Poverty And Water Security

This paper stimulates debate and improved understanding of the critical importance of water security in the lives of the world's poor and provides a conceptual framework to help explain the relationship between poverty and water security. It also proposes constructive steps towards improving water security for the world's poor.

Local government can be the pivot to make this happen.

A water crisis on our immediate horizon is destined to hurt, even kill, millions of children, and the window of opportunity to do something about it is rapidly closing. There is, however, a glimmer of hope that could turn into rays of sunshine. Water is a commodity, and we have just come through some painful times dealing with the shortage of another commodity—energy. For those who lived through the "energy crisis," this book offers a brief trip down memory lane.

In the book's four Parts, the interdisciplinary approach to many issues contributes to the relationship between water and poverty. Part I includes articles on the conceptual and methodological issues concerning poverty reduction through water resources development. It also offers analysis of quantitative measurements of poverty reduction, including some approaches for creating a Water Poverty Index. Part II considers the institutional frameworks for management of water and poverty reduction. Topics range from community-based decision making to international leadership. Part III encompasses discussions on participatory irrigation management and the privatization of urban water supplies and sewerage and the link to poverty. Case studies from India, Turkey, and Jordan make up Part IV. The studies present diverse water management and development practices for poverty reduction, including realistic pricing and effective irrigation practices, the use of water as an engine for sustainable development, small and large scale strategies for reducing the risks and uncertainties in water availability and food security, the economic value of improved water supplies, and the positive impact of small-scale development projects.

This fascinating book examines the paramount human rights issue of our time: clean drinking water. Pollution, population surge, and climate change will deprive an estimated 2 billion citizens of this fundamental right by 2050. The author argues for the need to establish innovative, sustainable practices to safeguard this precious human right.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), water security has been de¬scribed as "when all people at all times have both physical and economic access to sufficient water to meet their daily needs, and this translates to productive and healthy life". Globally, water is considered as a key physical resource that plays a huge role in improving the pace of general development of a country. Studies have shown that having sustainable water supply system is one way of alleviating poverty and promoting economic growth of a country. Therefore, water security is an essential aspect of livelihood in any part of the world. Considering the growing world population, water resources are significantly decreasing day by day. It has been estimated that the total world population by 2025 will have grown by additional 2.6 billion from the current population. As the population increases, so does the demand for water. Therefore, without ini¬tiative taken to solve various issues on water security in most parts of the world, it is expected in future that more than half of the current world population will lack access to safe and clean water for various daily activities.At the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting that was held in Davos-Klosters in 2008, different business leaders set out a "Call to Action on Water". Their main goal was to raise awareness in order to develop a better understanding of how water is associated with economic growth across a nexus of issues. This was also to make clear the water security challenges expected to be faced by 2030 especially if a business as usual approach to water management was to be maintained.Water security challenges experienced in different parts of the world, togeth¬er with an intensified severity in droughts and flood events which are mainly brought by change in climate are urgent calls for better water risks manage¬ment. These include management in water shortages, water pollution, and other risks to freshwater systems (lakes, rivers, and aquifers). The main idea is to adopt an appropriate approach that will help in knowing, targeting, and manag¬ing various risks and threats of water. This book contains 10 Chapters that discuss different topics on water security locally and internationally. Some of the key topics discussed under these chap¬ters include introduction to water security, sustainable water supply, Integrated Water Resources Management and poverty reduction, ecosystem and water quality, water pollution, water quality protection, benefits of reusing reclaimed water, harvesting and storage of rainwater, seawater desalination, and solutions to water security challenges in the world. The issue of maintenance and management of water supply systems remains one of the key aspects of ensuring that there is water security all time. That is why the concept of integrated water resource management has been discussed widely in this book. Another key aspect that has been discussed entirely in this book is access to adequate safe and clean water for all. This is because it is a fundamental human right to have access to clean and safe water for all. The collection efforts that was put in preparation of this book may not serve as a complete picture of the myriad dimensions of water security, but they reflect some of the difficulties and tensions faced by science in accommodating the idea of water security (based on principles, perspectives, and practice), espe¬cially while navigating various economic, political, social, and environmental demand and concerns for sometimes scarce and usually highly variable water resource.

A Collection of Thematic Papers Prepared by the 3rd World Water Forum, Kyoto, Japan, 16-23 March 2003 Pro-poor water governance, community empowerment and capacity, how to reach the poorest among the poor, the links among water, health and poverty, gender and water, water and food security, and how water plays a role in developing sustainable livelihoods for the poor, are among the themes explored in this publication. It features chapters by experts from the Gender and Water Alliance, WaterAid, the Global Water Partnership, the International Water Management Institute, and other known international experts.

Rarely has such a contentious and complex issue emerged in twenty-first century development as that of water. In this book, co-editors David Hemson, Kassin Kulindwa, Haakon Lein, and Adolfo Mascarenhas use a global spread of case studies to illustrate that water is not simply an issue of physical scarcity, but rather a complex and politically-driven issue with profound future implications, both in the developing world and outside it. The book argues that for the international community to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, governments must step in to protect the rights of the poor. Here, the links between poverty and access to clean water are explored with an eye to political reform that can end the exploitative policies of big business and help to shape a more equitable world for all.