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Urban Water Crisis in the Global South

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Abstract

Urban populations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America are confronted with significant difficulties in accessing water due to inadequate infrastructure, limited governance capabilities, and the exacerbating effects of climate change, which further exacerbate water scarcity. This article investigates the physiological, environmental, and economic hardships that arise from insufficient access to quality water and sanitation infrastructure in cities of the Global South. Available evidence suggests that more than two billion individuals living in urban areas do not have access to water sources that are appropriately maintained. This lack of access has led to the widespread occurrence of diarrhoea diseases, particularly in marginalized informal settlements. There is a cumulative impact on households, municipal authorities, and national budgets due to economic losses resulting from healthcare expenses, decreased productivity, and limitations in the industrial sector. Reports also demonstrate severe water shortages caused by distinct local circumstances while also highlighting shared challenges of contamination, intermittent supply, and affordability problems that worsen inequality. While there are promising decentralized options available, as well as water efficiency and reuse advancements, there are still significant gaps in financing. It is estimated that an annual amount of $114 billion is needed to ensure access to safe water and sanitation for the increasing urban populations in the developing nations. Effective collaboration on a global scale and local administrative changes are crucial for addressing these deficiencies in infrastructure and enhancing the ability of mega cities in the Global South to withstand the escalating hazards posed by climate change.

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The world is not on track to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6 on clean water and sanitation by 2030. We urge a rapid change of the economics, engineering and management frameworks that guided water policy and investments in the past in order to address the water challenges of our time.
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In the aftermath of the acute water crisis, building resilience in the water sector has become a priority for the City of Cape Town. In this piece, I discuss several emerging lessons from Cape Town's experience and their implications for water resilience more broadly. While having avoided “Day Zero,” Cape Town has also demonstrated how unprepared many municipalities might be as they face growing variability and uncertainty in the hydrologic cycle. Second, Cape Town's experience also signals the limits of conventional demand and supply paradigms that focus on high efficiency and overallocation of water resources. Furthermore, Cape Town's deeply unequal waterscape and acutely divisive politics are among the most important factors that shaped not only how the crisis unfolded, but also the ability of governance systems to respond in a timely and adequate manner. This article is categorized under: Engineering Water > Planning Water Human Water > Water Governance
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Most studies in the disasters literature rely on convenience sampling and ‘after only’ designs to assess impacts, which are limitations we address. Focused on Hurricane Harvey and leveraging a pre‐sol;post‐event sample of Greater Houston households (n=71), this paper establishes baselines for disaster preparedness and home structure flood hazard mitigation; reports on household‐level impacts; and examines how preparedness and mitigation relate to post‐Harvey health effects, event exposures, and recovery. 70–80% took preparedness measures. Mitigation actions varied with 6% having interior‐drainage systems and 83% having elevated indoor heatingsol;cooling components. 60% reported home damage. Half reported allergies and two‐thirds indicated some level of post‐traumatic stress. Three‐quarters worried about family memberssol;friends. Results from generalized linear models revealed that greater pre‐event mitigation was associated with fewer physical health problems and adverse experiences, lower post‐traumatic stress, and faster recovery. The pre‐sol;post‐design allowed us to discern broad benefits of home structure flood hazard mitigation for households post‐Harvey. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
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The Western Cape region of South Africa is a key producing area for South African agriculture, with a strong dependence on austral winter rainfall. The past three years have, however, seen extensive drought impacting this region, with significant impacts on agriculture. In this article, we unpack how the drought unfolded, as well as possibilities in predicting winter rainfall. We consider how drought impacted agriculture, looking in depth at two commodities key to the winter rainfall region agricultural sector – namely, wheat and apples; concluding with a brief discussion of implications for the future. Keywords: Drought, Agriculture, Seasonal forecasting, Southern Africa
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Purpose Mounting fiscal constraints and increasing complexity of public services have led governments to search for alternative service delivery mechanisms. The public–private partnership (PPP) is one type of service arrangement in which the public and private sectors enter into a long-term cooperative relationship for the purpose of delivering a public good or service. Despite increasing private sector participation in developing nations, there is a need for more systematic assessment of PPPs in such countries. The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors that affect the adoption and implementation of projects in the context of developing countries. Design/methodology/approach A multiple case holistic design is employed to analyze 19 select projects across several developing countries to identify and pool clusters of variables that facilitate or impede PPPs. Findings The results indicate five broad categories of political, economic, legislative, financial and management requisites. Research limitations/implications A limitation of this research is that the cases were not selected at random. However, the projects are spread across several areas such as public health, public utilities, public works, transportation and water/wastewater infrastructure in different countries. This allows the authors to examine how the common factors apply across different contextual settings. Originality/value This paper seeks to contribute to the literature by examining several developing countries to identify and pool clusters of variables that facilitate or impede the effective implementation of PPP projects in the context of such regions.