APHDR Technical Background Paper 2012/15

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APHDR Technical Background Paper 2012/15

June 17, 2015

Climate change can exacerbate existing vulnerabilities in terms of water resources and the ability of infrastructure to cope with shocks (caused by increased variability of weather events).  However, how such shocks translate into impacts on health and well-being is rather complex.

This paper examines the current evidence on impact of climate change on water and how this might further translate into impact on access to water and sanitation and how this might affect health outcomes.  The analysis here suggests that institutional and policy failures rather than climate change may have much greater impact on health outcomes due to lack of access to water and sanitation. The second aim of this paper is to examine and develop the concept of water insecurity. The main contribution of this paper is to demonstrate that water insecurity is multi-dimensional and that there are different elements of water insecurity manifesting different aspects of inequalities in a given society.

The analysis in this paper emphasizes the need for focusing on inequality and reducing water insecurity as a crucial step to promoting human development and reducing vulnerabilities to climate change in Asia and the Pacific.

Document Type
Regions and Countries