessment (CRVA) in one rural village in the northern Limpopo province and a small town in the Western Cape province. This holistic approach considered natural (environment and climate) and socio-economic (economic, social, governance, and political) factors and how they interplay in hampering access to WASH. Extreme weather events characterized by frequent and intense droughts or floods aggravate surface and groundwater availability and damage water infrastructure while threatening agriculture-dependent livelihoods. The lack of reliable transport infrastructure increases risks posed by flooding as roads to vital supplies are prone to damage. High inequality linked to rising unemployment and the Apartheid legacy of a segregated service delivery system result in inequitable access to WASH services. The intertwined ways in which natural elements and historical, social, economic, governance, and policy aspects are changing in South Africa increase WASH vulnerability in rural areas and small towns.

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Section: Wash Climate Change and Vulnerability Assessmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Vulnerability among Rural Areas and Small Towns in South Africa: Exploring the Role of Climate Change, Marginalization, and Inequality

Abrams

Carden

Teta

et al. 2021

Water

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“…Links between sanitation and SDG13 ('Climate Action') include infrastructural change. In parallel to actions seeking to safeguard pressure on water resources, we identify, for example, that integrated sanitation interventions require to block transmission paths and reduce infection risks in flood-prone areas (Target 13.1) (Howard et al, 2016;Kohlitz et al, 2017).…”

Section: ) Infrastructure Services and Innovationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Synergies and Trade-offs between Sanitation and the Sustainable Development Goals

Parikh¹,

diep²,

Hofmann³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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To better leverage opportunities arising out of sustainable and inclusive management of sanitation services there is a need for robust and comprehensive evidence of the wide ranging benefits that sanitation can deliver. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a comprehensive framework for sustainable development broken down into 169 interconnected Targets which are articulated under 17 Goals. Based on a methodology developed at University College London (UCL), this study identifies linkages between sanitation and the 169 Targets corroborated by published evidence. We show that there are synergies between sanitation and all 17 Goals and 130 (77%) of the Targets, and trade-offs for 28 (17%) of the Targets. We identified 83 Targets (49%) that call for action in the sanitation sector. The results demonstrate the far-reaching benefits that can be unlocked from investment in sanitation, which extend beyond health and spread across sectors. The evidence base for the 17 goals establishes links that can inform cross-sectoral action, collaborations and investment across governance levels for integrated sanitation solutions. The research provides different stakeholders with a framework that can be applied to context specific cases and projects. We propose a range of recommendations to policy-makers, practitioners, and researchers who seek to take this study further to help achieve the SDGs.

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“…Compared to other sectors, there has been limited application of vulnerability to questions of household water security due to a focus on infrastructure access. A review by Kohlitz et al, (2017) describes limited conceptual awareness of structural and relational drivers of vulnerability within work in the WASH sector on climate change risks, and suggest that operationalization of these concepts could provide a better understanding of how climate change will affect achievement of human rights to water and sanitation. This study contributes addressing these limitations, conceptualizing vulnerability as a lack of entitlements to household water security focusing on dimensions of adequate water availability, quality, accessibility, and affordability (Jepson et al, 2017b;Mehta, 2014;Neves-Silva and Heller, 2016).…”

Section: Examining Women's Vulnerabilities and Adaptive Capacitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Women’s vulnerability to climate-related risks to household water security in Centre-East, Burkina Faso

Dickin

Segnestam

Dakouré

2020

Climate and Development

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Variable climate conditions, resulting in periods of water scarcity and longer dry spells, or intense rainfall events, have serious implications for water and sanitation services. Climate change threatens to exacerbate these hazards, increasing risks to household water security, and associated impacts on health, wellbeing and livelihoods. These risks are not evenly distributed across individuals and communities, and there is a particular need to understand women's vulnerabilities and responses to these risks due to disproportionate impacts of poor water and sanitation conditions. This study used mixed-methods data collection to assess how vulnerabilities to climate-related risks to household water security are produced and vary among women in the Centre-East region, Burkina Faso, as well as capacities to respond. Gendered water-related roles and norms were found to drive vulnerabilities for women in the case study site particularly related to increasingly inadequate water availability during the dry season. Other social differences such as Mossi and Peul ethnicity which influence ways of using water, also contributed to women's differential vulnerability and capacities to respond. These findings show there is a need to consider how the development of 'climate resilient' water and sanitation services take social drivers of vulnerability into account.

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Climate change vulnerability and resilience of water, sanitation, and hygiene services: a theoretical perspective

Cited by 24 publications

References 63 publications

Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Vulnerability among Rural Areas and Small Towns in South Africa: Exploring the Role of Climate Change, Marginalization, and Inequality

Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Vulnerability among Rural Areas and Small Towns in South Africa: Exploring the Role of Climate Change, Marginalization, and Inequality

Synergies and Trade-offs between Sanitation and the Sustainable Development Goals

Women’s vulnerability to climate-related risks to household water security in Centre-East, Burkina Faso

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