IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/waterr/v29y2015i14p5015-5035.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Problematizing Water Vulnerability Indices at a Local Level: a Critical Review and Proposed Solution

Author

Listed:
  • Danuta Grosbois
  • Ryan Plummer

Abstract

Effectively assessing water vulnerability is essential as threats to water resources mount. Appraisals that take an integrative perspective incorporating physical and social considerations at a community scale are particularly important as they address the breadth of vulnerability sources and concentrate on a level where action frequently occurs. This paper critically reviews seven water vulnerability indices according to good practices for composite indices. The analysis reveals several shortcomings and discusses how they limit the validity of water vulnerability indices. A seven step framework is proposed to overcome these limitations. It builds upon previous approaches to assessing water vulnerability and incorporates good practice of developing composite indices. The framework offers guidance to enhance effectiveness and promotes tailoring of water vulnerability assessments to particular situations. Improving the accuracy of information from such assessments ultimately enhances the capability to respond to water related challenges. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Danuta Grosbois & Ryan Plummer, 2015. "Problematizing Water Vulnerability Indices at a Local Level: a Critical Review and Proposed Solution," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 29(14), pages 5015-5035, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:waterr:v:29:y:2015:i:14:p:5015-5035
    DOI: 10.1007/s11269-015-1101-0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s11269-015-1101-0
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11269-015-1101-0?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. C. J. Vörösmarty & P. B. McIntyre & M. O. Gessner & D. Dudgeon & A. Prusevich & P. Green & S. Glidden & S. E. Bunn & C. A. Sullivan & C. Reidy Liermann & P. M. Davies, 2010. "Global threats to human water security and river biodiversity," Nature, Nature, vol. 467(7315), pages 555-561, September.
    2. Cohen, Alasdair & Sullivan, Caroline A., 2010. "Water and poverty in rural China: Developing an instrument to assess the multiple dimensions of water and poverty," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(5), pages 999-1009, March.
    3. Henrique Chaves & Suzana Alipaz, 2007. "An Integrated Indicator Based on Basin Hydrology, Environment, Life, and Policy: The Watershed Sustainability Index," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 21(5), pages 883-895, May.
    4. Nazli Aydin & Larry Mays & Theo Schmitt, 2014. "Technical and Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Water Distribution Systems," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 28(13), pages 4699-4713, October.
    5. Emma Norman & Gemma Dunn & Karen Bakker & Diana Allen & Rafael Cavalcanti de Albuquerque, 2013. "Water Security Assessment: Integrating Governance and Freshwater Indicators," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 27(2), pages 535-551, January.
    6. Ryan Plummer & Rob Loë & Derek Armitage, 2012. "A Systematic Review of Water Vulnerability Assessment Tools," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(15), pages 4327-4346, December.
    7. Caroline Sullivan & Jeremy Meigh, 2007. "Integration of the biophysical and social sciences using an indicator approach: Addressing water problems at different scales," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 21(1), pages 111-128, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Zheng Xiang & Xiaohong Chen & Yanqing Lian, 2016. "Quantifying the Vulnerability of Surface Water Environment in Humid Areas Base on DEA Method," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 30(14), pages 5101-5112, November.
    2. Junfei Chen & Xiaoya Yu & Lei Qiu & Menghua Deng & Ran Dong, 2018. "Study on Vulnerability and Coordination of Water-Energy-Food System in Northwest China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-25, October.
    3. Jacob D. Petersen-Perlman, 2016. "Projecting River Basin Resilience in the Zambezi River Basin through Global Analyses and Basin Realities," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 30(6), pages 1987-2003, April.
    4. Zafar Hussain & Zongmin Wang & Jiaxue Wang & Haibo Yang & Muhammad Arfan & Daniyal Hassan & Wusen Wang & Muhammad Imran Azam & Muhammad Faisal, 2022. "A comparative Appraisal of Classical and Holistic Water Scarcity Indicators," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 36(3), pages 931-950, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Emma Norman & Gemma Dunn & Karen Bakker & Diana Allen & Rafael Cavalcanti de Albuquerque, 2013. "Water Security Assessment: Integrating Governance and Freshwater Indicators," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 27(2), pages 535-551, January.
