Investigating water security and climate vulnerability in urban informal settlements: a case of Kanyama township, Lusaka, Zambia

BackgroundWomen living in urban informal settlements may be particularly vulnerable to the detrimental effects of the COVID-19 pandemic because of increased economic and psychosocial stressors in resource-limited environments. ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to assess the associations between food and water insecurity during the pandemic and depression among women living in the urban informal settlements in Makassar, Indonesia. MethodsWe implemented surveys at 3 time points among women enrolled in the Revitalizing Informal Settlements and their Environments trial. Depression was measured using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale—10 (CESD-10) between November and December 2019 and again between February and March 2021. Food insecurity was measured using questions from the Innovation for Poverty Action’s Research for Effective COVID-19 Reponses survey and water insecurity was measured using the Household Water Insecurity Experiences Short Form. Both were measured between August and September 2020. We built 3 multivariate quantile linear regression models to assess the effects of water insecurity, food insecurity, and joint food and water insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic on CESD-10 score. ResultsIn models with the full sample (n = 323), food insecurity (β: 1.48; 95% CI: 0.79, 2.17), water insecurity (β: 0.13; 95% CI: −0.01, 0.26), and joint food and water insecurity (β: 2.40; 95% CI: 1.43, 3.38) were positively associated with CESD-10 score. In subgroup analyses of respondents for whom we had prepandemic CESD-10 scores (n = 221), joint food and water insecurity (β: 1.96; 95% CI: 0.78, 3.15) maintained the strongest relationship with CESD-10 score. A limitation of this study is that inconsistency in respondents from households across the survey waves reduced the sample size used for this study. ConclusionsOur results find a larger association between depression and joint resource insecurity than with water or food insecurity alone, underlining the importance of addressing food and water insecurity together, particularly as they relate to women’s mental health and well-being.

Food and water security: Analysis of integrated modeling platforms

Water security and food security in the Indus basin are highly interlinked and subject to severe stresses. Irrigation water demands presently already exceed what the basin can sustainably provide, but per-capita food availability remains limited. Rapid population growth and climate change are projected to further intensify pressure on the interdependencies between water and food security. The agricultural system of the Indus basin must therefore change and adapt to be able to achieve the associated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The development of robust policies to guide such changes requires a thorough understanding of the synergies and trade-offs that different strategies for agricultural development may have for water and food security. In this study, we defined three contrasting trajectories for agricultural system change based on a review of scientific literature on regional agricultural developments and a stakeholder consultation workshop. We assessed the consequences of these trajectories for water and food security with a spatially explicit modeling framework for two scenarios of climatic and socio-economic change over the period 1980–2080. Our results demonstrate that agricultural system changes can ensure per capita food production in the basin remains sufficient under population growth. However, such changes require additional irrigation water resources and may strongly aggravate water stress. Conversely, a shift to sustainable water management can reduce water stress but has the consequence that basin-level food self-sufficiency may not be feasible in future. This suggests that biophysical limits likely exist that prevent agricultural system changes to ensure both sufficient food production and improve water security in the Indus basin under strong population growth. Our study concludes that agricultural system changes are an important adaptation mechanism toward achieving water and food SDGs, but must be developed alongside other strategies that can mitigate its adverse trade-offs.

It is well known, Asia has nearly 60% of the world’s population, however, the fresh water resources in Asia is less than that of any other continents except Antarctica. Therefore, Asia is facing the most serious water security issue in the world. The security in water, energy and food sectors is the fundamental requirement to human life and the development of a society. To cope with water security in Asia, attention would have to be given to energy and food security as all these three are closely linked. The water, energy and food security nexus means that actions in one area more often than not have impacts on one or both of the others. According to statistics released by the UN, global demand for water is set to rise by 30%, energy by 40% and food by 50% by 2030. This means that though the linkages amongst the three sectors of water, energy and food have always been present, as the world’s population hurtles towards eight billion with increasing demands for basic services and growing desires for higher living standards, there is increasing pressure on the need for more conscious stewardship of these vital resources. As a regional research center, Asia-Pacific Center for Water Security, namely APCWS, was set up by Tsinghua University in collaboration with Asian Development Bank (ADB). Its missions are basically to promote advanced research, knowledge sharing and smart decision marking in relation with water security issues among Asian countries. As one of its milestone activities, APCWS organized and hosted the 2 International Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus workshop in Nov. 2012, in Beijing. The main objectives of the workshop were to share experiences and knowledge on Water-Energy-Food security nexus issues and discuss the framework for the development of Asia Water Development Outlook III (AWDO III). Following this workshop, a total of 14 papers were collected. These include wider topics related to Water Security such as WEF, Urban water management issues and international experience for the water management. This encouraged APCWS to make a dedicated journal to better disseminate these papers. The FESE Editorial Office’s assistance is much appreciated.

