Abstract
Water and poverty interface is strongly interconnected and a robust assessment of water stress is crucial to identify needy areas and develop appropriate intervention for poverty reduction. Water Poverty Index (WPI) provides an interdisciplinary tool to assess water stress by linking physical estimates of water availability with socio-economic drivers of poverty. This study presents an application of Water Poverty Index (WPI) to estimate and compare the level of water stress in 27 districts of Koshi River Basin in Nepal. Based on data availability, relevance to the study area and review of literatures, 12 indicators were selected under five key components outlined by WPI. The study result shows medium-low degree (WPI = 54.4) of water poverty in the Koshi River Basin in Nepal. The WPI score varies widely (from 49.75 to 69.29) along the districts and it was found that districts in Tarai regions and urban areas were more water stressed compared to the districts in mid-hill and high-hill regions. Priorities for intervention must be given to the districts in Tarai regions and urban areas with a low WPI score, explicitly on the sector regarding access to water and sanitation to address water poverty in the basin.
Highlights
The water and poverty interface is strongly interlinked [1,2]
The final Water Poverty Index (WPI) score for 27 districts of Koshi Basin in Nepal was found to be 59.22, which is over the national average (54.4) estimated by Lawrence, Meigh and Sullivan [19]
The districts in Tarai region and urban areas were found relatively more water stressed compared to other districts in the Basin
Summary
The water and poverty interface is strongly interlinked [1,2]. Adequate access to water is a highly relevant issue while addressing the problem of poverty, as it is impossible to eradicate extreme poverty without proper allocation and access to water [3]. Many efforts have been made in recent years into the development of methods and alternatives from many disciplinary perspectives to quantify water stress at community, subnational and national level [3,7]. Tools such as Falkenmark index [8], Water Resource Vulnerability Index [9] and Water availability index [10] are being used to assess water stress using unidimensional indicators [11]. Index-based analysis such as WPI is an important method for identifying the factors influencing poverty, ranking the extent of stress, and developing appropriate interventions in needy areas [13]
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