Why marginalized voices are critical for resilient WASH services

Around the world, extreme and unpredictable weather events as a result of climate change are making it harder for rural communities to access safe, clean water — and it’s often women and people with disabilities who bear the greatest burden.    

In southern Indonesia and Timor-Leste, for example, heavy rainfall means water collection points in ravines become inaccessible for people with disabilities as well as elderly people or pregnant people. Jeremy Kohlitz, research principal at the Institute for Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology Sydney, told Devex about communities where only the strongest, most able-bodied people, often men, could make it up and down the steep, muddy path to collect water. Subsequently, people with disabilities become dependent on others to collect water for them and are limited in their own agency, explained Kohlitz, who worked on the Climate Change Response for Inclusive WASH research project funded by the Australian Government through the Water for Women Fund.

Then come the dry spells and droughts, forcing communities to ration the scarce water supplies for everyday activities, such as cooking and flushing the toilet, and leaving open defecation as their only option. 

“That issue of open defecation affected everyone, but [some community members] much more profoundly,” Kohlitz said. “It brought about stress and anxiety for women [who faced sexual harassment and sometimes violence]; it disrupted their daily routines.”                                         

As part of the research project, ISF-UTS has been helping to distill some of the more complex theories around climate change, resilience, and adaptation for partners on the ground to integrate these considerations in their existing WASH programs. In Timor-Leste, where almost 10% of the rural population lack access to basic drinking water services, WaterAid is focusing on improving rural water services. On the other hand, in Indonesia, where 11% of the rural population still practice open defecation, Plan International's efforts target sanitation facilities. 

^{Devastation caused by Cyclone Fani in Tarini Basti, an informal settlement in Bhubaneswar, India, in May 2019. Photo: Basudev Mahapatra / CFAR}

Considering the threats of climate change on WASH services

“[Civil society organizations] in the WASH sector really see climate change as a threat to progress,” Kohlitz said, “and they’re increasingly appreciative of the fact that climate change affects different groups of people in different ways.” 

However, toolkits specifically designed for organizations working in water, sanitation, and hygiene are nascent or tend to focus on technological improvements, he said. And while technology is one piece of the puzzle, these tools “miss out on the ... socially constructed nature of unintended impacts.” This includes considerations around which populations or segments of the community will be most affected by extreme weather events, such as cyclones or droughts, and why they are more vulnerable in the first place.

Working closely with CSOs, Kohlitz’s team came up with several new methods for assessing the impact of climate change on their WASH services and programs. These methods often rely on techniques such as participatory rural appraisals that CSOs and local government partners are familiar with, Kohlitz explained. However, they don’t rely on the use of climate data or science, which can be difficult for local stakeholders to access and interpret. 

One method, for example, uses community mapping exercises to help people report where flooding, waterlogging, or landslides occur most frequently. Another method facilitates conversations around the responsibilities of household members in relation to water collection and toilet repairs. “[These conversations] bring to light who in the family is taking on the increased burden when [there’s] extreme weather,” Kohlitz said.

_{Women and men in Manggarai, Indonesia, participate in an activity facilitated by ISF-UTS and Plan Indonesia to support community members to share their aspirations for a climate-resilient future. Photo: Jeremy Kohlitz / ISF-UTS}