Problem statement: This study considered the issue of water security and food security for the poor towards sustainable livelihoods. Involvement of water organization to scarceness mitigation means that it stands an essential for movements that type water more manageable for poor people. Pro-poor water and food authority, enhanced contact towards worth water and sustenance services, pro-poor financial development and maintenance development, public capability constructing and authorization, adversity preclusion and vindication and management of the environment have been recognized as a context for deed to develop water safety and food security for the poor. Approach: The study has three parts. Firstly, we considered the case for water security. Secondly, we addressed the food security for the poor. Thirdly, we suggested the progress of maintainable livings for the poor. Results: The analysis of this study was to focus and simplify the issues reported in the literature surrounding water security and food security for the poor. Conclusion: We concluded with some recommendations about the types of data around which water security and food security for the improvement of sustainable livelihoods of the poor might be designed.

Agricultural development plays an important role in the economies of the Mediterranean African Countries. Food demand is increasing in the Mediterranean African Countries and consumption patterns are changing. The countries face common challenges in their strategy to improve food security. The most significant challenges are a rapid population growth, urbanisation, dependency on rainfed agriculture with fluctuating yields, water scarcity, increased water demands, and challenges in water quality. Water scarcity has reached a critical point in the region, and the dependency on rainfall makes the Mediterranean African Countries extra vulnerable to climate changes. The Mediterranean African Countries offers plenty of opportunities for agricultural development: Availability of arable land, a temperate Mediterranean climate with year-round production possibilities, and a growing consumer market. A number of different efforts had been made in the past to quantify the Water Stress and Water Vulnerability in the past. Within this study, the 2016 AWDO framework had been used to allow a more consistent comparison of information both with previous and forthcoming international studies. Water Security and Water Vulnerability are considered as interrelated terms, where the one is the inverse of the other. Water Security had however gained over the recent decades a more prominent standing in the international community or donors, scientists, and policy makers. Depicting Water Security leads inevitably to the question, “security for whom”? The 2016 AWDO framework was developed within the Asian Water Development Outlook to offer a consistent approach for the Household Water Security, the Economic Water Security, the Urban Water Security, the Environmental Water Security and the Resilience to Water Related Disasters, referred to as the five key dimensions. By this the framework follows the classical People, Planet, and Profit paradigm as being applied in determining the sustainable development while adding a special focus on the urban situation and water risks. The full AWDO 2016 framework requires a rather large amount of data. Concentrating on the dimension of the Economic Water Security offers instead a good trade off, allowing to reduce the number of input data while at the same time providing a sufficient diversity in the consideration of other sectors. In this view, the Economic Water Security as defined in the 2016 AWDO framework has been used to determine relevant aspects for the Water Security in Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt. Water Stress is considered as the ratio of Total Withdrawal over Total Renewable Freshwater Resources. A nested framework had been applied to depict first the Water Stress and other key information on the water resource availability for all river basins in Tunisia and Morocco as well as for the different irrigation areas in Egypt. The related results had been then aggregated at national scale in order to calculate the Economic Water Security Index at national scale under the use of further socio-economic statistics. This aggregation had been necessary as the requested socio-economic background information could not been provided at the scale of river basins (Morocco, Tunisia) or irrigation areas in Egypt. In order to depict possible changes as a result of climate change and an increase in consumption, climate model ensemble runs from the CORDEX data base have been used to elaborate future aspects on the availability of water resources on the scale of catchments and in the case of Egypt on the irrigation areas instead. The results of this analysis are suited to provide a detailed insight on spatial variations of Water Stress. There is a high variability of rainfall in the coastal areas of Morocco, distinct north south variations of water availability in Tunisia, and a comparable uniform situation in Egypt because of distributing the Nile water in irrigation channels up to the Nile river delta. The score of the 2016 AWDO Economic Water Security is not affected by weighting factors and the results of the study allow hence a comparison amongst the countries. Additionally, the results underline possible pathways to use selected indicators of the AWDO framework as so called anchor indicators and to route relevant insights across the scales. Future effort should be spent to investigate further the possible effects from the aggregation process and to which extend the framework is suited to reflect pilots for introducing wastewater adequately. For determining the wastewater reuse potentials in irrigation, different maps have been elaborated for Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt. As a result, priority areas are highlighted, where the close vicinity of wastewater production and existing of irrigated areas would favour interventions to implement wastewater reuse schemes. The findings of this study indicate the added value of applying elements from the 2016 AWDO Framework to allow a systematic reflection and comparison of key information to characterise water stress and Water Security.