    2. S. E. Dickson & C. J. Schuster-Wallace & J. J. Newton, 2016. "Water Security Assessment Indicators: The Rural Context," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 30(5), pages 1567-1604, March.
    3. Mika Marttunen & Jyri Mustajoki & Suvi Sojamo & Lauri Ahopelto & Marko Keskinen, 2019. "A Framework for Assessing Water Security and the Water–Energy–Food Nexus—The Case of Finland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-24, May.
    4. Yifan Ding & Deshan Tang & Huichao Dai & Yuhang Wei, 2014. "Human-Water Harmony Index: A New Approach to Assess the Human Water Relationship," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 28(4), pages 1061-1077, March.
    5. S. Dickson & C. Schuster-Wallace & J. Newton, 2016. "Water Security Assessment Indicators: The Rural Context," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 30(5), pages 1567-1604, March.
    6. Ryan Plummer & Rob Loë & Derek Armitage, 2012. "A Systematic Review of Water Vulnerability Assessment Tools," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(15), pages 4327-4346, December.
    7. Zafar Hussain & Zongmin Wang & Jiaxue Wang & Haibo Yang & Muhammad Arfan & Daniyal Hassan & Wusen Wang & Muhammad Imran Azam & Muhammad Faisal, 2022. "A comparative Appraisal of Classical and Holistic Water Scarcity Indicators," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 36(3), pages 931-950, February.
    8. Mrittika Basu & Satoshi Hoshino & Shizuka Hashimoto, 2016. "A pragmatic analysis of water supply and demand, and adaptive capacity in rural areas: development of Rural Water Insecurity Index," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 81(1), pages 447-466, March.
    9. Agustí Pérez-Foguet & Ricard Giné Garriga, 2011. "Analyzing Water Poverty in Basins," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 25(14), pages 3595-3612, November.
    10. Matthew Yarrow & Antonio Tironi & Alejandro Ramírez & Víctor Marín, 2008. "An Applied Assessment Model to Evaluate the Socioeconomic Impact of Water Quality Regulations in Chile," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 22(11), pages 1531-1543, November.
    11. Thapa, Bhesh Raj & Ishidaira, H. & Pandey, Vishnu Prasad & Bhandari, T. M. & Shakya, N. M., 2018. "Evaluation of water security in Kathmandu Valley before and after water transfer from another basin," Papers published in Journals (Open Access), International Water Management Institute, pages 10(2):1-12..
    12. Julie Wilk & Anna Jonsson, 2013. "From Water Poverty to Water Prosperity—A More Participatory Approach to Studying Local Water Resources Management," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 27(3), pages 695-713, February.
    13. Wang Xiao-jun & Zhang Jian-yun & Shamsuddin Shahid & Xia Xing-hui & He Rui-min & Shang Man-ting, 2014. "Catastrophe theory to assess water security and adaptation strategy in the context of environmental change," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 463-477, April.
    14. Ricard Giné Garriga & Agustí Pérez Foguet, 2013. "Unravelling the Linkages Between Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Rural Poverty: The WASH Poverty Index," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 27(5), pages 1501-1515, March.
    15. Mrittika Basu & Satoshi Hoshino & Shizuka Hashimoto, 2016. "A pragmatic analysis of water supply and demand, and adaptive capacity in rural areas: development of Rural Water Insecurity Index," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 81(1), pages 447-466, March.
    16. Samuel Asumadu Sarkodie & Maruf Yakubu Ahmed & Phebe Asantewaa Owusu, 2022. "Global adaptation readiness and income mitigate sectoral climate change vulnerabilities," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-17, December.
    17. Yuichiro Yoshida & Han Soo Lee & Bui Huy Trung & Hoang-Dung Tran & Mahrjan Keshlav Lall & Kifayatullah Kakar & Tran Dang Xuan, 2020. "Impacts of Mainstream Hydropower Dams on Fisheries and Agriculture in Lower Mekong Basin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-21, March.
    18. Cai, Benan & Long, Chengjun & Du, Qiaochen & Zhang, Wenchao & Hou, Yandong & Wang, Haijun & Cai, Weihua, 2023. "Analysis of a spray flash desalination system driven by low-grade waste heat with different intermittencies," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    19. Yang, Lin & Pang, Shujiang & Wang, Xiaoyan & Du, Yi & Huang, Jieyu & Melching, Charles S., 2021. "Optimal allocation of best management practices based on receiving water capacity constraints," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    20. Antonio J. Castro & Cristina Quintas-Soriano & Jodi Brandt & Carla L. Atkinson & Colden V. Baxter & Morey Burnham & Benis N. Egoh & Marina García-Llorente & Jason P. Julian & Berta Martín-López & Feli, 2018. "Applying Place-Based Social-Ecological Research to Address Water Scarcity: Insights for Future Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-13, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:waterr:v:29:y:2015:i:14:p:5015-5035. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.