Enhancing the Water Poverty Index: towards a meaningful indicator

Abstract

Several issues impact the ability of people to access safe water and improved sanitation. Among them are the social, economic, and environmental issues. However, they are often treated separately, and not as an integrated, dynamic process. This paper is concerned with the development and underlying methodology of an aggregated index which combines biophysical, social, economic and environmental data in one single and comparable number to produce a holistic tool for policy making. It will be first tested at basin level in Peru (International Catamayo – Chira Basin), and main results will be presented and discussed. Furthermore, and in the light of its implementation, the need to promote additional research will be evaluated, so as to apply same index at different scales (at least regional and community scale).