Water security is crucial to mitigate human-induced and climate change-related impacts on water resources. Previous studies on Sana'a's domestic water supply have raised safety, administration, and scarcity issues. However, a comprehensive water security assessment has not yet been conducted. This study uses the proposed Integrated Urban Water Security Index (IUWSI) framework to assess Sana'a's urban water security using human and environmental factors Five distinct parameters have been used to calculate (IUWSI) as a decision-making tool to prioritize and distinguish indicators affecting the five dimensions of urban water security: water supply, sanitation and hygiene, water economy, ecosystems, and governance and society. The proposed framework for measuring (IUWSI) in Sana’a city has revealed a low level of water security, with an overall index value of 1.43. This disappointing result indicates water security issues like limited access to safe drinking water, poor sanitation, and high-water pollution. The IUWSI framework helps water-insecure cities improve water supply management through logical and evidence-based decision-making.

Water scarcity and COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa

Climate change could pose a threat to water security for many communities, particularly in settings where rainfall patterns are becoming more varied and there is higher frequency of extreme events, such as heavy rainfall and droughts. Understanding how rainfall affects water security—including water access, water quality and water use behaviours—can inform investment in more climate-resilient infrastructure and safeguard against future health risks. This study aims to explore how households in rural Gambia experienced water security in relation to seasonal rainfall patterns and extreme weather events. Data collection focused on two communities (Kiang West and Basse) with differing access to water infrastructure, within which some villages had greater access to groundwater sources, such as solar-powered boreholes, and others primarily used uncovered wells. 46 participants were interviewed in Spring 2022 using multiple qualitative methods, including in-depth interviews and transect walks. We found that people’s experience of water security and rainfall (including seasonal rainfall, drought and heavy rainfall) was complex and varied according to the primary household water source. Both dry and rainy season posed challenges to household water security in terms of quality and quantity. Households with access to more resilient infrastructure, such as solar-powered boreholes, discussed a shift in the relationship between weather and water security, where they were less vulnerable to water shortages during dry conditions compared to those using wells. However, these sources did not fully resolve water security issues, as they experienced water shortages during cloudy conditions. Extreme weather events, such as heavy rainfall, heightened perceived water issues, as these events sometimes damaged water infrastructure and contaminated water sources. Seasonal workloads, that were higher in the rainy season, also jeopardised water security, as this limited time for water collection. Increased investment in infrastructure, maintenance, water-treatment and behavioural change is required to mitigate the risks.

