Socio-political processes must be emphasised alongside climate change and urbanisation as key drivers of urban water insecurity

Urban water security is of critical global and local importance. Across many parts of low- and middle-income countries, urban water security either remains elusive or is becoming stressed. Rapid urbanisation and climate change are two key drivers of resource insecurity and at the forefront of urban...

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Autores principales: Catherine Fallon Grasham, George Neville
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: IWA Publishing 2021
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Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/ff19eb2116294df5b9e35c021df6ca5c
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spelling oai:doaj.org-article:ff19eb2116294df5b9e35c021df6ca5c2021-11-05T20:07:56ZSocio-political processes must be emphasised alongside climate change and urbanisation as key drivers of urban water insecurity1366-70171996-975910.2166/wp.2020.333https://doaj.org/article/ff19eb2116294df5b9e35c021df6ca5c2021-02-01T00:00:00Zhttp://wp.iwaponline.com/content/23/1/36https://doaj.org/toc/1366-7017https://doaj.org/toc/1996-9759Urban water security is of critical global and local importance. Across many parts of low- and middle-income countries, urban water security either remains elusive or is becoming stressed. Rapid urbanisation and climate change are two key drivers of resource insecurity and at the forefront of urban water discourse. However, there are manifold and complex socio-political processes functioning alongside these megatrends that are often underemphasised. Drawing on three urban case studies in Ethiopia, we highlight these structural issues and the need for their continued consideration to fully understand and address urban water insecurity. Household water-use surveys, semi-structured interviews and participatory exercises with community residents, stakeholders and informal water vendors were used as part of a mixed-method approach in three urban areas. We found that government-managed urban water supplies were intermittent and unsafe, resulting in economic, health and time-use burdens for households, and that the socio-political dimensions reproducing urban water insecurity have historical roots. We argue that the uncertainty of climate change and unprecedented urbanisation do not offer sufficient explanation for why urban water insecurity persists. Moreover, we call for caution in only employing these narratives, to avoid obscuring deeply rooted challenges within socio-political systems. We call for socio-political processes to continue to be a central component of future interventions that seek to improve urban water insecurity. Highlights Urban water security is reproduced over time in urban Ethiopia.; Residents face financial, health and time-use burdens.; Urban water insecurity is underpinned by socio-political processes.; These processes must remain in the dominant discourse of urban water insecurity.; Addressing non-functioning infrastructure, demand-supply gaps, insufficient financing, historical legacies and multi-sectoral challenges is key for urban water security.;Catherine Fallon GrashamGeorge NevilleIWA Publishingarticleethiopiagovernanceinequityurbanwater securityRiver, lake, and water-supply engineering (General)TC401-506ENWater Policy, Vol 23, Iss 1, Pp 36-57 (2021)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
topic ethiopia
governance
inequity
urban
water security
River, lake, and water-supply engineering (General)
TC401-506
spellingShingle ethiopia
governance
inequity
urban
water security
River, lake, and water-supply engineering (General)
TC401-506
Catherine Fallon Grasham
George Neville
Socio-political processes must be emphasised alongside climate change and urbanisation as key drivers of urban water insecurity
description Urban water security is of critical global and local importance. Across many parts of low- and middle-income countries, urban water security either remains elusive or is becoming stressed. Rapid urbanisation and climate change are two key drivers of resource insecurity and at the forefront of urban water discourse. However, there are manifold and complex socio-political processes functioning alongside these megatrends that are often underemphasised. Drawing on three urban case studies in Ethiopia, we highlight these structural issues and the need for their continued consideration to fully understand and address urban water insecurity. Household water-use surveys, semi-structured interviews and participatory exercises with community residents, stakeholders and informal water vendors were used as part of a mixed-method approach in three urban areas. We found that government-managed urban water supplies were intermittent and unsafe, resulting in economic, health and time-use burdens for households, and that the socio-political dimensions reproducing urban water insecurity have historical roots. We argue that the uncertainty of climate change and unprecedented urbanisation do not offer sufficient explanation for why urban water insecurity persists. Moreover, we call for caution in only employing these narratives, to avoid obscuring deeply rooted challenges within socio-political systems. We call for socio-political processes to continue to be a central component of future interventions that seek to improve urban water insecurity. Highlights Urban water security is reproduced over time in urban Ethiopia.; Residents face financial, health and time-use burdens.; Urban water insecurity is underpinned by socio-political processes.; These processes must remain in the dominant discourse of urban water insecurity.; Addressing non-functioning infrastructure, demand-supply gaps, insufficient financing, historical legacies and multi-sectoral challenges is key for urban water security.;
format article
author Catherine Fallon Grasham
George Neville
author_facet Catherine Fallon Grasham
George Neville
author_sort Catherine Fallon Grasham
title Socio-political processes must be emphasised alongside climate change and urbanisation as key drivers of urban water insecurity
title_short Socio-political processes must be emphasised alongside climate change and urbanisation as key drivers of urban water insecurity
title_full Socio-political processes must be emphasised alongside climate change and urbanisation as key drivers of urban water insecurity
title_fullStr Socio-political processes must be emphasised alongside climate change and urbanisation as key drivers of urban water insecurity
title_full_unstemmed Socio-political processes must be emphasised alongside climate change and urbanisation as key drivers of urban water insecurity
title_sort socio-political processes must be emphasised alongside climate change and urbanisation as key drivers of urban water insecurity
publisher IWA Publishing
publishDate 2021
url https://doaj.org/article/ff19eb2116294df5b9e35c021df6ca5c
work_keys_str_mv AT catherinefallongrasham sociopoliticalprocessesmustbeemphasisedalongsideclimatechangeandurbanisationaskeydriversofurbanwaterinsecurity
AT georgeneville sociopoliticalprocessesmustbeemphasisedalongsideclimatechangeandurbanisationaskeydriversofurbanwaterinsecurity
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