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Water and poverty in rural China: Developing an instrument to assess the multiple dimensions of water and poverty

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  • Cohen, Alasdair
  • Sullivan, Caroline A.

Abstract

This paper describes the theoretical foundations and development of a multidimensional, water-focused, thematic indicator of rural poverty: The Water, Economy, Investment and Learning Assessment Indicator (WEILAI). The WEILAI approach was specifically designed for application in rural China, to support poverty alleviation project planning, monitoring and evaluation, as well as targeting and prioritization. WEILAI builds primarily on the basic needs framework of poverty alleviation, and on the methodological structure of the Water Poverty Index, to provide a proxy measure of an area's poverty by assessing eight key poverty sectors, with a strong focus on the components of water-poverty. The WEILAI approach was piloted and implemented in 534 households in China's mountainous southwest. This paper describes the indicator construction, weighting schemes, methodology, field sites, and statistical validation of the results. In addition, we discuss the results, feedback from in-country project staff, and the likely utility of the tool for project planning, monitoring and evaluation support. The paper concludes with a discussion of WEILAI's overall utility and ongoing development.

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  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:69:y:2010:i:5:p:999-1009
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    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. Changli Zhu & Zhongfa Zhou & Guoxuan Ma & Linjiang Yin, 2022. "Spatial differentiation of the impact of transport accessibility on the multidimensional poverty of rural households in karst mountain areas," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 3863-3883, March.
    5. Scheidel, Arnim, 2013. "Flows, funds and the complexity of deprivation: Using concepts from ecological economics for the study of poverty," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 28-36.
    6. Yun Ding & Shiqi Zhang & Ruifan Xu & Yuan Gao & Hao Ding & Pengfei Sun & Wenxin Liu, 2023. "The Coupling Coordination Measurement, Spatio-Temporal Differentiation and Driving Mechanism of Urban and Rural Water Poverty in Northwest China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-23, January.
    7. Caroline A Sullivan & Hatem Jemmali, 2014. "Toward Understanding Water Conflicts in MENA Region: A Comparative Analysis Using Water Poverty Index," Working Papers 859, Economic Research Forum, revised Nov 2014.
    8. Demetrios E. Tsesmelis & Nikolaos A. Skondras & Syed Yasir Ahmad Khan & Elpida Kolokytha & Christos A. Karavitis, 2020. "Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Index: Development and Application to Measure WASH Service Levels in European Humanitarian Camps," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 34(8), pages 2449-2470, June.
    9. 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.
    10. Tatsuya Makino & Keigo Noda & Keoduangchai Keokhamphui & Hiromasa Hamada & Kazuo Oki & Taikan Oki, 2016. "The Effects of Five Forms of Capital on Thought Processes Underlying Water Consumption Behavior in Suburban Vientiane," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(6), pages 1-13, June.
    11. 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.
    12. 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.
    13. 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.
    14. 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.
    15. Alasdair Cohen & Md Rasheduzzaman & Amanda Darling & Leigh-Anne Krometis & Marc Edwards & Teresa Brown & Tahmina Ahmed & Erin Wettstone & Suporn Pholwat & Mami Taniuchi & Elizabeth T. Rogawski McQuade, 2022. "Bottled and Well Water Quality in a Small Central Appalachian Community: Household-Level Analysis of Enteric Pathogens, Inorganic Chemicals, and Health Outcomes in Rural Southwest Virginia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-12, July.

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