Understanding the potential implications of global and regional climate change is important for decision-makers and planners to make better decisions regarding infrastructure needs and future planning. This is particularly important in cities in developing regions, which often have a history of under-investment in infrastructure and services and experience constraints in finance, resource access, limited data and capacity, whilst experiencing rapid population and economic growth. Makassar city, the capital of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, is a typical example. With a population of 1.3 million people, increasing access to clean water supply to a millennium development goal level is a key government objective. However, access to water depends on multiple factors: the city's surface water supplies which are subject to strong seasonal effects, the availability and condition of the infrastructure for water treatment and distribution, water use patterns and the resources and capacity of the city to invest and maintain their system. To aid in the assessment of water security and to build the capacity in the region, CSIRO and Hasanuddin University in conjunction with local government agencies developed a framework for water security assessment (Figure 1). The framework included climate change projections, evaluated its potential impacts on surface water hydrology and urban water security for Makassar city and then focused on the development of adaptation options. Integral to the development of the framework was the participation of stakeholders (government agencies, researchers, NGOs and academics) at all stages of the process. By integrating top- down and bottom up knowledge (scientific modelling outputs and local knowledge) the project was able to identify vulnerabilities and assess the effectiveness of planned infrastructure to climate change and urban development and to identify a range of adaptation options which can assist in increasing the future security of water supply.

“Water security” and “water safety” is defined differently. As the terms are related they may lead to confusion and misinterpretations, depending on the context. Water security generally refers to a lack of resources of an acceptable quality, i.e. water scarcity that may be related either to an excess of water demand or drought impacts (with links to climate change and e.g. salt water intrusion into coastal aquifers). Further, water security is closely related to food security, energy security, health security and ecological security. From a (human) security viewpoint, however, water security may also be understood in the light of possible intentional degradation of the resources, e.g. criminal or terrorist act leading to a deliberate (chemical or biological) contamination of water supply systems. Water safety on the other hand refers to the quality or chemical status of the water resources that has to comply with the defined quality standards for drinking water specifically to protect human health, both from elevated concentrations of contaminants and natural geogenic elements. This review gives a snapshot of various (ground)water safety and security issues written by authors from different sectors and disciplines. Illustrating and clarifying the many societal challenges related to water security and safety in cities.

Water supply and sanitation development in developing countries, specifically in Ethiopia, appear to be making substantial progress. Governments, international organizations, and other organizations are contributing to the development of water supply and sanitation systems. Water supply and sanitation challenges are linked to climate change effects and the quest for climate-resilient development. This paper evaluates the current challenges in water supply and sanitation development in developing countries and infrastructure resilience. The research is based on the data collected throughout the practical development task. Some of the findings were the climate change effect and temporary adaptation mechanisms, such as intermittent supply causing further pressure variation and water loss in the system. Resilient water supply and sanitation development require an integrated approach based on practical experiences, the latest technological development in water supply and sanitation system operation and management tools, and climate change adaptation. A seamless understanding of engineering, management, and technology is required for the development and management of water supply and sanitation systems. Dispersed skills may be available that were not effective at this time, which calls for a different approach to training provision and skill development as a package on design, management, and recent technological support.

Not all basic water sources are readily available and accessible to most Pacific Island Countries (PICs). The limited drinking water sources such as rainwater, surface water, groundwater, desalinated water and imported water are extremely vulnerable due to the demand of increasing populations for food production, limited financial and technical capacities to manage water resources and natural and anthropogenic disasters. Unless effective and sustainable Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) measures are implemented, climate change will exacerbate the existing development issues by increasing the intensity and frequency of extreme events such tropical cyclones, drought, heavy rainfall that leads to flooding and damage to water infrastructures. Such events will further increase the cost of ensuring water security in most PICs. CCA programmes emerged and have been implemented in PICs by international and regional organisations such as the Pacific Islands Climate Change Assistance Programme (PICCAP) since 1997. In the context of the Solomon Islands, the CCA programme on water security is channelled through the National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA). Despite such interventions, the relation between the objectives of NAPA and the water sector is not clearly defined. There is no specific aim to operationalise those objectives. Furthermore, since the Solomon Islands is a Least Developed Country (LDC), it is more difficult to implement CCA policies given the country is struggling to address current development issues. This paper seeks to evaluate CCA programmes on water security in PICs with a focus on the Solomon Islands. Information was gathered through desktop reviews of existing literature.

