Is “Perceived Water Insecurity” Associated with Disaster Risk Perception, Preparedness Attitudes, and Coping Ability in Rural China? (A Health-EDRM Pilot Study)

Abstract

Water security is essential for maintaining health and well-being, and for reducing a population’s vulnerability in a disaster. Among resource-poor villagers in China, water-related disasters and climate change may increasingly affect people’s water security. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between perceived water security and disaster risk perception in a rural ethnic minority community. A cross-sectional household survey was conducted in 2015 in Xingguang village, Chongqing, China, examining the association between villagers’ perceptions of household water security, disaster risk, and sociodemographic variables. Among 52 household representatives, 84.6% relied on rainwater as their main water source and 63.5% reported having insufficient water on a regular basis. Only 32.7% perceived themselves to be living in a high-risk area, of which climate-related disasters such as storms (44.4%) and droughts (38.9%) were the most frequently reported disasters in their area. Insufficient water quantity, previous disaster experience, and household members on chronic disease medication were found to be associated with higher disaster risk perception. Perceived water security indicators were not found to be predictors of preparedness attitudes and coping ability. Addressing water sufficiency in both disaster risk reduction strategies and long-term water management will be necessary to improve the health and livelihood of rural villagers in the coming decades.

Living with Landslides: Perceptions of Risk and Resilience in Far West Nepal

“…where respondents from households whose drinking water sources change seasonally feel more risk from landslides than those whose water source remains constant over the year. The link between water availability and risk perception was also noted in rural Chongqing (China), where household surveys revealed that insufficient water quantity is associated with higher disaster risk perception (Ho et al 2019). Moreover, it appears consistent that diversified water sources would impact on how much a household respondent feels at risk from landslides.…”

Understanding perceived climate risks to household water supply and their implications for adaptation: evidence from California

“…We are aware of only two studies that have considered whether other non-sociopolitical factors also play a role in shaping various levels of concern about climate-related risks to water security. First, Ho et al (2019) found among Chinese villagers that perceived water insecurity and previous disaster experience were associated with higher climate risk perception. Second, a survey of Irish private well users found that extreme weather experience was positively associated with higher median risk perception scores (Mooney et al 2021).…”

Supporting Sustainable Development of Water Resources: A Social Welfare Maximization Game Model

“…At the same time, the increasingly serious problem of water pollution further aggravates the conflict between water supply and demand [3]. The main causes of water pollution are industrial pollution, anthropogenic activities, and agricultural pollution [4,5,6,7], which cause deterioration of the ecological environment [8] and human health problems [9,10] and have varying degrees of impact on the socioeconomic development [3] and social well-being of various countries [4]. Water can carry a boat but can also overturn it (sustainable development of human society).…”