Introduction. The article analyzes water security issues in river basins of the Kazakhstan-Russia border region, as well as transboundary cooperation in this area. These issues are analyzed from a Kazakhstani perspective, which has distinct characteristics compared to the Russian perspective but cannot be considered without taking the latter into account. Methods and materials. The study is based on the concept of water security. For the first time, the northern water basins of Kazakhstan with their transboundary rivers are viewed through the lens of this concept as a single entity with common problems, many of which require solutions at the international level. The study also relies on an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of Kazakhstan-Russia agreements on transboundary river issues, as well as a quantitative analysis of water levels, pollution, and other characteristics of the relevant water basins. Data obtained from Kazakhstani state institutions, particularly from the state enterprise “Kazhydromet,” are analyzed. Using this data and the ArcGIS program, maps of Kazakhstan’s hydrographic basins were compiled. Analysis. The key security issues of the northern Kazakhstani transboundary water basins, including water scarcity, floods, pollution, and the degradation of biodiversity in coastal areas, are examined. Additionally, the effectiveness of Kazakhstan-Russia cross-border cooperation in addressing these issues is evaluated. Results. In the long term, water scarcity is the most serious challenge to water security, but natural disasters also require serious attention and more effective transboundary cooperation. It would be unjustified to place the primary responsibility on either single side for the water security issues in the region, as both countries have similar infrastructure and inherited economic development priorities from the Soviet era. The effectiveness of Kazakhstan-Russia cooperation in addressing water security issues remains ambiguous: on the one hand, the parties strive to resolve existing problems constructively, but on the other hand, their willingness to undertake coordinated and costly steps is quite limited. Contributions. K. Abdrakhmanov conducted SWOT analysis of empirical issues related to transboundary rivers and (together with S. Golunov) issues of transboundary cooperation between Kazakhstan and Russia; S. Golunov conceptualized the problem of water security, applied it to the empirical parts of the work, and analyzed the issues of floods and threats to biodiversity; M. Muzdybayev collected and analyzed data on hydrography, hydrology, water use, and the environmental state of Kazakhstan’s water basins; Ye. Karakulov and A. Kabdeshev categorized and compiled cartographic material for the hydrographic basins of Kazakhstan using the ArcGIS program.

Attainment of water security in urban informal settlements in developing countries can be a complex undertaking due to various factors that affect water service provision, such as insufficient water quantities, unreliable water supply, aging pipes, and infrastructure coverage, among others. In addition to this, the territorial behaviour and therefore a siloed approach of service providers propagate water insecurity. This situation has an impact on the socio-economic development, peace and political stability, water-related disasters, and waterborne diseases in many urban informal settlements in developing countries. The study sought to assess water security characteristics in informal settlements in Nairobi County. The research was informed by the systems theory. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The research targeted a population of 2,511,991 people living in the informal settlements and 544 water service providers (formal utilities and small-scale vendors) operating in the informal settlements. Both probabilistic and non-probabilistic sampling methods were used in this study to select the respondents. Data was collected from a sample of 388 households and 62 water vendors from nine slums in 12 sub-counties. A household questionnaire was used to collect data. Data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. From the findings, only 0.4% of households met all six parameters (availability, access, quantity, quality, affordability, and reliability) of water security. Most of the households satisfied four parameters, 30% met three parameters, 20.8% met two parameters, 11.7% met five parameters, and 5.3% met one parameter. This pointed to a situation where water security is a major concern in Nairobi’s Informal Settlements (INSEs). The existing water structures of service provision influenced only three of the six water security factors, and that is, availability, access, and quality. The level of structure did not have any impact on quantity, affordability, or reliability of water services. The study therefore concludes that the provision of infrastructure alone may not necessarily lead to overall household water security. The research findings show that integration is possible along the three levels—water production, water delivery infrastructure, and service levels experienced by the households. It was however noticed that a household could depend on multiple sources and therefore experience various levels of services. The study recommends that the national and county governments and stakeholders in the water sector, while planning water service provision and infrastructure development, should ensure that efforts towards attaining universal access to water through availability, access, quantity, quality, affordability, and reliability should have a targeted approach to reach those who are most water insecure.